The Theater Center's
Making It Happen
Festival of 10-Minute Plays
​​
THE THEATER CENTER, located in the heart of Times Square is opening its doors YOU! We are seeking new works for our 10-minute play festival happening this Spring 2026. We encourage 10-minute plays of all genres, performance types and subject matter. There is no submission fee, and no participation fee.
How the Festival Works:
15 new plays will be presented over three Wednesday evenings at 7pm, with 5 plays performed each night.
-
April 8th
-
April 15th
-
April 22th
At the end of each evening, the audience will vote for their favorite plays. The top two plays from each night (6 total) will advance to the Final Showcase on Wednesday, April 29 at 7pm where they will be performed again and the audience will vote to select our Festival Winner. The evening will conclude with an Emerging Artist Collective Celebration, where all participating playwrights and creative teams are invited to return and celebrate together.
​
Venue:
All plays will take place at the Jerry Orbach Theater, a 199-seat Black Box theater fully equipped with lights, and built-in mic sound system.
​
Submission Deadline:
All plays MUST be submitted by Tuesday, March 24th @ 11:59 PM
​
All Participants Receive:
-
An Off-Broadway credit for their play!
-
An invitation to The Theater Center’s Emerging Artist Collective
​
​
Finalists Receive:
-
A free 30-minute consultation with The Theater Center’s General Manager, Catherine Russell, covering marketing, budgeting, and general management for your show.
​
​
Festival Winner Receives:
-
The winning playwright will receive an opportunity to discuss further development of their work with The Theater Center, including potential pathways for future production and artistic collaboration.
​
​
Requirements:
-
The play must be 10 minutes in length (approx. 10 pages). If you would like to submit a monologue/one person play, it should come in under 10 pages.
-
Playwrights MUST provide their own actors, director, and stage manager.
-
At least one member of the production team must be a resident of one of New York City’s five boroughs.
Please ensure you and your team are available for all relevant festival dates.
​
​
Production Guidelines:
-
Each production will have 15 minutes total to set up, perform, and strike their piece.
-
Productions should be minimalist in design. All specific props or set dressing for your production must be supplied by you.
-
Each piece will receive a 1 hour tech slot on the day of their performance, beginning at 12:00 PM.
-
Basic lighting cues will be available. A tech supervisor will operate lighting, and productions may choose from pre-set lighting cues.
-
Sound cues may be played via amp and AUX connection if needed.
​
​
​
If you have any questions or need assistance, please feel free to reach out to: makingithappenfestival@gmail.com
If you require any additional help or assistance with this, please feel free to reach out.
THE THEATER CENTER (located at 50th & Broadway) is an Off-Broadway theater complex in the heart of New York's Theater District offering two intimate theaters, productions, acting classes, and event spaces.
​
​​​