2026 Distillery New Works Festival

What is Distillery?

The Distillery New Works Festival is a celebration of emerging theater and an opportunity for playwrights to gain valuable feedback on new work. Each play in the festival receives a live reading by a cast of professional actors, allowing it to live and breathe off the page. The readings conclude with a discussion of the play with the playwright, giving writers the chance to receive feedback from Seattle audiences and providing a platform for audiences to help shape new works in process. 

Play criteria

Before submitting, please make sure your play meets the following criteria:

• Full-length plays. We are currently only accepting submissions for full-length scripts of any genre. Shorts and one-acts will not be considered. 

• One play per playwright. We will only consider one script per playwright for this year's Distillery Festival. 

• New works, development mindset. The Distillery Festival is intended to promote new works and help playwrights who want to actively update and improve their scripts. Selected playwrights are expected to approach the festival with a development mindset, and to attend/participate in the festival to the best of their ability. If you are completely finished with your script, the Distillery process is not for you. 

• Festival attendance. Festival attendance is an important part of Distillery and is required for all playwrights. If you are from out of the area a travel stipend will be provided.

• Feminism - your play passes the Macha Test. This year Distillery is being produced by Seattle Public Theater in association with Macha Theatre Works, and we are excited to use the festival to help lift up feminist works. Please review the Macha Test and make sure your play passes before submitting. We will not consider plays that do not pass the Macha Test. 

Selection Process

We will review the first 600 scripts submitted to Distillery this year. Submissions will close when we reach the 600 play cap, or on September 5th, whichever comes first. We will then review these scripts and select a group to move on to the next round. This first review can take some time, so we thank you in advance for your patience. As we narrow down our play selection, we will announce which plays have made it to the next round both via email and publicly on our social media. Here is a rough timeline. While we may diverge this year, it will hopefully give you a framework for setting expectations about this process for 2025-2026:

• August 15th: Submissions Open

• September 5th: Submissions Close (unless cap has been reached)

• September-December: Submission Review/Reading Period

• December: Release of the LONG LIST (last year, 51 plays)

• End of December: Release of the SHORT LIST (last year, 23 plays)

• January: Playwright Interviews: Short-listed playwrights are expected to participate in a virtual interview with members of the Seattle Public Distillery team. After interviews, release of the SEMI-FINALISTS (last year, 13 plays)

• February: Final review/director matching process. Release of the OFFICIAL SELECTIONS. 

In the end, we expect to choose 6 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS from the process to participate in Distillery, along with one play from a Seattle Public Theater resident playwright. Last year we received ~750 Distillery submissions and included 7 plays in the final festival. We will be looking for an eclectic group of feminist plays to round out this exciting new works festival. We will prioritize playwrights local to the Pacific Northwest and those from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in theater.

Distillery Goals 

Traditionally, the distillery process involves heating a liquid, then allowing it to condense into a new product. Here at the New Works Distillery, we do the same thing with stories, allowing them to rise, change, and settle into something new. This is part of how we cultivate new plays that feature strong feminist themes. Whether playwrights are interested in testing out bold new ideas or putting the final touches on a nearly-finished script, the Distillery is here to help.

Other ways to get involved

After our script selection process, we enjoy connecting with talented directors and actors to help bring these new scripts to life. If you're interested in getting involved, feel free to contact us at literary@seattlepublictheater.org to learn what openings are available this year. 

Support Distillery 

The Distillery series makes it possible for writers to take risks and discover their voices. Donate here to support the development of new work!