Lyric First Page provides opportunities for storytellers in Grades 6-12 to apply their creative storytelling skills through a process that invites them to collaborate with working theatre professionals.
Lyric First Page
Welcome to the fifth annual G. Lee Humphrey Lyric First Page Playwriting Festival!
Main Theatre
This Year’s Festival
Monday, June 1, 2026 at 7pm at the Lyric Stage
Eligibility
All Greater-Boston area students in grades 6 – 12 are eligible to participate. Plays will be evaluated within the following grade bands:
- 6th through 8th grade
- 9th through 12th grade
- 12-15 Pages Long
- Play-length
- 7-9 plays
- Selection Process
Submissions Guidelines
- Plays must be the original work of the person submitting the work. Play adaptations or team-written plays will not be considered.
- Lyric First Page is a 10-minute play festival, which means plays should be a maximum of 12-15 pages long, depending on formatting, and must run approximately 10 minutes when read aloud. Not sure how long your play will be when it’s off the page? Try using the Words to Time converter to get an estimate! Selected playwrights whose plays run significantly longer than 10 minutes will be asked to edit their work.
- Submissions should include a Cover Letter, Title Page, Cast of Characters, and (optional) Setting and Time, all as a single document.
- Cultural and Civic Responsibility: Please take into consideration your responsibility as an artist to refrain from representing actions or language that would be deemed inappropriate for a general audience.
The Process
- Submissions will be accepted via Google Form on this page from February 9 – April 10, 2026.
- All submitted plays will be read by a panel of Greater Boston theatre professionals with significant expertise in new play development and evaluated on the following criteria: Characters, Dialogue, Plot, and Overall Impact. These are outlined, by grade levels, in our “Suggestions for a Strong Script.”
- All playwrights will receive the panel’s feedback on their plays.
- 7-9 plays will be selected for the Lyric First Page Festival. Playwrights whose plays are selected will have approximately two weeks to revise their work in preparation for a rehearsal and presentation as a staged reading.
- Each selected play will be rehearsed by professional directors and actors from the Greater Boston area and presented as staged readings at the Lyric First Page Playwriting Festival.
Education Suggestions for a Strong Script
The script is a key starting point for theatrical storytelling. It provides the blueprint for every production, including the lines actors will perform, as well as the parameters for directors to develop their visions and designers to imagine the time and space they need to create. Learn more about how to tell your story on stage.
Creating a Character & Writing a Monologue
Playwriting Class
In-School Workshops
Bring Playwriting to Your Classroom
While our digital playwriting classes from past years will remain available here on our website, free one-off in-school workshops are available for schools located within the City of Boston to introduce the playwriting process.
Our Sponsor
Lyric First Page is made possible by the generous support of our sponsor, the Tiny Tiger Foundation, whose commitment to fostering emerging voices helps ensure that new stories and new storytellers continue to thrive.
