Theatre Odyssey has received support, both artistic and financial, from a wide population demographic. Even so, there is a missing element in the support base: students. A portion of the organization’s mission statement calls for “…raising the community’s social awareness and spirit through the art of theatre….” and to “…encourage, challenge, and inspire actors and writers”. Recognizing the need to explore educational possibilities, a student playwriting opportunity is an attractive proposition.
OBJECTIVES:
• Offer an opportunity for High School students to learn the role and possibilities of the Playwright.
• Present a venue for student written works to be performed and evaluated.
• Provide instruction and guidance in the process of playwriting.
• Reward participants in a variety of ways, including (but not limited to) professional evaluation, performance assistance, monetary compensation, inclusion of selected works in Theatre Odyssey’s Annual 10-Minute Play Festival alongside established, adult playwrights, and the bestowal of an engraved trophy for display at the playwright’s school for one year.
RULES:
• Plays must be original. Performance time must be 10 minutes. A one minute variance is allowed to compensate for audience response, timing nuances, etc.
• Plays must be written by students who are academically situated between 9th and 12th grades or home-schooled equivalent for the school year 2012-2013.
GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES:
• One copy of the play or plays being submitted should be sent to PRESTON BOYD, 301 27th Street West, Bradenton, FL 34205.
• Deadline for submissions is October 15, 2012.
• The playwright’s name, address, telephone number, and email address should be on the COVER PAGE ONLY. All subsequent pages of the script should contain no identification of the playwright.
• Each submitted work will be catalogued using a numerical system.
• Play readers, selected from the Sarasota/Bradenton theatre community, will read each eligible submission and give each submission a numerical score based on the following criteria: Can Theatre Odyssey produce this piece? Will this piece fall within the established 10 minute format? Quality of elements such as dialogue, character, plot?
• Six (6) plays receiving the highest scores will be chosen for production.
• All playwrights will be notified of the choices by November 15. Original copies will NOT be returned unless accompanied by a self addressed, stamped envelope at the time of the original submission.
• The 6 plays selected for production will be assigned to directors drawn from the Sarasota/Bradenton area who will cast and rehearse their assigned plays for a Student 10 Minute Play Festival in January, 2013. Venue to be determined.
• Adjudicators at the January festival will determine one winner. That play will receive an automatic acceptance into Theatre Odyssey’s annual 10-Minute Play Festival in April 2013. The playwright of the winning work will also receive a $300 cash award. A trophy will be awarded to the winning playwright who may offer it for display at his or her school for one year, at which time it would be offered to subsequent winners.
• The Student 10-Minute Play Festival is a project of Theatre Odyssey, Inc. and not affiliated with any school or school district.
