Send us your play!
“This conference provides a sanctuary for playwrights to create away from the pressure of the press, industry insiders, and representatives. It is a critical incubator in the Midwest that serves the nation. There are so few opportunities like this left (you can count them on one hand). The GPTC allows for new work to be developed to act as a pipeline for our American stages.”
– Christina Ham, Guest Artist
Thanks for your interest in the GPTC New Play Festival.
The window for sending us your play for the 2026 New Play Festival is open! It closes on October 15th!
Click here to send us your play!
(If you would like to preview the application questions before filling it out click here.)
Below are some key details to help you decide if you’d like to send your work to us. Please read the following information before you apply.
This year’s Festival will take place May 24th – May 30th, 2026.
The Festival takes place in Omaha, Nebraska.
*Playwrights who are accepted to the festival are required to attend the full week of the festival.
The application process is anonymous. None of the readers who review and select the plays will know who wrote them.
There is a $10 application fee. The fee helps to pay a part of the reader’s stipends. There is a PayPal payment link on the application page for you to pay this fee.
Selected playwrights are provided with travel, hotel, most meals, local transportation, and a $750 stipend.
Accepted plays will be assigned a local director and cast. They will also be assigned a dramaturg and designer from our national team.
Plays may be one-acts or full-length, but no shorter than 30 pages. Plays may not have had a professional production.
Playwrights may send only one play per year. Plays that were sent to us in previous years may be resubmitted.
No musicals or plays for young audiences are accepted.
Playwrights who are accepted to the Festival agree to give full support to their fellow playwrights throughout the week.
Ten plays and playwrights will be selected for the 2026 New Play Festival.
Inclusivity and accessibility are creative priorities for the GPTC. We welcome disabled artists to apply.
The application window to send us your play opens on September 1st and closes on October 15th.