General Information and Submission Guidelines
About METLab:
METLab is a sub-organization of the Maryland Ensemble Theatre dedicated to the development of new and original work from local playwrights and performance artists. METLab is dedicated to cultivating audience outreach, community discussion, and new play development in Frederick, MD.
Festival Dates: July 20-30, 2017
Submission Period: September 1st, 2016 through December 31st, 2016
About the Plays in Progress Festival:
The Plays in Progress Festival is a two-week long event showcasing new work from playwrights local to the Mid-Atlantic region.
Submissions to the 2016 Plays in Progress Festival will be considered for the following Festival Events:
Staged Reading Series
Each year, three scripts are chosen from amongst that year’s submissions to be featured in a staged-reading series. These playwrights and their works are paired with a professional director, stage manager, dramaturg, and cast of actors. The cast and crew will work together to workshop the script and discuss the piece. This process will culminate in two staged readings, open to the public. Following each staged reading, there will be a guided talk-back(Post-Show discussion instead of talk-back?) with the audience in which the playwright will receive feedback, reactions, and suggestions. The playwrights will then have the opportunity to implement rewrites and changes to their script before regrouping with their cast and crew for a second staged-reading. After the second staged reading, there will be an additional audience talk back(post-show discussion) in which the playwright can see how their changes to the script were received by the audience.
Coffee House Reading Series
In addition to the Staged Readings Series, there will also be several free Coffee House Readings in which additional selected works will be chosen for one-night-only public readings. Scripts chosen for a Coffee House Readings will benefit from hearing their piece read aloud by professional actors in front of an audience and will receive one practice read, led by a director.
Submission Guidelines:
- Scripts with 8 or less actors are preferred. Parts will be doubled if a script requires more than 8 actors.
- Musicals will be accepted for consideration. However, as this is a staged-reading series, only piano accompaniment will be provided by the Festival (unless a recorded accompaniment can be provided by the playwright). Please submit a recording or three sample songs with script submission. Cast size requirements are the same for musical entries (8 or less actors).
- Submission must display clear and consistent formatting.
- Script files must be either .doc, .docx, .rtf, .pdf, or .celtx
- Playwright must currently reside in or be from the “Mid-Atlantic” (approx.: MD, WV, VA, PA).
- Playwright will need to be available to be in Frederick, MD for the entire span of the festival. Housing is NOT provided.
- Only one submission per playwright, please.
- Please include the entire script in your entry – partial scripts and excerpts will not be considered.
- Accepting online submissions only here.