Resources for High School Playwrights.
Compiled by Joey Madia and Sandy Asher
Thanks to our many colleagues who submitted information to make this guide possible. We will update annually. Please send suggestions, corrections, etc. to Joey Madia, joey@newmystics.com.
NOTE: For listings with an asterisk (*), send a SASE with a request for complete guidelines to the program director at the address listed.
PLAYWRITING CONTESTS and SUBMISSIONS—NATIONAL
Arlington Children's Theater Young Playwrights, http://act.arlington.ma.us/PWContest/
Open to children 18 years old or younger (as of the deadline)
Baker’s Plays High School Playwriting Contest 2005, http://www.bakersplays.com (click on “Submissions”). Open to HS students.
Blank Theatre Co. Nationwide Young Playwrights Festival, http://www.youngplaywrights.com
*Child's Play Touring Theater, Material by writers aged 5-13, to be adapted by theater. 2650 W. Welden, Suite 201, Chicago, IL 60647, c/o Victor Podagrosi, Artistic Director.
Fledgling Films, http://www.kingdomcounty.com/summer.html, Teen/pre-teen written plays and screenplays, to be produced as short films at the Fledgling Films Summer Institute.
*Inner City Cultural Center 1993 Act II Short Play Competition
(Request Youth Division rules). 1303 S. New Hampshire Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90006, c/o C. Bernard Jackson, Executive Director.
Lebanon Community Theater's Playwriting Contest (Lebanon, PA) http://www.lct.cc/PlayWriteContest.htm, Open to U.S. residents of all ages and experience.
TADA! Youth Theater, http://www.tadatheater.com/teens/Default.asp
Contest for playwrights 19 and under
Theatrefolk, www.theatrefolk.com, Open publication policy. Submission guidelines online.
VSA Arts Playwright Discovery Program, http://www.vsarts.org/x572.xml, Playwright Discovery Award. Guidelines: http://www.vsarts.org/documents/programs/pwd/pwdtchrguide.pdf.
Also annual student award and teacher's award. 12-18 years old; plays dealing with disabilities.
*Warehouse Theatre Company One-Act Competition
High school or college; works for or about women. P.O. Box 2077, Stephens College, Columbia, MO 65215, c/o Becky Jaynes, Artistic Director.
*Young Playwrights Festival, Under 19 years old. The Foundation of the Dramatists Guild, 234 W. 44th Street, New York, NY 10036, c/o Nancy Quinn, Producing Director.
Young Playwrights, Inc. Festival National Playwriting Competition, http://www.youngplaywrights.org/nationalcontest.htm, 18 years old or younger (as of deadline).
Young Playwrights Theatre, Inc., http://www.youngplaywrightstheatre.org
PLAYWRITING CONTESTS—MULTI-STATE
Clauder Competition, http://www.portlandstage.com, For residents/students of New England
Horizon Theatre (Atlanta, GA), New South Festival http://www.horizontheatre.com/playworks.htm, High school playwrights from Southeastern States.
Midwest High School Playwriting Competition, http://www.indstate.edu/theatre/mhspc/Guidelines.htm
Must be a HS student in IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, or WI
SETC High School Play Contest, http://www.setc.org/scholarship/secondary.asp
Must be a HS student in AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA or WV
PLAYWRITING CONTESTS—Open to state residents only.
ALABAMA
Alabama Shakespeare Festival Young Playwrights, http://asfeducation.com
CALIFORNIA
California Young Playwrights Contest, http://www.playwrightsproject.com.
San Francisco Young Playwrights Foundation, http://www.sfyoungplaywrights.org
CONNECTICUT
*Young Connecticut Playwright’s Festival
Contact: Bruce Post, Executive Director. E-mail: brucepost@yahoo.com
DELAWARE
Delaware Theatre Company’s Young Playwrights Festival, http://www.delawaretheatre.org
FLORIDA
Florida Stage Young Playwrights Festival, http://www.floridastage.org/young_play.shtml
Palm Beach County students in grades K-12.
Gorilla Theatre, Young Dramatists Project,
http://www.gorilla-theatre.com/ydp_2005_guidelines.html
Middle- or high-school students residing in Hillsborough or Pinellas County.
ILLINOIS
*Chicago Young Playwrights Festival
Chicago residents, 8th grade through age 19. Pegasus Players, 1145 W. Wilson Avenue, Chicago, IL 60640, c/o Arlene Crewdson, Artistic Director.
INDIANA
Indiana Repertory Theatre, Young Playwrights in Process (YPiP) Contest, http://www.indianarep.com/. High School and Junior High School playwrights. Winners have 30 minute plays produced for the Youth Fringe Festival, http://www.indyfringe.org/
KANSAS
Inge Festival, http://www.ingefestival.org
Sponsors a “Playwrights-in-the-Schools” program in rural schools in Southeast Kansas.
MARYLAND
CenterStage Young Playwrights Festival, http://64.207.170.153/page.php?pageID=69
MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts Young Playwrights Project, http://www.bu.edu/bpt/youngplaywrights/index.html
Offers workshops and a Festival.
MICHIGAN
The Annual Young Playwrights Festival, sponsored by Wharton Center for Performing Arts and Michigan State University Theatre Dept., http://www.whartoncenter.com/education/, HS students. Six one-acts selected as finalists to be performed at Wharton Center by MSU Theatre Dept. students.
NEBRASKA
Omaha Theater Company Teen Theater, http://www.rosetheater.org/
Produces a festival for teen theater scripts written by Omaha area teens
NEW JERSEY
*Hudson County Young Playwrights Festival, Waterfront Ensemble Play Development, P.O. Box 1454, Hoboken, NJ 07030-1302, c/o Laura Quisenberry, Acting Artistic Director.
*Madison Young Playwrights Festival, (4-12 grade). Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, 33 Green Village Road, Madison, NJ 07940, c/o John Pietrowski, Artistic Director.
Princeton University, http://www.princeton.edu/~visarts/tenminply.htm, A 10 minute play contest for HS juniors.
NEW YORK
Syracuse Stage, http://www.syracusestage.org/education_ypf.html
HS students in Central New York State.
WRITE A PLAY! NYC, the New York City School Playwriting Contest, http://www.youngplaywrights.org/NYCcontest.htm
Open to NYC students. Plays judged in 3 categories: elementary, middle, and high school.
OHIO
Dobama Theatre's Marilyn Bianchi Kids' Playwriting Festival, http://www.dobama.org/mbf-main.html, Students ages 6 to 18 in Cuyahoga County.
PENNSYLVANIA
City Theatre (Pittsburgh) Young Playwrights Festival,
http://www.citytheatrecompany.org/education/yp/contest.html
Residents of Western Pennsylvania between the 7th and 12th grades.
Philadelphia Young Playwrights Contest/Festival, http://www.phillyyoungplaywrights.org/index.html
VIRGINIA
New Voices for the Theater, http://www.newvoicesva.org/. A Virginia statewide playwriting competition for HS students. Winning playwrights spend 2 weeks with a professional playwright taking classes and rewriting their plays. Winning plays are staged at the Festival of New Works.
TEXAS
Houston's Young Playwrights Exchange http://www.arts.state.tx.us/rosters/aieresource/orgs.asp?id=alt, Houston teens 13-19 years old.
VERMONT
Vermont Young Playwrights Project, http://wwww.vtstage.org, Grades 6-8/9-12. Playwrights lead 2-3 day workshops. One script from each school selected for staged, rehearsed reading at festival at UVM.
VIRGINIA
Virginia (Wayside Theatre's Young Playwright's Festival,
http://www.waysidetheatre.org/Education/youngplaywrights.htm, HS students in the Shenendoah Valley area.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Arena Stage Playwrights Project, http://www.arenastage.org/education/playwrightsproject/
Open to middle and high school students across the Greater DC area.
WEST VIRGINIA
The WV Thespian Festival Playwriting Competition, http://www.wvculture.org/agency/press/2006thespian.html, 2 divisions: grades 9-10 and 11-12.
WISCONSIN
Metro Milwaukee Young Playwrights Competition, http://milwaukeerenaissance.com
AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Arts Recognition and Talent Search, National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts, http://www.artsawards.org, Scholarship opportunities in theatre, film, and video.
Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, http://www.scholastic.com/artandwritingawards/
National writing competition for grades 6-12.
DIRECTORIES/ORGANIZATIONS
American Alliance for Theatre and Education, http://www.aate.com/
The Burry Man Writers Center, www.burryman.com/, A worldwide community of writers.
Dramatists Guild Resource Directory, http://www.dramaguild.com/
The Playwrights Center, http://www.pwcenter.org/
WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES
*Arts Partners Playwriting Workshops
Junior/senior high, Kansas City area. offered by The Coterie, 2450 Grand Avenue, Suite 144, Kansas City, MO 64108, c/o Jeff Church, Artistic Director.
The Coterie Theatre, Kansas City, MO, http://www.thecoterie.com, Classes/young playwrights’ festival.
McCarter Theatre, http://www.mccarter.org/get_involved/education/YouthInk/youthink-index.htm
Playwriting program for area high schools.
A National Playwrighting Program for Youth. Working in partnership with regional colleges and universities, and teachers across the nation, MET will work to identify promising young writers 15-18 years of age. Selected youth will come to the Kansas City area for one week of study with master playwrights, create original plays, and present them, casting professional actors.
*The Playwrights Project
Playwriting residencies and workshops in Southern CA schools. P.O. Box 2063, San Diego, CA 92112-2068, c/o Deborah Salzer, Executive Officer.
*Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre Programs Training Unit for Young People (ages 14-23). 141 W. 94th Street, New York, NY 10025, c/o Gloria Zelaya, Director.
Summerwrite—Creative Writing Day Camps & Workshops for Children & Teens,
http://www.wab.org/workshops/2003_summerwrite/week7.shtml
WRITE A PLAY! NYC, Young Playwrights Inc, http://www.youngplaywrights.org/Workshops.htm, Offers several levels of workshops.
BOOKS ON PLAYWRITING/SCENE COLLECTIONS
The Book of Dialogue: How to Write Effective Conversation in Fiction, Screenplays, Drama, and Poetry by Lewis Turco
Character Development and Storytelling for Games by Lee Sheldon
Classroom Scenes and Monologues, compiled and edited by Kent R. Brown
How to Write Plays, Monologues, or Skits from Life Stories, Social Issues, or Current Events by Anne Hart
The Playwright's Guidebook: An Insightful Primer on the Art of Dramatic Writing by Stuart Spencer
The Playwright’s Process by Buzz McClaughin
Playwriting in Process by Michael Wright
Scenes and Monologues for Young Actors, compiled and edited by Kent R. Brown
Screenplay by Syd Field
Scriptwork: A Director’s Approach to New Play Development by David Kahn & Donna Breed
Writing Your Own Plays: Creating, Adapting and Improvising by Carol Korty
The Young Writers Guide to Getting Published by Kathy Henderson
WEBSITES/MAGAZINES
The Apprentice Writer, http://www.susque.edu/writers (click on Writers’ Institute)
The Claremont Review, http://www.theclaremontreview.ca , Short plays accepted for publication.
Cyberteens Zeen, http://www.cyberteens.com
Jon Dorf, playwright/instructor, http://www.jondorf.com/youngplaywrights.html, There are many resources available through this website.
Dramatics Magazine, http://www.edta.org
High School Writer, Junior High and HS editions. Contact: Emily Benes, Editor, Writer Publications, P.O. Box 718, Grand Rapids, MN 55477-0718
Merlyn’s Pen, http://www.merlynspen.org, Short plays accepted for publication.
Midlink Magazine, http://www.cs.ucf.edu/~Midlink
Teen Ink, http://magazine-directory.com/Teen-Ink.htm
Writer's Digest, http://www.writersdigest.com/
The Writer's Market, http://www.writersmarket.com/index_ns.asp
A SAMPLING OF PLAYS WRITTEN FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Awakening GalatiabyJohn Newman—Pygmalion, a young sculptor, falls in love with Galatia, his statue of a perfect woman. Venus and the 7 Muses lead Pygmalion on a journey, bringing the sculpture to life and rendering the sculptor capable of genuine affection. (Contact: John Newman, john.newman@slc.k12.ut.us)
Joan of Ark 5 by Sandra Fenichel Asher—teenagers JOAN and MARGARET face the all-powerful leader PETRA and issues of security, knowledge, faith, and technology affecting us right now in this futuristic retelling of the Joan of Arc story. (Contact: Sandy Asher, sandyasher@earthlink.net)
Sarah by Max Bush—About a girl who is a cutter, who has visions (Contact: Dramatic Publishing)
Kara in Black by Max Bush—About two sisters, one of whom signs up to fight in Iraq and the other who joins a peace movement (Contact: Dramatic Publishing)
100 Monkeys in Pursuit of an Elusive Butterfly by Barry Kornhauser-- written in collaboration with Fulton Youtheatre. A butterfly garden at a school for troubled adolescents becomes the site of a hate crime involving anti-Arab sentiment and homophobia. (Contact: Barry Kornhauser, bkornhauser@thefulton.org)
Other Doors by Suzan L. Zeder—A year after the separation of Jeff's parents, the divorce becomes final. Jeff, his parents, and his Grandmother have survived the break-up. Now they must be on with the business of living their lives. (Contact: Anchorage Press)
Pieces by Barry Kornhauser—written in collaboration with Fulton Youtheatre, with additional material from "Voices From The Future: Children Speak Out About Violence In America." (Contact: Barry Kornhauser, bkornhauser@thefulton.org)
Puzzles byJohn Newman—Harper, who has lost his father, bonds with his grandfather, who has suffered a stroke and "lost his alphabet." (Contact: John Newman, john.newman@slc.k12.ut.us)
Secrets by Joanna Halpert Kraus—They always planned to tell Lisa she was adopted. Maybe when she was six. Maybe when she was more emotionally mature. Suddenly the 13 year old gets a phone call out of the blue: “Hello, I’m your mother.” (Contact: New Plays, Inc.)
10 X 10, ed. by Jeff Gottesfeld. 10 playwrights, all writing for teens (Contact: Dramatic Publishing)
Thinkin’ it Over by Joey Madia—about three high school couples and their experiences with premarital sex and its possible consequences. (Contact: Joey Madia, joey@newmystics.com)
T-Money and Wolf by Ric Averill and Kevin Willmott—about bad choices made by a young black street gang member and a young German boy - one gets involved in drugs, the other in the Nazi Hitler Youth. (Contact: Dramatic Publishing)
To Life: Growing up Jewish in America, by Sandra Fenichel Asher—teen campers explore the past, present, and future of Jewish life in America; commissioned b Omaha Theater Company for their youth theater troupe and based on stories gathered around the country. (Contact: Sandy Asher, sandyasher@earthlink.net)
Wrestling Season by Laurie Brooks—deals with rumor and relationship as though it were all a wrestling match (Contact: Dramatic Publishing)
Other excellent plays for HS students are available in AATE’s Directory of Award-winning Plays (http://www.aate.com/AwardPlays.htm) and New Plays by Member Playwrights (http://www.aate.com/newplays.htm)--both list many publishers--and the USA Plays for Kids website (http://usaplays4kids.drury.edu).