PCSF 2024 Short Play Festival Call for Submissions

Updated Feb. 18: Deadline extended to March 3, 2024.

Playwrights' Center of San Francisco (PCSF's) Short Play Festival - AKA "The PlayOffs" - is back! Here are the details ...

• PCSF will once again be presenting a Short Play Festival, "The PlayOffs," on Zoom during the month of July 2024.
• The submission window for plays to be considered will be open from February 1, 2024,  through March 3, 2024, (new date) at 11:59 pm PT.
• Blind versions of plays, with an accompanying email with playwright information (see below), should be submitted to shortplayfestival@playwrightscentersf.org. Submittable will not be used for these submissions. 
• Selections of plays to be included in the PlayOffs will be announced by mid- to late March, when casting, scheduling and other production activities will begin.
• It is expected that up to 30 plays will be included in the festival. Plays will be assigned to groups of five plays each and will be presented on Zoom as readings.
• Each group of five plays will be assigned to a director. Between late May and the end of June, each play will have one formal recorded rehearsal followed by a final recording of the performance.  
• The pre-recorded readings of each group of plays will be aired on various dates in July via Zoom Webinar for a live audience. After the airing of each group of plays, audience members will vote for their favorite two plays. The winning play from each group will go on to have a live, staged reading matinee at the BATS Improv Theatre in Fort Mason, San Francisco on the afternoon of Sunday, October 27, 2024.

Submission Guidelines

1. Only current PCSF members are eligible to submit to the Short Play Festival. Plays will not be considered if membership is not current at the time of submission. If you are not a current member, you can join PCSF. We welcome members from both inside and outside the SF Bay Area.
2. Plays cannot exceed a 10-minute run time. Plays of 8- to 10-pages may run longer than 10 minutes, so please time a reading of the play to confirm it doesn't exceed 10 minutes. Plays whose run time exceeds 10 minutes will not be considered.
3. Plays may require no more than 5 actors, including a stage direction reader. Doubling is fine.
4. Plays must be in PDF and standard play format … Go to Dramatist Guild script formats for a free, downloadable script format.
5. Playwrights may only submit one play.
6. The playwright's name must not appear anywhere in the script; only blind submissions will be accepted for consideration. To ensure your submission is really blind before submitting, on the PDF version of your play, go to "file," "properties," and ensure your name doesn't appear. If it does, delete it and save.
7. Plays written by more than one playwright will not be accepted.
8. No musicals, operas or plays for children will be accepted. Monologues are okay.
9. Plays may not have been previously performed or had readings before a paying  audience. If a play has had a reading(s) at a workshop(s), such as Scene Night, it is eligible for consideration.
10. Importantly, please remember that a primary responsibility of playwrights whose work is accepted for the "PlayOffs" is to market the event to potential audience members.
11. The Playoffs will have no or minimal costumes, no sound effects and standard grey backgrounds.
12. The cover email must include the following information:
    • Playwright name
    • Name of play
    • Playwright bio – no longer than 100 words
    • One sentence log line for the play.