AUDITIONS!
34th Annual Young Playwrights Festival
The 34th Annual Young Playwrights Festival at the Blank Theatre Company is now casting our 12 winning plays for 2026!
The Young Playwrights Festival is a 33 year-old nationwide play writing competition for writers ages 9 to 19. The 12 best plays were chosen by a panel of theatre professionals from submissions across America. Winning playwrights are provided careful mentoring and direction from industry professionals to help prepare their work for public performance and hone their skills, talent and confidence.
Most plays are 20 pages or less.
Additional project information, roles and how to submit are below! Thanks for your interest and support in our beloved festival!
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PROJECT INFORMATION:
Producer: Sarah Nilsen
Production Supervisor: Peter Newell
Casting Directors: Alexa Pereira, C.S.A. & Rebecca Wyman
Performance Venue: Skylight Theatre in Los Angeles
**Fun note! Tickets to this production are FREE!
Additional Rehearsal Venue: LACAE Theatre in North Hollywood
Rehearsals Begin: o/a June 15
**Rehearsals run approx. 2 1/2 weeks in a staggered schedule ending on July 29, 2026.
Run: Each Play runs one weekend, Thursday to Sunday between July 9 and August 2, 2026. ** Total time commitment for any participant is about two and a half weeks: two (2) weeks of rehearsal, one (1) weekend of performances (four total performances)
Rate: $100 flat expense reimbursement for participants
This production is Non-Equity.
SAG/AFTRA and other union members are welcome to submit.
ROLES:
**Please note: the roles listed below are described broadly to make submitting more efficient. (We have about 56 roles to cast this year.) For each role name listed below, there are a number of available parts that range in age/type/storyline.**
OPEN CALL: Males/Females/Non-Binary/Gender Expansive to play 25-70 yrs old, all ethnicities, all types, all physical abilities. Some require heavy drama; some require strong comedy chops... LEADS and SUPPORTING ROLES.
OPEN CALL TEENS: Males/Females/Non-Binary/Gender Expansive to play 15-Early 20s, all ethnicities, all types, all physical abilities. Some require heavy drama; some require strong comedy chops... LEADS and SUPPORTING ROLES.
DETECTIVE SAMUEL LEE/ SAMMY LI-: 15-19 years old, male, Asian. Drama. LEAD.
MS. VIVIAN WON: 30s, female, Asian. Drama. LEAD.
JONAH (he/him): 18-20s, transgender man/trans masculine/non-binary. Drama. LEAD.
JULES (she/her): 18-20s, transgender woman/trans feminine/non-binary. Drama. LEAD.
NIEVE: 15-19 years old, female, Irish. Drama. LEAD. MUST BE ABLE TO SPEAK IN AN IRISH ACCENT.
IRISH MEN: 40s, male, Irish. Drama. LEAD and SUPPORTING ROLES. MUST BE ABLE TO SPEAK IN AN IRISH ACCENT.
AUNT COLLEEN: 40s, female, Irish. Drama. SUPPORTING. MUST BE ABLE TO SPEAK IN AN IRISH ACCENT.
HOW TO SUBMIT:
Please self-tape, using the following instructions:
DEADLINE: Friday, May 16th at 2pm PST
MATERIAL: Please prepare a 1 minute performance of your choice.
UPLOAD LINK: https://www.dropbox.com/request/gs921rxaaozifn6r295n
SLATE: Full body, stating your name, (age if under 18) and location. If you have an
agent or a manager, please provide their name/company as well.
LABEL: Please include the actor's full professional name, email address and role name
in the label - e.g.: "janedoe - janesmom83@gmaildotcom - OPEN CALL.mp 4"
Please send one take ONLY of your scene and attach your slate at the end of the
performance so everything is in a single file.
PLEASE NOTE: We will most likely have in-person callbacks. Date/time TBD.
Reels are not necessary at this point. If we need one, we will request it at a later date.
For questions, please email Alexa & Rebecca at: theblankcasting@gmail.com
We look forward to seeing your work.
Thank you!
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THE BLANK?
The Blank Theatre is committed to the enrichment of Hollywood’s cultural life through production of first-rate theatre, education of current and future artists, and creation of groundbreaking new works for the theatrical repertoire companies in America.