AwareFest is a city-wide event that aims to bring awareness to a highly significant topic through the arts. It will take place during the first few weeks of October, beginning on the 1st, and is designed to repeat annually with a new topic of awareness each year. It focuses around a theatrical event at the Bloomington Playwrights Project comprised of ten-minute plays commissioned from nationally renowned playwrights as well as local playwrights about the year's topic.
The 2011 AwareFest: War & Peace will enlighten audiences through productions pertaining to conflict and conflict resolution issues on global, national, local, or institutional levels.
AwareFest Local Playwriting Contest
• Seeking 10-minute plays written on the theme of “war & peace”
• Playwright must reside, work, or attend school in Monroe County, IN
• No submission fee
• $100 Prize for first place and full production in 2011 AwareFest
• Due by 5pm on Friday, May 13th 2011
• Submit to literarymanager@newplays.org
AwareFest National Playwriting Contest
• Same as above, except playwright must reside or work in the United States of America
The BPP literary committee will narrow down the submissions to a list of 5 finalists. From those finalists the Producing Artistic Director will select the top 3 who will be acknowledged in the local newspaper and receive two complimentary tickets to the production. The 1st place winner will have their play produced in the festival alongside many prominent playwrights and receive a $100 prize. Currently negotiations are underway for the likely possibility that the winner’s play will be professionally published as well. The winning playwright will also be invited to participate in the audience talkback which will take place after the first Saturday evening production.
Requirements: The play must be no longer than ten pages and have the concept of “war & peace” as a central theme. No more than 6 actors may be used.
Although dealing with important and weighty issues, the plays should aim to be entertaining and avoid preaching solutions or overtly political speech. Preference will be given to scripts that bring up valuable questions and provoke thought but do so in a light-hearted and humorous manner.
Please feel free to pick any issue concerning “war & peace” you feel is pertinent. Some suggestions for topics are: hippies, Iraq, video games, The Trojan Horse, peace demonstrations, the KGB, propaganda, media coverage, etc. This list is certainly not meant to be exhaustive but only to provide a starting point.
The winning playwright must be willing to make revisions and work on a second draft over the summer.
There is no fee to submit. Plays must be submitted via e-mail to Josie Gingrich, Literary Manager, at literarymanager@newplays.org by 5pm on Friday, May 13th, 2011. Please include a brief bio and full contact information (street address, phone number & email) with your submission and mark clearly at the top of the script which issues concerning “war & peace” your play is about.
For more information, contact literarymanager@newplays.org.
Contact Information:
For inquiries: literarymanager@newplays.org
For submissions: literarymanager@newplays.org
Website: http://newplays.org
