Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival 2026 Play Submission Guidelines

The Lanford Wilson New America Play Festival is seeking full-length plays and short plays

Open Submissions

• FULL-LENGTH - September 15 - October 15, 2025. Only accepting the first 400 script submissions. 
• SHORT PLAYS - September 15 - October 15, 2025. There is no submission limit for short plays.

Festival Dates

May 17-23, 2026

The Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival develops and champions vibrant new work that primarily features characters between the ages of 15 and 30. The Festival works to provide significant opportunities for college-aged actors and to incubate new American plays for both conservatory and professional stages.

The festival accepts full-length plays and short play submissions each year from playwrights nationwide, and selects five full-length plays and ten short plays to develop at the week-long event in the beautiful River Campus at Southeast Missouri State University.  Past playwrights include Obie-winners and graduates of esteemed programs such as Yale, NYU, Carnegie Mellon, UCLA, The Juilliard School, The Actors Studio, Columbia, USC, and the Iowa Playwrights Workshop.

At the end of the festival, one play is selected for the top prize and is considered for publication by Concord Theatricals, the world’s preeminent publisher and licenser of plays and musicals. The festival also features a significant conference component, with seasoned professionals leading workshops and masterclasses for student and early-career actors, writers, directors, and designers. Past speakers have included Molly Smith, former artistic director of the Tony-winning Arena Stage; Robert Barry Fleming, executive artistic director of the Tony-winning Actors Theatre of Louisville; Hana S. Sharif, former artistic director of the Tony-winning St. Louis Repertory Theatre; Lonny Price, multiple Emmy-winner and Tony-nominee director/actor; and many more.

Submission Guidelines for Full-Length Plays 

• Given the festival’s mission, all submitted full-length plays must feature at least four characters between the ages of 15 and 30 years old.
• We encourage submissions that offer substantial roles for young women and/or include characters whose gender identities fall outside binary gender categories.
• All submissions must be submitted via the submission form. No physical copies.
• Script must be original, unpublished, and unproduced (scripts that have had previous readings or workshop productions are acceptable).
• Script Formatting:
  • Standard format, such as Dramatists Guild Modern Stage Play, Final Draft, etc.
  • 12-point, standard font such as Times New Roman or Courier
  • Double-spaced
  • Numbered pages from the first page of the action/dialogue, excluding the title page, author information, setting, character descriptions, notes, etc.
• Unfortunately, the number of submissions prevents us from providing feedback on submitted scripts.
• There is a $15 fee for each submission that goes directly to supporting the playwrights, guest artists, and the operation of the Festival.
• Note on Fees: The Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival is committed to access and equity. If the submission fee creates a barrier, playwrights are invited to request a waiver using the form included below. All requests will be honored. For undergraduate and graduate student playwrights, there is no fee. Exemptions do not affect outcomes in any way.

Each of the Five Full-Length Finalists Receives

• A stipend of $750 upon arrival at the festival.
• Travel (air/ground transportation, including Uber/taxi to and from the airport, if applicable).
• Dormitory housing on the River Campus (private bedroom, with a shared common area, TV, kitchenette, and bath shared with one suitemate).
• Designated dinners and receptions.
• Two 3-hour rehearsals and a staged reading for the festival audience with
  • An assigned professional director
  • A cast of BFA actors, and
  • A Q&A feedback session after the reading.
• An all-access pass to the 2026 festival.
• Permanent listing of script synopsis, playwright bio, and contact and licensing information on the Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival website.

The Winning Full-Length Play will receive

• A world premiere in the 2026-2027 Dobbins Conservatory Mainstage Season (5 performances).
  • Royalties comparable to plays listed with Concord Theatricals.
• Consideration for publication by Concord Theatricals, the world’s most significant theatrical company, comprising the catalogs of R&H Theatricals, Samuel French, Tams-Witmark, and The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection.
• The playwright will be offered travel and housing during select rehearsals and performances.

Short Play Submission Guidelines

• Given the festival’s mission, all submitted short plays must include at least two characters between the ages of 15 and 30.
• We encourage submissions that offer substantial roles for young women and/or include characters whose gender identities fall outside binary gender categories.
• All plays must be submitted via the submission form. No physical copies.
• Script must be original, unpublished, and unproduced (previous readings or workshops are acceptable).
• Formatting:
  • Standard format, such as Dramatists Guild Modern Stage Play, Final Draft, etc.
  • 12-point, standard font such as Times New Roman or Courier
  • Double-spaced
  • Numbered pages from the first page of the action/dialogue, excluding the title page, author information, setting, character descriptions, notes, etc.
• Cast size must be two or more, with all roles ages 15-30.
• Plays must be twelve pages or under and/or run twelve minutes or less.
• Unfortunately, the number of submissions prevents us from providing feedback on submitted scripts.
• There is a $10 fee for each submission that goes directly to supporting the playwrights, guest artists, and the operation of the Festival.
• Note on Fees: The Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival is committed to access and equity. If the submission fee creates a barrier, playwrights are invited to request a waiver using the form included below. All requests will be honored. For undergraduate and graduate student playwrights, there is no fee. Exemptions do not affect outcomes in any way.

Each of the Ten Short-Play finalists will receive

• A stipend of $100 (if attending the festival).
• Dormitory housing on the River Campus (private bedroom, with a shared common area, TV, kitchenette, and bath shared with one suitemate).
• Designated dinners and receptions.
• A staged reading before the festival audience with an assigned professional director and a cast of BFA actors.
• All-access pass to the 2026 festival.
• World premiere in the 2026-2027 Dobbins Conservatory Signature Series Season, as part of an evening of short plays (3 performances)
  • Royalties, $25/performance, plus a paperback copy of the published book.

Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival 2026 Submission Form

If you have any questions or issues regarding submissions, please email Co-Artistic Director Tim Nicolai at tnicolai@semo.edu.