InterAct Theatre Company is pleased to announce that the sixth round of submissions for its 20/20 New Play Commissions

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InterAct Theatre Company is pleased to announce that the sixth round of submissions for its 20/20 New Play Commissions will have a deadline of Friday May 31, 2013.

Long established as one of the country’s most devoted producers of provocative new plays, InterAct uses the 20/20 Commissions to fund the most adventurous, complex, and engaging plays of tomorrow.  We are engaged by the wide range of stories that unfold when the larger forces of our world impact the individual.  Fifteen commissions and awards have already been awarded to plays ranging in style from hard-hitting drama to absurd surrealism.

Since inaugurating the 20/20 commissions in 2007, four commissioned plays and a development award recipient have all been produced on our main-stage.  Also two plays recently submitted for 20/20 awards – IN A DAUGHTER’S EYES by A. Zell Williams and MICROCRISIS by Mike Lew – ended up receiving productions on our main stage.  So there is additional value to submitting a proposal!

Currently celebrating its’ 25th season, InterAct is the flagship for new work in Philadelphia.  It is also a founding member of the National New Play Network and the Philadelphia New Play Initiative.

About InterAct’s 20/20 Commissions

There are two types of awards associated with the program:

• Development Awards - through which InterAct commits funds toward the further development of a play, including dramaturgical consultation, readings and workshops.  Development Awards are given to works already in progress, but not yet production ready.

• New Play Commissions - in which a new and wholly or substantially unwritten play is commissioned and then aided in its development by InterAct.

How to Apply for an InterAct Theatre Company 20/20 Commission/Award

The application consists of three parts, which must be submitted simultaneously and received by midnight on May 31, 2013:

1.  Statement of Interest

Please provide a description of the proposed project, including why the issues and themes of the project will be significant over the next twenty years, and what your goals would be should you be granted the opportunity to work with InterAct on the project’s development.  If you are applying for a Development Award, you may additionally discuss the status of the current work and its development history.  Statements of interest should not exceed 2 pages.  We prefer proposals with specificity, but also flexibility.  We will not be reading any submissions prior to May 31, so please use the time.

 2.  Up-to-Date Playwriting CV

Please be thorough and be sure to include the development history, if any, of the proposed work

3.  For Commission Applicants – A Sample of your work in the form of a Completed Full-length Script

Sample scripts need not have received previous productions for submission. If possible, please submit a script that falls within InterAct’s central mission. If you do not feel that you have a script suitable to our mission, then please send whatever script you feel best exemplifies your work.

For Development Awards – One Copy of the Proposed Script:  Scripts need not be complete, although truly fragmentary works are difficult to evaluate. (An additional sample script is not necessary.)

Please note: We can only accept one submission per applicant – for either a Development Award or a Commission.

The deadline for completed sixth cycle applications is Midnight EST May 31, 2013, and InterAct will notify all playwrights of its decision via email by November 1, 2013.

All parts of the application should be submitted as PDF’s sent to commissions2013@interacttheatre.org

Please label the PDFs clearly following this format:

(Your Name) Statement
(Your Name) CV
(Your Name) (Title of Sample Play)
(Your Name) (Title of Play) – DA

For example, for a commission:

Kittson O’Neill Statement
Kittson O’Neill CV
Kittson O’Neill Best Play Ever

For a development award:

Kittson O’Neill Statement
Kittson O’Neill CV
Kittson O’Neill Best Play Ever – DA

Only full-length plays are eligible for commission or development.  Musicals and bills of related one-act plays will not be considered. Collaborations are welcome. Submissions which do not follow these guidelines cannot be considered.

For all 20/20 New Play Commissions and Development Awards, InterAct reserves the right of first production.

Be sure to email applications to commissions2013@interacttheatre.org

If you have questions, please feel free to email Kittson O’Neill, Artistic Associate.