Key Dates
Submission Window Opens: Monday, February 10, 2025
Submission Window Closes: Friday, April 11, 2025
Free in-school workshops available for schools located within the City of Boston: Monday, February 10 – Friday, April 4, 2025
Selected Playwrights Notified: Late April 2025
Revisions Due: Mid-May 2025
Rehearsal Period: Saturday, May 24 – Sunday, June 1, 2025
Festival of Readings: Monday, June 2, 2025 at 7pm
Eligibility
All Greater-Boston area students in grades 6 – 12 are eligible to participate. Plays will be evaluated within the following grade bands:
- 6th through 8th grade
- 9th through 12th grade
Submission Guidelines
- Plays must be the original work of the person submitting the work. Play adaptations or team-written plays will not be considered.
- Lyric First Page is a 10-minute play festival, which means plays should be a maximum of 12-15 pages long, depending on formatting, and must run approximately 10 minutes when read aloud. Not sure how long your play will be when it’s off the page? Try using the Words to Time converter to get an estimate! Selected playwrights whose plays run significantly longer than 10 minutes will be asked to edit their work.
- Submissions should include a Cover Letter, Title Page, Cast of Characters, and (optional) Setting and Time, all as a single document.
- Cultural and Civic Responsibility: Please take into consideration your responsibility as an artist to refrain from representing actions or language that would be deemed inappropriate for a general audience.
The Process
- Submissions will be accepted via Google Form on this page from February 12 – April 12, 2024.
- All submitted plays will be read by a panel of Greater Boston theatre professionals with significant expertise in new play development and evaluated on the following criteria: Characters, Dialogue, Plot, and Overall Impact. These are outlined, by grade levels, in our “Suggestions for a Strong Script.”
- All playwrights will receive the panel’s feedback on their plays.
- 8-9 plays will be selected for the Lyric First Page Festival. Playwrights whose plays are selected will have approximately two weeks to revise their work in preparation for a rehearsal and presentation as a staged reading.
- Each selected play will be rehearsed by professional directors and actors from the Greater Boston area and presented as staged readings at the Lyric First Page Playwriting Festival.
Our Digital Playwriting Classes:
In-School Workshops
While our digital playwriting classes from past years will remain available here on our website, free one-off in-school workshops are available for schools located within the City of Boston to introduce the playwriting process. Contact Community & Artistic Programs Manager Alexandra Smith at alex_smith@lyricstage.com to schedule.
For more information or to inquire about an in-school workshop, fill out the Lyric First Page Interest Form or email alex_smith@lyricstage.com
Contact
Got questions? Email us at alex_smith@lyricstage.com!
To sign up or learn more, please email alex_smith@lyricstage.com or fill out our Submission Form.
Suggestions for a Strong Script
Sponsors:
Lyric First Page is made possible by the generous support of our sponsor, Tiny Tiger Foundation.