Theatre Exile is seeking submissions for its third annual presentation of PHILLY Grit, a performance series that highlights the scrappy, fringey, and uniquely bold yet intimate brand of artist that Philadelphia is home to.

For consideration, pieces should-

• Run about 50-60 minutes in length

• Be a solo piece

• Be Devised or performer generated work

• Be Female/female presenting performers

• Have minimal or no set requirements, and can be described as a “trunk show”

• Have previous production history(Video of previous performance required)

• Be able to run in rep with one or more other artists, in which you would share the theater space and basic rep plot.

• Require minimal rehearsal time

• Speak to Theatre Exile’s mission, which you may read in full here.

• Preference to shows that use humor while exploring timely subjects

*Will not consider shows performed in 2025 Philadelphia FringeArts Festival or later*

Artist Compensation:  $500 flat fee per performance 

Dates:

Rehearsal/Tech - 3/9/26 thru 3/17/26

Performances Between  3/18 - 3/29

Each artist involved will have 6 performances throughout the span of the series.

Submission details:

Please submit a video of your piece. If you have a script or other supplimental information you may include that as well.  Artists should be based in the Philadelphia area to be considered for the series. 

Submissions must be received by Sunday August 31st at 11:59pm.

Click Here To Submit!!!

Theatre Exile operates under a Small Professional Theatre agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, and in accordance with that agreement, we hold multiple open call auditions each season. We make a concerted effort to cast from a diverse pool of actors in the Philadelphia professional acting community.

To keep your materials on file with us for year-round casting, fill out this form.

Our submission policy:

Theatre Exile is accepting script submissions for our Subscription Series productions and our Studio X-hibition New Play Development Series on a rolling basis. At this time, we do not accept submissions for our Out of Exile program.

We only accept electronic submissions. You can use the form links below to submit. Please follow the instructions and guidelines provided below and on the individual forms.

In general, Theatre Exile is looking for stories that either push forward ideas or expose part of the human condition that we prefer to keep in the dark. We seek a diverse selection of voices, styles, and content. With that in mind, we also hope that submissions will align with our vision and goals for connecting with our audiences.

As we consider plays for each program, we also consider our capacity and resources. Please note that we currently do not produce musicals, scripts with more than 5 actors, and are less than an hour or more than 3 hours in length.

Subscription Series Submissions

Theatre Exile’s Subscription Series productions give our audiences insight into life’s challenges by sharing important stories of various perspectives.

Submissions are accepted all year long and added to our considerations list for the future. You should receive a confirmation email that your submission was filed. If we decide that your submission is a good fit for production consideration you will receive an email.

Currently, we only produce three plays a season in our Subscription Series. Every season requires specific considerations and each play may take several seasons to consider. If you ever want to update or check in on the status of your submission, you can email artistic@theatreexile.org.

Out of town artists, please submit 10-page sample only.

Philadelphia local area artists (within a 30-mile radius of City Hall in Philadelphia) may submit full scripts.

Studio X-hibition New Play Development Series Submissions

Theatre Exile’s Studio X-hibition New Play Development Series is a program of plays from Philadelphia local artists that have already undergone some form of significant development and are far enough along to receive a public reading with actors for audience response. This is an opportunity for Theatre Exile to build artistic relationships with playwrights.

Submitting to our Studio X-hibition series is only available to those in the Philadelphia area. Submissions are accepted annually beginning in February to June. We read these scripts over the summer, and will email you with our decision in September. Any plays submitted after June 30 may not be considered until our next season

Questions can be sent to our Artistic Department at artistic@theatreexile.org.

Designers looking to work with us in Exile, either on a particular show or in general, may fill out this form.

Technicians and those looking to get on our overhire call list may fill out this form. Currently we’re most in need of skilled labor.

Unskilled, general overhire starts at $16/hr. and increases according to skill and area of focus.