Meant to be used by dramatists when weighing contest & festival submission opportunities. Can also be used by theatres and arts organizations to craft contests or festivals. Guidelines devised by the DG Festival Committee meant to be used by playwrights when weighing contest and festival submission opportunities. These guidelines reflect ideal industry standards rather than minimum standards.

If a theatre festival, conference, or contest were the most perfect, writer-centered, ethical opportunity, what would it look like? That question drove the creation of this document, a template for theatre entities desiring to run programs with the Dramatists Guild Bill of Rights and #playwrightrespect informing its rules and policies, and a tool for playwrights, composers, lyricists and librettists to make educated decisions about where to send their work.

For dramatists, the Best Practices Guidelines are a yardstick by which to compare opportunities, and a standard to point to when engaging with theatres employing questionable practices. While some Best Practices inherently carry more weight than others, nothing is a deal-breaker if a dramatist doesn’t want it to be. But with transparency about what is right, fair, and ethical—indeed, best—dramatists are empowered to make informed and individual submission choices.