ANNOUNCING A COMPETITION FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Eight finalists perform at Marin Theatre Company on January 19, 2014.
One winning script receives a staged reading with professional actors.
Submission Window Opens: 10am Monday, October 21, 2013
Submission Deadline: 5pm Friday, November 22, 2013
The Marin Young Playwrights Festival celebrates the work of teen playwrights and encourages a focus on playwriting in Bay Area high schools. Eight finalist plays will be performed by teens in an event at Marin Theatre Company. The play selected as the MYPF winner will receive a staged reading with professional actors, open to the public at MTCon April 11, 2014.
Guidelines
Plays must be five to ten minutes long in any genre: comedy, drama, etc. Plays must be possible to perform with no more than four actors (fewer than four actors is also acceptable), with no design requirements beyond a few chairs or stools, a small table, and simple hand props. Playwrights must be enrolled in high school in the 2013-14 school year. New this year, one out of the eight finalists will come from a candidate outside of Marin and Sonoma Counties. Only one submission per playwright is allowed each year. Musicals, translations, and adaptations are not eligible. Collaborations are welcome as long as all participating playwrights are eligible under these rules. Plays must not have received a production prior to submission.
Submission
There is no fee to submit. Electronic submissions are accepted in Word or PDF format only and can be uploaded through www/marintheatre.org; please do not mail. Applicants must fill out the online form and upload their script before submitting.
Script submissions must follow standard stage play formatting. Please use one inch margins, 12-point font and make sure your script is no more than 10 pages long.
The submission deadline is 5pm on Friday, November 22, 2013. Please, no phone inquiries.
Tips on writing a ten-minute play:
Finalists
All submissions will be read by members of MTC's Teen Apprentice Program (TAP). Any TAP members who submit plays will not participate in the selection process. The TAP Company will select eight finalists. No more than two finalists will be accepted from any one high school and one finalist will be accepted from outside of Marin and Sonoma Counties. Finalists will be announced on Monday, December 16, 2013. ALL FINALIST PLAYWRIGHTS MUST ATTEND a meeting from 4-5:30p on Thursday, December 19. All playwrights who submit plays should keep this date and time free. Failure to attend may result in losing a spot as a finalist.
Performance of Finalists
The eight finalists will be performed at MTC in the Marin Young Playwrights Festival at 6pm on Sunday, January 19, 2013. MTC will work with drama teachers from the schools with finalists to provide the playwright with a director. MTC will provide rehearsal space and an opportunity to attend auditions to cast their shows. Playwrights are of course welcome to cast from their school and are responsible for ensuring that their show is fully cast. The performance of each script must be 10 minutes long or less. Simple props and costumes are allowed. Simple generic furniture will be provided; no other set pieces are permitted. Actors must perform with scripts in hand, even if they have memorized their lines. This event will be open to the public. Members of MTC's Artistic Staff will serve as judges, and will select one winning script.
Staged Reading of Winning Script: The winning script will be presented as a staged reading with professional actors and a professional director at MTC during the run of August Wilson’s Fences on April 11.
Please note that seven of the finalist submissions will be selected from current high school students in Marin and Sonoma Counties. One finalist will be selected from students enrolled in a Bay Area High School outside of Marin and Sonoma Counties.
/ Marin Theatre Company | 397 Miller Avenue | Mill Valley, CA 94941