Frequency Theatre Open to Unsolicited Script Submissions (Audio Plays Only)

What We Are Looking For

• FIRST TIME playwrights. Of course, the more experienced you are, the more likely your writing will be of good quality and thus accepted. However, we strongly encourage you to be brave and send in your writing, even if you have never written a play in your life. If you need more encouragement, look up how playwright Shelagh Delaney got started!
• EMERGING playwrights who would like to have an audio play produced and develop their audio writing.
• ESTABLISHED playwrights who would like to experiment with a new piece of writing which suits audio; in the past, playwrights have found Frequency a good testing ground for new material.
• We are looking for a wide range of plays; we will consider all genres, styles, content, issues etc. However we are especially interested in plays which: take risks with the medium of audio; embrace what can be communicated through audio (ie. large scale/abstract/imaginative events which would be difficult or expensive to convey visually); tell stories which often go unheard in the theatre/in society.

Before You Send Us Your Script

Please read the following script submission guidelines carefully:

• All scripts must be for AUDIO. Scripts for the stage, screen plays, or any other dramatic work which has not been written or adapted for the medium of audio will not be accepted.
• All work submitted must be in the form of a SCRIPT; please do not send in novels or short stories. If you are a poet wishing to work within the medium of audio theatre, please give some thought as to how your poetry will work in dramatic form, and indicate how you would like this to be achieved.
• We prefer scripts to be TEN TO TWENTY MINUITES IN LENGTH. However we may consider plays up to twenty-five minutes, or as short as five minutes. PLEASE NOTE THAT PLAYS ANY LONGER THAN THIS WILL NOT BE READ. It can be difficult to judge how long your play will be pre-performance, but as a very rough guide: in size 12 font, one page of dialogue is a minute long. For further help with this, we recommend the online BBC Writer’s Room.
• All scripts must be predominantly in the ENGLISH language; if parts of your play are in another language, please provide accurate translations.
• Scripts should not have been professionally performed/produced previously; we are looking for BRAND NEW WRITING. However, if you feel there are particular circumstances you would like us to take into consideration, get in touch.
• We accept the use of ‘bad language’ in our productions.
• We aim to produce plays with a wide range of views, including those not necessarily held by any of Frequency’s actors, directors or producers, however we would not produce any work which could be deemed ‘malicious’.
• We accept plays of both large and small cast sizes, including monologues. Please be aware however, that if you do send us a script with a very large cast (i.e. more than ten characters), there may be less chance of it being produced.
• Please do not introduce. or end your play with use of a ‘Host’. Whilst for some of you who write for radio in the USA, this might be standard practice, please be aware that no such device is encouraged for Frequency plays. Instead, try to let the story emerge through the action and dialogue of your play. Of course, if you feel a Narrator is a necessary part of your play, or if the ‘Host’ is part of the actual drama, then do include them.
• Please do not include a Synopsis with your script.

We only accept scripts electronically. Please send your script as an attachment to scriptsfrequencytheatre@gmail.com

For more information, visit their website here.

Deadline: ongoing.

Source: Frequency Theatre