Calling All Student Playwrights

Student playwrights are invited to submit short plays to be considered for Emerson Stage’s annual festival of new work (NewFest). Deadline to submit your play is Monday, October 16, 12:00 pm.

The NewFest Student Work (NFSW) showcase is open to all current undergraduate and graduate Emerson students. Playwrights should submit via this Google form.

NFSW is a separate opportunity from the Rod Parker Fellowship; submissions for that fellowship have closed.

In order for their work to be considered for the NFSW festival, playwrights must adhere to the following guidelines:

• Plays should be between 10 and 20 minutes long. Plays should be no more than 25 pages long.
• Play text should be 12-point Times New Roman font
• Plays must not require any more than five actors to perform. If a play envisions actors playing multiple roles, that should be made clear in the casting breakdown. Plays requiring more than five actors will not be considered.
• Playwrights can submit no more than two plays for consideration. Each script will require its own submission form.
• Playwrights must remove their name from their script.

Read full submission guidelines

The scripts will be vetted by a committee of students. Selected plays will be assigned a student director and presented in the Semel Theater in March 2024. There is no design support for these projects.

For more information, visit emersonstage@emerson.edu