2009 Deadlines and Guidelines!!!

Scripts must be received by Jan. 15, 2009. We will notify winners by April 15.

For more information, contact Laine Satterfield at (804) 353-3393 x 227 or LSatterfield@sparconline.org. You may also visit www.sparconline.org and click on Programs/New Voices.

Submission Guidelines: Playwrights Program

1. Open to all Virginia student residents in grades 9-12.

2. No play should be more than 25 minutes' running time (approximately 20 pages in length).

3. All scripts must be original - no adaptations of other authors' work. NO SCREENPLAYS OR MUSICALS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

4. All scripts must NOT have been previously produced in any capacity.


5. Works by multiple authors will be accepted; however, high school submissions with multiple authors will not be considered for the residency.


6. Scripts must be typed with numbered pages and be securely fastened. Please do not use a report cover or binder.


7. Each play must have a character breakdown and removable coversheet with the following:

Author's name
Address
School name
Phone number (Home & Cell)
Email (If you do not have email, please provide parent's email address)

8. Playwrights must also submit the “New Voices application” form (see attached).

9. Authors should keep a copy of their scripts, as the original cannot be returned.

10. As you write your play, make sure each character has a specific purpose for being there. Superfluous, small-part characters deter production viability. If you are including the brief appearance of this character in order to introduce new information to further the plot, re-examine how you can adjust the revelation of this information through essential characters and action.

DEADLINE FOR SCRIPT SUBMISSIONS JANUARY 15, 2009

Scripts AND application form should be submitted via email:
newvoicesva@gmail.com

AWARDS:

High school playwriting winners join a three-week summer residency in Richmond to continue their creative process. During the three weeks, students will work with professional actors, directors and playwrights, along with one another, in an immersion into their creative art. The culmination of the residency is the Festival of New Works, staged readings of the winning high school plays followed by discussions with the audience. All staged readings are performed by Richmond theater professionals. If selected to attend the residency, there will be a fee of $350 to help cover activities expenses. You are welcome to request financial aid to cover this fee. High School winners can be considered New Voices winners without attending the summer
residency. If they do not attend the residency, they will not see their play staged.

WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON OR AROUND APRIL 15, 2009.