Performance Date - Saturday, June 6

FREE (RSVP Required)

To Submit Your Plays for PUP Fest 2026

Thank you for your interest in submitting a script for consideration for PUP Fest 2026! Script submissions are now OPEN! All scripts are due by May 1, 2026. Please click the link below to download your official cover letter prior to submitting your script. Thank you and we look forward to reading you scripts!

Download Official Cover Letter here!
 

SCRIPT GUIDELINES

  • Scripts must be written by students in grades 9-12 (no more than 2 playwrights per submission).

  • Scripts must be short (between 10-15 minutes with a 10 page minimum) - Longer scripts will not be accepted.

  • Scripts must be typed in 12pt Times New Roman or Arial font (no hand-written scripts will be accepted)

  • Must have between one and five actors (character doubling acceptable).

  • Scripts must have official cover sheet with title, author's name, address, contact phone number, name of school, current grade, and availability

  • Eligible playwrights must be available for rehearsals and performances.

 

For its landmark 25th annual event, PUP Fest will feature six staged readings of jury-selected plays written by DFW high school students, featuring student actors directed by area professional directors. PUP Fest is the culminating event of Dallas Playwriting Arts Collective (D-PAC), a partnership with Dallas ISD and Junior Players.

 
Submit Your Script for consideration
 

AUDITION INFORMATION

PUP Fest 2026 is a festival of staged readings where students like yourself perform scripts written by your peers! No prior acting experience is necessary - PUP Fest is a great opportunity for both those looking to further their performance experience and those looking to try something new! PUP Fest rehearsals will be June 1 - 6, 2026 (Monday 11:30 am - 4:30 pm, Tuesday - Thursday 10 am - 4:30 pm, Friday 12 pm - 5 pm, and Saturday 10 am - 4 pm). Performances will take place at 11:30 am and 1:30 pm on Saturday, June 6, 2026 at Dallas College - Richland Campus. No conflicts will be accepted during the run of the show. If you would like to be considered for PUP Fest only, please submit a virtual audition below.

Virtual auditions - click here
 

D-PAC PUP Fest is supported by:

 
 
 
 

HISTORY:

In 2001,  Kitchen Dog Theater partnered with the award-winning Dallas arts education organization Junior Players to create PUP Fest, a locally lauded (DFW Critics’ Forum Award) and nationally recognized (NEA) program dedicated to the cultivation of student playwrights. In 2017 the two organizations forged a new partnership with the Dallas Independent School District called D-PAC. By leveraging organizational assets, the new partnership allowed for expanded services and additional performance opportunities. D-PAC activities include three interrelated components: multiple in-school masterclasses led by local professional playwrights at 20 DISD high schools, a districtwide competition of fifteen-minute plays written, directed, and performed by students, and PUP Fest.

Founded in 1955, Junior Players is the oldest performing arts education nonprofit in North Texas, Kitchen Dog Theater’s annual New Works Festival is the longest running new play festival in the state of Texas, and Dallas Independent School District is the fourteenth-largest school district in the United States. Together, D-PAC is one of the most innovative student playwriting programs in the country and one of the largest in terms of reach, scope, and diversity of activities.”