SUBMIT A PLAY

Constellation Stage & Screen makes calls for scripts several times each season for productions of new theatre. Please have a look at our ongoing opportunities to submit your new work:

WOODWARD/NEWMAN AWARD

The Woodward/Newman Award is an exclusive honor offered by Constellation Stage & Screen, started through the support of Joanne Woodward, Newman’s Own Foundation, and the Newman family, celebrating Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward’s tremendous history of work on stage and screen. It presents the best unpublished play of the year with a cash prize of $3,000 and a full production as part of Constellation’s Mainstage season.

Please note that there are significant changes to our submission and selection process from previous years. In order to make the Woodward/Newman Award accessible to all, we have eliminated submission fees as well as the contest format. The Woodward/Newman Award will continue to be awarded to an unpublished new play once per year and come with a $3,000 cash prize and a full production. Submissions will be accepted and reviewed by our literary team on an ongoing basis, and will be considered for the award as well as for all 7 production slots in our season. So a play that is not selected for the Woodward/Newman slot in our season, may still be considered and selected for production. This will allow us to now accept open submissions for all types of plays (including TYA shows).  Plays submitted by midnight, August 31st, 2025 will be considered for the 2026-27 season, while plays submitted beyond that date will be considered for the 2027-28 Season. All submissions will be kept on file for 2 years after submission.

If you have questions regarding submissions to the Constellation Stage & Screen, please contact the Literary Manager at literary@seeconstellation.org.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS

We are currently accepting submissions for the 2026-27 Woodward/Newman Award. The award recipient will be announced by May 15, 2026. The winner will be awarded $3,000 and a full production.

• “Full-length” plays should have a complete running time of between 1 hour 15 minutes (75 minutes) to 2 hours 15 minutes (135 minutes). TYA shows should have a complete running time of over 40 minutes.
• Plays submitted must be unpublished at the time of submission (independently published is acceptable).
• Each play should be individually submitted at the following link: CONSTELLATION STAGE & SCREEN PLAY SUBMISSION.
• You will be asked to submit your play as an attachment and all other information (bio, history, synopsis, character breakdown) will be entered into a form. Musical submissions may upload demos as an attachment or include a link to a shared folder.
• Limit of 2 play submissions per year.
• $3,000 cash prize is in lieu of royalties for the full production.  Housing & transportation will also be provided.
• Any unpublished play submitted to Constellation regardless of method (e.g. online form, agent submission, direct contact) may be considered for the Woodward/Newman Award.
• Please note that we are moving away from a “finalists” model in lieu of keeping all plays under consideration for extended periods (2yrs).  We will only announce a winner.
• If you have any questions, please email literary@seeconstellation.org.

AWARD WINNERS:

24/25 Season Award Winner: The King’s Wife

Book by Mêlisa Annis, Music & Lyrics by Jamie Floyd

24/25 Season Finalists:

• The Book Lift by Brooke Pierce
• Little League by Jack Spragnola
• Last Flight of The Mercenary by Karen JP Howes
• Sonny’s Song by Germono Toussaint
• Parklawn by Carol Carter
• The Butterfly Anchor by Darrin Friedman
• The Official Biography by Kurt McGinnis Brown
• In Her Bones by Jessica Kahkoska
• The Life You Gave Me by Novid Parsi

Past Winners:

• 2023-2024 Webster’s Bitch by Jacqueline Bircher
• 2022-2023 American Fast by Kareem Fahmy
• 2021-2022 Pocket Universe by Thomas Brandon
• 2020-2021 Queen Bee by Sharyn Rothstein
• 2019-2020 The Absentee by Julia Dolittle
• 2018-2019 To Quiet the Quiet by Christy Hall
• 2017-2018 Out of Orbit by Jennifer Maisel
• 2016-2017 Happily After Ever by Laura Zlatos
• 2015-2016 You Remind Me of You by Matthew Capodicasa
• 2014-2015 Ugly Lies the Bone by Lindsay Ferrentino
• 2013-2014 Sequence by Arun Lakra
• 2012-2013 Lemonade by Mark Krause
• 2011-2012 Three Views of the Same Object by Henry Murray
• 2010-2011 Miles Away by Christine Whitley