Young Minnesota Playwrights Festival
In partnership with Young Minnesota Playwrights and Park Square Theatre
Tell your story for the stage!
Park Square Theatre is proud to partner with Young Minnesota Playwrights to present the Young Minnesota Playwrights Festival, an opportunity for high school students across Minnesota to develop and share their original work for the stage.
Students are invited to submit a 10–15 minute one-act play or a synopsis with sample dialogue for consideration. Selected playwrights will work alongside Twin Cities theatre mentors to refine their scripts, culminating in a fully staged public performance at Park Square Theatre in downtown Saint Paul.
The Process
Act One: Submit Your Play
Open to all Minnesota high school students.
Submit your one-act play or synopsis with sample dialogue by January 15, 2026.
There is no cost to submit.
All submissions and registration take place through the Young Minnesota Playwrights website.
Act Two: Develop Your Play
Six selected students will collaborate with Twin Cities theatre mentors to strengthen their characters, dialogue, and story structure while exploring the themes they want to bring to the stage.
Act Three: See Your Play on Stage
The process culminates in live performances of the six selected plays, staged by local theatre professionals at Park Square Theatre on Saturday, June 27, 2026.
Each playwright will receive a $200 honorarium for their work.
Key Dates:
Attend at least one rehearsal at Park Square Theatre during the week of June 21, 2026
Dress Rehearsal: Friday, June 26, 2026 (4–9 PM, dinner provided)
Performance Day: Saturday, June 27, 2026 (1–10 PM, dinner provided)
About the Collaboration
Young Minnesota Playwrights provides a framework for emerging theatre makers to develop their voices while collaborating with professional artists. Founded and produced by Bert Goldstein, the program builds on his 15 years of experience leading a similar initiative at Michigan State University.
“One of the greatest joys of my forty-year career is giving young people the opportunity to inspire us with their stories told through the lens of live theater. Working with Park Square Theatre on this project elevates the process to an extraordinarily new level.”
- Bert Goldstein, Producer
Park Square Theatre is proud to collaborate with Young Minnesota Playwrights as part of its commitment to education and youth development in the arts.
“Park Square Theatre is thrilled to partner with Young Minnesota Playwrights to support nurturing and developing young writers in our state who are the future of the American Theatre. We believe it’s important that the voices of young people be heard and celebrated.”
- Stephen DiMenna, Artistic Director
Park Square Education Core Values
We Believe: Young people are artists, makers, and doers. They need to belong and to contribute to their world. When young people make art together, they change themselves and the world around them for the better.
We Do: Our programming ignites belonging, generosity, mastery, self-advocacy, and inspiration by creating art with young people to share with the world.