Play Selection Process

In an effort to improve our method of play selection for a growing, evolving workshop and retreat, ICTF implemented a new script submission policy in 2010. The size of the response from playwrights locally and around the country in previous years had put tremendous stress on the organization and prevented us from being able to read and adequately consider all of the submissions.

To accommodate a tight selection time-frame and a small staff, ICTF switched from an open to an invitational policy which allowed ICTF and its Festival partner, ACT Theatre, to focus time and attention on the invited playwrights and their work. This also enabled the Festival to hold longer and more in-depth conversations with playwrights before the retreat began, thus creating stronger working relationships and outcomes.

At the time of this writing (January 2011), ICTF – working closely with ACT Theatre -is  extending invitations to thirty playwrights, including several from the Pacific Northwest. Those contacted are being asked to submit unproduced scripts between January 10 and March 1, 2011. By May 15, two plays will be chosen and the selected playwrights will be contacted; the 2011 plays will be announced in a joint press release from ICTF and ACT on or about May 15.

We understand that this new policy has caused disappointment among many playwrights who submitted to us over the past few years, and we are sorry. It is a policy that was arrived at after hours of discussion, and analysis of our capabilities. It is our sincere hope that we will be able to return to an open submission policy at some point in the future.