PLAYGROUND’S 2026 YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS CONTEST

PlayGround invites Bay Area high school students, grades 9-12, to submit short plays per the following guidelines for consideration in the 2026 Young Playwrights Contest. The top four playwrights will be announced on or before May 4th. The finalists will each receive a professional staged reading of their play as part of the PlayGround Festival of New Works at Potrero Stage and simulcast on Friday, May 29, 2026. Submission deadline: April 20, 2026.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

The following are the guidelines for script submissions for PlayGround’s 2026 Young Playwrights Contest. To be eligible, writers must currently attend high school in one of the nine Bay Area counties.

Topic: TALES OF THE CITY

“This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are.” -Plato

We invite you to generate an original short play, fictional or fact-based, historical or contemporary, that is specific to a Bay Area city of your choosing, its people and its history (i.e., the play helps tell a story of the city and couldn’t be transplanted to another city). We encourage you to take some time to find the idea(s) that offer the most theatrical opportunities, that provide the possibility of comedy as well as drama, that show more than they tell, that take full advantage of the incredible directing and acting talent we will have amassed, and that remind us why this organization is called “PlayGround”.

1. Scripts, maximum ten (10) pages doubled-spaced, initiated on or after Wednesday, January 7, 2026 and inspired by the topic (see above), must be RECEIVED by 11:59pm on Monday, April 20, 2026.

2. You must include a cover page (not included in the 10-page max.) with your name and contact information, and including a complete detailed cast breakdown.

3. Scripts must be submitted as a Portable Document Format (.pdf) attachment via the Google form (please name your script as follows: LastName, FirstName_2026YPP

4. Scripts should be formatted with page numbers in the footer and playwright name/email address in the header for all pages.

5. Font should be 12pt standard (Times New Roman) or equivalent.

6. No more than one script per person.

7. Scripts can utilize up to three (3) actors. Provide a detailed cast breakdown, including information when available on age, ethnicity, race, character traits, etc. Do NOT list the names of real actors, even if you’re writing with them in mind.

8. Finalists will be announced on or before May 4, 2026.

The submission of a script grants PlayGround the exclusive option to stage the play as part of the Young Playwrights Festival. As the playwright’s participation in the rehearsal process and performance is considered critical to PlayGround’s mission, the submission of a script is a direct acknowledgment by the playwright that he/she will attend the performance of their play should it be selected, barring unforeseen circumstances, and to the extent possible the rehearsal that afternoon. If you know in advance that you are unable to attend the festival performances, you must inform PlayGround of this at the time of submission. PlayGround will not consider scripts by playwrights so acknowledged prior to selection and reserves the right to replace any script selected by an author later determined as unable to attend.

Up to four finalists will be selected for the 2026 Young Playwrights Festival. Each finalist will receive a professional staged reading of their play as part of the PlayGround Festival of New Works at Potrero Stage and simulcast on Friday, May 29, 2026.

To view sample script formats, click the link(s) below.
Submission Format #1
Submission Format #2

For questions or more information, email ypp@playground-sf.org.

Happy writing and good luck!

SUBMISSION FORM