24 Hour Playwriting Contest
congrats to the 2024 Winners!
First Place: The Architecture of a Life (Margaret Legere)
Second Place: WE HAVE TO TELL YOU SOMETHING (Lisa Alves)
Third Place: Horse Girls (Jessie Walker)
Honourable Mentions:
A Cosmic Slurp (Carling Tedesco)
Cover and Simmer, Stirring Occasionally (Natalie Skov)
horseplay (Kole Durnford)
Jam (Guy R. Newsham)
our place in the grand terrible universe (Karley Jagusic)
roundabout; the semi-true story of first love (Araceli Ferrara)
Scouting our Landscapes of Sorrows (Rachel Foster)
Wasting Time (Jessa Richer)
Thank you to the 2024 24 Hour Play Selection Committee:
Barbara Fingerote
Sachin Sharma
Kunji Ikeda
Oliver Pitschner
Beth Airton
Contest Information
This contest is for anyone who has wanted to write a play but just needed a little encouragement and motivation! It challenges new and experienced writers to create a script in 24 hours while incorporating four secret elements that will be announced shortly before the contest begins.
The writing period starts at 9:00 AM EST on Saturday, January 27th and finishes at 5:00pm EST on Sunday, January 28th, 2024. The morning of the contest, participants will receive all instructions including the four elements to include in their script. The contest will take place completely virtually. To encourage rest and breaks, we are again giving 8 extra hours for the contest this year. If you are joining us from a different time zone, please account for the time difference in your planning!
The winner will be awarded a cash bursary of $500 and either the opportunity to meet with a dramaturg, or the chance to have a reading of their play during the 2024 Toronto Fringe Festival (July 3-14, 2024). You must select your preferred prize when you submit your play by 5:00 PM EST on January 28th. The first and second runner up of this contest will both be awarded a $250 bursary.
The 24-Hour Play Contest is generously supported by the Pat & Tony Adams Freedom Fund for the Arts.
If you would like to connect with other folks who are also participating in this contest, we have created a channel in the Toronto Indie Artsworker Discord. Join the Discord here.
Contest Timeline
- Friday, January 26th, 2024: Registration closes at 12:00 PM noon EST
- Saturday, January 27th, 2024: Contest starts at 9:00 AM EST
- Sunday, January 28th, 2024: All plays must be submitted by 5:00 PM EST
- All winners will be contacted no later than the week of March 4th and will be announced no later than the week of March 11th.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
- Open to all playwrights/writers who are permanent residents of Canada.
- More than one entry per playwright is not permitted.
- Playwrights may enter this contest as a collective OR as solo playwright.
- The submitted script must have been written fully in the (extended) 24-hour contest period.
- There is no minimum or maximum duration for your script.
- Participants are not allowed to use AI to help create or write their script.
- Submissions are anonymized for the selection committee.
The Toronto Fringe is committed to equality, diversity, and prioritizing accessibility. We warmly encourage applications from Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour communities, 2SLGBTQ+ identified persons as well as Deaf, Mad and disability-identified persons.
If you require any accommodations, please do not hesitate to contact Suzanne Wilkie at suzanne@fringetoronto.com
Adjudication Process
All submissions will be adjudicated anonymously and there will be two rounds of adjudication.
- Round 1: All scripts will be divided evenly and read by at least one member of the assessment committee. Each committee member will submit a shortlist at the end of this round to progress to Round 2.
- Round 2: All scripts that progress to the second round will be read by everyone on the committee. Each member will identify their top three choices by the end of this round.
There will be a final selection meeting with all the committee members to discuss their shortlists and select the winner.
The scripts will be assessed using the following criteria:
- Inclusion of the elements that are provided at 9:00 AM EST the morning of January 27th
- Artistic merit
- Potential for development
- Script coherence
Past contest winners
2023 Winners:
First Place: Waiting for Her by Brynn Cutcliffe
Second Place: A Monster by Ronit Rubinstein
Third Place: What Ever Happened to Geraldine by Araceli Ferrara
Honourable Mentions:
The Big Game - R/B Mertz
Blubes - Hannah Joubert
Cost of Living - Lisa Aikman
New Math - Brendon Allen
Second Arrow - Polly Phokeev
Sweepers - Tiyawnda McGregor