How to write letters that work
You will usually introduce yourself to a potential producer through a query
or cover letter. This letter is your opportunity to show the potential producer
that you can write—and the first place they will judge your writing. It’s
crucial that your letter is well-written, grammatical and free of typographical
errors. On this page, I’ll show you sample letters that can help you present
yourself professionally.
A query letter is often accompanied by a synopsis (short summary) of your play and a dialogue sample (perhaps ten pages), depending on the theater’s particular guidelines. Make sure you find out a theater’s submission guidelines before sending anything! (Reference books like The Dramatists Sourcebook are ideal for this.)
SAMPLE QUERY LETTER
555 Writer’s Alley
New York, NY 10003
August 12, 2001
John Smith
Artistic Director
Pilgrim Theater Company
525 Puritan Way
Plymouth, MA 02156
Dear Mr. Smith:
Enclosed for your consideration please find a synopsis and sample pages from Milk and Cookies. Milk and Cookies is about Margaret Nancy Reagan Ballmoth, who becomes a fugitive when her children poison the cookies they give the teller at a bank's drive-through window. She meets up with Bruce, a man on the run from "milk," which he believes to be the industrial in the military-industrial complex. It has a cast of four and has minimal set and technical requirements. Enjoy.
Thus far, Milk and Cookies has had two developmental readings through City Theater Company of Wilmington (DE), which has produced a number of my plays. Other recent productions of my work have gone up off-off-Broadway, in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Virginia, Florida and even near London. A pair of productions of my free adaptation of War of the Buttons are scheduled for early 1999. Additionally, I have been a finalist for the Actors Theatre of Louisville Heideman Award and a script reader for several major regional theaters. I currently run the theater program at The Haverford School, and I am a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Philadelphia Dramatists Center. Enclosed for your convenience is a resume.
Enclosed is a stamped postcard to facilitate a reply at your earliest convenience, and you can also reach me by phone at 555-555-5555 or via email at youraddress@isp.com. Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to sending you the full script.
Best,
Jon Dorf
Always include either a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) or a self-addressed stamped postcard (SAE) with your query letter, or you will probably never get a response. Sometimes you don’t get a response anyway; that’s just the way it goes. Response time on a query varies from almost immediate to several months or even over a year. Don’t expect to get the sample pages back. I personally prefer a postcard. I give them three boxes to check: “Send me the script,” “Send me the script, but wait until _____,” or “Other.” I ask, if they are not requesting the script, to tell me why. Sometimes they will, and it can be very useful in future submissions to that company.
Some theaters prefer that you send the entire script. Still, you need a good cover letter that tells them why they want to read your script—otherwise, they may not read it.
SAMPLE UNSOLICITED SCRIPT LETTER
555 Writer’s Alley
New York, NY 10003
August 12, 1999
John Smith
Artistic Director
Pilgrim Theater Company
525 Puritan Way
Plymouth, MA 02156
Dear Mr. Smith:
Enclosed for your consideration please find Milk and Cookies and Neverland.
Milk and Cookies is about Margaret Nancy Reagan Ballmoth, who becomes
a fugitive when her children poison the cookies they give the teller at a bank's
drive-through window. She meets up with Bruce, a man on the run from "milk,"
which he believes to be the industrial in the military-industrial complex. Together
they set off for Montana to find the mythical Rufus, a freelance version of
the witness protection program. The play has a cast of four and has minimal
set and technical requirements.
In Neverland, Wendy follows Peter through his life, reinventing herself and reappearing in his world each time he moves on. It requires a cast of three, with minimal set and technical requirements.
Thus far, Milk and Cookies has had two developmental readings through City Theater Company of Wilmington (DE), which has produced a number of my plays, while Neverland had a developmental reading at the Philadelphia Dramatists Center. Recent productions of my work have gone up off-off-Broadway, in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Virginia, Florida and even near London. Most recently, my free adaptation of War of the Buttons was produced near Philadelphia. Additionally, I have been a finalist for the Actors Theatre of Louisville Heideman Award and a script reader for several major regional theaters. I currently run the theater program at The Haverford School, and I am a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Philadelphia Dramatists Center. Enclosed for your convenience is a resume.
Enclosed is a SASE to facilitate a reply at your earliest convenience (recycle the scripts if they're not for you), and you can also reach me at 555-555-5555. Thank you for your interest in my work, and I look forward to getting your thoughts on the plays.
Regards,
Jon Dorf
IMPORTANT: Never write how great you think your play is! Keep it factual. Your well-written letter says more about your writing than bragging.
They want to read your script. Now what? Try this letter on for size.
SAMPLE SOLICITED SCRIPT LETTER
555 Writer’s Alley
New York, NY 10003
August 12, 1999
John Smith
Artistic Director
Pilgrim Theater Company
525 Puritan Way
Plymouth, MA 02156
Dear Mr. Smith:
Thank you for requesting Milk and Cookies, which I enclose. Enjoy.
Enclosed is a SASE to facilitate a reply at your earliest convenience (recycle the script if it's not for you), and you can also reach me at 555-555-5555. Thanks so much for your interest in my work, and I look forward to getting your thoughts on the play.
Best,
Jon Dorf
Sometimes, I like to mention any news about my writing (e.g. a recent award) or current projects I’m working on. If you choose to do that, the ideal place is between the opening and closing paragraphs.
With script submissions, I enclose a business-size SASE. It’s not cost-effective to spend three dollars on postage to get back a potentially dog-eared, coffee-stained script—I’ll probably have rewritten it in the year it might take to get a response. Yes, responses to a full script usually take anywhere from a month or two to a year or two. Be patient.