Playwrights & Directors

The Living Color Festival is a ten minute play festival dedicated to providing opportunities to emerging BIPOC artists in the Chicagoland area. We are a festival that allows artists of color to explore the freedom of writing without the “White Gaze”  or as Toni Morrison describes it “The White Man over your shoulder pressuring you to write in a way that explains your culture or experience so that a white audience might understand it.”

For Playwrights:

Plays should be no more than 12 minutes in duration
We are able to consider plays which require between 1 to 5 actors
We can accept one submission per playwright
Please include a Title Page with your full contact information, dramatis personae, and a brief synopsis of the play
Please number all pages

For Directors:

Calendar
April 6th – 12th – Director Interviews
May 22nd -24th 2026 – In Person Auditions

June 8th – August 9th Rehearsals *
August 10th & 11th – Tech
August 12th – Dress Rehearsal
August 13th, 2026 – Show Opening

* The Living Color Festival will be providing rehearsal space in the 3-4 weeks leading up to tech. Any additional rehearsal scheduled will be at the discretion of the Director and Actors.