MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Virgin Labfest (VLF) is on the hunt for daring new voices and compelling narratives. Now on its 21st season, the premier festival for untried, unstaged, and untested one-act plays is once again calling on playwrights to submit their works for the 2026 edition.
Twelve outstanding plays will be selected for production and staged at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in June 2026, giving fresh scripts and emerging playwrights the platform they deserve.
DEADLINE: February 28, 2025, at 11:59 PM.
HOW TO SUBMIT:
- Send manuscripts in .doc or .pdf format only to thewritersblocinc@gmail.com.
- Open to all Filipino citizens.
- The festival welcomes diverse themes and genres.
WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:
- Scripts with a maximum running time of 40 minutes (about 25-35 pages long).
- Unpublished works that have not been commercially staged for more than two (2) performances (staged readings and one-time workshop productions are allowed).
- Entries that have not won any major literary or drama awards as of June 29, 2025 (end of VLF 2025).
- Works in Filipino, English, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, or Ilocano (non-Filipino language entries must include a Filipino translation). Other Filipino dialects will be considered based on performer availability.
WHAT TO EXPECT: Selected playwrights will undergo a script development process, working closely with the festival’s creative team to refine their pieces before they hit the stage.
The chosen plays will be announced at the conclusion of VLF 20 in June 2025.
Virgin Labfest is a collaborative project of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, The Writer’s Bloc, and Tanghalang Pilipino Foundation, Inc.
For updates, visit the CCP website (www.culturalcenter.gov.ph) and follow CCP’s official social media accounts on Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok.
