The Vermont Playwrights Circle is accepting scripts for our annual TenFest, a festival of ten 10-minute plays written by Vermont playwrights. Any Vermonter may submit a play. We will consider you a Vermonter if you have lived here for at least three consecutive months at any point in your life.

THIS YEAR'S THEME IS: Scenes at a Table

DEADLINE: April 1, 2026,11:59 pm (EDT)

TenFest 2026's location and dates are still TBD, as Valley Players will be undergoing major renovations this year and will not be available. We are still aiming for an August production.

Our theme for this year is “Scenes at a Table,”and all plays will utilize the same set: a table and two chairs. We look forward to reading what this inspires for you!

GUIDELINES

** Please read these guidelines carefully to be sure that you follow them as written, even if you have submitted in the past, as some items have changed. **

• We want NO MORE than ten minutes’ worth of play. This does not necessarily work out to ten pages of play, so be sure to read your finished play aloud and time it, not rushing, and accounting for anticipated action. We will not accept plays that are longer than ten minutes. We do read them aloud as part of our screening process, and plays that are too long will be disqualified.
• Plays should have a maximum of four characters.
• We will have ONE simple set for all the plays: a table and two chairs. Your play must take place within this set. You may utilize hand props, but including any additional set pieces will disqualify your play.
• A 10-minute play works best as one continuous piece, without multiple scenes or scene or time changes.
  Format your play using proper playwriting format. A good example is the Dramatists Guild's Formatting guidelines: https://www.dramatistsguild.com/sites/default/files/2020-01/General- SFI-Formatting-Guidelines-Complete.pdf
• We will accept only ONE submission per playwright.
• All plays are judged anonymously. Please make sure that your name or other identifying information does not appear anywhere on the script. Submit a separate cover page with your name, contact information, and title of your play.
  

SUBMITTING YOUR PLAY

Please submit your play in PDF format via email to: vtplaywrightscircle@gmail.com

Please make sure to include the following TWO separate documents, as PDFs:

A Cover Page that includes:

• Title of Play
• Your full name,
• Mailing address
• Phone number(s)
• email address
• A brief statement describing what your connection to Vermont is. The VermontPlaywrights Circle's mission is to support Vermont playwrights. Remember, we will consider you a Vermonter if you have lived here for at least three consecutive months at any point in your life. Let us know how this applies to you.
  

1) Your play that includes:

• A character list and brief descriptions. When possible, please note if you can be flexible concerning gender, physical description, etc.
• As noted, your set should be simply a table and two chairs, but you may note specific props, Please keep them simple and to a minimum.
• A brief synopsis of your play.
• A tagline: A short phrase or sentence that captures the play's essence or central conflict, used to draw people in without giving too much away.
• Please include the title of the play and page numbers in a header on your script,but do NOT include your name.
  

Submit your play NO LATER than 11:59 pm (EDT) on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.

Playwrights will be notified by May 1, 2026.

The VermontPlaywrights Circle reserves the right to choose less than or more than ten plays, or to choose none.