WE HAVE A WINNER!

We are thrilled to announce the 2024 winners for the Kaplan New Playwrights/New Plays Competition:

1st place Now What? by Peter Snoad, $1000

2nd place, Inappropriate Pants by Gwyn McAllister, $500

3rd Place, Woodhull/Beecher by Leslie Gabel-Brett, $250

Prize monies will be distributed to the playwrights and a reading of the winning play, Now What?, will be presented by Eventide Theatre Company this December.

Congratulations to all participants this year — gifted playwrights and generous readers, both. We deeply appreciate your talent and input. I look forward to opening the 2025 contest next spring!

Christine Ernst
Kaplan Playwrights Competition Administrator, 2024

Special thanks to Dennis Arts and Culture for the generous support of our Fosse Dance and Play reading event at Dennis Center for Active Living

KAPLAN PRIZE 2024

Competition open to Cape Cod playwrights

Eventide Theatre Company is happy to open its annual full-length playwriting competition for Cape Cod playwrights. The Kaplan New Playwrights/New Plays Competition invites Cape playwrights to submit their full-length work, with a cash prize of $1000 awarded to the winning play. Second and third prize runners-up will receive $500 and $250, respectively. The deadline for submissions is April 15. The registration fee is $25, with scholarships available as needed. The deadline for submitting the completed play, with fee, is April 15. 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 will submit their revised plays by August 1, and the winner will be announced by September 15.
In December, a staged reading production of the winning play will be held.

Questions can be directed to Christine Ernst, Kaplan Playwrights Competition Administrator, at [email protected].

KAPLAN 2024 GUIDELINES

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. Prior readings of the work are allowed.

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 first, second, and third prize winners will be selected.

The playwright chosen as having submitted the best script will receive a $1,000.00 cash prize and a staged reading production.
The prize for 2nd place is $500, and for third place, $250.

File Upload Specifications

PDF file format
10pt font or larger
1 inch margins
Your name should not appear anywhere within the document, including cover sheet, title sheet, headers, and footers
Uploaded file title should be the name of your play only

“Click here to view the 2024 judging rubric.”

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