FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Hardscrabble Theater Fall 2026 One-Act Theater Festival
Is Hardscrabble Theater accepting festival submissions only from the NY tristate area?
Hardscrabble Theater is accepting play submissions from throughout the country and internationally. However, the plays submitted must be previously unpublished and unproduced in the NY tristate area (e.g., a play previously produced in Los Angeles, CA would be acceptable).
The plays must also meet the following criteria to be considered:
- Have a running time of no less than 5 minutes and no more than 15 minutes.
- Be performed as a single set with no special effects.
- Use simple lighting and sound/music cues only (e.g., a sound effect of a buzzer is acceptable; synchronizing two or more buzzers to be pressed live is not) – all sound must be rights free.
- Feature a maximum of five characters.
- Must be royalty-free.
How many plays are chosen?
Ten plays will be chosen for the weekend festival (five performed on Friday evening & Saturday afternoon and the other five performed Saturday evening & Sunday afternoon). Each will be performed on Hardscrabble Theater’s mainstage at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Farmingdale.
What is the deadline to submit plays to the festival and the timeframe for plays to be chosen?
Plays must be submitted no later than Wednesday, April 15th at 11:59 p.m. to be considered. The submissions will then be reviewed by our panel of judges.
Playwrights will be notified on or about July 15, 2026 if their play is chosen for the festival.
Is there a limit to how many plays one can submit?
Playwrights are able to submit no more than two plays for consideration for the festival.
Are actors allowed to read from script or does the script need to be memorized?
Each play performed will be done as a full production and not as a staged reading.
Is any compensation offered to the winning playwrights?
Playwrights whose plays are chosen for the festival will not receive monetary compensation. However, the playwrights will be guaranteed two performances of their work during the weekend of the festival. The playwrights also receive two complimentary tickets to each performance of their play plus a DVD or link to the video.
Do playwrights need to finance anything as part of their play’s selection?
Playwrights whose plays are chosen for the festival will be asked to submit A PARTICIPATION FEE of $125.00 per accepted script. This fee is needed to help defray some of the expenses needed by Hardscrabble Theater to put on the production – e.g. space and equipment rental, lighting & sound crew, printing, and publicity.