9th Annual Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival Announces Open Call for Submissions and finds support from The Bent

Executive Director, David Youse

PSYPF announcing open call for play submissions from students in Riverside County, CA and finds support from The Bent, a professional theatre in Palm Springs.

PALM SPRINGS, CA, UNITED STATES, October 8, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival Announces Open Call for Submissions for Ninth Annual Festival and finds support from The Bent.

The Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival (PSYPF), which promotes and encourages theatrical creative writing to all elementary, middle, and high school students within Riverside County, announced that it is now accepting submissions for the 9th Annual Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival. Submissions will be accepted through March 6, 2026 from students enrolled in any school in Riverside County. When the submission window closes, a selection committee will review all submissions and choose the most outstanding plays. Each winner will receive a mentorship to enhance their play, a free public staged reading by professional actors, and a $500 scholarship to help further their career in the arts. Winning plays will be announced by March 20, 2026. The 9th Annual Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival will be held in June 2026 at The Palm Springs Cultural Center. More information may be found at psypf.org.



In addition, the Festival also announced that The Bent, a professional theatre in Palm Springs, will support PSYPF with a $500 scholarship for the winning play with LGBTQ+ theme, matching their mission statement, dedicated to resourcing the talents and needs of the LGBTQIA+ communities.


”I was thrilled when approached by Terry Ray and Steven Rosenbaum with their passion for our youth in the arts. Keeping with their mission at The Bent, their offer of supporting a young playwright, story telling about the LGBTQ+ community, is a perfect fit for our young playwrights. Every year we receive several LGBTQ+ plays, and having Terry and Steve support them though PSYPF is a welcome fit.” - David Youse, Executive Director of the Festival. “We are thrilled to now name one of our scholarship awards after their generous efforts — the Bent Award.”

“THE BENT is honored  to be a participant in this year's Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival . With the cancelation of so many arts programs in the country, support of artists, especially young ones, is imperative and the PSYPF's importance in the community can not be underestimated.  And who knows, we may be  helping to find  the next Tennessee Williams or Paula Vogel,” - Terry Ray and Steve Rosenbaum



Members of the PSYPF Alumni Advisory Board return each year to participate and run the festival. The Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival maintains an active Alumni Advisory board of previous festival winners. Kayla McCarty (2025), Abigail Alldredge (2024), Erik Evans (2024), Anthony Banuelos (2024),George Sandoval (2023) Brooklyn Rutledge (2022), Yamani Scoggins (2021), Cal Vaughan (2020 and 2021), Ava Hemstreet (2020), and Xuan Anh Ly Biggs (2020 and 2023).


PSYPF partners with The Riverside County Office of Education to expand its outreach to young playwrights, including not just the Coachella Valley but all of Riverside County. PSYPF is supported by Louisa Higgins, Visual and Performing Arts Administrator for The Riverside County Office of Education.



PSYPF is funded by Cherry Lane Alternative with Angelina Fiordellisi, Jason Smith and Tom Valach, Tom Hartnett and Paul Reid, Kevin Stotts and Joe Corner, Eddie Nestlebush and Scott Poland and Alberto Tejero. 



PSYFP is sponsored by The Riverside County Office of Education, Kimpton Rowan Hotel of Palm Springs with Peggy Trott, General Manager, The Anderson Children’s Foundation, The City of Palm Springs and The Palm Springs Cultural Center with Michael Green as Executive Director.



About PSYPF

The Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival promotes and encourages creative writing – in the theatrical form – open to all students in the elementary, middle, and high school level within Riverside County, California. The Festival provides a scholarship to further education in the arts, mentorship, and a public reading to young playwrights of chosen plays. More information is available at www.psypf.org.
PSYPF is a nonprofit organization.

David Youse
Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival
info@psypf.org
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