The Submission Process

A vital part of our theatre company is our engagement with writers and we are therefore constantly reviewing our submission process.

We have tried to create a process which ensures that every single play submitted to us is given fair thought and consideration.

However, to be confident that we are achieving this, we are keen to hear from writers with not only your feedback on our submission guidelines, but also with your ideas as to what makes a good submission process and what we can do to make our engagement with you as a writer as rewarding as possible.

Do you feel that our submission guidelines and processes work and are conducive to encouraging you to submit your plays to us?

Have you liked certain aspects of the way in which other theatre companies have received your work and would like to recommend a similar method to us?

Our submission guidelines and outlined process can be found at:

http://www.the42ndtheatrecompany.com/literary/submission-guidelines

Feedback can either be emailed to us at literary@the42ndtheatrecompany.com or left in the comments section below. We also hope to start a conversation on our social media formats about what makes a good submission process.

You can find us on Twitter at: The42ndTheatreC and on Facebook at: The 42nd Theatre Company

Please note that all feedback is valuable, regardless of whether or not you have previously submitted a play to us.

We look forward to reading your comments.

Frequently Asked Questions By Writers

To mark our first full blog post, we have decided to take this opportunity to answer a few of the most frequent questions that we have received from writers.

What is your eligibility criteria?

We work with writers who have never had their work produced before.  Writers who have had their work performed by an amateur group, at a scratch event, one-act festival or as a rehearsed reading are eligible for our consideration, but those who have had a full-length play produced, either in the UK or beyond, are not.

What are you looking for in a play?

To begin with, we are looking for a well presented submission (first impressions go a long way!) that fulfills the criteria laid out in our submission guidelines, which can be found here: http://www.the42ndtheatrecompany.com/literary/submission-guidelines.

As for the play itself, we search for the potential in every script that we receive, but are particularly drawn to those pieces that feature an interesting premise, relatable characters, strong dialogue and memorable moments that will stay with an audience long after a performance has finished.

What should I include in the supporting materials that I send with my play?

We ask in our submission guidelines that, along with your play, you submit a concise synopsis, a brief character breakdown and a covering letter that tells us a little bit about yourself (including confirmation that you have never had any of your work produced before).

The synopsis only needs to summarise the outline of the story and should be no longer than a paragraph or two in length, whilst the covering letter is a good opportunity for you to provide us with some further background information about yourself and your play, such as what drew you to start writing the piece, how the script has progressed over time, what the key themes and aims are, etc.

What happens after I have submitted my play to you?

Once your submission has been received, we will confirm receipt by email within forty eight hours.  We read every play that we receive in full and provide feedback on every submission.  A decision on whether or not your play has been chosen for development will be given within one month.

Are there any common ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ to remember?

Yes. They are:

• DO read our submission guidelines before sending your play to us.
• DO check your script for spelling and grammar mistakes (poor spelling and bad grammar can make a play seem unprofessional).
• DO think about the layout of your script (a poorly laid out script can make your play hard to follow).
• DON’T be afraid to get in touch with us if you have any questions or issues that you would like to raise.
• DON’T be discouraged if we choose not to develop your play. We build lasting relationships with writers and will always be keen to receive your future work.