PLAYWRITING PROGRAMS
Coordinator: Julie Rae Mollenkamp, mollenkamp@ucmo.edu
The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival National Playwriting Program 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 National Playwriting Program's Mandate is:
1. To offer progressive mentorship of student playwrights that honors the integrity of individual voice, and is aimed at nurturing students into professional playwrights.
2. To strive to create links with individual artists and institutions in the professional sphere, and to provide opportunities for the production of student work
3. To advocate for theatrical text and to preserve the integrity of the playwright's intent within all stages of the collaborative process.
4. To engage and support faculty members who are developing new work in their theatre programs.
To that end, we invite all playwrights to review the Dramatist Guild Playwright Bill of Rights in an effort to best advocate for your work and the work of playwrights everywhere. https://www.dramatistsguild.com/?s=playwrights+bill+of+rights
1. To offer progressive mentorship of student playwrights that honors the integrity of individual voice, and is aimed at nurturing students into professional playwrights.
2. To strive to create links with individual artists and institutions in the professional sphere, and to provide opportunities for the production of student work
3. To advocate for theatrical text and to preserve the integrity of the playwright's intent within all stages of the collaborative process.
4. To engage and support faculty members who are developing new work in their theatre programs.
To that end, we invite all playwrights to review the Dramatist Guild Playwright Bill of Rights in an effort to best advocate for your work and the work of playwrights everywhere. https://www.dramatistsguild.com/?s=playwrights+bill+of+rights
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. For 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 Ten-Minute Play Festival, held at the end of the festival week. One act plays are invited to present a staged reading, created at their home institution, for presentation at festival. The top selected one-act play will be invited to a year-long mentorship with the NPP Region 5 chair in preparation to be considered for an invitation for presentation of a fully-mounted production of that play as a special event at the following festival. Two winning 10-minute plays and two winning one-act plays are then selected as National Semi-finalist plays to be considered for an invitation to the national festival in Washington, D.C. in the spring.
NEW For Festival 50:
Protest Plays Project:
HEAL THE DIVIDE ON CAMPUS: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INTER-COLLEGIATE CONVERSATION THROUGH THEATRE
In conjunction with the LittleBlackDressInc.Org, KCACTF Region 5 invites student playwrights to write short plays or monologues (10 minutes or less) about issues concerning their community. This can be issues pertaining specifically to each playwright’s city, or a national/global issue seen through each playwright’s community/city lens (as it pertains to/manifests in their city). The key is to get local with the material, and to share insight into each community’s current issues of concern. The three selected plays will be assigned a faculty director and a student assistant director who will work in conjunction with the playwright to cast, rehearse and present a reading at festival with a response by festival special guests and a discussion about how we can take the conversation back to home campuses.
For information on the larger project, go to: http://www.protestplays.org/2017/08/15/heal-the-divide-on-campus-an-opportunity-for-inter-collegiate-conversation-through-theatre/
SUBMIT PROTEST PLAY/S IN THE 10-MINUTE-PLAY SECTION OF SUBMISSION PAGE, LINKED BELOW.
Protest Plays Project:
HEAL THE DIVIDE ON CAMPUS: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INTER-COLLEGIATE CONVERSATION THROUGH THEATRE
In conjunction with the LittleBlackDressInc.Org, KCACTF Region 5 invites student playwrights to write short plays or monologues (10 minutes or less) about issues concerning their community. This can be issues pertaining specifically to each playwright’s city, or a national/global issue seen through each playwright’s community/city lens (as it pertains to/manifests in their city). The key is to get local with the material, and to share insight into each community’s current issues of concern. The three selected plays will be assigned a faculty director and a student assistant director who will work in conjunction with the playwright to cast, rehearse and present a reading at festival with a response by festival special guests and a discussion about how we can take the conversation back to home campuses.
For information on the larger project, go to: http://www.protestplays.org/2017/08/15/heal-the-divide-on-campus-an-opportunity-for-inter-collegiate-conversation-through-theatre/
SUBMIT PROTEST PLAY/S IN THE 10-MINUTE-PLAY SECTION OF SUBMISSION PAGE, LINKED BELOW.
STUDENT DIRECTORS AND DRAMATURGS
We are excited to put together students who will work during the festival week to develop a play. For the 10-Minute Play Festival, six ten-minute plays, six directors, 3 dramaturgs, six 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. For the Protest Plays Project, 3 assistant directors, actors and a faculty director will collaborate on-line during the month of December and in-person at the festival for auditions, 2 hours of rehearsal and a concert reading and post-production discussion with the team and the audience.
DIRECTORS and ASSISTANT DIRECTORS - apply under DIRECTING OPPORTUNITIES at KCACTF Region 5; DRAMATURGS – apply under DRAMATURGY OPPORTUNITIES at KCACTF Region 5 and indicate your interest in serving as a 10-Minute Play Dramaturg; FACULTY MENTORS: send an e-mail of your mentoring interest to mollenkamp@ucmo.edu.
We are excited to put together students who will work during the festival week to develop a play. For the 10-Minute Play Festival, six ten-minute plays, six directors, 3 dramaturgs, six 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. For the Protest Plays Project, 3 assistant directors, actors and a faculty director will collaborate on-line during the month of December and in-person at the festival for auditions, 2 hours of rehearsal and a concert reading and post-production discussion with the team and the audience.
DIRECTORS and ASSISTANT DIRECTORS - apply under DIRECTING OPPORTUNITIES at KCACTF Region 5; DRAMATURGS – apply under DRAMATURGY OPPORTUNITIES at KCACTF Region 5 and indicate your interest in serving as a 10-Minute Play Dramaturg; FACULTY MENTORS: send an e-mail of your mentoring interest to mollenkamp@ucmo.edu.
Award Descriptions and Guidelines
There are a series of awards that a play can be considered for at the national level. Each award has slightly different requirements in terms of eligibility and deadlines for submission. Most are for student written work though some awards are open to faculty and working playwrights.
Student Playwrights
A student playwright must be enrolled at a university or college within Region 5. An undergraduate student must carry a minimum of 6 semester hours (or equivalent quarter hours); a graduate student must carry 3 semester hours (or equivalent quarter hours. Undergraduate, graduate, and continuing part-time student playwrights must be matriculating, degree-seeking students. Students pursuing degrees online are also eligible provided they meet these same enrollment guidelines. For descriptions on each award, eligibility and submission deadlines:
http://kcactf.org/kanin-playwriting/index.html#ewpopup/0/
Faculty Playwrights
Faculty who have presented work as an associate or participating entry through KCACTF are eligible for: the David Mark Cohen Award, The Rosa Parks Award and the KCACTF Musical Theater Award. For descriptions on each award, eligibility and submission deadlines, CLICK HERE.
Working Playwrights
Working Playwrights are eligible ONLY for the David Mark Cohen Award.
For descriptions on each award, eligibility and submission deadlines, CLICK HERE.
There are a series of awards that a play can be considered for at the national level. Each award has slightly different requirements in terms of eligibility and deadlines for submission. Most are for student written work though some awards are open to faculty and working playwrights.
Student Playwrights
A student playwright must be enrolled at a university or college within Region 5. An undergraduate student must carry a minimum of 6 semester hours (or equivalent quarter hours); a graduate student must carry 3 semester hours (or equivalent quarter hours. Undergraduate, graduate, and continuing part-time student playwrights must be matriculating, degree-seeking students. Students pursuing degrees online are also eligible provided they meet these same enrollment guidelines. For descriptions on each award, eligibility and submission deadlines:
http://kcactf.org/kanin-playwriting/index.html#ewpopup/0/
Faculty Playwrights
Faculty who have presented work as an associate or participating entry through KCACTF are eligible for: the David Mark Cohen Award, The Rosa Parks Award and the KCACTF Musical Theater Award. For descriptions on each award, eligibility and submission deadlines, CLICK HERE.
Working Playwrights
Working Playwrights are eligible ONLY for the David Mark Cohen Award.
For descriptions on each award, eligibility and submission deadlines, CLICK HERE.
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:
1) properly submits at least one play to Region 5.
2) registers for both the mentorship program (below) and the regional festival at-large (see "Festival Registration" page.)
3) attends the regional festival in January to meet with her/his mentor.
If you want to have a playwriting mentor meet with you and give you feedback on your writing while you are at the Region 5 Festival in January, please PREPARE a mentorship request form:
CLICK HERE FOR MENTORSHIP REQUEST FORM!
We will once again offer the opportunity for a one-on-one mentorship session to every student playwright in the region who:
1) properly submits at least one play to Region 5.
2) registers for both the mentorship program (below) and the regional festival at-large (see "Festival Registration" page.)
3) attends the regional festival in January to meet with her/his mentor.
If you want to have a playwriting mentor meet with you and give you feedback on your writing while you are at the Region 5 Festival in January, please PREPARE a mentorship request form:
CLICK HERE FOR MENTORSHIP REQUEST FORM!
Instructions for Submission
Guidelines
Plays are accepted in the following categories.
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.
Each eligible student who attends 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. See Award Descriptions and Guidelines tab for more information.
Professional Playwrights who have produced their work at a KCACTF affiliated school can submit their work for the David Mark Cohen Award.
Plays are accepted in the following categories.
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.
Each eligible student who attends 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. See Award Descriptions and Guidelines tab for more information.
Professional Playwrights who have produced their work at a KCACTF affiliated school can submit their work for the David Mark Cohen Award.
PLAYWRIGHT'S DEADLINES:
ALL REGIONAL SUBMISSIONS: NOVEMBER 1st
MOST NATIONAL SUBMISSIONS: DECEMBER 1st
KEN LUDWIG (NATIONAL): FEBRUARY 1st (2018)
HOW TO SUBMIT
NPP Region 5 is now using Submittable.com.
Clicking the link below will take you to our private submission page. You will be asked to set up a username and password. (There is no charge for this.) All scripts must be submitted blind: No Author or School Affiliation on document. Scripts are accepted in .pdf, .doc and .docx format only. When you are ready, click the link below to set up your username and password. Then scroll to select your play category and submit.
https://kcactfregion5.submittable.com/submit
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**IF YOU ATTEND THE REGIONAL FESTIVAL, YOU MUST REGISTER FOR IT** FOR FESTIVAL REGISTRATION--Link from here, soon.
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ALL REGIONAL SUBMISSIONS: NOVEMBER 1st
MOST NATIONAL SUBMISSIONS: DECEMBER 1st
KEN LUDWIG (NATIONAL): FEBRUARY 1st (2018)
HOW TO SUBMIT
NPP Region 5 is now using Submittable.com.
Clicking the link below will take you to our private submission page. You will be asked to set up a username and password. (There is no charge for this.) All scripts must be submitted blind: No Author or School Affiliation on document. Scripts are accepted in .pdf, .doc and .docx format only. When you are ready, click the link below to set up your username and password. Then scroll to select your play category and submit.
https://kcactfregion5.submittable.com/submit
****************************************************************************************************
**IF YOU ATTEND THE REGIONAL FESTIVAL, YOU MUST REGISTER FOR IT** FOR FESTIVAL REGISTRATION--Link from here, soon.
****************************************************************************************************
Questions about submissions should be directed to the regional NPP Chair:
Dr. Julie Rae Mollenkamp
Region 5 National Playwriting Program Chair
University of Central Missouri
mollenkamp@ucmo.edu
Dr. Julie Rae Mollenkamp
Region 5 National Playwriting Program Chair
University of Central Missouri
mollenkamp@ucmo.edu