Rules & Regulations:
NOTE: A panel of jurors will review all submissions and jointly award first, second, and third place. All submissions must be anonymized for the jurors.
1. The Contest is open to all playwrights/creators/collectives.
2. Only one entry per playwright/creator/collective is permitted.
3. All entries must be a new, original, unproduced play or musical. (Plays that have been given a staged reading or have been workshopped/mounted in student festivals within an academic context are eligible.) If you have any questions about the eligibility of your entry, please contact Executive Director Christopher Stanton at christopher@hftco.ca.
4. First time stage adaptations of other work from another medium are eligible IF AND ONLY IF the playwright has the rights to adapt and present the work for public performance.
5. Plays can be written/performed in any language, however the playwright must provide an English translation for the jury. (The English translation is what the jury will be evaluating.)
6. The playwright/creator/collective may have received funding to create or workshop the submitted work.
7. All plays MUST have a running time of MAXIMUM 60 minutes. There is no page limit, but the play MUST fit within a 60-minute performance slot. (On average, one page takes 1.5 minutes to read aloud. On average, a 60-minute theatrical work is between 35 and 45 pages.)
8. The script must be type-written and uploaded as a PDF file. The file name must be the title of the play. Please include a title page with the work's title only, without the playwright/creator/collective's name. Do not include the playwright/creator/collective's name or any identifying information on the pages of the script, in footnotes, endnotes, title page, appendices, 'thank you's, dedication, etc. Musicals with audio recordings may share a URL to a YouTube / Vimeo / Soundcloud playlist as long as the creators are ANONYMOUS (create an account that has a neutral name, like MyMusicalName, not a pre-existing personal or professional account that indicates the creators or producers) or upload a .zip file that contains all the tracks.
9. Playwrights/creators/collectives who enter the New Play Contest may also enter the Hamilton Fringe Festival lottery. If the first place playwright has also entered the Fringe Festival lottery, their Festival application will be removed from the lottery in advance of the draw and their application fee will be refunded.
10. The first place winner MUST use their 2026 Hamilton Fringe Festival slot to produce the play that was submitted to the contest. If the winner is unable to produce the winning show, the winner forfeits use of the free slot.
11. The non-refundable entry fee ($35) can be paid online by PayPal when completing this application OR submitted by mailed cheque. Payment is due within 5 business days of the online submission date of this form. Cheques must be made payable to Hamilton Festival Theatre Company. Please clearly mark the outside of the envelope with "New Play Contest" and mail the cheque and a printed copy of your application form to 41 King William St, Suite 206, Hamilton ON, L8R 1A2.
12. HFTco staff and Board Members at time of submission are ineligible to participate in this contest.