Youth Academy

Regional Contest Rules

• Submissions should be ten-minutes when read aloud and fit within the theme of Empathy in Action.
• Play must have no more than six characters.
• Please remove any identifiers of the student  name or school from the actual submission itself.
• Each student entry requires a separate form. Students may submit these themselves, and will need their teacher/adult email and school address to do so.
•  Scripts may not be co-authored.
• The contest recommends (but does not require) 12-point Times New Roman font. The advantage  is that when the standard playwriting format is followed, one-page equals about one minute of reading  time.
• Scripts should be printed in standard American format described in the formatting guide.
• Orlando Family Stage may post the names, photos, and play excerpts of the chosen playwrights on marketing and press materials.
• Playwrights agree to allow Orlando Family Stage to document, through all methods and media, all stages of the  process (photos and recording) for educational, publicity, or any other uses.
• Orlando Family Stage may provide feedback and suggested revisions before the play goes on to the national competition.

National Submission Additional Rules

• Orlando Family Stage is allowed to submit one student play to the national competition.
• Plays may be made available on the AATE website for organizations to use for educational  purposes.
• The national winning play (from each category) will be selected by a panel of judges chosen by the  Playwrights for Change committee. All plays entered by host organizations will receive feedback from  a professional theatre artist.
• Playwrights may not enter plays to more than one host organization.
• Playwrights must have permission from a parent or guardian to enter the contest. A signed competition application must be included with all submissions to the national contest.
• Plays must be the original work of the playwright and not an adaptation of pre-existing work.
• AATE reserves the right to change any contest rule.
• AATE reserves the right to accept or reject any play submitted to the contest for any reason.
• AATE reserves the right to request changes and revisions from submitted scripts.
• AATE may post the names of the chosen playwrights on marketing and press materials.
• Playwrights agree to allow AATE to document, through all methods and media, all stages of the  process (photos and recording) for educational, publicity, or any other uses.
• By submitting a play, both the host organization and the playwright are giving AATE permission to  produce or excerpt the student’s play now or in the future and giving permission for the student’s  script to be made available online for free download for use. This includes its inclusion in any future  print/electronic anthologies available for free or for sale to the public.
• The announcement date of the winning plays & student selected for the AATE National  Playwrights for Change Festival will be made Mid June 2025.