2026 Iowa Playwrights Series Contest Rules

Drake University Theatre seeks new, original plays by Iowa playwrights as part of the 2026 Iowa Playwrights Series. Entries will be read by a committee of Drake Theatre students and faculty.  The writer of the winning entry will receive a prize of $500 and have their work produced as a staged-reading for two performances as part of Drake Theatre’s Main Stage Season.  Rules for entry are as follows, please read carefully.

• Playwrights must reside within the state of Iowa at the time of submission.
• Eligibility includes Drake students, staff and alumni as well as any Iowa playwright.  Current Drake faculty, however, are ineligible to participate.
• The winning entry will be:
  • A full-length play (one hour or more reading/production time).  Musicals will not be accepted.
  • A new work that has never received a fully mounted production.  Works that have been read or workshopped for the purpose of revision are acceptable.
  • Conducive to a Reader’s Theatre / Staged Reading style of performance.
  • Any style/genre (comedy, tragedy, farce, docu-drama, etc.)
  • Wholly original work on the part of the playwright (i.e. no translations or adaptations of existing plays, movies or television programs).  NOTE: Use of any AI program or service in any part of the writing process is strictly prohibited.
  • A play that embraces a variety of characters.  There are no restrictions on the type or number, with the understanding that the work will be performed by Drake Theatre students.  All attempts will be made in casting to preserve the integrity and representation of characters as written, but compromises may be necessary.
• Criteria for submissions:
  • One play only, please.  Plays submitted in previous years may be resubmitted as long as they meet all current contest criteria.
  • Your play must be submitted electronically, attached to an e-mail.
  • The body of that e-mail must contain current contact information for the playwright (i.e. name, address, phone number, e-mail address).
  • The attached play must be formatted as either a .pdf or .docx file and must have all references to the playwright (i.e. name, contact info, etc.) removed.  Only the title of the play itself should be visible on the attached manuscript.  The purpose of this is to preserve anonymity and ensure the selection committee judges each play based solely on the merits of the work.
  • The e-mail, with play attached, should be sent to Michael Rothmayer at:
    Michael.Rothmayer@drake.edu.  Print/hard copies will not be accepted.

The winning playwright is invited to attend one or both readings of their play.  Complimentary tickets will be provided. Please note that by submitting your play for this competition, if you are selected as the winner, you are giving Drake Theatre permission to rehearse and perform two public readings of your play free from royalty restrictions.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 6th, 2026.  There is no entry or submission fee.  The winning entry will be announced on or before Friday, May 1st, 2026.  The staged readings will be performed Friday, September 18th and Saturday, September 19th at 7:30pm on the Drake campus.

If you have any questions, you can e-mail Michael Rothmayer at the address listed above, or contact Jacob Lemons, Administrative Assistant for the Department of Theatre Arts at (515) 271-2018: jacob.lemons@drake.edu

To see the complete list of rules online go to www.drake.edu/theatre/productions.  Then scroll down the page to Iowa Playwrights Series and click the link that reads: “how to apply here”.