THE RETURN OF
THE SILVER SPRING STAGE ONE-ACT FESTIVAL 2024
THE SILVER SPRING STAGE ONE-ACT FESTIVAL AUGUST 2024
Silver Spring Stage will bring back the one-act festival on August 3-11, 2024. The number of plays in the program will be determined based on the submissions received.
This year, we are accepting submissions under three categories:
- Play without Director: For playwrights who wish to submit their one act to be directed by someone else.
- Director without Play: For directors who wish to direct someone else’s one act, but do not have a specific play in mind
- Play with Director: For playwrights who wish to direct their own one act or for directors wishing to direct a specific one act.
All plays must be between 15 and 30 minutes, unpublished works. If the show has been or will be produced in the area, please include details of the production in your submission (date/location).
We are looking for diverse plays. The submitted plays should be able to be produced simply using set elements, costumes, and props from the Stage’s extensive stock.
One play will be selected from the festival to be entered in the Maryland Community Theatre Festival in January/February 2025.
All submissions are due by March 31, 2024
How to Apply
Step 1 – Send an email to OAF2024@ssstage.org with your resume, an introduction paragraph, and two references. If you are a director without a play, please include a short note about what type of one act you would prefer to direct (comedy/drama, subject matter, etc). If you are submitting with a play, please include an electronic copy of the script. If you are NOT the playwright, please include permission from the playwright.
Step 2 – Fill out the director’s questionnaire (see the button below).
The Director and Play Selection Process
Director interviews will be held by invitation only. Silver Spring Stage hopes to let all applicants know by April 30 whether we wish to schedule an interview. All interviews will be held virtually with members of the One-Act Play Committee in early May.
Final Selection: Final decisions will be made based on the combination of scripts, answers to director’s questions, and interviews. We will try to keep directors and playwrights informed of the status of their proposal throughout the process. Everyone will be notified regardless of whether they are chosen to participate in the One Act Festival.
Please review the next section, “Some Things You Should Know,” and find the “Questions for the Directors” below.
SOME THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Important Dates for One-Act Festival
- Auditions – Late May, 2024
- Tech starts on Saturday, July 27
- PWYC Preview – Thursday August 1
- Performances – Friday and Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 2 pm, August 3-11, 2024.
- There is a $150 prize for the playwright with the best script.
Facts about Silver Spring Stage and our process:
We are a true all-volunteer community theatre. Actors, designers, directors, producers, board members, carpenters, painters, graphic designers, and others donate their time, talent, and energy.
We have a COVID compliance team in place to support our productions and we update protocols as circumstances require. Silver Spring Stage strongly recommends masking for all our performances; masking is recommended for all volunteers while in the building outside of performances, but it is not required. Our masking policy applies to all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, but that policy is subject to change and is regularly reviewed. We no longer require proof of vaccination. Our policies will continue to be updated as circumstances require. Read our full protocols on our website.
We have a unique space all our own.
- Our theatre space is in the basement of the Woodmoor Shopping Center.
- We have our own rehearsal rooms, conference room, and shop/storage on site.
- Our stage offers black-box style intimacy with brand new seating on two sides. The playing area is set on point like a diamond. (If you think of it as a baseball diamond, the audience sits along the base lines that run to home base. The backstage area follows the lines from first base to second to third base.)
- Our backstage area is generous but our floor-to-ceiling height is limited by the architecture of the building. We don’t use microphones.
All shows must hold open auditions – we don’t “pre-cast” roles. That said, directors are responsible for casting their own shows. If you know someone you want for a role, invite them to audition and cast them if you wish. We ask directors to keep an open mind.