CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2025 CONTEST WINNERS!
First Place: God is a tree, is my mother, is me, written by Spencer Jean Allder
Second Place: Uplifting Stories for Seniors, written by Blythe Haynes
Third Place: Shells, written by Logan Robins
Honourable Mentions
Madge Arnica and Gill Roy Kill William Gregory, written by Aliyah Bourgeault & Emmet Logue
Contrasts, written by Scott Fairweather
Itty Bitties, written by Camryn Ferguson
The Snail, written by Araceli Ferrara
With You Always, written by Kevin P. Gabel
Things that Go Bump, written by Shelley M Hobbs
A Mother's War, written by Steven Elliot Jackson
Down the Lane of Memories, written by Kato McKiernan
Spiral Shell, written by Barbara Morrone-Sanchez
The 45th Hour, written by Brianna Russell
One of Twelve, written by Sara Saberi
Presence of An Absence, written by Aylin Oyan Salahshoor
Star, written Naomi Tessler
He Said, She Said, written by Keara Voo
It's all Because of a Snail, Really, written by Ailsa Wilson
WHY? written by Derek Wilson
Can you write a play in 24 hours? Sign up for the Toronto Fringe's wildly popular contest and see if you can beat the clock!
This contest is for anyone who has wanted to write a play but just needed a little encouragement and motivation! It challenges new and experienced writers to create a script in 24 hours while incorporating four secret elements that will be announced shortly before the contest begins.
Contest Information
The writing period starts at 9:00 AM EST on Saturday, February 8 and finishes at 5:00 PM EST on Sunday, February 9, 2025.
The morning of the contest, participants will receive all instructions including the four elements to include in their script. The contest will take place completely virtually. To encourage rest and breaks, you get 8 bonus hours.
Contest times are Eastern Standard Time. If you are joining us from a different time zone, please account for the time difference in your planning!
The winner will be awarded a cash bursary of $500 and either the opportunity to meet with a dramaturg or director, or the chance to have a reading of their play during the 2025 Toronto Fringe Festival (July 2-13, 2025). You must select your preferred prize when you submit your play by 5:00 PM EST on February 9. The first and second runner up of this contest will both be awarded a $250 bursary.
The 24-Hour Play Contest is generously supported by the Pat & Tony Adams Freedom Fund for the Arts.
If you would like to connect with other folks who are also participating in this contest, we have created a channel in the Toronto Indie Artsworker Discord. Join the Discord here.
Contest Timeline
- Monday, January 13, 2025: Registration opens
- Wednesday, February 5, 2025: Registration closes at 11:59 PM EST
- Saturday, February 8, 2025: Contest starts at 9:00 AM EST
- Sunday, February 9, 2025: All plays must be submitted by 5:00 PM EST
All winners will be contacted via email no later than the week of March 17 and will be announced no later than the week of March 21.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
- Open to all playwrights/writers who are permanent residents of Canada.
- More than one entry per playwright is not permitted.
- Playwrights may enter this contest as a collective OR as solo playwright.
- The submitted script must have been written fully in the (extended) 24-hour contest period.
- There is no minimum duration for your script, but we recommend limiting script length at a maximum of 50 pages.
- Participants are not permitted to use AI to help create or write their script.
- Submissions are anonymized for the selection committee.
The Toronto Fringe is committed to equality, diversity, and prioritizing accessibility. We warmly encourage applications from Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour communities, 2SLGBTQ+ identified persons as well as Deaf, Mad and disability-identified persons.
Registration Fee: Participants pay a fee in the amount of their choice ($10, $15, or $20) to be entered into the contest.
If you require any accommodations, please do not hesitate to contact Suzanne Wilkie at suzanne@fringetoronto.com.
Adjudication Process
All submissions will be adjudicated anonymously and there will be two rounds of adjudication.
Round 1: All scripts will be divided evenly and read by at least one member of the assessment committee. Each committee member will submit a shortlist at the end of this round to progress to Round 2.
Round 2: All scripts that progress to the second round will be read by everyone on the committee. Each member will identify their top three choices by the end of this round.
There will be a final selection meeting with all the committee members to discuss their shortlists and select the winner.
The scripts will be assessed using the following criteria:
- Inclusion of the elements that are provided at 9:00 AM EST the morning of February 8
- Artistic merit
- Potential for development
- Script coherence
Past contest winners
2024
First Place: The Architecture of a Life (Margaret Legere)
Second Place: WE HAVE TO TELL YOU SOMETHING (Lisa Alves)
Third Place: Horse Girls (Jessie Walker)
Honourable Mentions:
A Cosmic Slurp (Carling Tedesco)
Cover and Simmer, Stirring Occasionally (Natalie Skov)
horseplay (Kole Durnford)
Jam (Guy R. Newsham)
our place in the grand terrible universe (Karley Jagusic)
roundabout; the semi-true story of first love (Araceli Ferrara)
Scouting our Landscapes of Sorrows (Rachel Foster)
Wasting Time (Jessa Richer)
2023
First Place: Waiting for Her by Brynn Cutcliffe
Second Place: A Monster by Ronit Rubinstein
Third Place: What Ever Happened to Geraldine by Araceli Ferrara
Honourable Mentions:
The Big Game - R/B Mertz
Blubes - Hannah Joubert
Cost of Living - Lisa Aikman
New Math - Brendon Allen
Second Arrow - Polly Phokeev
Sweepers - Tiyawnda McGregor