Kumu Kahua Theatre and Bamboo Ridge Press Reveal March 2025 Prompt

Kumu Kahua Theatre, in collaboration with Bamboo Ridge Press announced the March 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.

March 2025 prompt

A purgatorio prompt. Write a ten-page maximum scene or an eight-page maximum monologue of someone who may end up in purgatory, unless. This is the moment when they can choose an action that will either land them in heaven or hell. If they make no choice, they end up in purgatory. Think of the world we're in now, and the choices we're facing.

A Note To Our Writers: Starting next month, I'll be creating prompts based on a book by Timothy Snyder, ON TYRANNY: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century. It's a small book, and you can listen to him read it on YouTube, but being familiar with the work may help you create from the prompt. I won't be doing such prompts every month. Also, I'm not looking for political diatribes, but the human costs of tyranny on us; people living in the coming of or through the onslaught of tyranny. Be open to creating scenes of tragedy, comedy, and/or satire.

Deadline to Enter: March 31st, 2025

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 March entries HERE