Theatre Odyssey

Bringing plays to life

STUDENT TEN-MINUTE PLAYWRITING FESTIVAL 2014

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Theatre Odyssey invites students (grades 9-12 or home-schooled equivalent) to submit original scripts for possible professional production.

January, 2014 will mark the second Student Playwriting Festival produced by Theatre Odyssey. Theatre Odyssey was founded in 2006 to encourage and promote the efforts of local playwrights and actors.  Over the years, the group has premiered almost 70 plays written, directed and performed by Gulf Coast playwrights, actors and directors.
Play submission process is as follows:

  • Each submitted work should not exceed 10 minutes production time under performance conditions. A 60 second grace period is allowed (performance time = 9 to 11 minutes).
  • Students in grades 9-12, or home-schooled equivalent, during the 2013-2014 school year are eligible.
  • All works submitted must be original.
  • Three volunteers from the Sarasota/Manatee theatre community will be chosen as play readers. Volunteer readers will have no connections to any local school. Upon reading each play, readers will give each a numerical score.
  • Plays receiving the top 6 scores will be produced for the public in January, 2014.
  • Adjudicators, also not associated with the local school community, will select one play from the six Festival participants in January as “Best Play”.
  • The student playwright of the winning play in January will receive a $300 cash award.
  • The school represented by the winning playwright will hold a trophy or plaque listing the winning play and author for one year. This award will be circulated each year (like the Stanley Cup) to subsequent winners’ schools.
  • The winning play from the Festival in January will automatically be included in the 9th annual Theatre Odyssey Ten-Minute Play Festival for professional playwrights in April, 2014.

How to enter a play:
1)    The student playwright should mail one copy of each play he or she is entering for consideration to:
Theatre Odyssey Student Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival
P.O. Box 1383
Sarasota, FL 34230-1383
2)    Deadline for submissions is October 31, 2013.
3)    The playwright’s name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address should be on the COVER PAGE ONLY. All subsequent pages of the script should contain NO identification of the playwright or the school they attend. To ensure autonomous judging, readers will NOT know whose play they are reading.
4)    Criteria for scoring submitted plays can be found at www.theatreodyssey.org.
5)    All playwrights will be notified by November 15, 2013. Original copies will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self -addressed envelope.
6)    Stage directors from the Sarasota/Manatee community will be selected to direct the six chosen plays for the Student 10 Minute Play Festival in January, 2014. Venue to be announced.
As part of Theatre Odyssey’s mission statement to “Encourage, challenge, and inspire actors and writers”, we recognize the need to explore educational opportunities and value the importance of a student playwriting project.