Shantz Theatre's Reading Series
Hearing a play brought to life by actual living and breathing actors is an invaluable experience for any writer. The transition from the page to the stage is a long, difficult and often impossible
progression for playwrights. As part of Shantz Theatre's commitment to producing outstanding original theatre, we are introducing our Reading Series designed to help bring new works to life, and help playwrights find an outlet for their plays.
Plays will receive not only life, but also valuable feedback from audiences. Actors, playwright, director, and audience members will participate in a post-reading discussion to further illuminate the
work's strengths and spots for improvement, while giving our audiences and artists a chance to help develop the next great crop of writers. Additionally, every play presented in the Reading Series will automatically be considered for future production by Shantz Theatre.
Submission Guidelines:
*Any length is accepted. We look for complete evenings of work, so if you send a ten minute play it might be awhile before we have enough other material to consider producing it...that doesn't mean not to send shorter work though.
*We have a limited budget, so works with simple technical elements and smaller casts are preferred.
*We prefer work from Chicago area writers (it's just easier for us to collaborate with them) but will accept work from anyone.
*We want world premiers, American premiers, Midwest premiers, Chicago premiers.
*Send complete scripts along with a cover letter outlining any production history/awards/etc., and a ~100 word bio of the playwright.
*We are a small company and cannot give an exact response time, but we will respond.
*If selected for the Reading Series, plays will be automatically considered for production the following season.
*Send submissions to: literary@shantztheatre.com, if we like it we will move forward for inclusion in our reading series and possible production.