A Festival of Readings for Educational & Community Stages • Presented by CPA Theatricals and Gitelman & Good Publishers
Submission Guidelines
Submissions open January 3 and close February 3, 2026
No Submission or Participation Fees
We provide the venue, festival staff, and the opportunity to present your work;
participating companies are responsible for producing and staging their own readings.
The Spotlight New Works Fest is a curated festival dedicated to showcasing exceptional new plays written for the secondary theatre market—including high schools, colleges, and community theatres.
Each year, educational and community stages produce hundreds of thousands of performances. The Spotlight New Works Fest exists to help new work find a place within that ecosystem by highlighting plays that balance strong craft, theatrical vitality, and real-world production potential for these stages.
This is not a competition. Instead, the festival brings together a selected group of plays that demonstrate both artistic excellence and a clear understanding of how theatre is made and shared in educational and community settings.
Please carefully review the information below before submitting.
Eligibility
We are seeking complete, original scripts that feel ready to be produced and shared.
Previously produced works are welcome, provided they are not currently licensed by another publisher.
Full-length plays (60-100 pages)
Full-length plays with music (60-100 pages)
Full-length musicals (60-90 minutes)
10-20 minute musicals
No fewer than six / no more than eight performers required, except for short musicals (doubling is encouraged)
Musical either needs only one keyboard or will include tracks.
Our readers consider:
Dramatic structure and momentum
Character development and ensemble potential
Dialogue and theatrical voice
Staging feasibility for educational and community theatres
Overall clarity, craft, and production readiness
Who Should Submit
The Spotlight New Works Fest is for playwrights who are intentionally writing for educational and community production.
You may be a good fit if your work:
Is designed to be produced by high schools, colleges, or community theatres
Offers meaningful opportunities for student or community performers
Demonstrates strong dramatic structure, clear storytelling, and theatrical imagination
Balances artistic ambition with practical staging considerations
Previously produced works are welcome, provided you hold the rights to submit the script.
Review & Selection Process
Submissions to Spotlight New Works Fest are evaluated by a committee of readers using a shared scoring framework developed specifically for the festival.
Each script is read and assessed across multiple criteria, including suitability for educational and community stages, dramatic structure, ensemble value, theatrical imagination, and audience resonance. Scores help ensure consistency across readers while supporting thoughtful editorial judgment.
Spotlight New Works Fest is a curated festival, not a developmental workshop. While we are unable to provide individualized feedback or critiques on submissions, every play receives careful consideration through the committee review process. Final selections reflect both cumulative scoring and the overall balance of the festival lineup.
Finalists will be notified around March 15, 2026. All selection decisions are final.
A Note on Rights and Future Productions
Spotlight New Works Fest does not claim ownership, royalties, or future participation rights in submitted works. We do not require acknowledgments, producer points, or revenue participation for future productions. Playwrights retain full rights to their work.
How to Submit
Submissions must be original works. If a piece is based on previously copyrighted material, writers must provide proof of rights ownership or documentation confirming the work is in the public domain.
Before beginning the submission form, please be prepared to provide one complete PDF that includes a cover page, artistic statement, play synopsis, production and casting information, and the full script—formatted using standard script conventions.
For musical submissions, you’ll also be asked to share a single link to demo materials, including at least three song demos reflecting the style of the show, along with either a representative musical track or a piano/vocal score.
Before you submit, please read all of the information in our FAQ Page.
Accepted Scripts
Accepted participants are responsible for casting and rehearsing their reading and covering any presentation-related costs.
Participants will be provided with a list of local suggested directors and rehearsal spaces.
Participants will also receive direct, hands-on mentorship in self-producing their work—valuable professional development at no cost.
If selected, participants will be required to sign a participation agreement. You may review the agreement here.
Selected participants will be asked to submit a fully refundable $100 commitment deposit to confirm participation.