From page to stage: Geelong festival back for round two

SUBMISSIONS have opened for the 2026 Geelong Short Play Festival.

Now in its second year, the festival’s return follows a success debut 2025 season that drew more than 300 audience members across three performances.

Writers are again invited to submit up to two original 15-minute plays, with six works to be selected by a panel of judges and staged by local theatre companies at the Geelong Arts Centre in August.

Entries can explore any theme but must feature no more than five characters and be suitable for minimal staging, a requirement that reflects the festival’s focus on text-driven performance.

Festival coordinator Paul Bucci said organisers hoped to build on lessons from the first year.

“We learned a great deal from staging the inaugural festival, and we’re planning an even stronger event the second time around,” he said.

“We want Geelong to punch about its weight creativity. So, to all the writers out there, it’s time for take two.”

Submissions are open to residents across the Greater Geelong region, including the Bellarine Peninsula, as well as the Surf Coast, Colac Otway and Golden Plains shires.

Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj praised the festival’s 2025 debut for captivating audiences and showcasing local theatre.

He said the plays revealed the “tremendous talent” of the region’s “most gifted playwrights and actors” with “minimal sets but maximum imagination”.

Entries close on 15 March.

Submission guidelines and entry forms are available via the Geelong Writers website at geelongwriters.org.au or by email at [email protected]