Welcome Playwrights!
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival National Playwriting Program (NPP) is dedicated to supporting student playwrights in the development of their original work for the stage, with dramaturgical and performance opportunities that emphasize respect for the written word and for the playwright's contribution to the theatrical process. The NPP Mandate is:
If you have questions or need guidance in any way, please contact your Region 5, NPP Leadership team:
- To offer progressive mentorship of student playwrights that honors the integrity of individual voice, and is aimed at nurturing students into professional playwrights.
- To strive to create links with individual artists and institutions in the professional sphere, and to provide opportunities for the production of student work.
- To advocate for theatrical text and to preserve the integrity of the playwright's intent within all stages of the collaborative process.
- To engage and support faculty members who are developing new work in their theatre programs.
If you have questions or need guidance in any way, please contact your Region 5, NPP Leadership team:
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Sean Byrd, Region 5 NPP Chair
[email protected] |
Aaron Scully, Region 5 NPP Vice-Chair
[email protected] |
What Happens at the Regional Festival?
(Please give this a close read especially if you are new to the Festival)
The regional festival is a unique opportunity for playwrights to showcase and celebrate their work in a variety of exciting ways. No matter your writing experience, there is something at the festival for you.
We are dedicated to supporting student playwrights in the development of their original work for the stage, with dramaturgical and performance opportunities that emphasize respect for the written word and for the playwright's contribution to the theatrical process.
Each year Region 5 invites a number of 10-minute (usually six) and one act plays (usually three) to be performed at its regional festival.
With 10-minute plays, writers work closely with student directors, dramaturgs, actors and faculty mentors at the festival, and each is staged as a “stools and stands” concert reading in the 10-Minute Play Festival, held at the end of the festival week.
One-act plays are invited to the festival to present a staged reading, created at their home institution. The top selected one-act play also will be invited to a year-long mentorship with the NPP Region 5 Chair or Vice-Chair. May also include an invitation for a fully-mounted production of that play as a special event at Festival 52 in 2020.
Two 10-minute plays and two one-act plays are then selected by a panel of outside readers to be advanced as national semi-finalists, which are then considered for an invitation to the national festival in Washington, D.C. each April.
The Planet Earth Play award returns again for Festival 51. This award is given to a play that addresses issues of sustainability and our responsibility to the planet. Planet Earth Plays should be entered in the 10-Minute Play category.
Finally, Region 5 will once again be offering the R5 NPP Mentorship Program that gives playwrights an opportunity to meet one-on-one with a professional mentor who will respond to their work. See more under Additional Information.
The regional festival is a unique opportunity for playwrights to showcase and celebrate their work in a variety of exciting ways. No matter your writing experience, there is something at the festival for you.
We are dedicated to supporting student playwrights in the development of their original work for the stage, with dramaturgical and performance opportunities that emphasize respect for the written word and for the playwright's contribution to the theatrical process.
Each year Region 5 invites a number of 10-minute (usually six) and one act plays (usually three) to be performed at its regional festival.
With 10-minute plays, writers work closely with student directors, dramaturgs, actors and faculty mentors at the festival, and each is staged as a “stools and stands” concert reading in the 10-Minute Play Festival, held at the end of the festival week.
One-act plays are invited to the festival to present a staged reading, created at their home institution. The top selected one-act play also will be invited to a year-long mentorship with the NPP Region 5 Chair or Vice-Chair. May also include an invitation for a fully-mounted production of that play as a special event at Festival 52 in 2020.
Two 10-minute plays and two one-act plays are then selected by a panel of outside readers to be advanced as national semi-finalists, which are then considered for an invitation to the national festival in Washington, D.C. each April.
The Planet Earth Play award returns again for Festival 51. This award is given to a play that addresses issues of sustainability and our responsibility to the planet. Planet Earth Plays should be entered in the 10-Minute Play category.
Finally, Region 5 will once again be offering the R5 NPP Mentorship Program that gives playwrights an opportunity to meet one-on-one with a professional mentor who will respond to their work. See more under Additional Information.
SUBMIT YOUR PLAY
Guidelines
Students who meet eligibility requirements and attend a school that has entered at least one Associate and Participating Production, may enter up to 5 ten-minute plays, 5 one-act plays, and 5 full-length plays for the festival and/or Michael Kanin awards.
Faculty members at a school with an Associate or Participating entry may submit a full length play for The Musical Theater Award, The David Mark Cohen Award and Rosa Parks Award.
Professional Playwrights who have produced their work at a KCACTF affiliated school can submit their work for the David Mark Cohen Award.
A playwright who has graduated is still eligible to submit his/her work during the 12 months after the date of graduation or if his/her plays is entered as a participating production within 24 months of graduation.
- 10-Minute Plays: A play 10-pages or fewer in length (12 point font)
- One-Act Plays: A play more than 10 pages in length with a running time less than one hour.
- Full-Length Plays: A play more than one hour in length.
Students who meet eligibility requirements and attend a school that has entered at least one Associate and Participating Production, may enter up to 5 ten-minute plays, 5 one-act plays, and 5 full-length plays for the festival and/or Michael Kanin awards.
Faculty members at a school with an Associate or Participating entry may submit a full length play for The Musical Theater Award, The David Mark Cohen Award and Rosa Parks Award.
Professional Playwrights who have produced their work at a KCACTF affiliated school can submit their work for the David Mark Cohen Award.
A playwright who has graduated is still eligible to submit his/her work during the 12 months after the date of graduation or if his/her plays is entered as a participating production within 24 months of graduation.
Rules and Regulations for all Playwriting Awards and Prizes
(Please read these carefully to ensure that you are submitting your play in all appropriate categories.)
(Please read these carefully to ensure that you are submitting your play in all appropriate categories.)
Deadlines
ALL REGIONAL SUBMISSIONS: NOVEMBER 1st
MOST NATIONAL SUBMISSIONS: DECEMBER 1st
ALL REGIONAL SUBMISSIONS: NOVEMBER 1st
MOST NATIONAL SUBMISSIONS: DECEMBER 1st
ARE YOU READY?
You will submit your play on the Region 5 private submissions page at submittable.com.
New users will be required to create a username and password (no charge).
All scripts must be submitted blind: No Author or School Affiliation on document.
Scripts are accepted in .pdf, .doc and .docx format only.
You will submit your play on the Region 5 private submissions page at submittable.com.
New users will be required to create a username and password (no charge).
All scripts must be submitted blind: No Author or School Affiliation on document.
Scripts are accepted in .pdf, .doc and .docx format only.
Entry for This Event Has Closed
FESTIVAL REGISTRATION
Be advised that you MUST register as an attendee for Festival 52 in order participate in any of the Playwriting events or any other portion of the festival. Register yourself or ensure that a faculty member is registering you as part of the group from your institution.
REGION 5 FESTIVAL MENTOR PROGRAM
We will once again offer the opportunity for a one-on-one mentorship session to every student playwright in the region who:
- Properly submits at least one play to Region 5.
- Registers for both the mentorship program (below) and the regional festival at-large (see above).
- Attends the regional festival in January to meet with her/his mentor.
STUDENT DIRECTORS AND DRAMATURGS
We are excited to bring students together who will work during the festival week to develop a play. For the 10-Minute Play Festival (including the Planet Earth selection) - 7 ten-minute plays, 7 directors, 3 dramaturgs, 7 stage managers, actors and faculty mentors will collaborate on-line during the month of December and in-person at the festival for auditions, 4 hours of rehearsal, and a festival of concert readings.
DIRECTORS and ASSISTANT DIRECTORS - apply under Directing Initiatives
DRAMATURGS – apply for the Dramaturgy Fellowship (be sure to indicate your interest in serving as a 10-Minute Play Dramaturg)
FACULTY MENTORS: send an e-mail of your mentoring interest to [email protected].
DIRECTORS and ASSISTANT DIRECTORS - apply under Directing Initiatives
DRAMATURGS – apply for the Dramaturgy Fellowship (be sure to indicate your interest in serving as a 10-Minute Play Dramaturg)
FACULTY MENTORS: send an e-mail of your mentoring interest to [email protected].
The Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting Award
The Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting Award honors a new play marked by sophisticated and
nuanced storytelling, with the potential to make a major artistic impact on contemporary theatre. In 2017,
the playwriting award was newly named the Judith Royer Award for Excellence in Playwriting, in honor
of the many years of service she has given to ATHE, the Kennedy Center American College Theater
Festival, and especially to the development of new plays throughout the nation. Plays must have been
written by playwrights engaged with an institution of higher education (be it student, faculty, artist in
residence, guest artist, etc.).
This award is co-sponsored by KCACTF. Qualifying plays can be sent to [email protected] by
December 15, 2019. No fees required. Only full-length plays will be considered. A playwright may only
enter one play in any given year. The plays can be produced or unproduced but must be unpublished.
Authors and nominators need not be ATHE members. Self-nominations are welcome. The winning
playwright is expected to attend the ATHE Conference and to participate in the preparation of a concert
reading of the play. The 2020 conference takes place July 29-August 2 in Detroit, MI. The playwright will
receive conference registration, four nights in the conference hotel, and up to $500 towards travel
expenses (reimbursement). The playwright will also be recognized at the 2020 National Festival at the
Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., April 7-11, 2020. The playwright will receive membership in the
Dramatists Guild, a cash award of $500, travel, hotel and a meal allowance.
Entry Guidelines
For questions, please contact Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting Award committee chair Hank
Willenbrink: [email protected]
nuanced storytelling, with the potential to make a major artistic impact on contemporary theatre. In 2017,
the playwriting award was newly named the Judith Royer Award for Excellence in Playwriting, in honor
of the many years of service she has given to ATHE, the Kennedy Center American College Theater
Festival, and especially to the development of new plays throughout the nation. Plays must have been
written by playwrights engaged with an institution of higher education (be it student, faculty, artist in
residence, guest artist, etc.).
This award is co-sponsored by KCACTF. Qualifying plays can be sent to [email protected] by
December 15, 2019. No fees required. Only full-length plays will be considered. A playwright may only
enter one play in any given year. The plays can be produced or unproduced but must be unpublished.
Authors and nominators need not be ATHE members. Self-nominations are welcome. The winning
playwright is expected to attend the ATHE Conference and to participate in the preparation of a concert
reading of the play. The 2020 conference takes place July 29-August 2 in Detroit, MI. The playwright will
receive conference registration, four nights in the conference hotel, and up to $500 towards travel
expenses (reimbursement). The playwright will also be recognized at the 2020 National Festival at the
Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., April 7-11, 2020. The playwright will receive membership in the
Dramatists Guild, a cash award of $500, travel, hotel and a meal allowance.
Entry Guidelines
- Electronic scripts are required. Word Documents or PDFs.
- We do not accept screenplays or musicals (due to the difficulty of the reading)
- Your play must not include material that you do not have permission to use.
- Your play must not be previously published.
- Previous production of your script is allowed.
- Do not submit a play that is incomplete or a rough draft.
- Plays may be submitted to other award programs simultaneously.
- Plays must be full-length. This means more than 60 pages.
- The screening for the award will be done by blind reading. Therefore we require that names not be put on the manuscript, but ONLY on the cover page. The readers for the award will not receive the cover page.
- A Cover sheet with the name of the play, your name as you expect to see it on publicity material, and contact information.
- A brief synopsis of the play
- A rough casting breakdown. Example: (3M, 4W)
- Brief descriptions of the characters
- Pertinent production notes (optional)
For questions, please contact Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting Award committee chair Hank
Willenbrink: [email protected]