NJ Young Playwrights Contest

NJ Young Playwrights Contest

WHAT: The Writers Theatre of New Jersey invites NJ middle and high school students in grades 4-12 to submit plays to the NJ Young Playwrights Contest and Festival.

DIVISIONS: Elementary (4-6) | Junior School (7-9) | High School (10-12)

LENGTH: Plays up to 20 pages or 20 minutes.

TYPE: Plays with “realistic” structures and inventive work. Judges look for strong plot, characterization, dialogue, conflict, theme, & originality.

THEMES: Plays may be on any topic, but there is a special category, “Living with Disabilities” designed for plays either written by an author with a disability, or a play with themes or characters dealing with disabilities.

FORMATTING: Instructions may be found under the Submissions Guidelines tab.

WINNERS RECEIVE:

  • Staged reading production of play with actors, a director, and dramaturg from WTNJ.
  • New Jersey Governor’s Award in Arts Education (10-12 grades only).

DETAILS: Writers’ Theatre of New Jersey: org/nj-young-playwrights-contest

Deadline: Monday, January 15, 2018

The Theater Project NJ Young Playwrights Competition

Theater Project Young Playwrights  Contest 

Theater Project Young Playwrights ContestWebsite: The Theater Project; Deadline: January 20, 2017

For high school students
aged 13 – 18  

Key Dates

  • Scripts due January 2017
  • Finalists notified February 2017
  • Awards ceremony March  2017

The purpose of this playwriting competition is to encourage New Jersey high school students to write and also advance their interest in theater.    

High school students aged 13-18 are invited to submit either a short play or an excerpt from a longer work that they have written.  Winners’ plays will be performed by professional actors.

The prize winners will receive cash awards and see their work performed by the professional actors of The Theater Project at a ceremony. Additional writers will be presented with honorable mention citations and gift certificates.

In addition to the award ceremony, The Theater Project is providing free tutorials for any interested entrant in this year’s competition. Each young author has been offered a half hour script consultation with one of the adult playwrights and directors from the Theater Project. They will pass along their experiences with theater in general and discuss the challenges of playwriting.

Young writers will also have the chance to meet with other contestants and the actors who are performing that day.

Deadlines for 2017 submissions will be posted here November 2016.


Submission
​Guidelines

To enter
the competition

  • Entrants must attend a NJ high school  
  • Scripts must be between 10 and 30 pages
  • Scripts must be in play format
  • Original work only, no adaptations
  • One entry per author
1. Fill out entry form
2.Upload script, author bio and photo
3. Pay $10 entry fee by card or check