Play Script Submissions
Submissions to the 2025 New Works Festival are now closed.
Thank you to all who submitted. We will be in touch by June 1.
New Works Festival: September 2025
Missed the Boat Theatre’s inaugural New Works Festival will take place with staged readings in September 2025 at a venue to be determined in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. This festival is an opportunity designed to support and encourage the development of new plays and musicals from a Catholic Christian worldview. 2-4 scripts will be selected to receive a rehearsal workshop with a director and performers culminating in a public staged reading followed by a moderator-led talkback. Notification of selection will be made by June 1, 2025.
Submission Rules
To be considered for inclusion in the festival, plays or musicals must be submitted on or before 11:59 pm Central Time, April 30, 2025.
Works must be the original work of the submitting playwright(s), and must include written permission from any contributing writers for submission.
Works must be a full-length play or musical of at least 80 minutes. If submitting a musical, you must include the book and score, for at least piano accompaniment, as well as recorded audio files of 2-3 demo songs.
Casts can be of any size in the script, though please be aware that extra doubling or consolidation of ensembles may occur for the Festival staged reading if your script is selected.
Works may include sections of dialogue in other languages, however the majority of text must be in English.
Work must never have been performed as a full production (previous staged readings are acceptable).
Limit one submission per author. If you do submit more than one piece, only the one submitted first will be read.
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The mission of Missed the Boat Theater is to foster, vibrant, Catholic community by producing quality, artistic creations on the stage. Playwrights do not necessarily need to be Catholic or write about religious topics; however, submissions that draw conclusions of defiance or hostility towards the teachings of the Catholic Church will not be considered. We are open to works that grapple with the challenging realities of human existence, but works should ultimately present a Catholic worldview in their totality. If you have questions about this, feel free to reach out to newworks@missedtheboattheatre.com.
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Submitted as a single PDF—one file only (with the exception of musicals, which can be uploaded in two files: one for the book and one for the score). No hard copies accepted.
Submissions must be blinded: any script (or score) that contains personal information about the playwright, including their name, will not be considered.
Page 1 MUST include: a brief summary of the play’s plot (200-word maximum), the setting, and a cast list that includes each character’s name, along with a brief description.
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Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of judges who will evaluate them for “readiness” (i.e. no songs or scenes are missing, no major plot holes, etc.), then score them based on artistic merit and mission alignment.
Note: Submissions are open to all, but some preference may be given to our local community, in the interest of supporting Minnesota artists and fostering the local creative community.
Directors, dramaturgs, assistant directors, and music directors will be hired by the theater (playwright requests will be considered but not guaranteed).
Because this is a first-time festival and we are a small community theater, we are unable to provide payment or reimbursement for travel. We can likely arrange for housing with a host family if mutually agreed upon; private accommodations are not provided.
Rehearsal workshops will be scheduled based on creative team availability, aiming for 20-24 hours of rehearsal time. (This can be expanded to up to 3 weeks or consolidated to a one-week intensive including the weekend, particularly if the playwright travels from out-of-town.)
The New Works Festival exists first and foremost to assist playwrights in the development of their plays and hopefully prepare them for eventual full production. As such, it is strongly recommended that playwrights attend their rehearsal workshop and the staged reading of their play in person. However, because we know that travel costs may be prohibitive for some, we are open to considering virtual attendance to some portion of the rehearsals. Playwright should still be heavily available during the Festival time frame for regular check-ins with the director and/or virtual attendance at portions of rehearsals.
High-quality video recordings of the staged reading will be made available to all presented playwrights.
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Submission period: April 1 - April 30
Review Phase by Panel: May 1-31
Winners notified & Festival date announced: On or before June 1, 2025
Pairing of directors and playwrights and scheduling conversations: Throughout June
Deadline for Playwright to confirm attendance at Workshop & Festival: July 3, 2025
Actor Auditions: late July/early August 2025
New Works Festival: September 2025
Exact festival dates will be finalized based on conflicts provided at the time of script submission, to support selected playwrights’ in-person attendance as much as possible
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Have a script that fits Missed the Boat’s mission but has previously been produced and is therefore ineligible for the Festival? We’d still be happy to get to know your work! Script submissions are permitted year-round for potential consideration in our upcoming season(s). Learn more below.
Questions? Email newworks@missedtheboattheatre.com.
Be sure to do so well enough in advance that they may be answered prior to the deadline. We cannot guarantee a reply sooner than three business days after we have received your questions. Any scripts submitted after the above date will not be considered.
Year-Round Script Submissions
Missed the Boat Theatre strives to champion new and emerging playwrights whose scripts align with a Catholic worldview with great artistic merit. If you are a playwright interested in submitting your script, we encourage you to first review our Past Productions and read About Us to ensure your work aligns with our mission.
If you would like to submit a script for consideration for production, you may do so by filling out the form below. Unsolicited script submissions are read as time allows and when we are in the process of selecting shows for upcoming seasons; as such, we do not guarantee a response to your submission, though we are grateful to receive it. Thank you for your understanding and interest in collaborating!