SEEKING ORIGINAL ONE-ACT PLAYS FOR FEARLESS FIVE: POWER

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Fearless Comedy Productions is now accepting submission of short plays for Fearless Five: Power, to be performed March 21-23 & 28-30, 2025.

ABOUT FEARLESS

Fearless Comedy Productions (Fearless) is a Twin Cities theater company dedicated to supporting theater artists in developing new scripted works that entertain, engage, and enlighten audiences about the world around them. 

ABOUT FEARLESS FIVE

Fearless Five features five original one-act plays centered around a common theme, written by five local writers, directed by five local directors, and performed by five local actors. This year’s theme is “power” and all submissions must convey a message pertaining to that theme as it exists in our world today. Plays will be selected based on the submission criteria below. 

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Please read the following rules and requirements carefully. Plays not meeting the requirements will be disqualified:

  • The play should be around 15 minutes in length when performed (approx. 12-18 pages).
  • The play must have no more than five characters, speaking or non-speaking.
  • The play should have some humor and comedic elements.
  • The play should comment on how power exists in today’s society. The play does not have to take place in the present day, or even in the real world, but it must present a message about power in modern day society.
  • The play should have simple technical requirements and require minimal props.
  • The play must be formatted using the Dramatists Guild guidelines (found here: https://www.dramatistsguild.com/sites/default/files/2020-01/General-SFI-Formatting-Guidelines-Complete.pdf).
  • ​​The play must be original and unpublished and unproduced at the time of submission. Staged readings are not counted as "produced." However, if you have had a staged reading of the play, please let us know so that we do not accidentally disqualify it.
  • The playwright must be based in the Twin Cities Metro Area, as they will be expected to attend the first week of rehearsals. The playwright should also be willing to participate in our Script Development process (see below).

You must submit TWO copies of your script.

  • One copy must contain all contact information on the title page: playwright’s name, mailing address, phone number, and email address.
  • The other copy must be “blind” (neither playwright name, any contact information, nor production history on any page).

Your play must be submitted no later than Friday, December 6, 2024 using our online submission form, which can be found here: https://forms.gle/Q8ch7eoMCevqDd1U6

If you are having trouble accessing the form or submitting your entry, please email us and we will attempt to help you through the process.

ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES

  • You may submit only one play. Please do not make more than one submission.
  • As a community theater, we want to appeal to the largest possible audience, therefore plays with excessive offensive language are less likely to be selected. Please take that into consideration.
  • Submitting your play grants Fearless the right to produce your play in our production and photograph and/or videotape it for archival purposes. Though we welcome input from our writers, Fearless will make all final casting decisions.

REVIEW AND SELECTION

All submissions will be reviewed by a panel using the blind copies provided. Selection of plays will be based on the above requirements as well as the quality of the storytelling and the fit within the collection of five plays. Fearless will be seeking to tell a range of stories representing a diversity of perspectives on the theme.

We will announce the selected plays on Monday, December 16, 2024. Fearless will then produce the five selected plays, with performances March 21-23 and 28-30. 

COMPENSATION

In return for their submission, the playwright of each selected play will receive a royalty of $15 per performance ($90 for a total of six performances), a link to photographs, and a copy of the program. Additionally, each playwright will receive a complimentary ticket to one performance.

SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Fearless believes that theatermaking is a collaborative process, where everyone working on a production brings something valuable to enhance the story being told. In that spirit, Fearless is implementing a script development process for Fearless Five, whereby playwrights will receive feedback and revise their scripts in three stages: 

  1. During the week of the initial selection, the reviewers will provide feedback and the playwrights of the selected plays will be expected to consider the feedback and incorporate as appropriate, delivering a revised script by Sunday, January 5th.
  2. After directors are assigned to their script, they will also review the second drafts of their respective scripts and provide feedback to writers by Monday, January 17th. Playwrights will then have two weeks to consider the feedback, consult with directors, and incorporate it as appropriate, delivering a third draft by Sunday, February 2nd.
  3. During the first week of rehearsals, scripts will be workshopped with the directors and actors. Playwrights are expected to attend rehearsals to hear the conversation about their scripts and any feedback and suggestions. Writers are then expected to incorporate the feedback as appropriate and deliver a final script by Sunday, February 23rd.

To this end, playwrights should be open to receiving and incorporating feedback at each stage, knowing that the intention is always to support the playwright’s vision and help them improve the way they tell their story. Playwrights who do not wish to participate in this process should not submit their script for this production.

If you have any questions or issues accessing the submission form, please contact our Artistic Director, Eric Jacobson, at [email protected].