Playwriting Contest

The CTAM Playwriting Contest’s goal is to promote playwriting in the state of Michigan. Additionally, we encourage budding playwrights to connect with local, community theatres to help them workshop their plays and inspire the next generation of playwrights. Each year CTAM judges blindly grade the scripts on a rubric (see below) and awards a first place prize. In 2025 we added a 10-minute play contest, which will be offered in 2026 as well. Typical prize values are listed below but subject to change:

Full Length Play First Prize: $500

10-Minute Play First Place: $100
10-Minute Play Second Place: $50
10-Minute Play Third Place: $25

Deadline for 2026 submissions (both full-length and 10-minute plays):
Midnight of Memorial Day – Monday, May 25, 2026.

Full Length Plays:

The play must be unpublished, written by a Michigan playwright and cannot have been given a public performance by a professional company.

Full-length plays must be a normal evening’s entertainment of 90+ minutes; the full-length play can involve any number of characters, settings, scenes and costumes, or possibly two one-acts somehow tied together with an overall theme. The subject matter is your choosing, but keep our midwestern community values in mind, as far as subject matter and language are concerned.

We are NOT accepting musicals or children’s plays at this time.

A play adapted from other material (such as a short story) not in the public domain must be submitted with a written statement from the author or his agent, giving permission for the adaptation and agreeing to the terms of the CTAM contest.

10-Minute Plays:

These shorter plays will be 9 to 10 typewritten pages in the generally accepted manuscript format*. These plays will be continuous action (no scene breaks or set changes), contemporary setting, and minimal costumes, make-up and very few lighting and sound requests. Each year will have a specific theme.

The theme for 2026 is: Winning and Losing

Just think about all the possible dramatic situations you can conjure up, using that scenario! Betting on the ponies … investing your IRA money on a sure thing … watching your daughter’s soccer game …
losing your winning lottery ticket … losing your hearing … winning a crooked poker game and then losing your car keys … the list goes on and on!

Formatting

For both categories, use 12 pt. Courier New type face (looks like a typewriter!), singlespaced. The speeches should be flush left and the character name should be boldface caps, centered over the speech or line. Don’t forget to number your pages.

Entries should be submitted in an electronic format. Please include a separate title page with your contact information. If necessary you can attach/upload the cover page(s) as a separate file.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE is Midnight of Memorial Day – Monday, May 25, 2026

Winner(s) will be announced at our Fall Conference.

Please email your submissions to playwriting@ctam.online

JUDGING PROCESS

A committee of at least three judges will select winners, and their decision shall be final. CTAM reserves the right to award only one prize or no prizes at all, depending upon the scoring results provided by the judges.

Public announcement and presentation of awards are made at the annual CTAM Fall Conference.

Author(s) of the winning full length play agrees their scripts will be offered to CTAM member groups for the first two (2) calendar years following the contest without charge for royalties. We still encourage our member theatres to pay royalties to the playwrights but as long as you are a CTAM Member Group then you are eligible to perform winning shows for free during the two years following their award.

JUDGING CRITERIA

The judges will score the play on a 100-point scale based on the following criteria:

Feasibility: Could this play be staged by a typical CTAM theatre group considering sets, costumes, lights, number of characters, subject matter and language? (5 points)

Essentials: Does this play have the essentials for dramatic development? Is there a protagonist? Is there an antagonist? Does this play have a protagonist who has a clear and compelling goal and who is involved in a central dramatic conflict? Are there obstacles to these goals? Are the obstacles believable? Does something really happen on stage? (20 points)

Mood and Genre: Have the mood and genre been clearly developed? Are there clues early on that tell the audience that they will be seeing a comedy or a melodrama or a psychological thriller, etc.? If it starts out funny, does it stay funny? If not, is the audience surprised in a logical or satisfying way? (15 points)

Characters: Are the characters interesting and credible? Have they been clearly defined and fully developed? Are all the characters necessary to the play? Have the main characters evolved through the course of the play? Will the audience care about what happens to them? (10 points)

Dialogue: Does the dialogue sound natural and credible? Is it fresh and compelling? Does it suit the character? Does each character have a unique voice? (5 points)

Story/Plot: Does the story progress at an engaging pace? Does something happen? Do the events within the play lead to significant changes in the main characters. Is there a resolution to the conflict? Is the plot interesting enough to hold the audience’s attention ? Is each scene important and relevant? Does the play capture your attention? (15 points)

Overall rating: Is the dramatic situation involving the protagonist and his/her conflict interesting for an audience? Did you enjoy the play? Were you comfortable with the setting, situation, characters, dialogue, pace, and resolution? Could you picture the action onstage? Did you feel it was worth your time to get to know the characters and their story? (30 points)

RECOMMENDATIONS PRIOR TO SUBMISSION:

Use an easy-to-read font and format and be consistent. We don’t require a particular format, but here are links to some format .pdfs you might want to consider.

Proofread your entry, have someone else proofread it, and then proofread it again.
Read your play out loud or, better yet, have a group read your play.

Questions? Contact contact the contest chair by emailing playwriting@ctam.online