What is the EnActe International Playwriting Competition?
EnActe Arts’ new playwriting competition is open to all playwrights! We invite playwrights to submit a work which explores South Asian perspectives in global storytelling. There is no submission fee. All semifinalists will receive one-on-one developmental assistance from our jury members, and the finalists will see their work presented at EnActe’s New Works Festival.
Click here to submit!
Who are the jury?
The EIPC jury is composed of highly accomplished theatre-makers with several decades of achievement in writing, producing, and presenting theatre. Our jurors also support the semifinalist playwrights through their dramaturgical developments.
Robert Kelley
Robert Kelley is the Artistic Director Emeritus of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, which he founded in 1970. Following the company’s 2019 Regional Theatre Tony Award, he retired in 2020 having directed over 175 productions, including many World Premieres. His many awards include the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Lifetime Achievement Award.
Matthew Spangler
Matthew Spangler’s plays have been produced on Broadway, in London’s West End, off-Broadway, and at theatres throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Selected plays include: The Kite Runner; Cowboys and East Indians; The Beekeeper of Aleppo; Operation Ajax; Tortilla Curtain; The Forgotten Empress; and Albatross.
Kathy Foley
Kathy Foley is Distinguished Research Professor of Performance/Play/Design (Theatre Arts) at UCSC, past President of UNIMA-USA and past editor of the globally respected Asian Theatre Journal. She is one of the first non-Indonesian dalang to perform in the Indonesia National Wayang Festival. She has been supported by Fulbright, Asian Cultural Council, Institute of Sacred Music/Yale, and East-West Center Grants.
Aroon Shivdasani
Aroon Shivdasani is the Founder and retired Executive & Artistic Director of the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC). Aroon pioneered a passionate movement to showcase, promote, give visibility, and build an awareness of performing, visual, literary, folk arts and artists from the Indian sub-continent as well as the diaspora, while simultaneously working to support important social and humanitarian causes in India and the U.S.
Susan McCully
Susan McCully is a playwright, professor, and dramaturg whose work blends intersectional identities, and experimental performance. Her own plays have been produced nationally and internationally. Collaborating with professional playwrights and students, she champions bold storytelling and cultural insight to new play development, mentoring emerging voices, and shaping contemporary American theatre.
Vinita Sud Belani
Vinita Sud Belani is the Founding Artistic Director of EnActe Arts, a national theatre company co-located in Texas, California and New York, that develops and presents thought-provoking, universally appealing stories that put South Asia in a global context. EnActe, an NNPN and CAATA member, focuses on inclusive representation and talent incubation. Vinita is an actor, director, producer and playwright.
FAQ
What is the timeline?
- Submissions open at 9:00am EST on June 15th, 2025, and plays will be read as they are submitted.
- Submissions close at 8:00pm EST on September 15th, 2025.
- EnActe will announce six semifinalists on March 1st, 2026.
- Between March 15 and May 15, 2026, the semifinalists will receive developmental assistance* from an EnActe-appointed jury member, and submit final drafts by 8:00pm EST on June 1st, 2026.
- EnActe will announce the three finalists on July 1st, 2026, and their plays will receive staged readings at the New Works Festival in September of 2026.
Who can apply?
Any playwright from anywhere is welcome to submit!
EnActe welcomes artists from all over the world and from all backgrounds. As long as your play meets our submission criteria (below), the EIPC welcomes your work.
What are the submission criteria?
- We welcome submissions from any and all playwrights.
- The play should engage/explore topics of importance for South Asian* communities.
- Language: primarily English. (We are open to scripts that include other languages, but may be easily understood by English-speaking audiences.)
- Plays of all genres and styles are welcome, including plays featuring dance/movement. However, we cannot accept musicals or operas at this time.
- The ideal length for submitted plays is between 60-120 minutes long.
- The play must be formatted as a script and submitted as a PDF.
- We are looking to spotlight new works. We do consider plays that have been through a development process, but plays which have had a world premiere are not eligible for consideration.
- Playwrights are required to submit a brief production/reading history.
- Playwright bios and relevant contact information should be included with submissions. Here is the information playwrights will be required to provide: name, phone number, email address, city/state/country of residence, short bio, and of course the most recent draft of their script.
*Our definition of South Asia: Given that South Asian culture has been in continuous uninterrupted existence for over seven millennia, our definition of South Asia is expansive. It includes all the countries within and south of the Himalayas, as well as the cultures of the peoples that came to settle in South Asia and make it their home, such as Persians. Below is a non-exhaustive list of all modern-day countries which we include in our definition: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sikkim, the Maldives, and cultural influences from Southeast Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, Britain, Portugal, France, and parts of Central Asia.
What is the process of selection?
A team of highly qualified readers from the theatre community will make an initial evaluation and summary of the play, after which the jury for the competition will deliberate to shortlist six semifinalists.
What can the shortlisted semifinalists expect?
The six semifinalists will each receive two one-hour dramaturgical and developmental sessions with an EnActe-appointed jury member. Between March 15, 2026 and May 15, 2026, the playwright may avail of two back-to-back sessions, or take time to make script revisions before the second developmental meeting.
All semifinalists have the opportunity to submit a second draft of the play by June 1st, 2026.
After jury deliberations, EnActe will announce the three finalists on July 1st, 2026.
How do the finalists advance?
The three finalists’s plays will be produced as staged readings in New York and Silicon Valley as part of EnActe’s New Works Festival. Each play will receive a partial week of rehearsals with a cast of professional actors, and audience feedback will be taken after the shows. Playwrights are encouraged to attend!
The final winner will be announced at the New Works Festival and their achievement publicized across all EnActe social media.
EnActe will retain the option to choose any of the three finalist plays for a production / world premiere. EnActe’s right of first refusal for these plays will expire for all finalists three months after the close of the New Works Festival.
Any other questions?
Contact the Literary Manager at literarymanager@enacte.org
Can I apply to be a reader for the competition?
To apply to be a reader for the competition, please send your resume to the Literary Manager at literarymanager@enacte.org.
Thank you!
Can I support the festival or the competition even if I’m not a writer?