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Kaplan Playwright Competition

Eventide Theatre Company is happy to announce its annual full-length playwriting competition, the Jeremiah Kaplan New Playwrights/New Plays Competition.   Cape Cod playwrights and authors  of plays that involve Cape Cod are invited to submit their full-length works, with a cash prize of $1000 awarded to the winning play.  The deadline for registering to submit has passed. The deadline for submitting the completed play (with fee) is April 15, 2023. The registration fee is $25, with scholarships available as needed.

New Playwrights/New Plays Competition - 2023

Eventide Theatre Company/Jeremiah Kaplan - New Playwrights/New Plays Competition

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Up to twelve finalists will be selected to move to the second round of judging. They will have an opportunity to present a table reading of their plays, and to make revisions if desired. Finalists are to submit their revised plays by August 1, 2023, and the winner will be announced by September 15, 2023.  In October, a staged reading of the winning play will be held by Eventide Theatre Company.

Questions can be directed to Donna Wresinski, Artistic Director, or by calling 508.361.9230

The contest will be administered by Mary Arnault and Andrew Arnault.

Previous Winners

The 2007 winner ~ Meridian Summer by Candace Perry

The 2008 winner ~ Sequel by David Kucher

The 2009 winner ~ Eucatastrophe by Andy Reynolds

The 2010 winner ~ This Verse Business by A.M. Dolan

The 2011 winner ~ To Be in the Game by Tom Gotsill

The 2013 winner ~ A Talented Woman by James Dalglish and Lynda Sturner

The 2014 winner ~ Fifteen Men in a Smoke Filled Room by Colin Crowley

The 2015 winner ~ The Final Say by Meryl Cohn

The 2016 winner ~ Bruno by Raymond van Over

The 2017 winner ~ Colonel of Reason by Tom Gotsill

The 2018 winner ~ Office Noise by Bob Dutton

The 2020 winner ~ Touched By War by James Marlow

2022 winner – The Tempest-Tost Theater by Jonathon Ward

Qualification Guidelines

We accept full-length play manuscripts (musicals may be considered IF a recording of the songs is also provided) for consideration as a qualified submission. Plays that have been previously produced will not be considered for this competition. 

Qualified Submissions MUST have a direct connection to Cape Cod & the Islands.  An example of a direct connection may include:

  • A play written by an author with a Cape Cod & the Islands connection (resident, previous resident, summer resident, artist in residence, performer, etc.)
  • A play with Cape Cod & the Islands settings, major characters, and/or occurrence which impacts the narrative.

These rules ARE subjective and are subject to the interpretation of the Competition Administrators.

A $25 administrative fee will apply to all submissions.   Scholarship opportunities are available and are based on need.

Adjudication

All plays will receive blind readings by a team of theater professionals. Up to 12 plays will be selected to advance as finalists. Readers’ scoring sheets will be available upon request.

Finalists will have the opportunity to produce a table read of their plays before the completed play is due for submission. They are also encouraged to make any rewrites if they so desire. The final submissions will be read and judged by an advanced theater team, and a single winner will be selected.

The playwright chosen as having submitted the best script will receive a $1,000.00 cash prize and one staged reading. 

New Playwrights/New Plays: the Jeremiah Kaplan Playwriting Competition would like to thank the following for their support:

The Jeremiah Kaplan Foundation

Brewster Cultural Council

We enjoyed Our Town. Actors were wonderful as was the production. Made us feel like things were getting back to normal . Looking forward to the next show. Keep up the good work.

Rob and Margery Glovin

Eventide Theatre Company is a 501(c)3 independent theatre located in the heart of Dennis Village and is known for presenting  thought-provoking plays, concerts, lectures, and mixed media events. Annually Eventide hosts the Kaplan Playwriting/New Plays competition.