Playwriting
& unchained festivals

The Chain Theatre began producing annual playwriting festivals in 2011. The UnChained Theatre Festival is a submission-based playwriting event that provides artists the opportunity to present fresh, new work. Entries are between 10 and 90 minutes and include drama, comedy, dance, multimedia, and musical theatre. Submissions are accepted nationwide with an emphasis on NY- based artists.

Selected plays will be staged in NYC over 2-3 weeks; each play will have an opportunity to impress both audiences and a panel of judges composed of esteemed professionals from the theatrical and literary world. At the closing ceremony, awards will also be given out for Best Play, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Ensemble. 

Part of The Chain Theatre's mission statement is to provide affordable and free opportunities to new artists to showcase their work and to be a place of development. Since first creating the festivals, The Chain has served over a 100 artists and 400 NY theatre audience members annually. The Harvest Festival and UnChained Festival was designed to embolden the Indie Theatre community.