Open Submissions is one of the key ways that New Works engages with local playwrights. Possible outcomes from your submission might be:

• written feedback
  · dramaturgical support from our New Works Associate
  · free space to workshop and share your work

Whilst it’s very rare for a play to be programmed directly from the Open Submissions process, it can be the beginning of a relationship that starts the journey to our stage.

We’re committed to thrilling, big-hearted, forward-thinking theatre that ignites the imagination and asks big questions of its time and place.

That can take many different forms, which means there’s a huge variety of things that might excite us in a play or a writer – what’s important is clarity of intent. We should be able to read your work and really get a sense of who you are as an artist, and what’s energising you.

We’re looking for writers who:

• have a story that they passionately want to tell, and that demands to be told in a theatre;
• create vibrant characters with complex relationships and distinctive voices; and
• engage robustly with their subjects and themes, building emotionally and intellectually stimulating narratives with a distinct outlook on the world.

We also have some criteria for submission. Plays must be:

• by writers either from or currently living in Liverpool City Region (i.e. the boroughs of Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral)
• written for stage (i.e. not film, TV or radio scripts, or poetry/prose)
• original works (i.e. not adaptations of novels or existing plays)
• unproduced (i.e. not staged in a full production – scratches or sharings are fine)

We can also only accept one play per writer.

We do accept for musicals, but can only assess their book and lyrics rather than listening to composition.

After you complete a short online form to submit your script, you’ll get a confirmation of submission.

We will then share scripts out between the Artistic team and our reading panel – a diverse group made up of freelance theatre makers, writers, director and producers.

The scripts are read in two rounds:

• Round One. We read approximately 1/3 of the script (or up to 25 pages), and put scripts forward which meet our aims for new work.
• Round Two. Scripts are read in full and then discussed by the team. Recommendations for next steps are made.

Based on the readers’ recommendations, we then put together a programme of support.

We aren’t able to offer everything to everyone, so we tailor our support according to how closely the scripts meet our creative aims – but we ask what you’d find useful when you submit, and do as much as we can to support that need.

We’ll talk to you about what we can offer when we contact writers after the reading process.

Outside of our script windows, we are always looking to establish new relationships with exciting writers and theatre makers in Liverpool and the North West. So, if that’s you and you’d like to tell us about your work, please do get in touch at newworks@everymanplayhouse.com.

We won’t necessarily be able to read a full script or offer feedback outside of our script windows, but we are always happy to get to know you.

We currently have more interested script readers than available places on the panel, but do try to refresh our panel each year.

If you’d like to be considered for future submission windows, please email newworks@everymanplayhouse.com with your CV, and we’ll put it on file.