From Script to Stage: Here’s How to Join Puregold Teatro Panalo

For playwrights dreaming of seeing their masterworks on stage, Puregold Teatro Panalo may be their portal to the world of theatre.

Puregold Teatro Panalo is now searching for original one-act plays and musicals from which selected entries will be professionally staged for its inaugural festival in 2027. Apart from featuring new work, the festival could propel these select few into full-length productions.

Raring to submit a script? Here are six things you need to know.

1. ANY GENRE, STYLE OR THEME IS WELCOME

Puregold Teatro Panalo is open to amateur and professional playwrights aged 18 and above.

Potential applicants have plenty of room to experiment. Entries may explore any genre, style or theme—from comedy and drama to experimental work and musical theater. Scripts may also be written in English or any Filipino language, although entries in regional languages must come with an English translation.

The goal is simple: cast the widest possible net for stories that reflect the diversity of Filipino experiences and voices.

2. ONLY 12 WORKS WILL MAKE IT TO THE STAGE

Competition will be tight.

From all submissions, the festival’s Selection Committee will choose just 12 works for the official lineup: eight straight plays and four musicals.

All 12 will receive full production support and will be staged during the Puregold Teatro Panalo festival, which is set to run sometime between February and March 2027. The official venue will be announced separately.

For the select playwrights, this means their scripts will actually be brought to life before an audience.

3. AI-GENERATED WRITING IS OUT

Puregold Teatro Panalo is drawing the line at Artificial Intelligence: the creative work must come from the playwright.

The use of AI-generated plot, characters, structure, scenes, dialogue, lyrics, and other major creative elements is prohibited. AI may be utilized for non-creative assistance such as general research, fact-checking, organization, formatting and proofreading. But human authorship is strictly required for the script.

4. EACH SELECTED PLAYWRIGHT GETS ₱100,000

Funding goes with bragging rights.

Each of the 12 chosen playwrights will receive a ₱100,000 fee for their work. Production costs for the festival run, including the professional fees of the cast and crew, will be shouldered by the festival. They may recommend a director for their production, but festival organizers will have the final say.

5. PLAYWRIGHTS RETAIN OWNERSHIP OF THEIR WORKS

Playwrights will retain ownership of their submitted works while granting Wishbone Collective the right to stage and produce them under the festival’s terms.

The relationship could also extend well beyond the festival. Wishbone Collective reserves the right to further develop and stage selected works as full-length theatrical productions for up to five years after the festival run.

This opens an intriguing possibility: a one-act play debuting at Teatro Panalo could eventually return as a bigger, fully developed production.

6. THE DEADLINE IS 11:59 PM 0N SEPTEMBER 11

Applications are being accepted online, with each playwright allowed to submit up to two entries. However, only one work from each applicant may ultimately be selected.

Playwrights can submit their applications here: https://forms.gle/FxqLrDzivaqNwDx56. 

The complete festival mechanics are also available in the application form.

For Filipino playwrights sitting on an unfinished draft - or perhaps an idea they’ve been waiting for an excuse to finally write - Puregold Teatro Panalo offers not just a competition but an actual path from page to stage.

And for 12 playwrights, that one-act script may just be the beginning.