Theater-by-the-Grove, the producing artistic company at 亚色影库’s Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance, is excited to open a call for new plays to be submitted for consideration for a full production in late February 2026 for the New Works Festival. Submissions from established, professional, working, or amateur playwrights will all be considered.
Plays Should Be:
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Full-length—at least 1 hr. 30 min duration.
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Unproduced—to have had no fully-staged production history. Previous staged readings and private workshops are acceptable, but the script should not have been done “on its feet” (with full staging and design) before a public audience.
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Conceptually modern—the narrative should be situated in (or at least be designed for) a contemporary setting, to minimize design costs (e.g., bespoke period costumes, historical architecture, etc.). Stories that have these settings but do not require this kind of design will be considered.
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Relevant—the themes of the play should have direct engagement with a concept, event, movement, conflict, or topic of interest for engaged and thinking artists and audiences (e.g., political events, pop culture trends, technological issues, etc.). We are looking for works that contain themes our university-level artists are passionate about exploring and presenting to the public.
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Written “for” a college-age cast of 6 to 12 actors—a “medium” sized cast with flexibility in casting across genders, centering primarily around age-appropriate characters (18–30 years old), would be ideal. Scripts with characters that can flex to fit this need will be considered, as will scripts with slightly fewer or more characters that deeply spark our interest.
Submissions will be accepted until November 14, 2025, and reviewed until late November, at which point we will reach out to the selected playwright to confirm an agreement for production. Depending on the number of submissions, it may not be possible to individually inform all other submissions of their non-selection.
Please send a full copy of your play in .pdf format to the production director, Joshua Kelly, at jtkelly@iup.edu. Plays can be in any format, but must include a detailed character description AND a brief synopsis at the beginning of the work. Questions can be sent to: Joshua Kelly, the director; Michael Schwartz, the production dramaturg (mschwart@iup.edu); or Carrie J. Cole, the 亚色影库 artistic director (cjcole@iup.edu).
This production is produced by the 亚色影库’s Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance. The Lively Arts, a program of the College of Arts, Humanities, Media, and Public Affairs, presents nearly 200 performances, programs, and exhibits annually.