New Play Competitions

THE PLAYWRITING SEMINARS > BUSINESS > PRODUCTION > LITERARY MANAGERS > COMPETITIONS

'Reading the story of the sisters Christine and Lea Papin, maids who, one cold and bitter February afternoon in 1933, murdered the mistress and daughter of the house they worked in, I became completely obsessed. . . . The same obsession took me through countless readings, rejections, and revisions until MY SISTER IN THIS HOUSE won The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and was produced at Actor's Theatre of Louisville's New Play Festival . . .'

-- Wendy Kesselman

Most competitions let you know if your play makes their Semifinals. If you do, you're in very select company: these are the small number of scripts that Competition readers think have real potential for the top 2 or 3 prizes. Usually, the Semifinals are limited to about 1% of the total number of entries. First Prize awards for current Competitions range from a lovely certificate to $10,000. It's worth the postage.

A Caution on Entry Fees: A small number of Competitions have begun charging playwrights an entry fee. While this may be typical in poetry and fiction competitions, it's not in this business, especially if it's sponsored by a theatre. And the Dramatists Guild frowns on the practice. A good Rule: The higher the entry fee, the greater the reason not to enter.

The one exception to the Entry Fee Rule: The Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, one of the best Competition/Play Development Programs in the country. And one that's probably launched more playwrights' careers than any other New Play Development program in the country. So spend the bucks on this one [December 1 deadline]. At $15 they're not exactly living off you, though they're getting close.

And here's where the other Competitions are . . .

• Dramatists Sourcebook

• Dramatists Guild Publications