Palace Theatre Short Play Festival
At The Rex Theatre
PTSPF Submission Guidelines 2027
To be eligible for the Palace Theatre Short-Play Festival you must be a United States Resident.
The 2027 Festival is seeking Short- Plays.
Each writer may submit no more than ONE Short Play.
All plays submitted for the festival must be between 8 and 15 Minutes.
Entries must be submitted in a PDF Document format.
Submitted plays should not have had a previous professional production (readings and workshops are OK).
Playwrights will be responsible for casting + Directing their own Plays.
Please note if you require casting assistance from local theatre partners, please indicate so on the casting questions on the submission form. You will be the main contact for any cast members you cast through local theatre recources.
-Plays may not be written using any generative artificial intelligence (AI).
-Plays must be written primarily in English (the use of non-English words or phrases within the context of the play are allowed).
Playwrights will be responsible for the accommodation of their cast during the festival – The Palace Theatre will work with you to acquire discount rates with our Hotel Partners.
Submission Deadline for Short Plays: Friday January 8th 2027
Accepted Short Plays will be notified: Monday January 18th 2027
Chosen Playwrights are asked to pay a one-time $100 Pre-Production Fee. $50 of your submission fee goes towards the $100 Fee.
There is No-Fee for the following: Theatre Rental, Audio Visual, Sound Technician, Lighting Technician, Rehearsal Space.
Every Playwright who submits a play is entitled to 2 complementary tickets for the 2027 Festival for one of the Finalist Nights. Please email Warrenoreilly@palacetheatre.org to coordinate.
Plays will have access to a Video Wall upstage Center. The Video Wall is 25’ Wide and 13’ Tall. 1080i resolution and can run MOV and JPEG files. The Video wall should be used to place the scene and not primarly used to drive the story.
Performances will be:
Friday April 9th 2027 @ 7:30pm
&
Saturday April 10th 2027 @ 7:30pm
All Performances at The Rex Theatre, Manchester New Hampshire 03104
Cash Awards for Best Play
Each ticketholder to the festival will have a chance to vote in Audience Choice.
The 6 Finalist Plays will be performed BOTH nights in the same random order drawn on 4.8.27 and the Audience Award will be the total sum of the two nights of audiences and the award will be presented after Saturday Nights Performance.
The Judges are to attend one of the 2 nights, 6 Judges total and the winner will be awarded Saturday night also, with all 6 Judges Ballot's taken into equal consideration.
The Best College Play will be chosen by a University and Collegite Jury, the Winner of that Contest will have their short play presented on Saturday Night during the deliberations and audience ballot count.
2027 Astro Awards for the following:
2027 Audience Award for Best Play
2027 Judges Award for Best Play
2027 Best College Play Award