KAPLAN PRIZE 2025
Eventide Theatre Company is happy to open its annual full-length playwriting competition. 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. The deadline for submissions is May 15. The registration fee is $25, with scholarships available as needed. Up to twelve finalists will be will be announced on July 1 and will move on to the secound round of judging. Finalists will submit their revised plays by August 1, and the winner will be announced by September 15.
In October, 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 2025 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 strong Cape Cod & the Islands connection (resident, previous resident, summer resident, artist in residence, etc.)
- A play with Cape Cod & the Islands settings, major characters, and/or major 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. Submissions are not considered complete without payment. 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 are encouraged to make any rewrites if they so desire. The final submissions will be read and judged by an advanced theater team, and a winner 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.
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
REGISTRATION FORM BELOW
New Playwrights/New Plays Competition – 2025
Eventide Theatre Company/Jeremiah Kaplan – New Playwrights/New Plays Competition
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
2023 winner – Just Walking by Kristin Stewart
2024 winner – Now What? by Peter Snoad
New Playwrights/New Plays: the Jeremiah Kaplan Playwriting Competition would like to thank the following for their support:
The Jeremiah Kaplan Foundation
