Lyric First Page

• Plays must be the original work of the person submitting the work. 
Play adaptations or team-written plays will not be considered.
• 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 (including reading stage directions).
  • • Not sure how long your play will be when it’s off the page? Get an estimate using the Words to Time converter on average speed. Plays with an estimated read time of more than 12 minutes will not be considered.
• Please see Example 1 and Example 2 for formatting suggestions.
• Submissions from playwrights in high school (grades 9-12) should include (all as a single document):
  • • Cover Letter (tell us a little about why you wrote this play/what inspired it, what you hope audiences will experience, who you are as an artist, etc.)
    • Title Page
    • Characters
    • Setting and Time
• Submissions from playwrights in middle school (grades 6-8) should include (all as a single document):
  • • Title Page
    • Characters
    • Setting and Time
• 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.

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

• Submissions will be accepted via Google Form on this page from February 8 – April 9, 2027.
• 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.”  Plays with read times longer than 12 minutes will not be considered.
• Up to 9 plays will be selected for Night 1 of the festival (middle school playwrights) and up to 9 plays will be selected for Night 2 (high school playwrights).
• 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.
  • • Playwrights in high school will have the opportunity to join the professional creative team in the rehearsal room to workshop their play.