For the past ten years, PlayGround has helped identify and celebrate the Bay Area’s best high school dramatists through our annual Young Playwrights Project. Today, we’re pleased to share the topic for the 11^th annual Young Playwrights Contest: ADAPT A FAIRY TALE. Complete guidelines can be found at https://playground-sf.org//youngplaywrights and submissions are due by 11:59pm on April 8, 2019.

Students can experience the work of Bay Area professional playwrights on the same topic this coming Monday, January 21, at 8pm at Berkeley Repertory Theatre when PlayGround presents six ten-minute Fairy Tale adaptations as part of its monthly Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series (NOTE: A limited number of complimentary tickets are available for Bay Area high school students on a first-come first-served basis with promo code YPP2019).

Also continuing this year, PlayGround is offering a limited number of complimentary in-school playwriting master classes for Bay Area high schools to help students become more familiar with playwriting and the theatrical short form. Led by distinguished PlayGround alumni and staff, these classes are designed to complement existing creative writing and playwriting education within the schools, while opening up the opportunity of the Young Playwrights Project for budding/aspiring dramatists. Single-session classes will be offered on a first-come first-served basis now through March 2019 and additional sessions can also be scheduled for a nominal fee. If you know of a school that would like to participate, please have them contact PlayGround at ypp@box5865.temp.domains to schedule a playwriting master class.

Additionally, PlayGround has scheduled two complimentary off-site classes for Bay Area high school students:
February 2, 12pm-2pm, at Potrero Stage (San Francisco)
February 9, 12pm-2pm, at PlayGround PlaySpace (Berkeley)

Students can register for the off-site classes directly at https://playground-sf.org//youngplaywrights.

For more information, email ypp@box5865.temp.domains or call (415) 992-6677.

PLAYGROUND’S 2019 YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS CONTEST

PlayGround invites Bay Area high school students, grades 9-12, to submit short plays per the following guidelines for consideration in the 2018 Young Playwrights Contest. The top four playwrights will receive professional public staged readings of their winning short works as part of the Best of PlayGround Festival this May, 2019 at Potrero Stage.

Submission Guidelines

The following are the guidelines for script submissions for PlayGround’s 2019 Young Playwrights Contest. To be eligible, writers must currently attend high school in one of the nine Bay Area counties.

Topic:             ADAPT A FAIRY TALE

Please indicate the name of a single fairy tale you’ve chosen to adapt (and its ethnic origin, if known) on the cover page of your script. A few thoughts: avoid use of the direct “narrator” (i.e., telling rather than showing); consider who’s story it is and how your adaptation reinforces or changes the traditional perspective; why this story and why now? Avoid multiple scenes with blackouts. Keep the story and action as continuous as possible. Have FUN!

1. Scripts, maximum ten pages doubled-spaced, initiated on or after Wednesday, January 16, 2019 and inspired by the topic (see above), must be RECEIVED by 11:59pm on Monday, April 8, 2019.
2. You must include a cover page (not included in the ten-page max.) with your name and contact information, and including a complete detailed cast breakdown.
3. Scripts must be submitted via email as a Portable Document Format (.pdf) attachment to scripts@box5865.temp.domains. Include “YPP” in the subject.
4. Scripts should be formatted with page numbers in the footer and playwright name/email address in the header for all pages.
5. Font should be 12pt standard (Times New Roman) or equivalent.
6. No more than one script per person.
7. Finalists will be announced by Monday, April 29.

The submission of a script grants PlayGround the exclusive option to stage the play as part of the Young Playwrights Festival. As the playwright’s participation in the rehearsal process and performance is considered critical to PlayGround’s mission, the submission of a script is a direct acknowledgment by the playwright that he/she will attend the performance of their play should it be selected, barring unforeseen circumstances, and to the extent possible the rehearsal that afternoon. If you know in advance that you are unable to attend the festival performances, you must inform PlayGround of this at the time of submission. PlayGround will not consider scripts by playwrights so acknowledged prior to selection and reserves the right to replace any script selected by an author later determined as unable to attend.

Up to four finalists will be selected for the 2019 Young Playwrights Festival. Each finalist will receive a script-in-hand staged reading as a curtain raiser before a regularly scheduled performance of the Best of PlayGround Festival at Potrero Stage in San Francisco. Rehearsals will take place in the afternoon before the shows from 5 to 6:30pm for 8pm performances, and from 4 to 5:30pm for 7pm performances. A brief tech for each piece will follow. The performances will take place May 16th-18th at 8pm and May 19th at 7pm.

To view sample script formats, click the link(s) below.
Submission Format #1
Submission Format #2

For questions or more information, email ypp@box5865.temp.domains.