Arena Now Accepting Entries for the 11th Annual Student Playwrights Project

The 2010-11 Arena Stage Student Playwrights Project invites all students in fifth through 12th grades in the District of Columbia and its neighboring counties to enter into competition an original 10-minute play. Entries must be delivered to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater (1101 6th St., SW) by Friday, December 3, 2010.

The winning students will receive playwriting master classes and participate in further script development with professional playwrights, directors and dramaturgs. The winning entries will then be performed by professional actors at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. All winning playwrights receive $250.

"The Student Playwrights Project is a direct outgrowth of Arena Stage's mission to expand the American canon with new work from diverse voices," says Anita Maynard-Losh, Director of Community Engagement at Arena Stage. "Through this program, we recognize the value of young people's stories by inviting them to express their unique voices and imaginations."

Guidelines for competition:
Who: Playwrights must be students in fifth through 12th grades. Students must attend school in the District of Columbia, the City of Alexandria or one of the following counties: Loudon, Prince William, Fairfax, Arlington, Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's or St. Mary's. Home-schooled students must be residents of the aforementioned cities and counties.

When: Entries must be received at Arena Stage by Friday, December 3, 2010 to be eligible for competition.

What: Submitted must be the original, unpublished work of one playwright. Pieces written by more than one student will not be accepted. Suggested length is between six and 10 pages. Plays longer than 12 pages will not be read.

Submission process: All submissions must include an Arena Stage cover sheet, which may be downloaded at www.arenastage.org. Plays will not be accepted without a cover sheet. All plays must be typed, double-spaced, in 12 pt. font, with page numbers. The title of the play and the playwright's grade should be listed on each page of the play. The playwright's name, contact information, or school should not appear anywhere on the play except the cover sheet. Submitted scripts will not be returned. Playwrights wishing to confirm receipt of their submission should enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard. Winners will be notified by Arena Stage and the list posted at www.arenastage.org in January.

Three copies of the entered play, with the required cover sheet attached to the top copy, should be mailed to:
Student Playwrights Project
Arena Stage - Community Engagement Division
1101 6th St., SW
Washington, DC 20024

For more information, call Community Engagement at 202-600-4062 or email education@arenastage.org.

The Student Playwrights Project is sponsored in part by Toni Ritzenberg.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is a national center dedicated to the production, presentation, development and study of American theater. Arena Stage produces huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit, and presents diverse and ground-breaking work from some of the best artists around the country. Arena Stage is committed to commissioning and developing new plays through the American Voices New Play Institute. Now in its sixth decade, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 200,000. www.arenastage.org.

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