Powerstories Theatre is thrilled to be hosting the Voices Playwriting Festivals again this year as part of our 2022 Season. There is no fee to submit your play(s). Last year’s Voices of Truth and Voices of Women Theatre Festivals greatly expanded our playwright’s audience and creative network throughout the United States and beyond. The two festivals presented over 30 plays by up-and-coming new playwrights with vibrant voices and stories. During a difficult time in our history, the stories reminded us we have much to learn by listening to each other, and our similarities outweigh our differences.
The Voices of Truth and the Voices of Women Theatre Festivals are two different festivals produced by Powerstories Theatre. The festivals offer an artistic platform empowering, encouraging, and enabling diverse voices to inspire audiences worldwide through the gift of sharing strong voices and meaningful stories. Powerstories is proud to provide opportunities for artists and playwrights of all genres to share their original plays and musicals to our expanding community and audiences near and far. Both festivals will offer seven evenings each of performances highlighting humorous, heartbreaking, eye-opening, and conversation-starting plays and musicals.
All the selected plays will be considered for possible mainstage production at Powerstories Theatre for the next or upcoming seasons.
Your main goal is to produce a quality production. We understand some of you will be presenting a staged reading, some a fuller production. Your play can be a full production with a minimal set or a staged reading. Each submitting playwright will be responsible for all costs related to casting, directing, and mounting the show to achieve the festival goals. All proceeds from ticket sales will go to Powerstories Theatre.
If selected, your play will be presented on a given night during the festival, followed by a live Playwright talkback. Additionally, your play will be part of our Encore Program, where viewers can watch your play after its initial debut over 48 hours. Each submitting playwright will be responsible for DIY self-producing: casting, directing, and mounting the show.
Due to COVID-19, artists will be asked on their application to choose one of the following methods to produce their work:
- Live In-Theatre Performance at Powerstories with an audience – These performances will be live-streamed. (We will be following all recommended COVID-19 procedures and protocols.)
- Prerecorded Performance – Prerecording on Zoom (or another platform) and live streaming using Powerstories’ platform.
For both options, the Playwright must be available for post-show talkback Q&A after the performance. The directors and cast are also highly encouraged to attend the Q&A.
Each submission will be time-stamped, and you may submit to one or both festivals by choosing your preferences in the submission form.
An artistic committee will review all plays and proposals. Selections will be announced by mid-January 2022 or earlier on social and by email notification. Submissions will be reviewed in consideration of the following criteria:
- Your submission is congruent with the mission of Powerstories Theatre – staging true stories to open minds and hearts.
- Your submission supports diversity and inclusion.
- Your submission reflects overall quality and is a fully developed and well-written play
- Strongest consideration will be given to new works.
- Your submission is no shorter than 20 to no longer than 90 minutes
- Shorter products can be considered for Friday Night Shorts, a combination of two short plays
- The playwright is willing to have their play live-streamed and be available for a playwright talkback either in-person (if produced in theatre) or on Zoom (if prerecorded).
- If selected, your play needs to be exclusively presented in conjunction with Powerstories Theatre and cannot be produced elsewhere during these times: December 2021 through April 2022 for Voices of Truth and June through August 2022 for Voices of Women.
Submit now through December 15, 2021 from anywhere in the world. www.powerstories.com/festivals-submission