How to Build a Theatre Festival Submission Pack

What a submission pack is for

A theatre festival submission pack is a curated set of files and information that lets a festival programmer understand a production and decide whether to pursue it. It is not usually one document. It is a small, well-labelled library of assets that can be uploaded to an application portal, sent by link, or requested by email. The pack should answer the questions a programmer is likely to ask before reading the full script or watching a complete recording.

Festival guidance converges on a few principles. Programmers ask whether a project fits the programme, whether the venue can technically host it, and whether the programmer can defend the choice to colleagues; applications that fail to answer those questions quickly may be set aside. One festival-programming resource estimates that a programmer may receive 100–300 applications per season and that many are discarded in under two minutes (Ressona). The practical implication is not to make the pack flashy but to make it legible.

Start with the programmer’s three questions

Does it fit? The pack should make the production’s form, genre, scale, language and artistic starting point clear without requiring the reader to reconstruct them from an artist statement. A festival needs to see how the work sits alongside its programme, not merely that the company considers it excellent.

Can we host it? Technical feasibility is part of selection, not an afterthought. A programmer needs enough information to judge whether the stage, crew, schedule and budget can accommodate the show. Leaving technical information until after an offer creates avoidable uncertainty.

Can I defend it to my team? A programmer often has to persuade colleagues, funders or a board. Clear credits, a coherent rationale, evidence of previous work and realistic touring information give that person something to argue with. The pack is therefore both an artistic document and an internal advocacy tool.

Core components of the pack

Writing the show description and pitch

Application guidance for Liverpool Improvisation Festival advises a concise, engaging summary that leads with the core concept and makes clear what is unique about the show (Liverpool Improvisation Festival). For a theatre pack, that means stating the essential facts early: title, maker, form, duration, language or languages, intended audience and production status. A work in development should be labelled as such; a completed touring production should say so.

A useful discipline is to prepare three versions: a one-sentence hook, a hundred-word synopsis and a one-page production summary. The long version can carry context, artistic lineage and production history. The short version must survive without it. Festival copy also benefits from tonal match: a comedy, a documentary theatre piece and a multilingual devised work should not sound as if they were described by the same anonymous committee.

Video: proof rather than archive

Video is often the fastest way for a programmer to understand how a production behaves in front of an audience. Liverpool Improvisation Festival guidance asks for video that is audible and that accurately captures the energy, tone and genre of the performance (Liverpool Improvisation Festival). A comedy-festival submission guide makes a related point: lead with a primary clip that has high comic density and a clear purpose, rather than sending several undifferentiated links labelled as full sets (StagePay Knowledge Hub).

For theatre, the equivalent is a proof-of-concept clip: a scene, a sequence or a short trailer that reveals staging, performance style and the audience contract. The full recording can be supplied on request or when the call explicitly asks for it. If the production uses surtitles, include a clip with titles visible only where the festival permits it; otherwise provide a transcript, a translation note or a separate still showing the surtitle design. Check the audio on ordinary laptop speakers and on a phone before uploading.

Images, credits and rights

Application guidance from Liverpool Improvisation Festival recommends high-resolution photographs with strong contrast and dynamic lighting, and warns against low-resolution stage stills that fail to capture the production’s energy and tone (Liverpool Improvisation Festival). A theatre pack usually needs only a small selection: one strong production image, one rehearsal or company image, and, where relevant, one image that shows the scale or design of the set. Include photographer credits and confirm that the images may be used in festival marketing. A pack should not contain an image whose rights are unclear.

Company biography and production credits

Festival guidance favours concise company biographies that focus on key achievements, core artistic identity and clear hooks (Liverpool Improvisation Festival). Keep the company separate from the show. A company may have a long history, but the programmer needs to know who is responsible for this production. List credited roles consistently: writer, director, translator, dramaturg, designer, performers, producer and technical team. If the production is a translation or adaptation, name the source text and the translator or adapter, and state whether performing and translation rights are in place. Do not imply a premiere status, award, partnership or presenter relationship that is not documented.

Technical and production information

Technical information is where many otherwise strong packs fail. A festival needs to know whether the show can fit its venue and schedule. Provide a stage plan and a concise technical rider covering minimum stage dimensions, get-in and get-out requirements, lighting and sound needs, power requirements, crew requirements, touring party size, duration, interval and any special requirements such as live music, haze, water or accessibility provision. Distinguish essential requirements from desirable ones, and say what can be adapted.

For international touring, state the voltage and plug standards the production carries, or confirm that the venue must supply them; do not assume that a local adapter solves a power requirement. State the language or languages of performance and of any surtitles. Identify who will operate the surtitles and whether the festival may edit them. If local crew will be used, say what minimum rehearsal or technical time the production needs with them.

The international and multilingual layer

For international submissions, the pack has to answer additional questions. Will the production travel with its own set, or adapt to a local venue? Are there translation rights, touring rights or music rights that must be cleared? What documentation will the festival need for visas, customs or temporary import of equipment? These are not questions a pack can answer with a generic statement. Identify the responsible producer and state what has been confirmed and what remains conditional. Verify visa, tax and customs requirements through the relevant official authorities or the festival’s producer; a submission pack is not a legal opinion.

A translated play should name the translator, the source-language playwright and the language of the production. A multilingual or devised work should explain how language functions in performance rather than labelling itself simply as physical theatre. If the festival will present surtitles, say whether they already exist, who made them and whether permission to display or edit them has been granted. These details affect both artistic interpretation and access.

Pitching versus submitting

Guidance on musical theatre distinguishes pitching from submitting: a pitch invites a conversation, while a submission responds to a specific call and often follows a prescribed format (Musical Writers). In festival practice, the application form is usually the primary submission; the pack supports it. Do not send a general press kit when the call asks for specific files, word counts or links. If a programmer asks for a pitch, use the same evidence but lead with the idea and the invitation. If the call asks for a submission, follow its checklist precisely.

Assembling and naming the pack

A comedy-festival guide recommends literal folder hygiene: clear file names, a primary clip, an alternate clip and no pile of links labelled as full sets (StagePay Knowledge Hub). The theatre equivalent is a master folder with subfolders for show text, images, video, technical information, press and administration. Name files so that a stranger can identify them without opening them. A file called Company_Show_Title_2026_Technical-Rider.pdf is more useful than final_final_v3.pdf. Keep file sizes within the festival’s upload limit, and provide a viewing link only as a backup rather than a substitute for the requested file. Date the pack and keep a change log so that collaborators know which version was submitted.

Common problems

• Burying basic facts about the show inside a long artist statement.
• Sending a full-length recording when the call asks for a short clip.
• Using low-resolution images without photographer credits or marketing permission.
• Listing technical needs only after selection, rather than giving a concise rider at application stage.
• Assuming that a festival can solve visa, rights or translation permissions without prior evidence.
• Reusing copy that still names another festival or deadline.

A practical checklist

1. Read the current call and note the deadline, timezone, file limits, eligibility, fees and any travel or production support.
2. Prepare a one-sentence description, a hundred-word synopsis and a one-page production summary.
3. Select a primary video clip and an alternate; test the audio and check the running time.
4. Prepare three to six high-resolution images with credits and confirmed permissions.
5. Write a fifty-word and a hundred-and-fifty-word company biography.
6. Compile consistent credits, including translator and adaptation credits where relevant.
7. Export a technical rider, stage plan and basic touring schedule.
8. State performance languages, surtitle languages and rights status.
9. Name and date every file, then test all links in a private browser window.
10. Record what was submitted, when and to which version of the call.

Verification and record-keeping

Festival deadlines, fees, eligibility, travel support and technical specifications change. Use the organiser’s current application page as the authority, and confirm ambiguous points with the producer or technical contact. Where a deadline is stated, note the timezone and year; an undated call should not be treated as open. Keep a copy of the submitted pack, the confirmation email and the version of the call you responded to. That record is useful if a festival later asks for an update, or if a collaborator needs to reuse the materials for a different context.

A good theatre festival submission pack is not a monument to the production. It is a working tool that respects the programmer’s time, makes the production’s conditions visible, and leaves the artistic case clear enough to discuss.