What are the guidelines for submission?

The basic guidelines for submission are: Plays must address the topic of gun violence. ​ Completed scripts must be no longer than 10 minutes when read aloud. ​ Scripts may have a cast up to, but no more than six (6) actors. ​ Plays must be the original work of a single author. Collaborative works or adaptations won’t be considered, nor will plays that include music, lyrics, or dialogue written by any-one other than the submitting author.

Writer may submit more than one play for consideration. Any submission must be previously unpublished.

Writer must be in 6-12 grade at the time of submission. Full rules for submission can be found here.

When will you begin accepting submissions for the 21/22 campaign?

Play submissions will be accepted from September 1, 2021 to November 1, 2021.

How do I submit my play?

Plays will be accepted online via a submission portal on this website come September 1.

How will the finalists and winners be chosen?

Once the Call for Submission period has ended, a group of theatre professionals will read all of the plays submitted and name a group of 20 finalists. Those 20 plays will be read by the #ENOUGH Selection Committee, a group of award-winning and nationally recognized playwrights. They will then select the winning plays to be read in #ENOUGH Nationwide Reading and give personal feedback to the young authors of those plays.

How many winners will there be?

6-8 winning plays will be chosen.

Are there any guidelines about CONTENT?

Writers are free to write what they choose - HOWEVER - we issue all writers this challenge: Write your plays without any literal depictions of gun violence or the act of violence itself. Why? First, depictions of gun violence might be a tough experience for some members of the audience, especially members of the survivor community. We want to be respectful of what others have experienced, and we want to avoid staging acts of violence in ways that are insensitive and/or re-traumatizing. Secondly, we want to encourage inventive, thoughtful, and powerful submissions. Ask yourself:

• Is it possible to tell your story about the impact of gun violence without ever seeing a weapon?
• Or the act of violence itself?
• What does POETRY and METAPHOR allow us to accomplish that can’t be accomplished in a movie or on TV?

WRITERS: Can I submit plays on my own or do I need to do it through my school / teacher?

You can submit plays on your own! Your teacher/school does not need to be involved in #ENOUGH in any official way. We also encourage you to sign-up for our newsletter to receive program updates: https://www.enoughplays.com/students

EDUCATORS: What resources do you provide?

In the Fall we will roll out brand new resources for both you and your students, including a Getting Started Toolkit that includes writing prompts, road maps for the writing processes, lesson plans and sources of facts on gun violence in the US. Those items will live on our RESOURCES page, where you can currently access last year's Toolkit, protips from professional writers, and digital lessons. We also encourage you to sign-up for our newsletter to receive program updates: https://www.enoughplays.com/teachers

Does the play have to be 10-minutes long?

Your play can be anywhere UP TO 10 minutes long, but no longer.

Can I write a monologue?

Monologues are allowed! In fact, one of the plays selected in 2020, Ghost Gun, is a monologue. Just like a compelling scene, compelling monologues deal with conflcit, a character wanting something, and have a beginning, middle and end. Here's a great, simple resource from MasterClass on writting monologues.