Edmonton’s foremost community theatre is now accepting submissions for this season’s new works festival!

Walterdale Theatre Associates welcomes original play submissions from emerging local playwrights and offers the opportunity to share their work and gain audience feedback through staged readings at From Cradle to Stage. Continuing on this year will be the addition of a professional Dramaturg (Beth Graham) to help guide you throughout the writing process. She will bring her incomparable talents through workshops and note sessions at various points leading to live performances. They will be working on the 3 longer pieces.

THE 10 MINUTE PLAYS WILL NOT RECEIVE DRAMATURGICAL WORK.

We are looking for 3 original and unproduced plays of up to 50 minutes in length of any genre as well as 6 ten-minute plays (10-12 pages). We want a completed story, not a piece of a larger story.

The goal is to have something complete when the festival is over for the longer pieces and the opportunity to hear your words read by actors for both the long and shorter plays. We hope to select scripts from diverse voices to provide exciting opportunities for playwrights, readers, and audiences. This year we are asking playwrights to submit only one script. Playwrights CANNOT submit one for each category, just one script total.

Plays must be suitable for music-stand reading. Stage directions may be read, but the scripts should work without props or actions. Eligible playwrights must currently reside within 60kms of Walterdale Theatre. Playwrights need not be current members of Walterdale Theatre to submit.

There are no age restrictions on playwrights. Please submit scripts in .PDF Format.

TIMELINE:

  • The deadline for all submissions is 11:59 pm Friday, November 27th, 2026.
  • Selections for the festival will be announced by mid-December, 2026.
  • Directors will be selected by the festival coordinator. Playwrights will not direct their own scripts.
  • Readers will be cast based on video submissions. Playwrights may have some input into casting (specific genders, sexual orientation casting, etc.).
  • The rehearsal process will start with Zoom rehearsals in early-April, then in-person and tech rehearsals at Walterdale Theatre.
  • Festival Dates: May 25-30, 2027. Scripts will get two public readings within this time.

Additional guidelines and submission form can be found here Cradle to Stage 2026 – Google Forms. Do not include your name or any author identification on the script, including title page and filename. If you have difficulty with the Google Form or have any other questions, contact Festival Coordinator, Shawn Marshall at shawnmarshallaaa@gmail.com. Late submissions will not be considered