Three Playwriting Contests in 2008 - 2009 !

The Second Annual Actors' Theatre Young Playwrights' Contest

Actors' Theatre continues its groundbreaking efforts to bring new playwrights and exciting, innovative theater to our area, by putting the quills in the hands of  our youth! The winning plays will receive either  staged readings with age appropriate actors during the Young Writers' Festival Weekend , April 2009.

Writers must be between the ages of 16 and 19 and plays must be postmarked by December 31, 2008.

Three categories of plays will be considered:

   ** "Short shorts": Run-time of 5 minutes or less

   ** 10 minute plays: No more than 10 pages long

   ** One-act plays: Run-time of 30 minutes or less

1. No limit to number of plays submitted, but only one play per author will be chosen.
2. All submissions are judged blind.  Include a cover page with title, playwright, school, age, address, phone number and email. The play itself must NOT include personal information: use only the title.
3. Plays should be typed or printed very legibly, in standard play format, using one side of each page only.
4. Sets will be minimal.
5. Reading fee: $5 per play.
6. All submissions will be handled with care. However, Actors' Theatre assumes no responsibility for lost or damaged scripts. All submitters will be notified of the contest results in February, 2009.
7. Mail 3 copies of each script & the $5.00 fee payable to Actors' Theatre to: Young Playwrights' contest, Actors' Theatre, 1001 Center St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060. Scripts will be recycled.
8. Deadline for submission: December 25, 2008. 
9. The winning plays will have staged readings in April, 2009.

The Actors' Theatre 14th Annual Ten-Minute Play Contest

Guidelines:

1. Submissions must be original, unpublished, unproduced 10-minute plays.  Plays that have had staged readings are okay to submit; plays that have received productions are not.  Legal clearance of materials not in the public domain are the full responsibility of the playwright.
2. No limit to number of plays submitted, but only one play per author will be chosen.
3. All submissions are judged blind, we therefore require two types of cover pages.  One, a separate cover letter,  will include  your name, address, phone number, e-mail and the play title. The other will be on each copy, but only showing the title.  There can be no identifying information on the script other than the title.
4. Scripts cannot be returned. They will be recycled.
5. Maximum Length: 10 pages.
6. Plays must be typed/word-processed, numbered, & securely bound in a (preferably soft) cover, in standard professional play format. Write to Samuel French Inc. for their format guidelines, or copy from www.vcu.edu/artweb/playwriting/format.html on the internet.
7. Sets must be minimal.
8. Submission fee: $10 per play.
9. All submissions will be handled with care. However, Actors' Theatre assumes no responsibility for lost or damaged scripts.
10. Mail 5 copies of each script & your fee payable to Actors' Theatre to: TEN-MINUTE PLAY CONTEST, Actors' Theatre, 1001 Center St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060.
11. Deadline for submission: July 1, 2008.  

The Actors' Theatre Eleventh Annual Full-Length Play Contest

Enter our Eleventh Annual Full-Length Play Contest.  The winner in 2008  will receive a $200 prize and a possible staged reading in 2009. It is highly suggested that the submitting playwright be available to attend and participate in the discussion of his/her play.

Guidelines:

1. Submissions must be original, unpublished, unproduced full-length plays.  Plays that have had staged readings are okay to submit; plays that have received productions are not.  Legal clearance of materials not in the public domain are the full responsibility of the playwright.

2. All submissions are judged blind, we therefore require two types of cover pages.  One, a separate cover letter,  will include  your name, address, phone number, e-mail and the play title. The other will be on each copy, but only showing the title.  There can be no identifying information on the script other than the title.

3. We cannot return scripts. They will be recycled.

4. Plays must be typed/word-processed, numbered, & securely bound in a (preferably soft) cover, in standard professional play format. Write to Samuel French Inc. for their format guidelines, or copy from www.vcu.edu/artweb/playwriting/format.html on the internet.

5. All submissions will be handled with care. However, Actors' Theatre assumes no responsibility for lost or damaged scripts.

6. Submission fee: $15 per play.

7. Mail two copies of your script & your fee payable to Actors' Theatre to: FULL-LENGTH PLAY CONTEST, Actors' Theatre, 1001 Center St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060.

8. Deadline for submission: October 1, 2008.