Young Playwrights in Process (YPiP)

Be inspired by writing!

Young playwrights – if you have a story to tell, we want to read it! Submit your play to YPiP and have the chance to receive $1,000!

About YPIP

Young Playwrights in Process (YPiP) is an online playwriting competition for Indiana students in grades 6-12. The competition was created by IRT in 2005 through the Margot L. and Robert S. Eccles Trust. YPiP encourages middle and high school students across Indiana to write, creating plays that reflect and challenge their world.

YPiP events will be done entirely online! All submissions, workshops, and events will take place virtually so we can continue to connect students across the state. 

Educators – you can include our playwriting lessons as a part of your curriculum! You can find these lessons in the “How do I Participate? section below.

Click here to view academic state standards for YPiP.

Submissions Closed

Submission Guidelines

• YPiP celebrates the art of the short play. Submitted plays must be no more than 2000 words in total (including title and stage directions). This should be about 10 (ten) double-spaced pages, or about 10 (ten) minutes of performance time.
• Plays must have no more than 4 (four) characters, and no narrators.
• Do not put your name, school, or teacher’s name on the script. There should be no identifying information on the play itself.
• Plays must be original works. No adaptations of other stories, television shows, plays, musicals, or movies.
• Students must be enrolled full-time in middle school, high school, or home school in grades 6-12 in the state of Indiana.
• Only one playwright per script submission.
• Students may submit up to a total of three short plays per student.
• The YPiP entry form must be completed with each submission.
• Students must be available to attend the Finalist Weekend.

Any entries not meeting the above requirements will be disqualified.

What Happens Next?

Submission Deadline: September 30, 2024

• The deadline to submit your play is Monday, September 25th at 5:00pm.
• All submissions will receive an email with feedback from a theatre professional who read their play.

Semi-Finals: October 26, 2024

• A selection of top playwrights are invited to our Semi-Finals Workshop to work on revising their play and developing new playwriting skills.
• Following the workshop, students will have two weeks to revise their plays and resubmit them. Resubmitted plays will be read by new theatre professionals who will give students specialized feedback and advice for additional revisions.

Finalist Weekend: January 10 and 11, 2025

• Six playwrights will be selected as Finalists.
• Finalists will be a part of our Finalist Weekend where they will hear their play read by professional actors and work one-on-one with directors and playwrights.
• Playwrights from this round will take what they learned to revise their plays and resubmit them for a final round of feedback.

Virtual Celebration:

• Two playwrights will be selected as the Winners.
• Winners will have their full play read by professional actors at the Virtual Celebration. Finalists will have an excerpt from their play read by professional actors.
• The four Finalists and two Winners will receive their prizes and enjoy a recording of their reading to share with friends and family!

​Please note that to be eligible for semi-finals and finals, students must be available for all scheduled workshops and events.