International Young Playwrights Festival
Young playwrights currently in grades 9-12 are invited to submit their original, one-act scripts to the contest. Plays must follow the content and formatting guidelines posted below to be eligible for consideration.
Submissions are open.
Deadline for script submissions is January 18, 2027.
Up to four plays will be selected for presentation in Doylestown.
Submission Guidelines
Playwrights must be in grades 9-12 (approx. ages 14-18)Plays must be the work of a single writer. Collaborations will not be considered at this time.
Plays must be original works. Adaptations, or works derived from other stories, or source material, will not be considered.
Plays can be about any subject, but writers should consider that some language and material may not be suitable for our audience.
Plays cannot include copyrighted material such as music, song lyrics, poetry, etc.
Plays should have a running time of 20 minutes or less (approximately 20 typed pages).
Script Formatting
Include a cover page that includes the following information:
title of the play
playwright’s name
playwright's email address
parent/guardian name
parent/guardian email address
school you attend
teacher’s name
Include a brief, one-paragraph synopsis of the play and character list on the page following the cover page:
include the name and a brief description of each character that speaks or appears onstage
characters that are spoken about but who do not appear onstage should not be included in the character list
Follow the formatting guidelines recommended by the Dramatists Guild, which can be found linked here. Scripts that do not follow this format may not be considered for production.
What happens if your play is selected?
All selected playwrights have the opportunity to revise their work prior to the presentation.
Each selected playwright must attend rehearsals and staged readings of the play at the festival.
The festival will be held in Doylestown, PA.
