Thank you for your interest in submitting a play to the 2026/27 DCPA Middle School and High School Playwriting Competition! We are excited to review your script. The submission window is open from October 2026 until November 29, 2026. 

All submitting playwrights must currently be enrolled in a Colorado middle school, high school, or home school for middle and/or high school. If you co-wrote a play with another person, only one of you should submit the play. The play should not be submitted by two different people. 

The competition review process is intended to be anonymous. Please review all documents to be sure your name or your school’s name does not appear anywhere in the script, including the title page, or in the script’s file name.

The competition will result in ten finalists and three winners for high school and three winners for middle school. All winners receive a $250.00 award and get their play published in our annual play anthology. Each winner’s classroom teacher receives $250.00 to purchase teaching tools for their classrooms. High school winners receive a professionally staged reading of their play at the 2027 Colorado New Play Summit. 

PRIOR TO SUBMITTING YOUR PLAY:

*Please make sure that your script:

• Follows the requirements found on the DCPA website: www.denvercenter.org/playwright 
• Falls within the page limits, including the title page. (Middle School: 10-15 pages; High School: 15-35 pages)
• Includes the appropriate number of characters and character descriptions (Middle School: 2-4 characters; High School: 2-8 characters).
• Names the setting of the play, where and when it is located. If it is a period-play, please include the year(s) in which the play takes place.
• Follows the formatting guidelines outlined on the DCPA website. 
• Is your original idea and writing. Scripts written with the use of AI will not be considered for winning plays. 

PLEASE REMEMBER:

• DOUBLE-CHECK THAT YOUR NAME AND SCHOOL NAME IS NOT ANYWHERE IN THE SCRIPT OR SCRIPT FILE NAME.
• IF YOU CO-WROTE YOUR PLAY WITH ANOTHER PERSON, ONLY ONE OF YOU SUBMITS THE PLAY. THE PLAY SHOULD NOT BE SUBMITTED BY TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE. YOU WILL NEED TO INPUT YOUR CO-AUTHOR'S FIRST AND LAST NAME, CO-AUTHOR'S EMAIL ADDRESS, CO-AUTHOR'S PARENT/GUARDIAN FIRST AND LAST NAME, CO-AUTHOR'S PARENT/GUARDIAN EMAIL ADDRESS, CO-AUTHOR'S PARENT/GUARDIAN PHONE NUMBER. 
• WHEN UPLOADING YOUR SCRIPT, MAKE SURE THE UPLOAD IS COMPLETE BEFORE MOVING ON. IF IT IS NOT COMPLETE, YOUR FULL SCRIPT WILL NOT BE ACCESSIBLE FOR COMPETITION REVIEW. 

We look forward to reviewing your script. Please reach out with any questions to education@dcpa.org.