Road Theatre Company Accepting Submissions For 11th Annual Summer Playwrights Festival

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, remain committed to their meaningful mission to produce and develop New Work for the Stage. 11th Annual Summer Playwrights Festival begins on July 26 and continue through August 2, 2020.

SPF mounts 30-40 staged readings of new plays in 8 exciting days, and is now the largest staged reading festival in the nation, with playwrights from around the country and around the world participating . It is made possible in part through the generous support of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Each reading is followed by a talk-back with the playwrights, directors and casts and a reception featuring complimentary food, drink and live music in our gallery space and cantina. Readings are held in both our Historic Lankershim Arts Center Theater and Gallery and in our 77-seat theater in the NoHo Senior Arts Colony. Although we receive hundreds of submissions for our festival, new and established playwrights are encouraged to submit.

Past playwrights have included D.L. Coburn, Lisa Loomer, Sharr White, Marisa Wegrzyn, Craig Wright, Wendy MacLeod, Lucy Thurber, Mo Gaffney, Keith Huff, Brett Neveu, Scooter Pietsch, Craig Pospisil, Julie Marie Myatt, and Martyna Majok. Guest artists have included 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, many others.

The Road Theatre Company is dedicated to producing new plays.

"The Road Theatre has produced 24 plays from the Summer Playwrights Festival on our main stages including our current season selection, The Spanish Prayer Book by Angela J. Davis (SPF8), and last season's The Rescued by Julie Marie Myatt (SPF8) and Death House by Jason Karasev (SPF8). We are very proud to bring these new plays straight from the festival to our audiences."

-Founding Festival Director Scott Alan Smith

"The Summer Playwrights Festival is our theatrical gift to Los Angeles- an eight day bacchanal of words, feelings, ideas, food and music that celebrates playwrights, actors and musicians. It is a chance for all of us to share our diverse and collective humanity."

-Elizabeth Sampson, Festival Director

"The Road Theatre Company's Summer Playwrights Festival is a true celebration of the art of playwriting and performance. As we embark on SPF 11, we hope to bring some exciting new works, and unique voices to our Los Angeles theatre community. We expect another thrilling summer at our Summer Playwrights Festival."

-Tracey Silver, Executive Director

"The Summer Playwrights Festival is a joyous, creative whirlwind for the Los Angeles theatre community. I am honored to be one of the three women taking the reins this year and I am so excited to see what we can create"

-Mallory Erwin, Associate Festival Director

"Eleven years ago Scott Alan Smith, approached me with an idea: A Summer Playwrights Festival. I said yes and 11 years later it is still running and is still the largest festival of its kind in the nation. Playwrights from all over the world participate and 24 plays have been produced on our mainstage. It is a theatrical party where the community and the company come together as one. I hope you will join our team to make #SPF11 our greatest to date!"

-Carlyle King, Executive Producer

"Eleven years ago Scott Alan Smith, Associate Artistic Director Emeritus, had an idea: a Summer Playwrights Festival, and under his direction it became an integral part of the Road's yearly programming and the largest festival of its kind in the nation. As we enter our second decade of festival programing the leadership baton has passed to Festival Directors Elizabeth Sampson, Tracey Silver and Mallory Erwin. This summer 2020 we eagerly look forward to the presentation of New Works by local, national and international playwrights at The Road. Here's to our 11th Anniversary Festival!"

-Taylor Gilbert, Founder and Artistic Director

It is almost impossible to believe that this wonderful, 11-year-old festival has grown to the largest of its kind in the entire country, and continues to be produced by our volunteer company members, now 170-strong, in 8 art-filled days of new plays, talkbacks, music, food and drink and above all else, a real sense of community. Theatregoers from all over the country have visited the festival and once they experience it, come back year after year. Thanks to the passion and skill of Director Emeritus Scott Alan Smith and the festival's new directors along with a dedicated group of producers and the profound efforts of the Road Theatre Company, the greatest festival in the U.S. lives on.

- Sam Anderson, Artistic Director

Submission Information:

-Each submission is read and evaluated by our artistic staff with recommendations made to the festival producers, who evaluate the plays and narrow the field to the final 20-40. Each play receives a minimum of two reads. The SPF11 staff regrets that we do not provide feedback on any submitted materials.

-Plays of any length or genre are eligible; however, to be included in SPF11, the work must remain unproduced on the west coast and unpublished through August 2, 2020.

-Early submissions are strongly encouraged.

-No agent is required.

-ONLY electronic copy applications are accepted. No hard copies, please.

Play Format Guidelines:

-All scripts must be in a PDF file format. Name your file with the title of the play first. No hard copy submissions will be accepted.

-Please put your direct contact information on your play (your name and email address).

-Plays must be paginated and include a list of characters.

-Please do not send a synopsis or playwright resume.

Submission Window:

-We will accept submissions for SPF11 between 12:01 am on January 2, 2020, and 11:59 pm on March 1, 2020. We cannot accept any plays past this deadline, so please plan accordingly.

-Plays of all lengths (ten-minute, one-act, full-length, and solo performance) are eligible for submission during this time

-Official SPF11 selections will be made on June 15, 2020.

Fee:

-$15 for scripts over 30 pages (full length) and $10 for scripts under 30 pages (short form).

-The fee can be submitted via this link. Upon payment, you will receive an automatic reply to your email inbox with script submission instructions.

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