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The Chameleon Theatre Circle's 25th Annual New Play Contest

The deadline for submissions is March 11, 2024 (for email submissions) and March 25, 2024 (for paper submissions).

We are full for our Full-Length plays, One Act and 10-Minute plays and are no longer able to accept any more. We are still accepting theatre-for-youth and musicals plays. Please keep us in mind for next year!

The Chameleon Theatre Circle (located in the Twin Cities area in Minnesota) is seeking original works that have never been produced. All styles and genres are welcomed (i.e. one-acts, musicals, full-length dramas, etc.). The winning plays are tentatively scheduled to be read in a concert-format festival in the fall of 2024. All shows submitted will automatically be placed on the slate of shows in consideration for future seasons

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
We are proud to announce that for the 25th consecutive year we are not charging a submission fee! Entries may be made either via email or on paper but not both. Submission limits per playwright are one full-length play or one one-act play or two 10-minute plays. A maximum of 65 full-length plays, 65 one-act plays, and 125 10-minute plays will be accepted.

To submit via email, send a copy of the script in pdf or word format to jim@chameleontheatre.org. If submitting a musical, also send a copy of the music in mp3 format or a link to a public website where we can download the music in mp3 format. Also send a completed and signed entry form. Do not include any author identification information on the submitted scripts.

To submit via paper, complete and sign an entry form, and send it along with two (2) copies of each script to the address below. We request that copies of the plays be printed double-sided to save on paper, mailing costs, and storage. If you are submitting a musical, also include 2 copies of the music in mp3 format on a CD or flash drive. Do not include any author identification information on the submitted scripts.

Mailing Address
The Chameleon Theatre Circle
25th Annual New Play Contest
7287 153rd St W # 240069
Apple Valley MN 55124

The deadline for submissions is March 11, 2024 (for email submissions) and March 25, 2024 (for paper submissions).

We will distribute the scripts "blind" to our readers for complete objectivity. Include the show's title on at least the first page. Once the winning scripts have been chosen, we will disclose the playwrights' identity to our readers (and the world).

We do not accept plays that have been previously produced. We do accept plays that have only had workshops and other readings. Receipt of play(s) will be acknowledged by e-mail only upon request. Scripts are non-returnable.

As in past years, this year's contest will have multiple categories.

TEN-MINUTE (SHORT) PLAYS - FULL

Winners will receive $25 each plus a reading at the New Play Festival. All short plays will be entered in this contest. Generally, scripts with 20 pages or less of dialog fall into this category.

ONE-ACT (MEDIUM LENGTH) PLAYS - FULL

Winners will receive $50 each plus a reading at the New Play Festival. Any play that can be joined with one or two other plays of similar length to make up a complete evening of theatre will be entered in this contest. Generally, scripts with more than 20 and up to 60 pages of dialog will fall into this category.

FULL-LENGTH PLAYS - FULL

Winners will receive $100 plus a reading at the New Play Festival. Any play that can constitute a complete evening of theatre will be entered in this contest. Generally, scripts of over 60 pages of dialog will fall into this category. It is important to note that these plays can be only one act if it makes up a complete evening of theatre.

MUSICALS

If five or more musicals are submitted, Chameleon reserves the right to create a "musical" category. Musicals are defined as any original play using original or rights permitted musical dialogue to further the story and/or the characters. Winners, if any, will be awarded a prize amount based on the length of the musical i.e., full-length, one-act, or 10-minute. In the absence of enough qualifying scripts, or if Chameleon decides not to create an additional category, musical submissions will be entered into the appropriate category as defined above.

THEATRE-FOR-YOUTH

If five or more plays intended for and/or by youth are submitted, Chameleon reserves the right to create a "theatre-for-youth" category. Theatre-for-youth plays are defined as any original play intended for young audiences, young participants, or both. Winners, if any, will be awarded a prize amount based on the length of the play i.e., full-length, one-act, or 10-minute. In the absence of enough qualifying scripts, or if Chameleon decides not to create an additional category, theatre-for-youth submissions will be entered into the appropriate category as defined above.


The Chameleon Theatre Circle has produced 25 original plays over the course of 24 seasons, including:

  • Ashland by Isabel Estelle - February 2024
  • By Beautiful Infinity by David Vazdauskas - February 2019
  • The Antichrist Cometh by David MacGregor - November 2014
  • Mom! A New Musical Book by Judy Freed, Music and Additional Lyrics by Sari Miller, Lyrics by Randi Wolfe - April/May 2014
  • We Gather Together by Vicki Riba Koestler - November 2011
  • Paper Dolls by Timothy Braatz - September 2009
  • Crossing Event Horizon by Kevin Rush - November 2007
  • Life Savings by David Schrag - 2006 MACT FASTFest
  • Paper Cuts by Timothy Braatz – October 2005
  • Snowflake's Story by Nikki Harmon – January/April 2005 & spring of 2006
  • Love's Shadow On Snow by Rick Raasch - March 2004
  • Are We There Yet? by Kent R. Brown - May 2002
  • New & Nobler Life by Timothy Braatz - Minnesota Fringe Festival, August 3-12, 2001
  • Helena Handbasket by Timothy Braatz - February 2001

The Chameleon Theatre Circle has also produced these original plays:

  • Monsters In America: Puppets of Mass Distraction (created by the company) - 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival
  • Death Penalty Puppetry (created by the company) – 2004 Minnesota Fringe Festival
  • How I Wonder What You Are - Seven original plays by seven playwrights - January 2004
    • Believe In It by Kim Kivens
    • The Boy Who Dies With The Most Mommies Wins by Rick Raasch
    • Child of Mine by Lysa Clayburn
    • H-I-J-K-LMNOP (but not Q) by G.J. Clayburn
    • Pull Falcon's Feather Lever by Tim Kuehl
    • Twinkle by Timothy Braatz
    • Un, Deux, Trois by Clare Jodzio McDermott
  • Pollyholiday by Rick Raasch - March 2003
  • I Could Kick Your Ass by Daniel K. McDermott - January 2003
  • If Garrett McDermott Were A Bowl of Prize-Winning Chili by Rick Raasch - November 2002

Past New Play Contest Winners

2023 New Play Contest
You Did What? by Hope Hommersand (River Forest, IL) 10-Minute Category
Bump in the Night by Dan Borengasser, (Springdale, AR)

10-Minute Category
The Last Student by Meredith Yanchak (Round Rock, TX) One Act Category
Audients by Duncan Pflaster (Briarwood, NY) 10-Minute Category
A Woman Over Forty by Lindsey Brown (Auckland, New Zealand) One Act Category
S.A.T. - a Musical by Lara Cody and Mark Vogel (Los Angeles, CA) Musical Category
The China Shop by Richard Manley (Newport Beach, CA) Full Length Category
   
2022 New Play Contest
Ashland, by Isabel Estelle (Minneapolis, MN) Full Length Category
Playing Fields of Somerville, by James McLindon (Northampton, MA) Ten-Minute play
Lit Crit, by Cherielyn Ferguson (Piedmont, CA) Ten-Minute play
Fruitful, by Rex McGregor (Auckland, New Zealand) Ten-Minute play
The Dragon King's Daughter, by Marcus Yi (Miller Place, NY) Theatre For Youth Musical Winner
Joe Goes Courting, by Evan Laughlin (Venice, CA) Full length Category
Further Adventures of Jackie Paper, by Andrew Rosdail (Minneapolis) One-Act play
   
2021 New Play Contest
Beloved, by Arthur Holden (Westmount Quebec, Canada) Full Length Category
Craig Fox Had a Wife, by Beverly Allen (Bend, OR) Full Length Category
A Lovely Day for a Boating Trip (and to Kill Your Spouse), by Lindsey Brown (Auckland, New Zealand) One-Act Play
The Mockingbird's Nest, by Craig Bailey (Shelburne, VT) One-Act Play
Chair, by Manuel Igrejas (Montclair, NJ) Ten-Minute Play
Daybreak, by Mervyn Kaufman (New York, NY) Ten-Minute Play
Satan at the Walmart, by James McLindon (Northampton, MA) Ten-Minute Play
The Previous Incident Versus a Recent Development, by Deborah Dashow Ruth (Kensington, CA) Ten-Minute Play
   
2020 New Play Contest
Ghostly by Craig Jessen Full Length Category
Tracy Jones by Stephen Kaplan Full Length Category
All My Exes Walk Into a Bar by Elke Thoms One Act Category
Bertha's Books by W L Newkirk One Act Category
Fantasy for Two by Mike McGoldrick One Act Category
Albert Wants a Shirt by Tiffa Foster Ten Minute Category
Magna Mora by Brian Cern Ten Minute Category
The Swinging Bridge by Susan Middaugh Ten Minute Category
   
2019 New Play Contest
National Bohemians by Like Sorge Full Length Category
Agathe by Angela J Davis One Act Category
California Zepher by Daniel James Waters One Act Category
The Infinity Monologues by Jack Bushnell One Act Category
Apocalypse Pet Care by Richard A Pauli Ten Minute Category
Colored Water byCynthia Veal Holm Ten Minute Category
Hotel Rewards by Stephen F Murray Ten Minute Category
It's Always the Quiet Ones by Sharai Bohannon Ten Minute Category
Performance Anxiety by Rom Watson Ten Minute Category
   
2018 New Play Contest
Bird of Passage by Colby Halloran Full Length Category
Rev by Rachel Bykowski Full Length Category
The Grave Digger's Lament by Gavin Kayner One Act Category
After the Intervention by W L Newkirk Ten Minute Category
Appointment with Destiny by Beth L Novick Ten Minute Category
Cat People Invade! Richard A Pauli Ten Minute Category
Performance Review by Nedra Pezold Roberts Ten Minute Category
When the Sun Goes Down by Jonathan Cook Ten Minute Category
Hyard Ed by Phil Darg Musical Category
   
2017 New Play Contest
Feather'd Choir by Jeremy Hermann Ten Minute Category
Memories of the American Occupation by Paul Lewis Ten Minute Category
Mixed Nuts by George Bryjak Ten Minute Category
Night and Fog by Kathleen Davis One Act Category
Spilled Dictators by Andrew Rosdail One Act Category
Summers in Prague by Deanna Strasse One Act Category
My Beautiful Infinity by David Vazdauskas Full Length Category
The Women of Cheboksary by Emily Schoenbeck Fell Length Category
The Notorious Nugget by Mark & Lauren Arnest Musical Category
   
2016 New Play Contest
Exhibitions at a Picture by Joyce Fontana Ten Minute Category
Gratitude Attitude by Ashley Flesher Ten Minute Category
The Way We Suffer by Deanna Strasse Ten Minute Category
Colorado Sunset by Jeff Carter One Act Category
Good Morning, Miriam by Jacquelyn Floyd Priskorn One Act Category
The Simple Mind of Dillon Magee by A. D. Hasselbring One Act Category
Corbenic by Michael Peroz Full Length Category
Cross Words by Scott Gibson Fell Length Category
The Snowmaker by Aleks Merilo Full Length Category
Zany Planets by Rex McGregor Theatre for Youth Category
   
2015 New Play Contest
Intermission by Matthew Loren Cohen Ten Minute Category
Bully Bully by Esta Fischer Ten Minute Category
Fair Trade Coffee by Maurice Herzing Ten Minute Category
The Real Inspector Hound Kisses the Spider-Woman by David Wilcox One Act Category
The Smelly Girl by Cary Gitter One Act Category
Living Tesla by Kim Esop Wylie One Act Category
Weak Days by Hillary DePiano One Act Category
Fertile by Tony Foster One Act Category
Macho Manly Men by Michael Gordon Shapiro Full Length Category
Santa Maria del Mar by John Krisak Full Length Category
   
2014 New Play Contest
Page Ten by Amy Crider Ten Minute Category
Beige is the New Plum Crazy by Garrett Heater Ten Minute Category
Eve of the Vertebrates by Christian Simonsen Ten Minute Category
Touché Cliché Touché by Everett Chambers Ten Minute Category
The Colonial Diner by Jack Karp One Act Category
The Mugging by Fred Roberts One Act Category
Spoken For by S.L. Daniels One Act Category
Ayn Rand by Gregory Dodds One Act Category
A Dragon is Coming by Christine Williamson Full Length Category
Calypso's Corner by Emily Rosenbaum Full Length Category
   
2013 New Play Contest
A Dark and Stormy Night by Scott Dixon Ten Minute Category
But Soft by David Clow Ten Minute Category
My Broken Kenmore by Bridget Erin Ten Minute Category
Role Playing by David Edenbach Ten Minute Category
Daniil Kharms: A Life in Oce Act and Several Dozen Eggs by Nancy Cooper Frank One Act Category
Fall by Audra Lord One Act Category
Serendipity by Lynn-Steven Johanson One Act Category
The Antichrist Cometh by David MacGregor Full Length Category
The Death of Captain Hero by Amy Crider Full Length Category
The Worst Play in the History of Ever by Jeffrey Wolf Theatre for Youth Category
   
2012 New Play Contest
Good Talk by James McLindon Ten Minute Category
Guess What? by Paul Lewis Ten Minute Category
Pop by Andrea Rassler Ten Minute Category
Witlacks Disorder by Richard Manley Ten Minute Category
A Brief History of Mah Jongg by Faye Sholiton One Act Category
Failing Consumption by Lauren & Mark Arnest One Act Category
IO: A Sequel to Prometheus Bound by Christian Simonsen One Act Category
Jane the Plain by August Schulenburg Full Length Category
The Light in the Refrigerator by Laura Zlatos Full Length Category
Mom! book by Judy Freed; music & additional lyrics by Sari Miller; lyrics by Randi Wolfe Musical Category
The Wind in the Willows by Kurt Misar & Brad Beaver Theatre for Youth Category
   
2011 New Play Contest
Curse the Darkness by Patrick Gabridge Ten Minute Category
The Buffer by Mike Allegra Ten Minute Category
Sense & Insensibility by Dan Borengasser One Act Category
The Watch by Trace Crawford One Act Category
Grandma's Little Helper by Kris Bauske Full Length Category
Noir(ish) by Evan Guilford-Blake Full Length Category
The Commission by Daivd Clow Full Length Category
   
2010 New Play Contest
Candlelight by Matthew Carlin Ten Minute Category
InSex by Jeffrey Neuman Ten Minute Category
Missing by Robin Pond Ten Minute Category
Retirement Party by Ron Frankel Ten Minute Category
Assisted Living by Jeffrey Newman Ten Minute Category
No Flash Bright Enough by James Sievert One Act Category
We Gather Together by Vicki Riba Koestler Full Length Category
Thorns by Michael Peroz Full Length Category
HMS Headwind by Michael Gordon Shapiro Musical Category
Maggie the Pirate by Joshua H. Cohen & James Armstrong Musical Category
   
2009 New Play Contest
Old/Bored/Trouble/Dead by John Allison Ten Minute Category
Have Your Cake by Sara Ilyse Jacobson Ten Minute Category
Good God Enters Flossing by J. Stephen Brantley Ten Minute Category
The Winner Is... by Arash Karami Ten Minute Category
Merry-Go-Round by Sam Wallin One Act Category
Cue by M. Thomas Cooper One Act Category
Ponzi on Sunday by Jon Steinhagen Full Length Category
Cossacks Under Water by Timothy Braatz Playwright-in-Residence Submission
   
2008 New Play Contest
Dancing About Architecture by John C. Davenport Ten Minute Category
12 Steps to Happy Hour by Matt Wexler Ten Minute Category
A Stake in Cake by Justin Boyd Ten Minute Category
Esla and Frinz Go Partying by Bruze Shearer Ten Minute Category
Rules for a Knife Fight by Max Wexler One Act Category
Wrestling the Alligator by Sergei Burbank Full Length Category
Bridget's Girl by Barbara Dixon Musical Category
Blonde Giovanni by Rick Raasch Playwright-in-Residence Submission
   
2007 New Play Contest
Hard to Swallow by Daniel Curzon Ten Minute Category
Falling from the Sky by Matt Heftler Ten Minute Category
Guts by Arden Kass Ten Minute Category
Canvas by G. Bruce Smith One Act Category
Burying Barbie by Christopher Dimond One Act Category
Crossing Event Horizon by Kevin Rush Full Length Category
   
2006 New Play Contest
The Ten Minute Play by Marika Barnett Ten Minute Category
Life Savings by David Schrag Ten Minute Category
SANE by Jessica Foster Ten Minute Category
Living With the Rules by John A. Donnelly One Act Category
A Personal Appearance by Donald Steele One Act Category
Love and Sex Over Drinks by Joe Bays Full Length Category
The Numerous Numbers and the Magical Plus Sign by Dan Sherrier Theatre for Youth Category
Paper Dolls by Timothy Braatz Playwright-in-Residence Submission
   
2005 New Play Contest
A vs. B by Marika Tamaki & Lindy Zucker Ten Minute Category
Countdown to Matrimony: An American Monomyth in Under Ten Pages by Conrad E. Davidson Ten Minute Category
Pathos by Rob Bodor Ten Minute Category
Shades by Mark Harvey Levine Ten Minute Category
The Word: A Filthy Little Play by Mark Harvey Levine Ten Minute Category
Leftovers by Scott McMorrow One Act Category
Picnic by Christine Flanagan One Act Category
The Quality of Light by Richard Martin Hirsch Full Length Category
The Commedia Robin Hood by Lane Riosley Theatre for Youth Category
Wild Women of Planet Wongo by Ben Budick, Steve Mackes & Dave Ogrin Musical Category
Paper Cuts by Timothy Braatz Playwright-in-Residence Submission
Who's Afraid of Peter & the Wolf by Rick Raasch Playwright-in-Residence Submission
   
2004 New Play Contest
Missing Matter by Helen Hill Ten Minute Category
When One is Gone by Steve Bluestein One Act Category
Picnic by Christine Flanagan One Act Category
Snowflake's Story: In Search of the Fabled Land of New Jersey by Nikki Harmon Theatre for Youth Category
The Commistar by Timothy Braatz Playwright-in-Residence Submission
   
2003 New Play Contest
The Marriage of Marcus Tyler by Matthew N. Fotis One Act Category
Guns, Lies & Lullabies by Timothy Braatz Playwright-in-Residence Submission
Love's Shadow on Snow by Rick Raasch Playwright-in-Residence Submission
   
2002 New Play Contest
Broken Loyalties by Christopher Karbo Full Length Category
For the Perserverance of Plentitude by Laura Henry Full Length Category
One Was Assulted by Timothy Braatz Playwright-in-Residence Submission
   
2001 New Play Contest
Are We There Yet? by Kent R. Brown One Act Category
The Volunteer by Kent R. Brown One Act Category
Shattered Perspectives by John Otte Full Length Category
New and Nobler Life by Timothy Braatz Playwright-in-Residence Submission