Thanks to all the playwrights who submitted their work for consideration for SPF14. Official SPF14 selections will be announced by June 7th, 2023.

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY
Taylor Gilbert and Sam Anderson Present
the 14th Annual SUMMER PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

• SPF14, one of the Largest Playwright’s Festivals in the country, welcomes playwrights at all levels of their careers!
• Accepting submissions Wednesday, February 1st, 2023 through Wednesday, March 15th, 2023.
• Now in its 31st season THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, remain committed to our meaningful mission to produce and develop new work for the stage. We are thrilled to announce that the play submission process is now open for new and diverse plays to be considered for our Summer Playwrights Festival.
• Founding Artistic Director, Taylor Gilbert: “We can’t wait to open The Road to new theatrical Travelers. Making 2023, The Road Most Traveled!”

SUMMER PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL – SPF 14 – THE BASICS

• The 14th annual Summer Playwrights Festival will take place with in-person staged readings over the course of ten days from July 7th to 16th, 2023 at The Road Mainstage on Magnolia Blvd in North Hollywood, California.
• One of the largest staged reading festivals in the nation, SPF hosts a diverse gathering of playwrights from across the country and around the world.
• The Road’s Los Angeles location means we are able to cast our readings with a talented pool of professional actors. Casting adheres to the gender, race and other specifications of the playwright.
• SPF stage readings are performed under the guidance of talented directors. Each staged reading has a number of rehearsals. In the spirit of collaboration playwrights are welcome to attend rehearsals of their play either in person or on Zoom.
• SPF readings attract full houses of theatre savvy audiences including many artistic directors from other theatre companies eager to find challenging new works.
• Every performance is followed by a moderator led talkback with the playwright and director.
• We receive hundreds of submissions for SPF and we welcome all, whether established/published authors or first time playwrights.
• The first round of readers who submit their recommendations will not know the identity of the playwright. However, our Artistic Board and SPF Producers will have all the information you provide us in the submission form and will take factors such as race, gender and other identifiers into consideration when programming the festival.
• Our goal is to create a festival that welcomes all voices.

ALUMNI – SPF PLAYWRIGHTS AND GUEST ARTISTS

• PLAYWRIGHTS: John Patrick Shanley, Lisa Loomer, Mo Gaffney, Franky D. Gonzalez, Steve Yockey, William Mastrosimone, Harrison David Rivers, Jami Brandli, Lisa B. Thompson,, D.L. Coburn, Sharr White, Marisa Wegrzyn, Craig Wright, Wendy Macleod, Lucy Thurber,, Keith Huff, Brett Neveu, Scooter Pietsch, Craig Pospisil, Julie Marie Myatt and Martyna Majok.
• GUEST ARTISTS: Bryan Cranston, Laurie Metcalf, Jason Alexander, Zachary Quinto, Ann Cusack, Kathy Baker, Jennifer Tilly, Perry King, Rondi Reed, Tom Irwin, Nancy Travis, Gregory Harrison, Gale Harold, Robert Pine, Michael O’Neill, Harold Gould, Jon Polito, James Eckhouse, Lila Crawford, Zoe Perry and many others

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

• Plays of any length (ten-minute, one-act, full-length) or genre are eligible; however, to be included in SPF 14, the work must remain unproduced on the West Coast and unpublished through July 16, 2023.
• Each submission is read and evaluated by Road Company members with recommendations made to the Artistic Board and SPF Producers who then read and evaluate the recommended scripts and make the final choices for the plays that will be given staged readings at SPF14.
• Each play receives a minimum of two reading evaluations. The SPF 14 staff regrets that we do not provide feedback on submitted materials.
• The submission application will request your contact information and other information about your play. You will have the opportunity to volunteer additional information about yourself.
• Early submissions are strongly encouraged.
• No agent is required.
• ONLY electronic copy applications are accepted. No hard copies, please.

SCRIPT FORMAT GUIDELINES

• All scripts must be in a PDF file format. Name your file with the title of the play only.
• PLEASE REMOVE ALL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION (name, address, etc) FROM YOUR SCRIPT. WE ASK YOU DO THIS TO HELP US REDUCE BIAS IN THE EVALUATION PROCESS. Upon payment, you will receive two emails in your inbox. The first will be a receipt of payment, and the second will include details with script submission instructions. You may notice that a  file will be created with your name attached. That file is NOT visible to our readers, who will receive only your “blind” script and none of the information you include in the submission form.
• Scripts must be paginated and include a list of characters.
• Please include a brief synopsis of your play on the submission form.
• Additional instructions are included in the submission form.

SUBMISSION WINDOW

• We will accept submissions for SPF 14 between 12:01 am on Wednesday, February 1, 2023 through Wednesday, March 15th 11:59 pm. We cannot accept any plays past this deadline, so please plan accordingly.
• Official SPF 14 selections will be announced by June 7, 2023.

FEE INFORMATION & SUBMISSION LINK

• $20 for scripts over 30 pages (full length) and $15 for scripts under 30 pages (short form).
• PLEASE NOTE: If you are experiencing financial hardship at this time please send a note to SPF@roadtheatre.org and your fee will be waived, no questions asked.
• The fee can be submitted by clicking on the link below. Upon payment, you will receive two emails in your inbox. The first will be a receipt of payment and the second will include details with script submission instructions.
• If you do not receive a receipt of payment or submission instructions please check your spam filter.

For all other inquiries and/or further information, contact
SPF@roadtheatre.org