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
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
