Island Theatre Ten-Minute Play Festival

Submission Guidelines

Because Covid-19 caused the cancellation of our 2020 Ten-Minute Play Festival, we will be performing our winning 2020 plays in August 2021. If you’d like to submit a play for our 2022 Festival, you may do so at any time. Winners will be announced in April 2022.

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 Annual Ten-Minute Play Festival. Winning plays will be announced in April. A program of the eight to ten plays selected will be performed at Bainbridge Performing Arts during Festival Weekend in August on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening and a Saturday matinee. All performances will be offered to the public free, or pay-as-you-choose.

Submission Guidelines

This contest is open to all playwrights, high school age and older, who are past or present residents of Kitsap County or have a strong Kitsap County connection.

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

ENTRIES. Submit up to three separate entries; however, only one entry per playwright will be selected for the final program. LENGTH. Plays should be no longer than 10 minutes; longer submissions will not be considered. (If you are uncertain about its length, please read the play aloud before submitting. Plays typically run a minute to a minute and a half per page of script.)STAGING. Set, lighting, sound, costume, prop and staging requirements MUST be MINIMAL.CAST. Plays must have no fewer than 2 actors and no more than 5 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. JUDGING. Playwrights retain copyright and full ownership of their plays. PUBLICITY. Island theater 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.)See Judging Criteria below*

How to Enter:

Email each script as a PDF file to it.tmpfsubmissions@gmail.com

No other formats will be accepted.

In the body of the email include the following:

1. Play title

2. Playwright’s name, address, phone number(s) and email address

3. Playwright’s connection to Kitsap County

Each email should contain two PDF attachments:

MANUSCRIPT FOR BLIND JUDGING: Island Theatre has a blind judging policy. To ensure that our judges do not see the playwright’s name, please make sure that your name and contact information does 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 and contact information may result in disqualification of your script.IDENTIFIED MANUSCRIPT: Submit a second copy of your manuscript with a title page that includes your name, contact information, and the name of the play. On this copy, identifying information may be included within the body of the manuscript if you choose.

Annual Festival Calendar

Annual Submission Deadline: February 14

Winning submissions announced: April

Auditions: May

Rehearsals: June – August

Festival Week: August (includes following events)

Meet the Playwrights (public panel presentation)Ten-Minute Play Festival performances (three evenings, one matinée)Ten-Minute Playwriting WorkshopQuestions?  info@islandtheatre.org

*Judging Criteria

THEME

Is there a strong, clear use of a 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 as written? 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 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?

APPROPRIATENESS

Is this play appropriate for a Kitsap audience?Is this play appropriate for high school students?Is this play appropriate for BPA’s stage facilities?

MECHANICS

Is the play likely to be ten minutes or under in performance?Does it fit the minimum props, costumes and staging proviso?

OVERALL EFFECT

Is the play satisfying and memorable by the end?