SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES, TIPS, and SUBMISSION FORM FOR YOUNG WRITERS 2026!
GUIDELINES
To submit your short play you must fill out the Young Writers Short Play Festival 2026 Submission Form and then email your short play to Education@MadLab.net.
For more information, contact: James Blackmon, Education Director – Education@MadLab.net
GUIDELINES
- The Young Writers Short Play Festival 2026 will be summer of 2026, at MadLab.
- Each playwright may submit only one play.
- Please submit your play as a word, google doc, or .pdf file.
- Please use the Samuel French Play Formatting Guidelines for how to properly format your play.
- Plays must run approximately 10 minutes. Don't know how long your play is? Using the Samuel French Play Formatting Guidelines, 1 page will equal approximately 1 minute. Plays with different formatting, monologues, or lots of chunky text, however, will run longer. The BEST way for you to know how long your play runs is to read it out loud to yourself or with friends!
- If you are selected for Young Writers, it is expected that as a young playwright, you will be open to the learning process and accept that writing is rewriting. You will be mentored by professional playwrights and directors. Cuts and revisions will be requested, based on content, structure, character development, runtime or length of play and more. Our expectation is that your play will continue to run approximately 10 minutes throughout the revision process. We are looking for young playwrights who are willing to make the revisions that are requested to improve the piece or to limit the runtime to 10 minutes. Please be aware of this expectation.
- For Young Writers 2026 we are looking for short plays that are compelling, funny, sad, dramatic, relevant, moving, poignant, entertaining, etc. However, please be aware that plays depicting graphic violence, sexual acts, illegal drug use, inappropriate language or excessive profanity will most likely not be accepted. If accepted, you will be expected to make recommended revisions.
- All plays should include a cover sheet that includes the play's name, playwright's name, your teacher's name, and your high school's name, a list of characters, and set and prop needs.
- The deadline for play submissions is 11:59p, Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
- The most successful short plays and the plays with the best chance at being selected for the festival are not only 10 minutes long but are also 10 minutes long in the world of your play. Think of it like this - if there was a running clock on the wall of the set of your play, and your play starts at 5:00pm, the clock should read 5:10p when your play is done.
- Therefore, the most successful short plays and the plays with the best chance at being selected for the festival are about events that happen during a single moment in time. Like at a birthday party, or at a family dinner, or at school in class, or standing on the sidewalk, or sitting in a restaurant, etc.
- Try to avoid multiple scenes with multiple scene changes and locations in your play. Multiple scenes and multiple locations are much more difficult to produce in a 10-minute short play festival setting. They are also harder to write.
- It is important that as a writer you write about what you know. Maybe you've been through a lot in your life. Or maybe you've had a lot of funny things happen to you. Or maybe you know some very interesting people. These experiences and relationships are a great foundation upon which to create a story you can tell in 10 minutes or in 2 hours. Professional playwrights often write about the things they know. This is not to suggest that you write an autobiography. Not at all! The goal is to use your own life experiences as a foundation in order to create a story that feels genuine and authentic. Just remember that the best source for ideas, characters and material is right in front of you.
- HERE'S THE EXCEPTION - If you have a really wacky sense of humor, can make people laugh, and know how to write really great, off the wall comedy, go for it! The most important thing needed to write great comedy is to have wit and a great sense of humor.
To submit your short play you must fill out the Young Writers Short Play Festival 2026 Submission Form and then email your short play to Education@MadLab.net.
For more information, contact: James Blackmon, Education Director – Education@MadLab.net
ABOUT
The Young Writers Program began in 2011, with the education program moving through the spring, and the first production in
July of 2012. Since our first year, we have worked with high school playwrights from all across central Ohio. From working with playwright mentors to stage readings to production, the students in Young Writers enter the program with a script and conclude
the program as produced playwrights. This year will be our 15th year of the program and we look forward to working with
our new group of students!
The Young Writers Program began in 2011, with the education program moving through the spring, and the first production in
July of 2012. Since our first year, we have worked with high school playwrights from all across central Ohio. From working with playwright mentors to stage readings to production, the students in Young Writers enter the program with a script and conclude
the program as produced playwrights. This year will be our 15th year of the program and we look forward to working with
our new group of students!
Big thanks to our generous sponsors for their support of all of our programs!
