The following is a list of opportunities for women playwrights and screenwriters.
This list is a work in progress. If you find a non-working link, or if you know something that should be added, please let me know. I appreciate your help in making this list as comprehensive as possible. Thank you!
LAST UPDATED: March 2023
— Nicole Melanson
Producing plays by women playwrights has been And Toto too’s mission for the last 15 years, making us the longest running company in Denver to focus entirely on the woman playwright.
Embellishment Story Competition
Voices of Women sponsors this annual writing competition for short monologues and narratives—800 words max, or 3-4 minutes out loud. Shortlisted writers receive $100 AUD and selected stories will be performed.
Celebrating female identifying + non-binary artists in dance, theater, music and art.
International Centre for Women Playwrights
ICWP began in 1988 in Buffalo, New York, with the mission of supporting and promoting women playwrights around the world and bringing attention to their works.
Recently we have published books of scripts and given recognition awards to theatres operating gender equity in the annual season.
During the month of March, when women are celebrated and honored all around the world, Irondale hosts the On Women Festival, giving female-identifying artists the platform to celebrate their own experiences.
MAINSTAGE: two different theatrical productions that will be selected with the assistance of a diverse group of curators.
NEW MEDIA STORYTELLING: this category is open for video submissions of short pieces (between 10-25 minutes) that present elements of theatrical storytelling.
We are looking for female-identifying artists that show great passion for their work, and that are able to coherently justify why their work is so important now. Irondale makes no distinction based on ethnicity or cultural background.
The Braid (formerly Jewish Women’s Theatre)
Story Archive of Women Rabbis started as a project to develop an all-digital, web-based archive that collects, preserves, and makes accessible the poignant stories, thought-provoking insights and spiritual points-of-view of women rabbis who have broken through the stained-glass ceiling and are changing Judaism forever.
Story Archive of Women Rabbis has joined in partnership with Jewish Women’s Archive to launch the collection of groundbreaking stories at www.JWA.org
Live Girls! is a theater company dedicated to producing and developing new plays by women.
The Strand is the only brick-and-mortar theater in Baltimore dedicated solely to supporting and amplifying womxn’s voices on stage and off! We invite you to join us in celebrating our commitment to putting womxn at the center of the creative process!
The Women’s Prize for Playwriting
The Women’s Prize for Playwriting is the very first prize celebrating and championing female and non-binary playwrights in the UK and Ireland. The winner gets £12,000, optioning, and script publication.
This Woman’s Work Theatre Company
This Woman’s Work Theatre Co. is a New York City-based company specializing in the production of original plays written by emerging female playwrights.
Women Arts Media – Screen Opps
#SCREENOPPS
Monthly submission opportunities for women in film/video.
#STAGEOPPS
Monthly submission opportunities for women in theater.
Women Arts – Theatre Ongoing Calls
This page contains calls for scripts from theatres accepting submissions on an ongoing basis. For more opportunities, please check the Women in the Arts and Media Coalition’s #StageOpps page.
The Women Playwrights Initiative represents National Theatre Conference’s commitment to providing opportunities for women playwrights at all levels of production.
WTA is a union of theatre artists (of all genders) and theatre organizations which support all women, female identifying and gender non-binary individuals, helping to promote leadership and provide opportunity within the theatre community.
Women’s Theatre Festival of Memphis
* Temporarily closed
Quality theatrical performances written by women, directed by women and about women.
A festival of new plays written by women, featuring readings. script development, panels, and special performances.
WP THEATER (Lisa McNulty, Producing Artistic Director; Michael Sag, Managing Director) is the nation’s oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing, and promoting the work of women+ at every stage of their careers.
Founded in 1978 by Julia Miles as Women’s Project Theater, WP Theater has earned acclaim as a home for women+ theatermakers, historically marginalized in the field, to hone their craft while becoming leaders, change-makers, and advocates in the industry.
The Writers Lab (USA)
The Writers Lab provides script development for women writers over the age of 40, and selects 12 promising writers each year, from a competitive pool of submissions, to work with accomplished women mentors from the film industry.
WordMothers - for women writers & women’s writing 