BPF: Submit!

Eligibility

  • This is a local festival: Playwrights must currently reside or work in Maryland or the District of Columbia or have previously maintained their primary domicile, or place of employment, within Maryland or the District of Columbia.
  • This is a new play festival: Plays cannot have had a staged production at the time of submission to the festival. Readings and workshops are not considered productions. If the play does receive a production after submission and before BPF production, the playwright must inform the BPF.

Public Readings

Plays receiving public readings are chosen from that season's submitted scripts highly rated by our readers/evaluators.

BPF public readings are open to the public with no admission fee. They are scheduled on alternate Saturdays from late November through the middle of March. A short play might be read following the BPF public meeting held regularly on the third Tuesday of each month. Other readings may be scheduled ad hoc as demand warrants.

The readings are rehearsed by an assigned director, and read by experienced actors. Each reading is followed by a discussion with the playwright(s) and director, and the actors and audience invited to participate.

If chosen for a reading,
  • The playwright shall provide a sufficient number of scripts for the actors and director.
  • The playwright or a proxy must be in attendance.
A reading is not required for a play to be chosen for production, nor is it a guarantee of production. BPF member theatres are independent producing organizations, each with their own tastes, ambitions and strengths. Each theatre chooses which play(s) they will produce based on their own criteria.

Submission Fee

There is a ten dollar ($10.00) submission fee. Checks must be made out to the Baltimore Playwrights Festival and should be attached to the submission material.
Note: The fee is used to help covering the cost of returning reader feedback to the playwright, awards to the playwrights of the top three productions, refreshments at the public readings, the kick off and awards ceremonies, and other BPF operating costs.

Submission Requirements

The BPF submission period is April 1 - September 30. All scripts must be submitted in DOC (preferred), PDF, or RTF format, emailed to the BPF Librarian (see below). The playwright must also send the BPF Librarian a submission packet with a check or money order attached for the submission fee.

  1. Submission Packet.
    The submission packet identifies the play and playwright, contact information, and optional supplemental information.
    • Submission Form.
      Please open one of the forms, download, fill out and print.
      Submission Form in DOC format
      Submission Form in PDF format
    • Submission Fee.
      A check or money order for $10.00 made out the Baltimore Playwrights Festival.
    • CDs.
      If your play is a musical or requires music, the music must be sent in on a CD.
    • Residency Document.
      If the playwright is not a Maryland or DC resident, a document must be submitted explaining when or how the playwright meets the BPF residency requirement. This can be as simple as a statement (in your own words) citing the dates of your residency in MD or DC.
    • Resubmission Document.
      If the playwright resubmits a play previously submitted to the BPF, a resubmission document must be included in the packet (see below for criteria).
  2. Script.
    Each script must be anonymous: Please remove any identidying information from title pages, headers, footers and elsewhere. Please include your name and the play title in the body of the email and attach the script. The script should include:
    • Title page
    • Synopsis (no more than one-half page in length)
    • Character listing (including gender, age range, and any features such as skin or hair color necessary to the script)
    • Setting (place and time)
    • Script (with page numbers)

    Standard play script format should be used, as it is designed to indicate the approximate reading time of the play. General rules are below, there are variations, but please be close to these guidelines:
    • margins: 1.5" left, 1" right, top and bottom
    • page numbers in upper right corner
    • 12 point either Courier New or Times Roman
    • character name 2.5" from left margin
    • dialogue running from left to right margin
    • stage directions 2.5" from left margin (italics OK)
  3. Submission Period: Scripts are accepted from April 1 through September 30, with the date of submission determined by the postmark on the submission packet. Submission packets postmarked from October through March will not be accepted. (Sorry, but we can only handle one season at a time.)

    4. Resubmissions

    • Any play resubmitted after previous Festival consideration must meet the following criteria:
    • Resubmissions must include with the submission packet a list of script revisions and rewrites undertaken by the playwright
    • Resubmissions must reflect a major rewrite: characters or scenes added or dropped, a new spine for the play chosen, a different theme focused on, etc.

    General Recommendations

    • One acts should not exceed one hour (50-60 pages) and full-length plays generally should not exceed two and one-half hours (150 pages).

    Submission Packets should be sent to:

    Baltimore Playwrights Festival
    PO Box 38537
    Baltimore, MD. 21231

    Questions? Ready to submit? Please email the librarian at librarian@baltplayfest.org