PORT TOWNSEND — The one-act play competition for the 24th annual Port Townsend PlayFest, the Festival of New Plays in March, is nearing its submission deadline of Tuesday, Sept. 3.
Key City Public Theatre produces PlayFest every year with sponsorship from the Port Townsend Arts Commission, giving local playwrights the opportunity to see their work come to life on stage.
The competition is open to all residents of Jefferson County — be they beginners or experienced playwrights — with no entry fee. Writers are encouraged to submit one-act plays ranging in length from 10 minutes to 45 minutes.
KCPT’s website, keycitypublictheatre.org, has competition guidelines under the “For Artists” link at the top of the home page.
Entries for PlayFest 24 must be postmarked no later than Sept. 3 and mailed to: Port Townsend Arts Commission, ATTN: Play Competition, 250 Madison St., Port Townsend, WA 98368.
All submissions must include three copies of the script plus a single cover page bearing the title of the play and the name, address, phone and email of the author.
The scripts themselves should list the title of the one-act play only, with no author information shown. To be returned, scripts must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Playwrights are limited to one script submission per year. No previously performed or published plays are accepted, and full-length plays will not be considered.
A panel of three judges selects the plays for the festival. They base their decisions on story, character and style, as well as the feasibility of successfully translating the words to the stage. Playwrights are advised to remember that, unlike screenwriting or prose, there are unique challenges and advantages in writing for live theater.
Judges will select a total of about two hours of material to be part of PlayFest, so this could mean, for example, four 30-minute plays or up to six shorter plays. All selected scripts will be produced as either staged readings or workshop productions within Key City Public Theatre’s PlayFest in March 2020.
For the rights to produce the work, each winning playwright will receive a royalty payment from the City of Port Townsend Arts Commission.
Shortly after the selections are announced, an initial reading will be arranged for each of the chosen scripts. This reading will not be open to the public, as it is an opportunity for the playwrights to hear their works read by actors and to discuss it with those actors, potential directors, and Key City Public Theatre artistic director Denise Winter.
Playwrights will then have the opportunity to refine their scripts before the rehearsal process begins.
Actors’ auditions for the selected one-act plays will be held during Key City Public Theatre’s annual general auditions on Nov. 4. Playwrights are encouraged to participate in the audition and rehearsal process.
In a continuing effort to develop local playwriting talent, the Port Townsend Arts Commission and Key City Public Theatre sponsor a free playwriting workshop during PlayFest.
An award-winning featured guest playwright will teach the workshop on Saturday, March 14, 2020. An additional fee-based playwriting intensive will be also be held Sunday, March 15, 2020.
The playwrights whose scripts are not selected in this year’s competition are invited to receive a single reading of their work during PlayFest 24. This event, called “Working Drafts,” has proven to be a popular one, as it gives all participants the chance to hear actors read their scripts.
The writers also receive feedback from professional playwrights and the audience. Afterward, they’re encouraged to continue working on their scripts and to resubmit them in future competitions.
In submitting a script to the Port Townsend One-Act Play Competition, playwrights grant Key City Public Theatre performance rights for festival production, and agree that in any future publication of the script, Key City Public Theatre will be credited with the workshop production.
For more information, visit www.keycitypublictheatre.org or contact Winter at denise@keycitypublictheatre.org.
