Island Theatre Ten-Minute Play Festival

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Submission deadline: February 14, 2024

Island Theatre invites Kitsap County playwrights—both established and aspiring—to submit original plays, no more than ten minutes in length, to Island Theatre’s 11th Annual Ten-Minute Play Festival!

Ten winning plays will be announced in April 2024. The program of winning plays will be performed August 22-24, 2024 at the new Buxton Center on Bainbridge Island, with performances Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:00 and Saturday at 3:00.

In support of our theme, Island Theatre will donate 10% of ticket sales to a nonprofit agency that addresses hunger.

The contest is open to all playwrights high school age and older who currently live or work in Kitsap County or who previously lived or worked in Kitsap County for a significant period of time.

Play submissions will be judged on literary/theatrical merit and originality, as well as for creative use of the theme.

Play criteria

• THEME. This year’s Festival will have the theme HUNGER. Hunger can be literal, or figurative. Unmet or satisfied. Regardless, it powers our emotions and drives our actions. You may interpret HUNGER however you wish but the notion of HUNGER must be central to your play.

• ENTRIES. You may submit up to three separate entries; however, only one entry per playwright will be selected for the final program.

• LENGTH. Plays must be no longer than 10 minutes; longer submissions will not be considered. Plays typically run a minute to a minute and a half per page of double-spaced script. Please read your play aloud at your intended pacing to ensure it is ten minutes or less.

• STAGING. Set, lighting, sound, costume, prop and staging requirements MUST be MINIMAL.

• CAST. Plays must have no fewer than two actors and no more than five actors.

• SUBJECT MATTER. Content should be of interest to and suitable for high-school age and above audiences.

• SCRIPT FORMAT. All submissions should be in standard professional play format. The first page of the script should include the title, characters, and basic setting; title and page number should appear at the top of each page.

• SCRIPT HISTORY. Previously produced and/or workshopped scripts will be accepted as long as they weren’t produced or workshopped by Island Theatre or an Equity company. Adaptations will not be accepted.

• PRODUCTION AGREEMENT. Selected playwrights agree to permit Island Theatre to produce their contest entry with full cast, without compensation. Casting and directing decisions will be made by Island Theatre. Playwrights may not direct or act in their own plays. Playwrights retain copyright and full ownership of their plays.

• JUDGING. Judging will be conducted by a panel of theatre professionals and the Island Theatre board of directors. All decisions will be final.

• PUBLICITY. Island Theatre reserves the right to use photography and videography from submissions to promote the Festival and theatre company. (Plays will be video recorded during performance, though no video of any play will be published without consent of its author.)

How to Enter

• Submit your play(s) by February 14, 2024.

• Play must be in in PDF format. No other formats will be accepted.

• Island Theatre has a blind judging policy. To ensure that our judges do not see your name, please make sure your name and contact information do not appear anywhere in the manuscript, including title page, header/footer, or embedded as document author. (To see if your name is embedded as author, hover your cursor over the document name in your file explorer.)

• Put a title page on your manuscript with the name of the play only.

• Failure to remove your name from the manuscript may result in disqualification of your script.

Ten-Minute Play Festival Calendar

• Submission Deadline: February 14, 2024
• Winning submissions announced: April 2024
• Auditions: May 2024
• Rehearsals: June - August 2024
• Meet the Playwrights: a panel event before the Festival at which the public can hear from the playwrights about their plays. Playwrights are strongly encouraged (but not required) to attend.
• Festival Week: August 22-24, 2024: performances Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:00 pm, and Saturday at 3:00 pm.

Judging criteria

Plays will be judged according to following criteria:

THEME

• Is there a strong, clear use of the theme in this play?
• Is the use of this theme original and interesting?

VOICE

• Does the author show a strong, interesting writing style?
• Does the author have a clear viewpoint that’s well integrated into the play?

CHARACTERIZATION

• Are the characters interesting and compelling? Are they people you want to hear more about at the end of ten minutes?
• Do the characters seem credible and real (or appropriately stylized in support of the play’s structure)?
• Are these the best characters to propel this action?
• Does the main character change or develop through the course of the play?

PLOT

• Does the plot seem fresh, intriguing and original?
• Does something happen?
• Is there sufficient conflict and tension to sustain ten minutes?
• Will this plot seem active, vital and dramatic on stage?

DIALOGUE

• Does the dialogue fit the characters?
• Does the dialogue sound natural and credible for the plot and location?
• Does each character have their own unique voice?
• Does the dialogue seem fresh and compelling, not dull or boring or generic?

MECHANICS

• Will the play be ten minutes or less in performance?
• Does it fit the minimum props, costumes and staging proviso?

OVERALL EFFECT

• Is the play satisfying and memorable by the end?

Questions? Contact info@islandtheatre.org