​​​The Geneva Theatre Guild is now accepting submissions for their annual Playwrights’ Play Readings event! Submissions of original short plays, with runtimes of 30 minutes (approximately 30 pages) or less, will be accepted until February 7, 2026. The window will close on February 7th or once 150 plays have been received.
The Guild will, once again, present live staged readings of the winning plays at local venues around the Geneva area. The performances will be held on April 17, 18, & 19, 2026. All selected playwrights will be invited to attend the performances and participate in a talk-back session after each play.
Every script that meets our guidelines will be put through our blind review process and the final selections to be presented this season will be chosen by our Play Selection Committee. The playwrights of the chosen scripts will be notified mid-March.
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The guidelines for submission are as follows:
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· All plays should be submitted electronically through this Google Form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1gtirsv7n24_mG40CbF0NnVCqpiOCPOf3KVsjK5qu2Fk/edit PLEASE NOTE: EMAILED SCRIPTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
· Include a brief synopsis of the plot, setting, and a list of characters before the first page of dialogue.
· All pages must be numbered.
· Limit - One play per author.
· Plays should be unpublished at the time of submission and not previously submitted to the Geneva Theatre Guild's Playwrights' Play Readings.
· Plays should be human-generated only, no AI. (Trust us when we say that we can tell the difference.)
· PLEASE NOTE: Submissions will be accepted until February 7th OR UNTIL 150 PLAYS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED. When the cap is reached, the submission window will close and the link to the Google Form will be disabled.
For any questions, please email us at info@genevatheatreguild.org.
Emailed scripts will not be accepted.
MORE ABOUT GTG's ANNUAL
PLAYWRIGHTS' PLAY READINGS​​
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 playwrights to submit
their unpublished works of short plays - all plays submitted should be
timed at no more than 30 minutes (approximately 30 pages).
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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. When all scripts have been reviewed
the required amount of times, 5 to 7 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.
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But, you may ask: What is a play “reading?”
It is one of the most important parts of the theatrical process!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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