THE JCC METROWEST JEWISH PLAYWRITING CONTEST Official Request for Plays

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JCC MetroWest and the Jewish Plays Project are excited to announce a competition for full-length plays that deal with Jewish themes. Using a curated jury process followed by a live selection event, the contest will give equal voice to Jewish audiences and artists in creating Jewish theater for the 21st Century.

A separate track will select one Theater for Young Audiences piece geared to celebrate Jewish identity for students ages 8-18.

IMPORTANT NOTE: THE CONTEST IS OPEN TO ARTISTS OF ALL BACKGROUNDS, DENOMINATIONS, FAITHS, CREEDS, RELIGIONS and other IDEALS. We believe that Jewish identity and culture are specific manifestations of universal human cravings for spiritual, ethical, moral and worldly joy. “Matrilineal descent” is neither important nor necessary.

ELIGIBILITY: Full-length plays that deal with Jewish themes that have never been produced in New York City. The following must be true of a submitted play:
1. It is NOT a yiddish play.
2. It contains significant Jewish themes, characters, content, or points of view.
3. It does NOT fall into the beloved category of "ethnically stereotypical comedy" (No 'Yiddishemammeh" plays, no "My Afternoon With Bubbe", no "Jewtopia")
4. It's a really good play.
5. It has not had a full production in the NY Metro region.
6. It is NOT a musical (plays with music may apply).

SUBMISSION: Entries are due by November 1 at 6 pm. There are two steps to submit:
1. Email the play as an attachment to jpc@jewishplaysproject.org with the playwright's name removed from ALL pages.

2. Click here to fill out the JPC Application form.

There is NO fee to apply, but there is a one (1) submission per person rule.

SELECTION PROCESS: The JPC seeks to discover and develop a new generation of plays that reflect the 21st Century Jewish experience, and strives to engage a broad audience in a discussion of what that experience may be. Each script will be reviewed by a Community Panel of up to 30 lay leaders involved in the Metrowest Jewish Community who will score the play on the clarity, importance and personal connection of the Jewish ideas in the play. A separate Artistic Panel of noted actors, directors, writers and academics will evaluate scripts for their aesthetic value, structural and stylistic innovation, and production feasibility.

Submissions will be due on November 1, with three finalists being announced on December 20. The three finalists will be given a rare opportunity to participate in JCC MetroWest’s Txt2Thtr Event.

This event, a JPP original, will present staged selections from three plays along with a director and designer's production concept to an invited audience at JCC MetroWest’s Maurice Levin Theater in West Orange, NJ. This audience will then give real-time feedback to the selection committee by responding to a text-message survey on their cell phones. At the end of the night, a winner will be announced.

THE PRIZE: The winning play will continue on to a workshop presentation by the JPP at Manhattan’s 14th Street Y Theatre in June of 2012, where the JPP will select one project to receive a full production.

THEATER FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES CATEGORY: The Project and the JCC will also be seeking one-act (under 50 minutes) plays or musicals geared toward student audiences celebrating Jewish identity. (Music must be able to be performed by one musician or played on CD). The winning playwright will receive a cash award of $250, a staged reading by the JCC Metrowest Teen Production Company. Interested playwrights should follow the submission guidelines and choose TYA in the category field.

ABOUT THE JCC: JCC MetroWest’s vision is to be the premier Jewish social, recreational, cultural and educational center that serves the entire MetroWest community and inspires every individual to explore the boundless potential of Judaism. We will be a welcoming Jewish neighborhood that links every Jew to the home, the community, and the rest of the Jewish world.
www.jccmetrowest.org

ABOUT THE JEWISH PLAYS PROJECT: The Jewish Plays Project is a development house for 21st Century Jewish theater. We seek to ignite an explosive engagement between cutting-edge theater artists and Jewish audiences by developing and advocating for a new generation of plays and musicals that embrace and investigate the intersection of Jewish identity and secular self.
www.jewishplaysproject.org

QUESTIONS? CONTACT:
Ben Kamine
Resident Director, Jewish Plays Project
ben@jewishplaysproject.org
347.878.5771

Carol Berman
Director, Gaelen Center for the Arts
cberman@jccmetrowest.org
973.530.3421