No Pants, Just Shorts

One night of theater, staged in an hour, and you could be a part of the action! No Pants, Just Shorts is our yearly event in which we cast, rehearse, and stage a series of short plays. In the festival's inaugural year, competition was fierce—nearly 60 playwrights vied for three finalist slots.

Past guest judges include Dean Corrin (Victory Gardens), Rosie Forest (Northlight), Gabe Greene (Steppenwolf) and Beau O'Reilly (Curious Theater Branch). Guest directors have included Steve Scott (Goodman), Ronan Marra (Signal Ensemble), Jimmy McDermott (Writer's Theater), Libby Ford (Collision), and Dan Kerr-Hobert (Sansculottes).

Submission guidelines:

1. Scripts are accepted from Jan 1 to May 1.

2. One script per writer, per year. If you have submitted a script in a previous year and advanced to the finals, please consider revising that script before you submit it again.

3. Preference will be given to scripts with three or more actors. (Please also consider writing the majority of your roles for women: the vast majority of actors are female.)

4. Scripts will only be accepted via e-mail. Please submit only Word (.doc) files, Text (.txt or .rtf) files, or PDF (.pdf) files.

5. Playwrights must live in the Chicagoland area and be present on the night of the event. NPJS always takes place on a Monday in June.

Actors wanted: If you are interested in performing, bring four headshots. (Also, we shouldn't have to say this, but please attach your resume to the back of your headshot with staples or a strong adhesive. Please don't use paper clips or give us a separate resume. Your contact information will almost certainly be separated from your lovely, lovely photo.) At the door, you will receive a one-line audition monologue written by Sansculottes. No two actors will have the same monologue. You'll deliver that monologue for all the directors, as well as whatever audience members have showed up early. The directors will make their decisions within half an hour. Then, be prepared to rehearse quickly. As the Chicago Reader said of our event, "Act Fast."

The third annual No Pants, Just Shorts festival will be on June 25, 2008.