The Kentucky Women Writers Conference will award a national playwriting prize to bring more scripts by women to the stage, especially those featuring majority-female casts. The winner will receive a production by Balagula Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky (www.balagula.com), plus a cash prize of $500. The winning play will be workshopped prior to its world premier for a paying audience in winter 2012.
The Kentucky Women Writers Conference has decided to waive the $10 entry fee in adherence to Dramatists Guild policy.
Eligible Playwrights
The competition is open to all women playwrights. There are no restrictions on age, residence or experience. Playwrights previously unpublished are strongly encouraged to submit their work. Co-authored scripts are eligible if at least 50 percent of co-authors are female.
Eligible Plays
One-act or full-length scripts in English, with a running time between 45 and 90 minutes, that have not been published or commercially produced as of the entry deadline (July 1, 2011) and will not be published or produced before the release of the KWWC production (winter 2012). However, scripts that have been staged in a workshop production or script-in-hand staged readings are eligible.
Deadline and Timeline
* Mailed submissions must be postmarked by July 1, 2011
* Winner will be posted on our Web site www.kentuckywomenwriters.org on September 1, 2011
* Winning script will be workshopped in October - December 2011
* Production will occur in winter 2012
* $500 cash prize to be paid on opening night of production
Subject Matter, Casting, and Production Limitations
KWWC is seeking new plays that can be produced as world premieres. We place no limitations on subject matter. However, KWWC espouses a feminism that creates economic equality, a violence-free society, and racial and ethnic justice, and we encourage art that envices a consciousness about the cultural inheritance of women's identity. Scripts may be based on factual events, purely fictional, or adaptations. KWWC encourages women writers not trained as playwrights to adapt their own fiction, nonfiction, or poetry for the stage. KWWC is not seeking one-man or one-woman scripts, musicals, or children's plays. Limitations:
* Reading time must be in the range of 45-90 minutes.
* Casts must be in the range of 2-6 actors, preferably with a majority female cast
* Set, lighting, sound, costume, and prop requirements must be kept to a minimum. The producing theater has a modular stage (nine 8-foot by 4-foot platforms) with a stage height of 9 feet. Performance space is limited to 12-feet deep. The stage has no curtain and no off-stage wings. Adequate lighting and sound capabilities are available. Questions about performance space should be directed to the Balagula Theatre Company: theatre@balagula.com
Judging Process and Criteria
All entries will be screened by KWWC staff for completeness and adherence to contest guidelines. Judging will consist of two rounds. In round 1, a diverse panel of theater professionals and educators will choose 5 finalists. In round 2, Naomi Wallace will choose 1 winner. Judging will be guided by the following criteria, in descending order of importance:
* Literary merit and theatrical potential
* Number of compelling roles for female actors (cast is limited to 6)
Download Playwriting Prize Forms:
Printable version of the Guidelines [PDF]
Submission Checklist [PDF]
Submission Forms and Agreement [PDF]
FAQs (updated 5.26.2011) [PDF]
Contact Information:
For inquiries: kentuckywomenwriters@gmail.com
For submissions: Prize for Women Playwrights, Kentucky Women Writers Conference, 232 East Maxwell Street, Lexington, KY 40506-0344
Website: http://www.kentuckywomenwriters.org
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