FireWorks Short Play Festival
What is the FireWorks Festival?
Firehall Theatre in Niagara Falls Ontario is pleased to be hosting the first FireWorks Short Play Festival July 10-12, 2026.
Submissions are now open to original Canadian plays approximately ten minutes in length.
As each company will need to be able to come to Niagara Falls Ontario for tech rehearsal and performance, preference will be given to playwrights originating in southern Ontario.
Submissions are juried and this year we anticipate accepting eight plays for the Festival.
Please read submission guidelines carefully.
Final submission deadline is January 16, 2026. No scripts will be accepted after this date.
We look forward to reading your submissions! Please send them no later than January 16 2026 to Fireworksshortplayfestival@gmail.com.
Submission Guidelines
- Each playwright may submit only one original script – send us your best! The play need not be unproduced.
- We only accept electronic submissions in Word or PDF format.
- We are looking for short plays that run around ten minutes in length. Scripts that clearly run more than 13 minutes will not be considered. As a guideline, 2000 words run about ten minutes.
- Plays should contain no more than 4 characters.
- Technical requirements must be minimal. We are interested in your stories, not your scenery or special effects. The plays will be produced in a black box; four chairs and a table will be made available if desired. One small extra set piece such as a coat rack may be allowed but acceptance will be at the discretion of the organizers. All props must fit inside a laundry basket (provided by the company) in order to accommodate all groups backstage.
- The title page must include the playwright/sender’s contact name, address, phone number and email address. Judging is blind, therefore the script itself should have no identifying features. Inclusion of any playwright or company information upon the script pages will immediately disqualify the script from consideration.
- Musicals and any unsolicited longer one-act or full-length plays are not accepted and will not receive a response.
- Playwrights of accepted plays will be notified by March 31, 2026. If selected, each company is responsible to cast and rehearse their own play. Firehall Theatre will provide the venue, a tech crew, and publicity.
- Audience feedback cards will be made available for each play but no prizes will be awarded. FireWorks is intended as a showcase for local talent, not a competition.
- Companies are not offered any financial compensation for their involvement in FireWorks Short Play Festival but it is a great format to showcase your creative talents and get an audience for your work. Ticket proceeds will go to Firehall Theatre for expenses incurred during the Festival.
- FireWorks Short Play Festival is a non-Equity venture and has no association with Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.