The Young Actors' Theatre Camp is a multi-award winning theatre arts and film camp for students ages 8-18 in the Santa Cruz Mountains!

WE ARE LOOKING FOR SHORT SCREENPLAY SUBMISSIONS to FILM at our NEXT CAMP!

Our Winter Film Camp produces 15 shorts a year and we are always looking for
NEW WRITERS for our SHORTS PROGRAMS!

If your script is selected, you will:
1) Win a $500 Award
2) See Your Work Produced at our next Camp Session by an award winning group of filmmaking mentors and their students!
3) We will submit the films to festivals all over the world. To date we have been screened in these festivals:

Film Festival History of The Young Actors’ Theatre Camp

Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival
“Royalty” 2020

To date we have had a total of 11 Films Play as part of the Nominations
At the American Pavilion’s Emerging Filmmakers Showcase
at the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France
Emerging Filmmakers Showcase at the AmPav at Cannes
“Andy’s Arrow” 2020/2021
“Royalty” 2020/2021
“No Shame” 2020/2021
“Never Alone” 2020/2021
“Henry” 2019
“Birthday Girl” 2019
“Pretty” 2018
“The Risen” 2018
“Drifting” 2017

LA Shorts International Film Festival
“Monoceros Lex” 2019

Monarch Film Festival
“Henry” 2019 - Winner : Best Short Film

Seattle Queer Film Festival
“Monoceros Lex” 2019

St. Louis International Film Festival
“Monoceros Lex” 2019

Desperado Film Festival
“Pretty” 2018 - Winner : Best of the Best Short Film

Sidewalk Film Festival
“Cinephiles” 2018
“Birthday Girl” 2019
“Andy’s Arrow” 2020/2021
“Royalty” 2021

Out on Film: Atlanta’s LGBTQ Film Festival
“Alike” 2018
“Cinephiles” 2018
“Pretty” 2018

Cinema Touching Disability Festival
“Silent” 2018 - Finalist

Reeling: The Chicago LBGTQ+ International Film Festival
“Monoceros Lex” 2019
“Henry” 2019
“Birthday Girl” 2019
“Sing Out” 2019

LGBTQ Shorts Film Festival
“Monoceros Lex” 2019
“Henry” 2019
“Birthday Girl” 2019
“Sing Out” 2019

Monarch Film Festival
“Monoceros Lex” 2019
“Henry” 2019
“Homeroom” 2019
“Birthday Girl” 2019
“Sing Out” 2019

Lift-Off Filmmaker Sessions @PinewoodStudios
“There’s Something About Mars” 2019
“Parental Controls” 2019
“Love in Bloom” 2019
“Homeroom” 2019
“Recall” 2019
“Scouts” 2019
Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
“Monoceros Lex” 2019

Tampa Bay International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
“Birthday Girl” 2019
“Sing Out” 2019

Covellite International Film Festival
“Monoceros Lex” 2019
“Homeroom” 2019

International Queer Film Festival Playa del Carmen
“Monoceros Lex” 2019

Semi-Finalist at the Newark IFF Youth Festival
“Alike” 2018
“Cinephiles” 2018
“The Risen” 2018
“Pretty” 2018
“Bunker” 2018
“Silently Drowning” 2018
“Silent” 2018
“Take Us Home” 2018
“Caught” 2018
“Draguation” 2018

Outflix Film Festival
“Cinephiles” 2018
“Birthday Girl” 2019

Awards & Prizes

Chosen scripts will WIN a $500 Award!

Rules & Terms

Submission Rules:

WRITER CAN BE OF ANY AGE. Just because this is a film camp for kids, does not mean that we are seeking scripts from only students writers. We would love writers of all ages and backgrounds to submit. Previous writing credits are not required.

Each SHORT screenplay submitted should be:
1) 3-15 pages (Ideal length is 4-12 pages)
2) Should feature main characters between the ages of 8 and 18. Our classes divide between 8-10 year olds, 11-13 year olds and 14-18 year olds. It is wonderful to have adult characters in your script, but keep in mind it's a camp for kids, so we want them to be able to act in the leading roles.
3) The scripts that work the best for our camp usually feature 2-4 leads and 2-4 co-starring size roles. We like to be able to involved all the kids. This is NOT mandatory. If you have a script that only features 2 actors and is a strong scripts, we very well may choose that.
4) Ideal environments are things that we can easily shoot at our kids camp or in the surrounding area. Think environments like school, home, camp, cafeteria, quad, basketball court, pool, hiking trails, forest. We do have access to locations in town like thrift store, restaurant, grocery store, etc. but it is much easier to shoot these locations in and around our camp. For example of our shorts: Visit our YouTube Channel - Search "Young Actors' Theatre Camp Films".
5) In terms of ratings, we like to stick to PG-13 and below.
6) Topics/Themes: We are an all inclusive and amazing camp for kids and we aren't looking for "little kid movies". We're looking for amazing films that kids would relate to. Some of our most successful themes/stories have been :
-Non Binary Teen Runs for Homecoming Court
-Boy goes to Prom in a Dress
-Not fitting in at school.
-Dealing with the death of a loved one.
-Asking a crush to a school dance.
-School shootings.
-Dealing with anxiety or depression.
If your script deals with a pivotal moment in a young person's life,
it's probably going to speak to us the most.

In terms of Genres, we've done it all and welcome ALL Genres:
-Drama -Comedy -RomCom -Fantasy - Horror - Suspense -LGBTQIA+ -Musical -Dance -Sci-Fi
(We only ask that shooting locations and special effects be considered as we are limited in those areas, slightly)

Screen writers should be open to feedback on their draft and willing to adjust characters and locations based on shooting environment and casting.