Submissions

First Run Theatre is seeking submissions for our 2027 season.
Submissions open January 1, 2026.

Submissions for our Spectrum Festival of Short Plays are open until July 31.
Submissions for our Mainstage Season are open until September 1.

First Run Theatre’s mission is to stage works that have never been performed before from writers in the Midwest of the USA. Our season consists of two major parts:

  • The Spectrum Festival of Short Plays (currently in the spring), a program of 6-10 short plays that can be performed in about 10 minutes, maximum 15 minutes.
  • Our Mainstage productions (currently two per year in August & November), fully staged, full length plays. These can be two one-acts that would be performed as one production.
  • There is a $20.00 fee for each Mainstage/Full Length and a $15.00 fee for each Short/Spectrum script submitted. Paypal buttons to pay the fee are on the submission pages linked below.
  • First Run Theatre will award a $50.00 stipend will be awarded to playwrights whose work is produced for our Spring Spectrum production.
  • A $150.00 stipend to playwrights whose work is produced for our August & November Mainstage productions.
  • If you have financial difficulty paying the submission fee, please include your reasons with your contact info in your submission.  If you are a student and would like to apply for a discount in cost for submission, please include a scan of your student ID with your contact info in your submission.

Finalist Main Stage Scripts Will Receive

  • Four full-length plays chosen as finalists will receive a workshop / staged reading with local professional actors and directors at The Chapel Sanctuary for the Arts near Forest Park in St. Louis
  • A talk-back session following each reading with audience feedback on the scripts.  
  • Playwrights are encouraged to attend the workshops.

Selected Main Stage Scripts Will Receive

  • A stipend of $150 to the playwrights.
  • Fully staged productions (August and November) in a major U.S. city (St. Louis, MO) by an established (21 years) theater company, First Run Theatre.
  • A two week run with six performances.
  • Production includes local professional actors & directors, lights, set, and costumes.
  • Performance in a professional quality theatrical setting, The Kranzberg Black Box, in the heart of St. Louis’ vibrant Grand Center Arts District.
  • An opportunity to work with the director of the production to collaborate on the vision for the play.

Selected Spectrum Short Play Scripts Will Receive

  • A stipend of $50 each to the playwrights.
  • A fully staged production (March) in a major U.S. city (St. Louis, MO) by an established (21 years) theater company, First Run Theatre.
  • A two-week run with six performances.
  • Performance in a professional quality theatrical setting: The Chapel Sanctuary for the Arts within walking distance of the city’s beautiful Forest Park and its attraction.
  • A professional production with actors and directors, lights, costumes, props.
  • an opportunity to work with the directors of the production to collaborate on the vision for the plays.

SUBMISSION TIMINGS FOR THE NEXT SEASON

Spectrum: January 1 to July 31

Mainstage: January 1 to September 1.

Plays submitted outside these dates will not be accepted.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

  1. Geographical Limitation

First Run Theatre accepts script submissions from playwrights based in the Midwest of the USA, only, i.e. the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

  1. No prior performances 

The play must never have been produced before. We do not consider script-in-hand, staged readings or workshops to be productions. If in doubt, contact us. If at any point after submission your work is performed, you must inform us, and the script will be removed from consideration.

  1. Cast size and sets

Due to our performance spaces the cast size and staging are subject to some limitations.  See the individual submission pages for details.

  1. Script format

Your script should be submitted as a pdf or Word file, in any standard theatre format. If in doubt, ask us ​for an example. The script must have the following.

1.     A title page without playwright identification or contact information.
2.     A synopsis of the play on the first script page.
2.     Numbered pages.
3.     A cast list. If doubling is recommended, you must include which roles may be doubled.
4.     A description of all sets needed for the play or suggestion on how it is to be staged.

To reduce any possibility of bias the plays are sent to the reviewers with no information on the playwright.     

  1. Limits on numbers of submissions

A playwright can submit a maximum of two mainstage and two Spectrum plays each year. Plays considered in previous years can be resubmitted, however we recommend that the script have some re-writes to improve the chances of selection.

Click the links below to submit a script.

To Submit Scripts for Mainstage Production

To Submit Scripts for Our Spectrum Festival