New Stage Players seeks new plays for 2027 comedy festival

September 4, 2026  |  By Waterbury Roundabout

The Grange Hall Cultural Center and New Stage Players are seeking submissions of short comedic stage plays for production in 2027.

The plays would be presented in the company’s New Stage Comedy Play Festival, March 12-21. 

All comedic plays will be considered. The deadline to submit is 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15. Plays will be selected, and directors will be assigned, with cast auditions scheduled for Dec. 4-5. 

The festival will run two weekends at the Grange Hall Cultural Center on March 12-14 and 19-21. 

Criteria for selection

• Plays MUST be comedic with a run time of 10-12 minutes. 

• Simple production values are preferred with no more than five characters.  

• Playwrights agree to grant New Stage Players/Grange Hall Cultural Center full license to produce their play for the New Stage Festival production.

• Each submission must be sent electronically, formatted on 8 1/2” x 11” pages with type in 12-point or larger, standard margins, title page and numbered pages. 

• Playwright’s name, email address, mailing address and phone contact details. 

• Each script should contain a short synopsis (four sentences max), a list of characters with brief descriptions, any special technical requirements, run times noted. 

• Writers are also asked to share all production history, including workshop/development process for or publication of their play, if any.

• Playwrights are also asked to include a short bio (75-word max) and resume (education, awards, fellowships, etc), and note anything else important for the reviewers to know.

Writers should email submissions to grangehallcc@gmail.com with “2027 NSP Comedy Festival Submission” in the subject line. All submissions must be received by Sept. 15 at 11:59 p.m. to be considered.