Our goal is to introduce the joy of writing for the live theatre to young people, and to give teens a creative voice in expressing their thoughts and ideas. Our program encourages students to write about subjects that are meaningful to them, and to give educators tools to incorporate playwriting into your theatre or language arts classrooms. Detailed lesson plans and helpful resources are found below.
2024 Contest Details:
- The contest is open to all Palm Beach County students in grades 9 - 12
- The submission deadline is Friday, November 17 @ 5:00pm
- All plays must be submitted by an educator or school administrator.
- 20 finalists will be selected. Each finalist will be given professional feedback for improving and revising their play.
- Each finalist will be given one week for revisions.
- Up to 10 winning plays will be chosen by a panel of professional playwrights and theatre practitioners using a carefully constructed rubric. The rubric is found in the PBD lesson plans.
- Winning plays will be assigned a professional director and actors, and revisions continue throughout the rehearsal process.
- Each winner receives a $250 cash prize and a beautifully published anthology that includes their play.
For more information, please see our Frequently Asked Questions
Lesson Plans
PBD's lesson plans and documents can be accessed here:
PBD offers a detailed 5-day lesson plan with supporting documents and benchmarks that give educators a clear, strong sequence for creating a ten-minute play. However, educators are not required to use PBD's lesson plans. Please feel free to use any lesson plan that complements your process. Educators may also choose to incorporate a portion of PBD's lesson plans into their curriculum.
Submission Information
Please note that all plays must be submitted by a teacher or school administrator. We do not accept submissions from individual students.
- All plays must be 10-minute plays. We do not accept one-act or full-length plays at this time.
- Plays must be submitted as Word or PDF documents.
- Submit all entries in a folder via Google or Dropbox: Please scan, upload or organize your students' play, and send a link from Google Drive or Dropbox to:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . - Submit through email: Please attach plays to an email and send entries to:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . - Please be sure all plays have a title page with the following: Title of play, Author, School, Teacher name, Teacher's email address and telephone number.
- All entries will receive a confirmation email after submission.
Congratulations to the 2023 winners
Emily Singer Grade 12 Dreyfoos School of the Arts
Aditya Jasti Grade 12 The Benjamin School
Bianca Borchers Grade 12 Park Vista High School
Sally Brown Grade 12 Somerset Canyons
Abigail McMullen Grade 12 American Heritage School
Daniela Guarino Grade 12 American Heritage School
Abigail Trachtenberg Grade 12 American Heritage School
Oliver Shane Grade 10 William T. Dwyer High School
Kassidy Eaton Grade 12 Royal Palm Beach High School
Sophia Madden Grade 12 Royal Palm Beach High School
