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TAG - The Actors’ Group,
in collaboration with
VSA arts of Hawaii-Pacific,
announces
The 2010 VSA Playwright Discovery Competition
& TAG Young Playwrights Festival
TAG – The Actors’ Group & VSA arts of Hawaii-Pacific invites middle and high school students to take a closer look at the world around them, examine how DISABILITIES affect their lives and the lives of others, and express their views through the art of playwriting. Playwrights may write from their own experience or about an experience in the life of another person or fictional character.
Young playwrights with and without disabilities are encouraged to submit a script. Entries may be the work of an individual student or collaboration by a group or class of students. Teacher and/or adult assistance is allowed. All entries must be one-act plays of fewer than 40 pages in length. Target audience may be children, teenagers or adults. Scripts may be comedies, dramas, or even musicals—be creative!
A selection of the entries will be professionally produced and staged on TAG’s main stage in August 2010 as a part of the TAG Young Playwrights Festival.
One play will be selected for entry in the VSA arts Playwright Discovery Call for Scripts National Competition. The play that wins the national competition will be produced or staged at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The winning playwright at the national level receives $2,000 from the Kennedy Center and a trip to Washington, D.C., to see his or her play performed.
All submissions must be received by April 1, 2010, for consideration.
VSA arts is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. For further information on VSA arts on the national level click here and the Hawaii affiliate click here.
For more information on disabilities click here.
OFFICIAL RULES AND GUIDELINES FOR TAG's 2010 YOUNG PLAY WRITERS COMPETITION AND THE VSA arts PLAYWRIGHT DISCOVERY COMPETITION:
Submission Rules and Procedures
Submission Rules
1. Authors must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S.
2. Authors must be students in grades 6–12 (or equivalent).
3. All entries must be one-act plays of fewer than 40 pages in length.
4. Entries must be original, unproduced, and unpublished at the time of submission. 5. Plays with previous readings or workshops are acceptable, as long as they were not produced for a paying audience and have not been publicly reviewed.
6. Co-authorships are permissible, but all authors must fulfill eligibility requirements as stated below and each author must submit an application.
7. Authors may submit only one script, whether under his or her name, a pseudonym, or as a co-author.
8. Entries must be submitted with a completed, signed application and received by TAG no later than April 1st, 2010.
9. As the administrator of this program, VSA arts has the following rights which may be exercised at its sole discretion:
a. To declare any entry ineligible if it is not in compliance with the submission rules and procedures;
b. To reproduce as many copies of an entry as are necessary for distribution among the judges; and
c. To use the author's name and title of any entry receiving an award for publicity about the 2010 VSA arts Playwright Discovery Program.
10. Award recipients shall, at all times, in connection with publications, production, publicity, programs, posters, and advertisements about the play, designate that the play is an "Award Recipient of the 2010 VSA arts Playwright Discovery Program."
11. Entries shall be free from copyright restrictions relating to this program, and the author shall hold VSA arts, its officers, and directors free and harmless from all copyright claims. If an entry includes any material that is copyrighted, the author shall provide proof of written permission to include the copyrighted material in the script.
12. Any student with or without a disability is eligible to submit an entry. Previous award recipients are not eligible. However, previous applicants may submit a new script in subsequent years.
13. VSA arts serves K-12 students as well as adults with disabilities. VSA arts reserves the right not to adjudicate any individual work(s) deemed inappropriate for our mission and/or our audience. Playwrights should not submit scripts that contain religious or political themes, inappropriate language, and/or excessive nudity.
14. Scripts must somehow address the subject of disability. A disability is defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual. An impairment is a physiological disorder affecting one or more of a number of body systems, or a mental or psychological disorder. The disability may be visible (e.g., a character who is blind or uses a wheelchair) or invisible (e.g., a character with a learning or developmental disability). Visit the web site, www.vsarts.org for more information on disabilities.
14. The selected playwright will:
a. Have his or her play professionally produced or staged at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
b. The Kennedy Center will award the winning playwright $2,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C., to see his or her play performed
Submission Procedures
1. Submit four copies of your script with a completed application form. Submissions will not be returned.
2. Personally sign the application. If an author is under the age of 18, a parent or guardian must also sign the application.
3. Your script must be typed, following the standard play manuscript format. An example can be found by clicking here (pdf file).
4. Clear photocopies or letter-quality computer printouts are acceptable.
5. Staple or clip your entry in the upper left-hand corner and include the following on the cover sheet: title of play, cast list, and number of scenes.
6. Do not show your name, address, or any identifying information on any page or cover of your entry. With a removable paper clip, attach a sheet containing the title of your play, your name, address, phone number, and any other information. You may enter the copyright date or registration on the title page of the script. (To preserve anonymity, all entries are identified by numbers for judging.)
7. All applicants who include an e-mail address on page one of the application form will receive an e-mail confirming receipt of their script.
8. Mail four scripts and the application form to:
TAG – The Actors’ Group
PO Box 37759
Honolulu, HI 96837
9. TAG will consider your script for the Children’s Theatre Festival to be held on the main stage of TAG – the Actors’ Group opening August 20th, 2010.
10. TAG will also forward your script on to VSA arts National Competition.
11. VSA arts and TAG are not responsible for loss or damage to entries.
12. Follow this link to download the official VSA arts application: VSA Application.
