2025 LGBTQ+ Fresh Fruit Festival 10-Minute Play Contest Call For Submissions

The Fresh Fruit Festival -- New York premier LGBTQ arts festival -- is now accepting submissions for its annual 10-Minute Play Contest, open to LGBTQIA+ playwrights. The competition will be held the week of March 24 at Theatre for the New City.

"This contest is also about career-building, and showing the incredible range and diversity in the minds of current writers," says Frank Calo, artistic director of Fresh Fruit Fesival.

The Basics of the Festival:

• Competition week: March 24
• Located at Theatre for the New City (155 1st Ave., New York, NY 10003)
• Acceptance notification: The week of February 17
• No entry fees
• Play length: 10 minutes maximum
• Each play must be self-produced
• Each play will have tech time in the theatre and use of basic set pieces
• Three nights of competition: 24 ten-minute plays (eight plays each night)
• Day 1: Wednesday, March 26
• Day 2: Thursday, March 27
• Day 3: Friday, March 28
• Two winners announced each night by Fresh Fruit Judges and Audience Ballots, with one additional play chosen by the Fresh Fruit Judges.
• Nine plays will compete in the Finals on Sunday, March 30 for three grand prizes.
• All four finalist plays will go on to participate in the spring Mainstage Festival.
• Festival and winners promoted through JMGC llc

Prizes

• Each night: Top two winners will receive cash stipends.
• Finals: Top three winners will receive cash prizes, and a fourth Judges' Choice will appear in the Mainstage Festival.

Ticketing

• All tickets are $15 (cash-only) at the door.
• Advance purchase tickets for $12 at TICKETLEAP (handling fees may apply).
• Online ticket sales close the evening before each competition.

The Fresh Fruit Festival encompasses theater, performance, poetry, comedy, spoken word, music, dance, visual arts and some talents that defy categorization. Artists come from around the city, nation and, indeed, the world. Australia, Canada, Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle, Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, France, Maui, Israel, Italy, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and all of New York City's boroughs and suburbs have been represented. We offer local artists generous stipends and technical help through the generosity of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.