Take back the Rom-Com - NYCPlaywrights seeks 10-minute romantic comedies

The romantic comedy genre is in trouble. Vulture wondered if the rom-com could be saved, while the Village Voice has declared it dead, and so has the Daily Beast.

NYCPlaywrights would like to take back the romantic comedy. We are looking for as many as ten 10-minute romantic comedy plays, which we will present as a public reading to be held in Manhattan in March 2015.

The romance does not have to be hetero-normative. We encourage LGBTQ romantic comedy submissions.



A few of the NYCPlaywrights Plays of the Month have been romantic comedies, so you see it can be done as a 10-minute play:

DARK RIDE by Ralph Greco
HIGH ON EMMA SAFFORD by Nancy Brewka Clark
TUMMY BUBBLES by Jennifer Lane

The deadline is Saturday, January 17, 2015 at 11:59 PM EST.

THE RULES - YOU MUST READ THEM BEFORE SUBMITTING

• Send only one play per author to info@nycplaywrights.org. 
• The script must be submitted by the author of the script, no agents or others may submit. 
• The script submission should be sent by email, with the script itself as a file attached to the email. File format should be in either Microsoft Word (.doc) or pdf. Most preferable is .pdf (Portable Document Format) because it will retain your original script formatting. 
• Make sure you have your name and your email address on the script. 
• Plays can be submitted by anybody, anywhere in the world but must be primarily in English (a few non-English phrases are acceptable, but the phrases must include English translations in production notes or stage directions.) 
• There is no fee for submission. 
• All rights will remain with the playwright. 
• The NYCPlaywrights selections decision is final.
• A play that has had a production is acceptable, although we prefer a new play written for this project. 
• A play that has been published is not acceptable.
• The date/venue of the public reading will be announced soon after the winning plays are selected.
• The public reading performance may be video-recorded (with permission of playwrights and actors) and excerpts posted to this NYCPlaywrights web site.

We will be using an ensemble of actors for the reading, who will do more than one play, and the actor ages will be approximately 25 - 55 years old, so if you have roles listed for younger than 25 or older than 55, the actor cast may not be that exact age, although we will strive to get as close as possible.

Any questions email info@nycplaywrights.org

Mindy Kaling gripes amusingly about romantic comedies.

Please note – a majority of the plays being submitted to this call for romantic comedies are being rejected because they do not meet the criteria. Romantic comedy is a genre, and as such, there are rules that must be obeyed. Which is not to say that a play that does not obey the rules of the genre is a bad play – but it is not a romantic comedy and will not be considered for this project.

“Romantic” – it isn’t only about sex but about love. Sexual desire is necessary but that alone does not qualify as “romantic” – the characters must have some kind of mental/emotional connection in addition to the sexual one.

“Comedy” is in the Shakespearean sense – it has to have a happy ending – the guy/girl gets/keeps the guy/girl. If they don’t get/stay together at the end it may still be romantic, but it’s no longer a romantic comedy – even if you have jokes throughout the piece.

ALSO: a ten minute play does not consist of 15 pages of script. If your play is over 11 – 12 pages maximum it will be rejected for being too long.