ScreenCraft Stage Play Competition
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ScreenCraft
ScreenCraft Stage Play Competition
2023
Reads in Coverfly
Active Since 2018
Grand Prize Winner will be mentored by Tony Award-winning & Academy Award-nominated playwright Jeffrey Whitty (Avenue Q). Past winners have signed with CAA, WME, A3 Artists, and more!
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About
ScreenCraft’s Stage Play Competition is a great opportunity to have your work considered by influential writers and industry professionals. This year's jury is stacked with award-winning playwrights and agents from companies like Paradigm, APA, and A3 Artists. Drawing on a long history of playwrights transitioning to screenwriting, this competition seeks to celebrate excellent plays that have great film or TV adaptation potential.
Our winners and finalists are highly sought after by literary managers and agents who are open to signing to new writer clients. Past Stage Play competition winners and finalists have signed with representation from some of the biggest agencies and management companies in the industry including CAA, WME, A3 Artists, 3 Arts Entertainment and more. Others have gone on to set up and develop their projects with companies like HBO Max.
Benefits
JURY
Get in front of theater professionals and award-winning playwrights
JEFFREY WHITTY
Tony Award-Winning Playwright, Academy-Award Nominated Screenwriter
Jeffrey Whiity is the author of Tony Award-winning musical AVENUE Q. Other musicals include BRING IT ON, score by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Amanda Green, Armistead Maupin’s TALES OF THE CITY with music by Scissor Sisters, and more. His screenplay adaptation of CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?, co-written with Nicole Holofcener, garnered Writers Guild of America and Independent Spirit Awards, and BAFTA and Academy Award nominations.
JONATHAN MILLS
Agent, Paradigm
Jonathan Mills is a literary agent for Paradigm’s Theatrical Department, an agency representing the playwrights, directors, and stage titles such Dreamgirls, Sister Act, Hairspray, Rent, The Secret Garden and School of Rock.
KATA WÉBER
Playwright and Screenwriter
Kata Wéber is a Hungarian actress, screen and theater writer. Theatre works include “The Bat”, “Pieces of a Woman”, “Dementia”, “Imitation of Life” and more. Her first opera libretto, “Journey of Hope” premieres at Grand Theatre Geneve this year. Films WHITE GOD won the Prize Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival and in Spotlight section at the Sundance Film Festival, JUPITER'S MOON was in Competition at Cannes and PIECES OF A WOMAN premiered at Venice Film Festival, actress Vanessa Kirby was nominated for an Academy Award.
AMY WAGNER
Agent, A3 Artists Agency
Amy Wagner is a playwright agent for A3 Artists Agency, which represents some of the top Tony Award-winning playwrights and producers in Theater Arts, like Graciela Daniele and Charles Fuller.
LUCY POWIS
Agent, A3 Artists Agency
Lucy Powis is a playwright agent for A3 Artists Agency, which represents some of the top Tony Award-winning playwrights and producers in Theater Arts, like Graciela Daniele and Charles Fuller. Her producing and dramaturgy credits include the 2020 Prelude Festival (Segal Center), 2020 & 2021 Global Forms Theater Festival (Rattlestick/NY Theater Salon), and work that has been seen at NYTW, Ars Nova, The Tank, and HERE. She holds an MFA in Dramaturgy from Columbia University and hails from Toronto.
BETH BLICKERS
Agent, APA
Beth Blickers is an agent at APA, where she represents artists who work in theater, television and film. She started her career at the William Morris Agency, where she began work after graduating from NYU. Beth has served on the jury panel for the Weissberger Award, the Ed Kleban Award, the Lark’s PONY Fellowship and Playwrights Week, and facilitated industry-related workshops and panels for organizations around the country.
CAITLIN CLEARY
Director of Development, Imagine Entertainment
Caitlin Cleary is the director of development and production for Imagine Entertainment, the Oscar-winning film and television production company founded by producer Brian Grazer and director Ron Howard who produced the acclaimed TICK...TICK...BOOM!
ELISE GRIFFIN
Agent, Paradigm
Elise Griffin is a Literary Agent for Paradigm, a talent and literary agency representing actors and creatives behind major titles like Stranger Things, Euphoria, and The Handmaid's Tale.
PRIZES
GRAND PRIZE WINNER
The grand prize winner will be welcomed to the ScreenCraft Development Program, receive a cash prize of $1000 and personal introductions with industry professionals who are looking for talented emerging writers.
ScreenCraft's industry relationships include companies like 3 Arts, CAA, UTA, WME, Imagine Entertainment, Netflix, HBO Max, and over 150 other Hollywood managers, agents, producers, and development executives.
ScreenCraft has a proven track record for getting writers signed with managers, agents, and staffed in writing rooms.
RUNNER-UP PRIZE
- $500 cash award
- Accepted into ScreenCraft Development Program
- An exclusive invitation to a Finalist+ workshop to position yourself and your writing to the industry
ADD-ON PRIZE OPPORTUNITY
Mentorship Prize with Alexandra Shields - Playwright, Screenwriter, and Exec Producer
This optional add-on prize category will identify one writer to learn, workshop, and strengthen their project with guidance from an industry mentor. Our Stage Play competition mentor is award-winning playwright and Executive Producer for Citizen Skull Productions, Alexandra Shields. Alexandra will select one writer/writer team who include this unique add-on benefit with their entry.
Alexandra is a multiple-award-winning playwright and screenwriter, as well as a Creative Executive in Scripted Development and Executive Producer for Citizen Skull Productions. As a neurodivergent pansexual woman with multiple disabilities, Alexandra is committed to art for social change. A proud Northwestern alum, Alexandra spent her time there founding the award-winning Lipstick Theatre, a feminist student theater organization that still exists today.
Only projects submitted to the ScreenCraft Stage Play Competition AND that select this add-on are eligible for consideration in this category. Additionally, all projects that place in the Top 10 of the competition will automatically be considered.
Writer Success
Announcements
Dec 7th
Quarterfinalists
Jan 25th
Semifinalists
Feb 15th
Finalists
Mar 1st
Winners
Rules
At the program's request, Coverfly will automatically remove your title page for you if you include one when submitting to this program.
1. Submissions are accepted via electronic submission only.
2. Entry fees are as listed on the site and checkout form. No coupon or discount is applicable on a previous entry.
3. Optional feedback from a professional reader may be requested at the time of entry. Requests for feedback can be done through Coverfly.
4. Any play script submission longer than 120 pages will incur a $1 per page overage fee for each page over 120. The maximum page limit is 150 pages.
5. There is no limit to the number of projects you may submit.
6. Entries must be received on or before the deadline dates by 11:59PM Pacific Time, and submission fee payment must be made in full at time of the submission. All entry fees are non-refundable.
7. All submitted material must be owned by the writer(s), however the material may be based on other works not owned by the writer(s).
8. Material must be submitted by the writer. Material written by writing teams must be submitted by one of the writers, with consent of the other(s). All writers must be credited on the title page.
9. If a writing team is chosen as a winner, prizes will be given to the person who submits the project. Each team is responsible for dividing or sharing any prizes awarded as they deem fair (whether there is a cash value or not).
10. Substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entered material will be allowed for a limited time with a $6 reentry fee through Coverfly. Please proofread your project carefully before submitting.
11. It is recommended that original material be registered with the WGA or The Library of Congress before submitting to any competition, however we do not require registration.
12. Contact info may be included on the cover page of the project, however it is not required. ScreenCraft uses Coverfly to manage submissions and automatically removes cover pages before scripts are read by the judges.
13. ScreenCraft claims no ownership nor option on your work. All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remains with the original rights holders.
14. The decision of the judges will be final and cannot be contested in any manner. There is no score on a scorecard that guarantees advancement to the next level as advancement will be based on all scores in the competition.
15. ScreenCraft reserves the right to change deadline and announcement dates at any time.
16. ScreenCraft reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.
