2026 MARYLAND THESPIAN FESTIVAL

one-act festival

Application Deadline: October 1st, 2025
Notification: Selected One Acts will be notified by October 8th
Registration Deadline: Friday, November 14th
Registration Forms Needed: Principal Permission Form, Proof of License, Synopsis, Cast & Crew List
Participants: Registered Troupes & Delegates
Contact: production@marylandthespians.org

Quick Links:
Download the 2024 One-Act Festival Guide

Production Requirements & Regulations
Load-In / Load-Out Procedures & Regulations


Principal Permission Form
Directorial Vision Statement
Google Drive folders for uploading documents should be shared individually with Troupe Directors

THE ONE-ACT FESTIVAL & CHAPTER SELECT
The highly anticipated One-Act Festival returns showcasing high schools from across the state as they present their best theatrical performances. Participating troupes receive live feedback from professional judges, recognition for their participation, and the highest-scoring performances receive awards for their accomplishments at the Festival’s Closing Ceremony. The highest-scoring performance of all earns the coveted title of Chapter Select and the chance to take their performance all the way to the International Thespian Festival!

Learn more about the Chapter Select program at the International Thespian Festival.


HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Troupe Directors will be asked to complete an Application / Interest Form - which will open September 15th and close October 1st. Directors will be asked to upload the following items:

After October 1st, schools will be entered into a lottery for the available slots.
(Up to 3 spots will be reserved for schools who have not previously presented a one act. If more than 3 apply, a lottery will also be used to fill these 3 spots and the remaining will be entered into the main lottery with everyone else.)

Schools will be notified by October 6 if they have a spot and allowed to register their one act in the system. During the registration process, Troupe Directors will register their troupe and all cast and crew members involved in the performance for the One-Act Festival.

REMINDER: The One Act must be directed by either the Troupe Director or another member of staff at the participating school. (Student-Directed productions are NOT permitted.)

Please pay close attention to the Moratorium information below.

For 2025, there will be 21 available performance slots. Please note that final approval of all performances is always at the discretion of the Maryland Thespians Board of Directors and may be revoked at any time if there are concerns about any of the above.


PERFORMANCE VENUE
The Studio, Marder, and Mainstage Theaters at Towson University’s Center for the Arts will be used for the One-Act Festival in 2026.


SCORING
To be chosen as Chapter Select, a One-Act must be adjudicated at the Maryland Thespian Festival and obtain the highest score using the Maryland Chapter One-Act Festival Rubric. The evaluation team will also select an alternate in case the chosen Chapter Select is unable to attend the International Thespian Festival.


ONE-ACT AWARDS
To celebrate the accomplishments of our troupes presenting a One-Act as part of the One-Act Festival, the festival adjudicators will award the following awards based on their scoring of the piece observed in accordance with the Maryland Thespian One-Act Rubric.

Outstanding Vocal Work
Outstanding Physical Work
Outstanding Ensemble
Outstanding Production Design
Outstanding Technical Crew
Outstanding Costume Design
Outstanding Sound Design
Outstanding Properties Design
Outstanding Hair & Makeup Design
Outstanding Scenic Design/Use of Space
Outstanding Performers - Please note two performers will be eligible for this distinction for each one-act adjudicated.


MORATORIUM:
The rolling, four-year moratorium (not bringing shows to festival that were presented at the previous three festivals) has resumed, following Festival 2023. The shows from 2024 through 2026, listed by year below, cannot be brought to Festival in 2027.

  • A Thousand Cranes, By Kathryn Schultz Miller;
    Animal Farm, Based on the book by George Orwell;
    Employees Must Wash Hands... Before Murder, By Don Zolidis;
    Haters, By Don Zolidis;
    Interview, By Jean-Claude van Itallie;
    It's a Wonderful Life, Adapted from the film by Frank Capra;
    Macbeth, By William Shakespeare;
    One Stoplight Town, By Tracy Wells;
    Out of the Frying, Pan By Francis Swann;
    Sorry, Wrong Number, By Lucille Fletcher;
    Supermarket of Lost, By Cassandra Hsiao;
    The Land of Cockaigne, By David Ives;
    The Layover, By Tracy Wells;
    The Price, By Don Zolidis;
    The Squirrels, By Robert Askins;
    Things Fall (Meanwhile), By Barton Bishop;
    This is a Test, By Stephen Gregg;
    Unexpected Tenderness, By Israel Horovitz;
    Us and Them, By David Campton;
    Wild Strawberries, By Jerry Ayers

  • 13 Ways to Screw Up Your College Interview, By Ian McWethy;
    30 Plays in 30 Minutes, By Kamron Klitgaard;
    A Midsummers Night's Dream, By William Shakespeare;
    Aliens vs Cheerleaders, By Qui Nguyen;
    And, By Alan Haehnel;
    Crafting a Killer, By Brent Holland;
    Everybody, By Branden Jacobs-Jenkins;
    Final Dress Rehearsal, By Jack;
    Frakes;
    Lost Girl, By Kimberly Belflower;
    Me, My Monsters, and I, By Grey Pratt;
    Property Rites, By Alan Haehnel;
    Seven Menus, By David Ives;
    Soundscapes, By Claudia Haas and Sarah Kraning;
    The Absolute Most Cliched Elevator Play in the History of the Entire Universe, By Werner Trieschmann;
    The Actor's Nightmare, By Christopher Durang;
    The Heidi Chronicles (Act I), By Wendy Wasserstein;
    The Identity Project, By Brent Holland;
    The Internet Is Distract- OH, LOOK A KITTEN!, By Ian McWethy;
    The Lottery, By Henry Fielding (Story by Shirley Jackson);
    The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, By Dwayne Hartford (Based on the Book by Kate DiCamillo);
    The Yellow Boat, By David Saar;
    W;t (aka Wit), By Margaret Edson

  • A Little Box of Oblivion, By Stephen Bean;
    A Night Under The Stars, By Tracy Wells;
    Badger    , By Don Zolidis;
    By The Bog Of Cats    , By Marina Carr;
    Dark Road, By Laura Lundgren Smith;
    DNA, By Dennis Kelly;
    Fearful Symmetry, By Alan Haehnel;
    Gossip, By Brian Hampton;
    Hopefully: An Ethnodrama, By Ashley P. DiLorenzo;
    I Don't Want to Talk About It, By Bradley Hayward
    Lockdown, By Douglas Craven
    Make Believe, By Bess Wohl;
    Our Place, By Terry Gabbard;
    Shakespeare Bachelor, By Kristen Doherty;
    Swagger, By Eric Coble;
    The Flies, By Oliver Lansley;
    The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, By Moises Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris, Stephen Belber;
    The Never Before Seen Pilot Episode of DIPSY The Dinosour, By Brent Holland;
    We Can't Talk About This, By Jon Jory;
    When Shakespeare’s Ladies Meet, By Charles George;

  • #Censored by Maria McConville;
    About Her by Dennis Bush;
    And Then There Was One Too by Michael Druce;
    Conflict by Wade Bradford;
    Cut by Ed Monk;
    Good Cop Bad Cop by Ian McWethy & Jason Pizzarello;
    In The Forests Of The Night by Del Martin;
    PUFFS by Matt Cox;
    Rogues Gallery by John Patrick Shanley;
    The Girl in the White Pinafore by Jiggs Burgess;
    This Random World by Steven Dietz;
    Tracks by Peter Tarsi;
    Zap by Paul Fleischman;


PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS
To ensure success, be sure to review all of the One-Act Festival Production Requirements.


LOAD-IN / LOAD-OUT
To ensure success, be sure to review all of the One-Act Festival Load-In/Load-Out Requirements by clicking the link above.



Registration Opening Soon!