Spotlight PLAYFEST 2025-’26 Young Playwrights’ Competition

Spotlight Youth Theatre’s annual PLAYFEST competition is your chance to create a short, original youth theatre play for actors ages 8–19 — with the ultimate goal of seeing it brought to life on the Spotlight Youth Theatre stage.

All participating playwrights—not just the winners—will have the opportunity to receive feedback, tips, and guidance from Spotlight’s award-winning dramatists.

Winners of the PLAYFEST competition will receive a $100 prize and will have their play fully produced on the Spotlight Stage!

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The entry period is September 8 through October 10, 2025

Winners will be announced on October 27, 2025

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Click here to submit your Playfest 2025-’26 contest entry and script

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Playwright Entry Requirements

The submission deadline is October 10, 2025.

Eligiblity:

• Age: 13–24
• Residency: Must live in the Phoenix metropolitan area
• Entry Fee: $5 per script (non-refundable donation to Spotlight Youth Theatre). Every entrant will receive a review of their work.

Permissions:

By entering, playwrights agree that Spotlight Youth Theatre may:

• Announce your name for promotional purposes if you win or receive an honorable mention.
• Work with winning playwrights to refine their scripts.
• Produce each winning play once on the Spotlight stage.

Copyright:

• Playwrights retain all rights to their work beyond this one-time production agreement.
• Spotlight does not own your script—your intellectual property remains yours.

Prizes & Teams:

• Playwrights may work solo or in teams.
• Each winning play receives one prize of $100, regardless of the number of authors.

Script Guidelines:

• Length: 15–25 minutes running time.
• Audience: Not required to be a children’s story, but content must be appropriate for mixed ages.
• Originality: Must not be based on or adapted from any licensed or copyrighted work (e.g., Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc.).
• Setting: Must take place in one location OR be staged using a single set that can creatively represent multiple locations without moving large set pieces. Background projection suggestions are allowed.
• AI Use: Absolutely no AI-generated content is permitted for any aspect of your script (characters, dialogue, storyline, etc.).

Final Note:

• Break a leg—and have fun bringing your imagination to the stage!