What She Said New Play Festival Call For Submissions

The festival will feature 5-7 short plays and monologues written by playwrights who have experienced womanhood in all its intersectionality. What She Said looks to shift focus toward women in a powerful tribute to their diverse and unique experiences.

Submit your work(s) any time between now and October 31, 2023.

Though there are no conditions set on structure, content, or genre, we’re seeking works that fit this year’s theme “Undaunted;” this theme can be interpreted a variety of ways, especially in the context of women’s stories, and we encourage you to explore.

As this is a new play festival, our goal is for our directors to be able to bring forth a playwright’s vision for their play and enhance the storytelling possibilities. Our hope is that playwrights will be in contact with our directors during the process with the ability to meet virtually to discuss content and concepts.

Additionally, as this is a festival with multiple plays, the technical elements must be simple and will be a consideration as we are selecting plays. Our focus will be on exploring the words and story and less so on creating a full production.

‍Plays will be selected based on:

• Relevance to the spirit of the festival – Celebrating women and what they have to say
• Excellence of work
• Priority may be given to playwrights with regional ties.
• Adherence to ‘The Details’ (Download attached PDF)

‍The Details:

• There is no fee to submit.
• Open to playwrights who've experienced womanhood in all its intersectionality.
• A playwright can submit up to 2 plays, but they must be submitted separately.
• Plays should meet the theme of the festival and the title page should describe how it meets the theme.
• The plays should have been written within the last 5 years.
• Each submission must be no more than 20 pages (excluding title page) at a font no smaller than 12pt.
• Plays submitted must be unpublished, but may have been previously workshopped or produced. 

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‍To Submit:

• Script must be submitted electronically in PDF format to whatshesaidfest@gmail.com
• Title page must contain: Playwright name, city of origin, current contact information and a brief description of how your play meets the theme of “Undaunted”
• Submission Deadline: October 31st at 11:59pm.
• In your submission email, please include a short bio
• You will receive confirmation that submissions have been received – no other contact will be made unless the script is selected for production.

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‍Selected Plays:

• Will receive 3 staged performances May 9-11, 2024. (Additional performances may be added)
• Will be awarded a $100 prize.
• Will be allotted 2 tickets to any performance.

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Correspondence:

• All submissions and correspondence should be by email: whatshesaidfest@gmail.com
• Please allow for up to two weeks for follow up to any questions.
• When submitting, make sure you’ve attached your play.
• If you do not receive an automatically generated response from our email, please double check the details of the email and send it again. Sometimes, emails sent in quick succession will only receive one automated response.

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Thank you for trusting us with your work!