Call for submissions – 2025 Summer Staged Reading Series

Valley Players is searching for short, one-act, and full-length plays to be showcased during this event. The series will span at least four weekends with 1 to 2 performances each evening, featuring one or more plays. We are specifically interested in original, unproduced work. While all submissions will be considered, certain factors can increase the chances of selection:

  • Strong roles for women over 40
  • Themes of importance to mature women
  • Previously unproduced
  • Playwrights from Northern California

We welcome submissions from any genre except musicals. Valley Players aims to bring exciting plays to the stage that resonate with today’s audience and potentially inspire future viewers.

Each submitted play will be read by at least 3 readers on our selection committee (pulled from our staff, our actor base, and our audience base.) Each reader will rate the submissions in the following categories:

  • Theme
  • Style
  • Characterization
  • Plot
  • Dialogue
  • Ending
  • Overall Impression

Due to the financial challenges of producing a full slate of staged readings, we are asking for a small submission fee this year to help cover some of the costs associated with reading and evaluating each play and then bringing the chosen plays to the stage.

We want to assure you that these fees are not for profit—they are simply to help cover a fraction of the production costs. In fact, the combined fees will cover, at most, the rental for one evening of the multi-night series, and do not begin to address additional costs such as printing scripts or compensating our technical crew. Ticket sales alone don’t cover the costs, and these readings are a labor of love, driven by our passion for the written word and our commitment to supporting playwrights.

We understand that even a small fee can be a barrier, so if you’re experiencing financial hardship, please request a fee waiver, and we’ll be glad to review it on a case-by-case basis. Our goal is to make this opportunity accessible while balancing the costs required to make these readings possible.

Fee Structure:

  • Plays that are 30 minutes or less: $5
  • Plays that are 31 – 60 minutes: $10
  • Plays that are longer than 60 minutes: $15

To every playwright, regardless of selection status, we offer comprehensive feedback from our selection committee, as a token of our appreciation for your submission.

Responses from playwrights

Thank you for your transparency about your process, as well as your feedback …it’s rare that one receives such concise, succinct, and intelligent feedback. I feel that my play was evaluated in good faith, and I’m glad that it resonated with some of your assessors. —Dave O.

Thanks to you and the rest of the team for taking the time to engage with my efforts and provide such valuable feedback. I greatly appreciate it! —Michael W.

I probably don’t have to tell you, but this type of feedback is exceedingly rare… What’s particularly helpful is how objective and specific the feedback is. I truly believe I can make my script better based on the comments. Thanks for that gift. —Jason R.

THANK YOU FOR THE FEEDBACK! … the comments from your judges will help with the process. Keep doing what you do. —Gwen F.

This is the first time I’ve ever gotten real feedback on anything I’ve ever submitted anywhere. I know it takes time and care to offer in this world so again, thanks so much! —Melissa C.

Valley Players is based in Napa Valley, California, and their mission is to provide relevant, positive, and engaging productions that respect and celebrate individuals of all ages and genders while prioritizing stories that highlight issues important to women over 40. In 2018, 2023, and 2024 they were voted the Best Theater Troupe in Napa County by the readers and writers of the Bohemian newspaper. They were also voted Best Theater Company in Napa County for 2024 by the readers of the Press Democrat.

The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2025. Playwrights of chosen plays will receive proportional royalty as compensation.

Guidelines:

  • Short, one-act, and full-length plays, preferably ranging from 10 minutes to 2 hours in length. Musicals will not be considered at this time.
  • If selected, full-length plays will receive their own reading, while chosen shorts and one-acts will be paired with other plays for a complete evening’s reading.
  • While there are no specific restrictions on submissions, plays with strong roles for women over 40, themes relevant to mature women and previously unproduced plays are more likely to be selected. Those written by Northern California playwrights may have a slight advantage.
  • To ensure a fair and unbiased evaluation of your work, we require playwrights to submit their scripts in an anonymous format. Our definition of anonymous means that your submission should include only the following:
    • Title of the Play: Clearly indicate the title at the top of the first page.
    • Script: Provide the complete script of the play without any identifying information.
    • Important Notes:
      • Playwright’s Name: Do not include your name or any personal information on the script. This allows our readers to experience the play without preconceived notions or biases.
      • Remove All Additional Information: Eliminate any synopsis, list of awards, prior productions, or any backstory about how the play came to be. Our goal is to create an environment where the work speaks for itself, allowing readers to engage with the material purely on its merits.
      • We appreciate your cooperation in this process, as it helps us maintain an equitable and focused review of all submissions.
  • Valley Players encourages environmentally responsible practices and requests scripts in electronic format, preferably as PDF files, though Word documents are also accepted.
  • We do not limit the number of plays submitted by each playwright; however, a form will have to be completed for each individual play. Fees can be paid in a lump sum.

This year we are asking playwrights to submit via Google Forms.  If you have a Google account, you may fill out the form AND upload your script here. If you do not have a Google account, never fear, please fill out this form and then email your script to valley.players.napa@gmail.com. Instructions for fee payment are included after submitting the Google form. If you answer ‘Yes’ to the final question on the form concerning financial hardship, you may skip payment and will be contacted directly by Valley Players’ staff. All submitted plays will be reviewed anonymously by the selection committee and will not be shared with anyone outside of that committee.

We look forward to reading your work!