All faiths welcome. Open to artists of all religions, backgrounds, denominations, faiths. Full-length play must contains significant Jewish themes, characters, content, or points of view.
FULL-LENGTH PLAY SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW EXTENDED TIL AUGUST 1!!!! Please review all the guidelines below
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN TO ARTISTS OF ALL BACKGROUNDS, DENOMINATIONS, FAITHS, CREEDS, RELIGIONS, and other IDEALS. We believe that Jewish identity and culture are specific manifestations of universal human cravings for spiritual, ethical, moral and worldly joy. “Matrilineal descent” is neither important nor necessary.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: The Jewish Plays Project now accepts scripts for new Jewish plays on an open, rolling basis. However, our reading period for the current cycle closes July 15th, 2025. Plays submitted after this date will be held for the next cycle.
SUBMISSION PROCESS: Fill out the Submission Form and attach a play to the form as a PDF. You must submit your play with your name and other identifying information removed (we review all plays blind). We do not charge a fee to submit (cause we kinda think submission fees are “yucky”. That’s a technical term).
SPECIAL NOTE: THE JPP HAS MOVED ITS SUBMISSIONS TO THE SUBMITTABLE PLATFORM. WATCH THIS VIDEO FOR MORE INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS
Humor in Dark Times: A Jewish Tradition
Let’s face it – things are tough right now. Look locally, look globally, look left, look right, there are concerning things in all corners. That’s dark.
Sadly, its not the first time that Jews have been through times like these. To be honest, its not the first time humanity has been through times like these. And that’s when Jews look for a good joke.
For generations, Jews have used humor to take the edge of the darkness. And we at the JPP could use a good laugh. We’re always looking for comedies, but this year, we are going to go past that. We’re putting them at the top of the heap.
COMEDY IS NOT THE ONLY OPTION. We will still remain dedicated to a range of styles and contents and forms; we still will embrace challenging and dramatic subjects that are a hallmark of great playwriting – but we’re actively interested in the funny. And we know you can deliver.
How To Playwright is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
ELIGIBILITY
The following must be true of a submitted play or musical:
It contains significant Jewish themes, characters, content, or points of view.
It is in English, or primarily in English—we love plays that play with language as a theatrical tool, and plays that explore the differences in language. It just needs to be primarily accessible to an English speaking audience. (We welcome translations.)
It is full length, meaning over around 75 minutes in length. (For a guide, that usually means 60 pages or more. We DO NOT review 10 or 20 minute plays.)
It has not had a full production in the NY Metro region or a major regional theater (LORT C or above).
It has never been published in any form.
NOTE: We are most interested in submissions that embrace and depend on Jewish identity at their dramatic core, while avoiding stereotypical forms that rely on cultural or ethnic shorthands in lieu of dramatic development. This holds true whether dealing with the historical gravity of the Holocaust or employing stereotypical tropes for comic effect.
This year I had the pleasure of mentoring a few dozen writers in preparation for submission to Concord Theatricals Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival. I thought I would summarize some of the advice I gave to these aspiring writers. I’d also love to hear about any techniques that work for you; feel free to comment below.
Audrey Cefaly is an Alabama-born playwright whose work explores the quiet, aching corners of the human experience. Known for her lyrical language, emotional intimacy, and deep empathy for outsiders, Cefaly’s plays center on characters who are scarred, stubborn, and still reaching for connection. Read: The Poetic Architecture of Audrey Cefaly’s Plays
Her critically acclaimed play Alabasterwas developed through the National New Play Network and received the largest NNPN Rolling World Premiere in history. Other works include The Gulf (Lambda Literary Award winner), Maytag Virgin, The Last Wide Open, and Love is a Blue Tick Hound. Her plays have been produced at Signature Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Florida Repertory Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, The Fountain Theatre, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, About Face Theatre, American Blues Theater, New Conservatory Theatre Center, Penobscot Theatre Company, and countless others.
Cefaly’s work is published by Concord Theatricals, TRW Plays, and Applause Books.
Her style is often described as Southern Gothic, but she prefers “Southern Intimist”—a term that better captures her commitment to poetic realism, emotional weather, and the sacredness of small stories. Her characters don’t just survive; they stay, they fight, and sometimes, they get free. Read: Walking with Tennessee Williams
She is a recipient of the David Calicchio Emerging American Playwright Prize, an Edgerton New American Play Award, the Lammy Award for LGBTQ Drama and the NNPN Goldman Prize. Audrey is also the creator of a growing collection of handmade stickers and strange love letters to the writing life via her Substack, How to Playwright.
She currently resides in Baltimore with her rescue dog Rosa and her husband Tim (also a rescue).
How To Playwright is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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Inclusive Opp – Jewish Playwriting Contest – All Faiths Welcome
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All faiths welcome. Open to artists of all religions, backgrounds, denominations, faiths. Full-length play must contains significant Jewish themes, characters, content, or points of view.
FULL-LENGTH PLAY SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW EXTENDED TIL AUGUST 1!!!!
Please review all the guidelines below
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: The Jewish Plays Project now accepts scripts for new Jewish plays on an open, rolling basis. However, our reading period for the current cycle closes July 15th, 2025. Plays submitted after this date will be held for the next cycle.
SUBMISSION PROCESS: Fill out the Submission Form and attach a play to the form as a PDF. You must submit your play with your name and other identifying information removed (we review all plays blind). We do not charge a fee to submit (cause we kinda think submission fees are “yucky”. That’s a technical term).
CONTACT OUR STAFF WITH ANY QUESTIONS
SPECIAL NOTE: THE JPP HAS MOVED ITS SUBMISSIONS TO THE SUBMITTABLE PLATFORM. WATCH THIS VIDEO FOR MORE INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS
Humor in Dark Times: A Jewish Tradition
Let’s face it – things are tough right now. Look locally, look globally, look left, look right, there are concerning things in all corners. That’s dark.
Sadly, its not the first time that Jews have been through times like these. To be honest, its not the first time humanity has been through times like these. And that’s when Jews look for a good joke.
For generations, Jews have used humor to take the edge of the darkness. And we at the JPP could use a good laugh. We’re always looking for comedies, but this year, we are going to go past that. We’re putting them at the top of the heap.
COMEDY IS NOT THE ONLY OPTION. We will still remain dedicated to a range of styles and contents and forms; we still will embrace challenging and dramatic subjects that are a hallmark of great playwriting – but we’re actively interested in the funny. And we know you can deliver.
How To Playwright is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
ELIGIBILITY
The following must be true of a submitted play or musical:
It contains significant Jewish themes, characters, content, or points of view.
It is in English, or primarily in English—we love plays that play with language as a theatrical tool, and plays that explore the differences in language. It just needs to be primarily accessible to an English speaking audience. (We welcome translations.)
It is full length, meaning over around 75 minutes in length. (For a guide, that usually means 60 pages or more. We DO NOT review 10 or 20 minute plays.)
It has not had a full production in the NY Metro region or a major regional theater (LORT C or above).
It has never been published in any form.
NOTE: We are most interested in submissions that embrace and depend on Jewish identity at their dramatic core, while avoiding stereotypical forms that rely on cultural or ethnic shorthands in lieu of dramatic development. This holds true whether dealing with the historical gravity of the Holocaust or employing stereotypical tropes for comic effect.
CONTACT OUR STAFF WITH ANY QUESTIONS
Submit: https://jewishplaysproject.org/artists/guide/
How To Playwright is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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PREVIOUS ARTICLES BY AUDREY CEFALY
How to Write the 10-Minute Play
This year I had the pleasure of mentoring a few dozen writers in preparation for submission to Concord Theatricals Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival. I thought I would summarize some of the advice I gave to these aspiring writers. I’d also love to hear about any techniques that work for you; feel free to comment below.
If These Goats Could Talk
How to Layer Grief Without Sentimentality
The First Page is a Lie
Writing From the Middle of the Wreckage
How to Write the 10-Minute Play
Walking With Tennessee Williams
My Top 10 Playwriting Hacks
52 Vocabulary Words for Playwrights
10 Things Playwrights Wish Their Actors Understood
To Speak or Not to Speak?
21 Things I Know About Playwriting
LEAN MORE ABOUT AUDREY
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Audrey Cefaly (she/her)
Playwright. Southern Intimist. Tender-hearted troublemaker.
Audrey Cefaly is an Alabama-born playwright whose work explores the quiet, aching corners of the human experience. Known for her lyrical language, emotional intimacy, and deep empathy for outsiders, Cefaly’s plays center on characters who are scarred, stubborn, and still reaching for connection. Read: The Poetic Architecture of Audrey Cefaly’s Plays
Her critically acclaimed play Alabaster was developed through the National New Play Network and received the largest NNPN Rolling World Premiere in history. Other works include The Gulf (Lambda Literary Award winner), Maytag Virgin, The Last Wide Open, and Love is a Blue Tick Hound. Her plays have been produced at Signature Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Florida Repertory Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, The Fountain Theatre, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, About Face Theatre, American Blues Theater, New Conservatory Theatre Center, Penobscot Theatre Company, and countless others.
Cefaly’s work is published by Concord Theatricals, TRW Plays, and Applause Books.
Her style is often described as Southern Gothic, but she prefers “Southern Intimist”—a term that better captures her commitment to poetic realism, emotional weather, and the sacredness of small stories. Her characters don’t just survive; they stay, they fight, and sometimes, they get free. Read: Walking with Tennessee Williams
She is a recipient of the David Calicchio Emerging American Playwright Prize, an Edgerton New American Play Award, the Lammy Award for LGBTQ Drama and the NNPN Goldman Prize. Audrey is also the creator of a growing collection of handmade stickers and strange love letters to the writing life via her Substack, How to Playwright.
She currently resides in Baltimore with her rescue dog Rosa and her husband Tim (also a rescue).
How To Playwright is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.