City Theatre’s mission is to provide an artistic home for the development and production of contemporary plays of substance and ideas that engage and challenge diverse audiences.
City Theatre Company is Pittsburgh’s home for contemporary theatre, with a strong focus on new works, often in their world premieres or second productions (and often with the playwright in residence developing the text). City Theatre also commissions new plays. Commissioned playwrights are not chosen through a submission or application process. City Theatre will approach writers from whom we’d like to commission work.
We are particularly interested in new, theatrical plays of substance and ideas that engage the intellect as well as the emotions; a fresh use of language or form; compelling stories; and plays by under-represented voices (e.g., women, writers of color, writers with disabilities). We are always seeking unproduced work, and we accept full-length original plays, adaptations, translations, musicals, and solo plays. We are not presently considering short one-acts or children’s plays.
In a typical season, we produce six plays in our two performance spaces, along with MOMENTUM: new plays at different stages (our new works festival—selected works are chosen from our regular submissions, not through a specific MOMENTUM application process), the Young Playwrights Festival (7th to 12th grade playwrights from our region), and two or more special events. Our 272-seat Mainstage Theatre is capable of flexible stage and seating configurations (though we most often use thrust or proscenium staging). Our 120-seat Hamburg Studio Theatre is currently in a thrust configuration.
City Theatre Company does not accept unsolicited scripts.
Represented playwrights may submit scripts through their agents, who should also include the playwright’s bio or resume, a character breakdown, and audio for musicals.
Unrepresented playwrights should submit a query by mail—we do not accept query submissions by e-mail—to find out whether City Theatre can request the full script. Queries should include a letter naming a professional reference (with contact information), along with a resume, a synopsis of the play, a character breakdown, a 10-page dialogue sample, audio for musicals, and the development and production history of the play. A self-addressed, stamped envelope must be provided to ensure the return of submission materials. Response time for queries is 2-3 months.
Please mail to:
Carlyn Aquiline
Literary Manager & Dramaturg
City Theatre Company
1300 Bingham Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203