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The inaugural Fade To Black Arts Festival is coming to Houston,

June 8-14, 2025 and will attract thousands!

The Ensemble Theatre will select ten celebrated playwrights who

will receive a prestigious theatre reading across the city.

We can't wait to see the unique stories and creative visions that will

come from this exciting initiative.

_____________

FULL-LENGTH PLAY SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Submission Period: August 1 - September 15, 2024

𝗥𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦

  • The playwright must be the sole author of the submitted work.

  • The playwright must publicly and openly identify as African-American, Black, or of the African diaspora.

  • The author must be at least 18 years of age.

  • Previously published or produced work by the author is not allowed (See definitions below).

  • Play can have musical elements, but must not be categorized as a musical.

  • Play must not be written for children or youth.

  • Play must not be a film. Screenplays/scripts written for television or cinema will not be accepted.

  • The play must be a full-length work, typically ranging from 60 to 120 minutes in performance time.

  • The manuscript must be properly formatted according to industry standards (e.g., character names in all caps, stage directions in italics).

  • Each play submitted must be accompanied by a brief synopsis (one page or less) and a playwright biography (one page or less).

  • The play must be an original work and not an adaptation of another author’s material unless the original work is in the public domain.

𝗦𝗨𝗕𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗗𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗦

  • Fee: $25.00 per submission.

  • Limit: Maximum of 3 submissions per playwright.

  • Format: Online PDF submissions only.

  • Once submitted, no revisions to the script will be allowed unless specifically requested by the review panel.

  • Submission Period: August 1 - September 15, 2024

  • Script Evaluation Period: August 1 - November 1, 2024

  • Winners Announced: January 31, 2025

  • Festival: June 8-14, 2025

𝗗𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦

  • Produced: Your play was marketed for production date(s) by either you (its playwright) or a theatre company and was performed before an audience who purchased tickets to see the event.

  • Published: Your play is an officially published work and commands royalties from the producing theater each time it is performed.

  • Staged Readings: Staged readings (formal or informal) are not considered productions. If your play has only had public or private readings but has not been produced as a full-scale stage performance, you are permitted to submit the play.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Click Here!

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT!

Past Submissions

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So You Think You Can Write?

Script submissions will be accepted from

February 1, 2024, until April 1, 2024!

 

𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐧-𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧

𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧-𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬. 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝

𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐4 (𝟏𝟐:𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐌 𝐂𝐒𝐓) 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐4

(11:59 P𝐌 𝐂𝐒𝐓).

 

 

 

 

**************

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬]

 

*𝑻𝒆𝒏-𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒔
1. Playwright must be the sole author of the submitted work.

2. Playwright must publicly and openly identify themselves as African-American, Black, or of the African diaspora.

3. Previously published or produced work by the author or theatre/company is not allowed (See definitions below).

4. Play must run no longer than 10 minutes long on stage, but no shorter than 8 minutes. (Conduct informal readings to ensure).

5. Play should accommodate a “bare-stage” set requiring only a minimum of removable stage props and require basic lighting and

sound cues.

6. Play must not be a musical.

7. Play must not be written for children or youth.

8. Play must not contain characters that are under 17 years old.

9. Play must not be a re-submission of previous Fade To Black play festival seasons.

10. Play must not be considered a translation or adaptation.

11. Play must not be a film. Screenplays/Scripts written for television or cinema will not be accepted.

12. Play should be "stand-alone", a separate body of work that has not been extracted from a larger, previously written play.

13. Author must be at least 18 years of age.

14. Play must be submitted in a PDF format.

  • Produced” - Your play was marketed for production date(s) by either you (its playwright) or a theatre company and was performed before an audience who purchased tickets to see the event.

  • "Published" - Your play is an officially published work and commands royalties from the producing theater each time it is performed.

  • Staged readings (formal or informal) are not considered productions. If your play has only had public or private readings but has not been produced as a full-scale stage performance, you are permitted to submit the play.

 

___________

*𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔
1. Playwright must be the sole author of the submitted work.

2. Playwright must publicly and openly identify themselves as African-American, Black, or of the African diaspora.

3. Monologue must run no longer than 3 minutes long on stage, but no shorter than 1 minute.

4. Monologue should accommodate a “bare-stage” set requiring only a minimum of removable stage props and require basic lighting and sound cues.

5. Monologue must not be a musical.

6. Monologue must not be written for children or youth.

7. Monologue must not be a film. Screenplays/Scripts written for television or cinema will not be accepted.

8. Author must be at least 18 years of age.

9. Monologue must be submitted in a PDF format.

TO SUBMIT:

1. Complete the script submissions application online (see links above)

2. Upload pdf of original work.

Write, Playwright, Write!

𝑻𝒆𝒏-𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒔
Winning playwrights will be announced:

May 1, 2024
*

Link to submit: https://forms.gle/wKXvZGyPSutzAEZDA 
*

- No fee is required.
- No restriction of theme or genre.
- Three (3) plays
are allowed per playwright.
- Selected playwright winners will be awarded a cash prize.
- Full production provided.

𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔
Winning playwrights will be announced:

June 1, 2024
*
Link to submit: https://forms.gle/a8rLmkskzxSy9xhk9
*
- Theme preference: The Wonder of Life
- Preferred genre of scripts: Comedy

- No fee is required.
- Three (3) monologues
 are allowed per playwright.
- Selected playwright winners will be awarded a cash prize.
- Full production provided.

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