Submissions
Submit your original work to our programs and take the next step in your creative journey.
High School Performance Lab
Open to all currently enrolled Indiana high school students in Grades 9 through 12. Students may enter as individuals or as writing pairs (maximum two co-authors per submission). There is no entry fee.
Category A: The 10-Minute Play
Write an original short play of no more than 10 minutes in performance length (typically 8–12 pages in standard dramatic script format). The play should have a clear dramatic structure — a beginning, a turning point and a resolution — and must be written for live performance. All themes and stories are welcome; submissions engaging with African heritage, diaspora experience, cultural identity or intergenerational storytelling are especially encouraged.
Category B: The 3-Minute Monologue
Write an original dramatic monologue of no more than 3 minutes in performance length (typically 1–2 pages). The monologue must be written for a single character and should convey a clear emotional journey, point of view or dramatic revelation. All themes and voices are welcome.
How to Submit
- • Prepare your script following standard dramatic format (12-point Courier or Times New Roman, 1-inch margins)
- • Include a title page with: title, your full name, grade, school name, city and contact email
- • Do NOT include your name in the body of the script — submissions are evaluated blind
- • Submit by email to [email protected] with subject line: "Performance Lab Submission — [Your Name] — [Category A or B]"
- • You will receive a confirmation email within 48 hours
Every entrant will receive written feedback from the judging panel, regardless of selection outcome — because every submission deserves a serious response.
Students Wright Festival
Open to university and higher-institution students across Nigeria.
Annual Program Timeline
January
Call for entries opens. Students from higher institutions across Nigeria are invited to submit excerpts of original full-length plays. A new cycle begins each January.
Last day of March
Submission deadline. All excerpts must be received by the last day of March.
Last day of May
Nine promising playwrights are chosen and notified of their selection.
June
International facilitators from Indiana travel to Nigeria for an intensive playwriting workshop. The nine selected plays are then presented as a festival of student-led productions.
July–September
The winning play is prepared for publication and the anthology of all nine selected plays is published.
October
The winning playwright travels to Indianapolis to participate in the Indy-Africa Book & Film Festival.
October–January
Readings, radio shows, conversations and other CAWADAC cultural activities. The winning playwright participates as a full member of the CAWADAC creative community.
January
At First Sight Theatre Festival at Indiana University Bloomington. The winning playwright's play receives a public reading and engagement with students and practitioners. A new cycle begins simultaneously.
How to Apply
Submit an excerpt from an original full-length play to [email protected] during the call for entries period (January through the last day of March each year).
From the Classroom to the Stage. From Nigeria to Indiana. From Story to Stage to the World.
Questions about submissions? Contact us at [email protected]