First brew is currently on hiatus. Stay tuned for more information!

During the EST season, First Brew, an EST Members Council Initiative, meets the second Sunday of each month. It was created out of a desire to grow a supportive, creative community of actors & writers and for writers to hear excerpts of their works-in-progress, read out loud, by talented actors who are cast on the spot, in a fun, casual and collaborative setting. It's EST's living room, where all are welcome. There is no admission - just bring your talent, some drinks & snacks to share and an eagerness to participate in & support what the community of EST writers have brewing.

Only those who are on our email list, who email us at estfirstbrew@gmail.com & receive an email confirmation back from us are guaranteed a seat, otherwise, on the day of the Brew starting @ 8:30pm, we will begin taking names for a wait list.

WRITERS

Submissions are open to all writers from all genres - plays, screenplays, poetry, prose and songs - with special consideration given to the EST community.

ACTORS

Pieces are cast on the spot, the night of the Brew. Arrive when the doors open for casting, introduce yourself & check-in with each of the Brew Masters. The average First Brew has over 20 opportunities for actors; so if you're not cast the first time, keep coming and we'll get ya in the mix.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Writers must turn in submissions personally at First Brew.
Be sure to include your contact information!

Alternatively, email submissions are ONLY accepted from Members of Ensemble Studio Theatre, the EST Playwrights Unit, and EST Youngblood Alumni.

Send email submissions to ESTFirstBrew@gmail.com with "First Brew Submission" in the subject line. Be sure to include your contact information

Submission Length

  • Up to 10 pages of dialogue from a play or screenplay; or
  • Up to 4 pages of monologues, prose, lyrics or verse

Submission Format:

  • Hard copies are accepted in person at First Brew (no mail or drop-off submissions)
  • Electronic / email submissions are accepted in MS Word (.doc/.docx), Rich
    Text Format (.rtf), or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf).
  • All submissions should have industry-standard manuscript or script formatting
    with at least 1” margins and 12 point font

Please include on the submission:

  • Title / Author / Author Contact Information
  • Character Descriptions / Cast Breakdown
  • Time and Place Setting

If pages are not the first pages of the manuscript, a brief 1-2 sentence description setting the submission into context. The title and character pages do not count towards the page limit.