GO TRY PLAYWRITE Monthly Contest Announces October Prompt

Kumu Kahua Theatre, in collaboration with Bamboo Ridge Press announce the October prompt for their monthly play writing contest, Go Try PlayWrite.

Thanks to a generous donation from an anonymous donor, contest winners will receive a $100.00 check as well as a subscription to Bamboo Ridge Press.

October 2026 prompt

An Ionesco prompt. This prompt is based on a play by Eugene Ionesco Rhinoceros; you do not need to know the play to write the prompt. It's the day after the 2026 mid-term elections, and everyone voted for the person or party you despise. You know this because they've all turned into an animal with whom you can't really communicate with. Write a ten-page maximum scene of you dealing with this event. Pick one animal that everyone turns into. Have fun.

Deadline to Enter: October 31st, 2026

Kumu Kahua Theatre was founded in 1971 by a group of graduate students at the University of Hawaiʻi, with the original goal of producing locally-written experimental
works. The theater educates and trains new generations of aspiring theater professionals through its living laboratory of productions and public play readings, and by holding classes and workshops in acting, improvisation and playwriting. https://www.kumukahua.org

Bamboo Ridge Press was founded in 1978 to publish literature by, for, and about Hawaiʻi's people. We currently publish two volumes a year: a literary journal of poetry and fiction featuring work by both emerging and established writers, and a book by a single author or an anthology focused on a special theme. In forty plus years we've published a diverse catalog of poetry, prose, screenplays, stage plays, novels, and more. https://www.bambooridge.org/

Each month entrants must write a 5-page monologue and/or a 10-page scene based on monthly requirements. Each month a new prompt will be chosen by Kumu Kahua Theatre's Artistic Director, Harry Wong III. All entries must be written in traditional play format; instructions on this format can be found here: https://www.dramatistsguild.com/script-formats courtesy of the Dramatists Guild. 

There will be one winner each month. Scripts will be submitted to the judges anonymously. Each month Judges are selected from among the many talented theatre practitioners in the Hawaii theatre community. 

Submit your October entries HERE

Kumu Kahua productions are supported in part by The Kim Coco Fund for Justice of the Iwamoto Family Foundation, Timothy and Eddie, the NME Fund of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, the Island Insurance Foundation, The State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, through appropriations from the Legislature of the State of Hawaiʻi, The AAPI Community Fund, The Richard Aadland Fund, The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, The John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, Spectrum/Charter Communications, ABC Stores, the Gloria Kosasa Gainsley Fund, Hawaiʻi Public Radio, H. Hawaii Media, Simply Storage, HUB Coworking, Vacations Hawaiʻi, Zippy's Restaurants, Highway Inn, Generations Magazine, CVS/Longs Drugs, HMSA, Hawaiian Electric, MonkeyPod, and other foundations, businesses, and loyal patrons