Michigan Playwrights Festival Submissions Now Open

After the success of the inaugural Michigan Playwrights Festival seven years ago, Theatre NOVA continues its semi-annual tradition, announcing a call for submissions for this season’s festival. Seven new plays by Michigan playwrights will be selected for presentation in staged reading format August 21-25, 2024. The deadline for submissions is January 1, 2024. Theatre NOVA will announce selected plays in April.

The festival will feature full-length plays. The submitted play must be written by a Michigan resident, ready to be produced, but must not have received a full production at another theatre. Those interested in submitting plays for consideration should send complete, finished scripts in PDF format to TheatreNovaPlaySubmissions@gmail.com with “Festival Play Submission” and the play title in the subject line. The email should include the playwright’s name, address, phone, and a two-sentence synopsis of the play. 

Theatre NOVA focuses on new plays and playwrights and is dedicated to working with new and local playwrights to help them develop their craft and offer brand-new plays for audiences. The theatre created the Michigan Playwrights Festival to nurture Michigan playwrights and to develop full-length plays for future seasons. Plays that were products of Michigan Playwrights Festivals that have received their world premieres at  Theatre NOVA include “Mazel Tov, John Lennon” by David Wells (Wilde Award for Best New Script), “Resisting”  by David Wells (Wilde Award for Best Original Production), “Mrs. Fifty Bakes a Pie” by Linda Ramsay Detherage,  “Clutter” by Brian Cox (Wilde Award for Best New Script), “Irrational” by R. MacKenzie Lewis and David Wells  (Wilde Award for Best New Script), “Katherine” by Kim Carney (Wilde Award Nomination for Best New Script),  “Spin” (aka “Swimming While Drowning”) by Emilio Rodriguez, and “Bird” by Kristin Hanratty. 

Theatre NOVA is Ann Arbor’s resident professional new play theatre. Its mission is to raise awareness of the value and excitement of new plays and playwrights and provide resources for playwrights to develop their craft by importing, exporting, and developing new work. This activity is supported by the MICHIGAN ARTS AND CULTURE COUNCIL and the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS.