Calling experienced or aspiring playwrights!
Our short play competition, now in its 18th year, is now open for entries. We are looking for short plays, 8-18 minutes long. Chosen entries will be assigned to directors and presented at the theatre in our next season. This is your chance to get your work staged.
Deadline for applications: 16 June 2024 - we will accept entries up to midnight!
Note this is a shorter submission window than in past years, so get writing!
Performance dates: - to be confirmed.
Please check the rules before applying, especially numbers 10, 11 and 12:
Entries must be submitted in PDF, MS Word, or plain text format. PDF submissions must have the author metadata removed.
The preferred formatting is size 12 Arial font, double-spaced with page numbers.
Entries must be submitted anonymously. Neither the writer’s name nor their details should appear on the script. Entries not complying with these rules will be rejected.
Scripts should have a running time of between 8 and 18 minutes (approx 1100-2400 words as a rough guide, but this can vary considerably, depending on action and pacing), be laid out as per the rules, and not have been performed or published elsewhere. Note that performance running time is not the same as reading time!
So, you should make sure your name is not on your script and attach it to an email to [email protected], with a covering email, which must include the following details:
- author’s name,
- author’s postcode
- title of the entry.
Maximum of 3 entries per person.
There is no entry fee.
Open to members and non-members who live in a 20-mile radius of Progress Theatre, Reading.
Good luck!
Progress Theatre is a not-for-profit community theatre staffed entirely by volunteers. WriteFest is primarily a development opportunity for writers local to Reading and there will be no payment associated with performance. Successful writers will be offered free tickets to a preview performance, which is not open to the general public.