​

Geneva Theatre Guild aims to bring ALL kinds of theatre to the Geneva area in the Finger Lakes Region of New York - including new, original works!

 

Each year, we put out an "open call" for amateur playwrights to submit their unpublished works of short plays - all plays submitted should

be timed at no more than 30 minutes (approximately 25-28 pages).

​

The event has gained an international reputation and we have to cap our submissions at 150 short plays on a first-come-first-serve submission basis! When that cap is reached, the rigorous selection process of our volunteer readers and Play Selection Committee begins.

 

During this review process, playwrights' names are removed from the

scripts to avoid any bias and each script is read by at least 3 volunteer readers. When all scripts have been reviewed the required amount of times, 

5 to 6 of the highest-rated entries are performed in a series of script-in-hand staged readings by local actors at venues all over the Geneva area.​

​​​​

But, you may ask: What is a play “reading?”

It is one of the most important parts of the theatrical process!

​

A play reading is the most basic version of any great play.

Actors deliver their lines directly from the script with minimal direction

and movement, but in character and with feeling. No props, no costumes

or lighting, though someone may read stage directions aloud to set

the scene for the audience.

​

Unlike books or short stories, play scripts are mostly dialogue.

Hearing the words read aloud is vital to a playwright for making revisions. Before props, costumes or movement are added, the flow of the words and

the delivery of the story is worked and reworked numerous times.

​​

A play reading is the first step a script takes before

becoming a staged performance. The audience members are

an invaluable part of this process with reactions to the play.

​

In this grass-roots theatre project, you can be a featured playwright,

one of our volunteer readers, an actor, a director, or part of our beloved audience - a true testament to the community theatre process!

​