Submitting a Script to Performance Network

Performance Network's mission is to provide uncompromising artistic leadership in the region and produce works that engage, challenge and inspire audiences and artists. For more details see the mission statement and list of past productions elsewhere on this site.

We are committed to producing and developing playwrights, and reserve at least one slot in our mainstage season each year for a world premiere from a Michigan Playwright. We are also committed to producing both world premieres and Michigan premieres of important plays that engage, entertain and that stay with audiences and actors.

We also seek plays for our second stage (The Mosh Pit) and we are committed to producing new work in this space as well. Finally, each year we produce the Fireside Festival of Staged Readings, whose purpose is to give playwrights the opportunity to work with actors and a director in the production of a staged reading and experience the effect of their play on an audience. Again, we prioritize local playwrights, but are in search of high quality work that fits with our mission.

There are two ways to submit plays to us. The conventional way is to send a query letter (with SASE) with a one or two page description of your play and a bio. If we are intrigued by your description we may request the whole play. You may submit by e-mail in the following manner: attach in text or Microsoft Word or as a PDF your description and bio to a query e-mail. There is no preference for one method over the other, and our response time tends to be the same for regular and electronic queries.

As Performance Network receives between 500 and 600 queries and submissions per season, we ask that you please be patient in waiting for a response from us. Responding to a query letter generally takes two to four months, though it can take less and rarely will take more. Should you be invited to submit your play, it is possible you may get a response on the script in as little as three months, but it is more likely that it will take between six and twelve months to turn the script around. Every query and script that satisfies the proper submission guidelines will be given a response.

- DO take at least two or three paragraphs with the synopsis of the play. It is not required to submit a detailed breakdown of plot by act and by scene. Just make sure we get the general themes and major plot points.

- DO NOT give a one-or two sentence statement with a few buzzwords. They don't tell us anything useful, and greatly reduce the chances of your play being solicited.

- DO feel free to include a dialogue sample (maximum ten pages) with your synopsis, though it is not required that you do so; in some cases a detailed synopsis is enough to convince us of the potential of a play.

- DO include a character breakdown and PLEASE BE SPECIFIC about how many actors the play requires, especially if it is not clear from the cast list. Keep in mind that Performance Network rarely produces plays that require more than seven actors, and any play with ten actors or more is very unlikely to be asked for.

- DO NOT submit a roster of ten to twenty plays and ask if we may be interested in reading one of them. These inquiries will not be responded to. Take the time to study our mission and select one, at most two, plays to inquire about.

- DO NOT submit a full script without first submitting an inquiry, unless you are a literary agent. These plays will not be read, and will not be responded to.

- DO NOT submit a full script via email unless we have specifically asked you to. Typically the only exceptions to this rule are international playwrights for whom the costs of shipping may not be reasonable.

- DO NOT query by phone. Please query by email or regular mail.

- DO NOT call or email to check on the progress of your script once you have submitted it. We will get it back to you in due time. Do, however, feel free to let us know of the progress your script makes, and if it is chosen for development or production elsewhere. Please note: due to changes in U.S. postal security regulations, Performance Network no longer returns full scripts submitted to the company. For those submitting a play with an SASE, please submit only a simple letter envelope with standard postage.

Send all inquiries to:

David Wolber, Artistic Director

Performance Network Theatre

120 East Huron St

Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1437

Or email David Wolber

Thank you very much, and we look forward to reading your work!