Full Production Competition Criteria & Info

Competition Submission Criteria

1. Playwrights should be a resident of New Jersey, NYC or Philadelphia – however priority will be given to NJ playwrights (we’re sorry but we cannot accommodate all the script submissions from other areas of the NorthEast).
2. Submissions can ONLY be during the FIRST THREE WEEKS of December. Note: there will be NO COMPETITION in December 2026, as we are producing an actual Mike Sockol show in January 2028.
3. Only 1 play may be submitted per playwright, per season, so select your best!
4. Please, no musicals.
5. Depending on the number of volunteer readers available, we may not be able to review every play beyond the first 20. In that case, your email summary, may help to determine which plays get read and ranked by our team.
6. The 3 highest ranked plays, will be given a Staged Reading. The best play from the season, may be considered for a Full Production Run.
7. Up to 2 plays from those submit to the Competition, that did not receive a Staged Reading, may be considered for a Workshop (see below).
8. Scripts should be original, completed (or close to it), unpublished works of professional quality, that have not yet had a full production at a community or professional theatre.
9. There is no restriction on the subjects and topics that can be submitted for consideration.
10. The series is open to artists of all ages, religions, races and creed.
11. Script word count should be 20,000 words or less.
12. The script should ideally take 90 minutes to 2 hours to perform. Regular length plays rather than shorts, often offer greater production viability.
13. Plays with smaller casts (under 7 characters) are preferred, but a larger cast size will be considered. We also prefer shows designed to be performed on one set, with an eye toward ease of future community theatre productions. Flexible sets are also welcome.
14. No hardcopy paper manuscripts will be accepted. All submissions must be digital and sent via e-mail to NewPlaywrights@villagerstheatre.org.

1. Authors name, address, phone number and email
2. Title of play
3. Genre of play (comedy, drama etc)
4. Word count
5. Number of Pages
6. Number of Characters
7. Brief description of story’s premise
8. Character breakdown (Name/Role, Gender, Age Range, Lead/Supporting/Featured, Physical/Personality Traits)
9. Detailed Synopsis of play
10. Brief Bio of Author
11. Where and when have you held reading workshops for your submission(s)?
12. Your availability for a Staged Reading in March or April of next year?
13. Your availability for a Talk Back the last 2 weekends in January that following year.