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Monday, October 6, 2014

Jewish Plays Project

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David Winitsky (Artistic Director) and Jeremy Stoller (Resident Dramaturg) are excited to announce the opening of Project Submissions for the 2015 Jewish Plays Project Season.

Artists can submit projects to be for considered for the Jewish Playwriting Contest, our competition for full-length plays dealing with contemporary Jewish themes; for OPEN: Festival of New Jewish Theater at the 14th Street Y; and other developmental and advocacy opportunities as they arise.

The JPP has advanced 20 new plays, 9 of which have gone on to production in New York, Boston, Detroit, Tel Aviv and around the US (see www.jewishplaysproject.org/success for more). Together with the OPEN Festival, the JPP has featured some of the country’s most exciting next-generation artists (Daniella Topol, Robert Askins, Brooke Berman, Jonathan Caren, Lauren Feldman, Resident Director Benjamin Kamine, and tons of others). 

IMPORTANT NOTE: SUBMISSIONS ARE 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.

CONTENT PREFERENCES: The JPP seeks plays that find the intersection between Jewish identity and global self. 

We want to look at the places where Jewish ideas, traditions, stories, myths, culture (and yes, religion) impact, inform, and hopefully improve our lives. 

While we value history, we will always lean toward plays that tackle vibrant strands of today’s world: social justice, economic justice, diversity, strong women in Jewish life, LGBTQ inclusion, new perspectives on Israel, environmentalism, and interfaith relations.

Be bold. Think differently about what Jewish theater can be. Strive for epic size and impact. Embrace the emotional, mystical, the theatrical. Tackle the challenging, the controversial, the provocative. We are unafraid to walk these roads with you. 

SUBMISSION: Entries are due by October 9, 2014 at 6 pm. Each submitting playwright must fill out the Project 

Application form (www.jewishplaysproject.org/submit). Playwrights will upload their play to the form as a PDF with their name removed (all plays are reviewed blind). There is no fee to submit, but there is a one (1) submission per person rule.

ELIGIBILITY: Full-length plays that deal with contemporary 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 is in English. (We welcome translations).

3. It is not a Holocaust play (stories that deal directly with the history of the Shoah, its survivors and their children).

4. It contains significant Jewish themes, characters, content, or points of view.

5. It does NOT fall into the beloved category of "ethnically stereotypical comedy" (No 'Yiddishemammeh" plays, no "My Afternoon With Bubbe", no "Jewtopia")

6. It has not had a full production in the NY Metro region, or a major regional theater (LORT C or above).

7. It has not been published in any country or language. 

SELECTION PROCESS:

Every submitted play is read by 2 reviewers from our 50-member Artist Panel. 

Plays submitted to the 4th Annual Jewish Playwriting Contest: The Contest strives to engage a broad audience in a discussion of what new Jewish theater should be; more than 500 people in as many as 10 cities will take part in the process. (learn more here: www.jewishplaysproject.org/jpc). 

The Top 10 Finalists will be announced in January, 2015. The winning play will receive a workshop production as part of the JPP’s 4th OPEN Festival of new Jewish theater at the 14th Street Y in June of 2015, including artist travel to New York. 

Plays Not Submitted to the Contest:

Senior JPP artistic staff and advisors will review non-Contest project submissions, submissions by agents and managers, and work by recent alumni of major graduate writing programs for consideration for other developmental opportunities, including:

OPEN: Festival of New Jewish Theater at the 14th Street Y

A limited number of projects, subject to available resources will appear in OPEN along with the Contest Winner.

Renegade Reading Series: a periodic, as-needed in-house reading series for plays that spark the JPP’s interest. 

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: The JPP specializes in what we call Jewish Dramaturgy. We base our exploration of the theatrical needs of a play around the central issue of its Jewish content and ideas, continuing to ask the question “What is the Jewish here?” When possible, we will bring prominent Jewish thought leaders (clergy, scholars, professionals and artists) into the room to join the development process, and extend the Jewish learning. This specific intentionality is what distinguishes the JPP from other high-level new play development houses.

MUSICALS: The JPP is preparing to work more with musicals. Because of its format, they cannot be directly entered into the Contest, but we are eager to survey the field, and to provide development opportunities in the future. We invite you to submit your musical and select the “Non-Contest Submission” tag. We will contact you when and if future opportunities arise. 

REPEAT SUBMISSIONS: Plays that were submitted to the 2012-2014 Contests ARE eligible (with the exception of  the previous year’s winners). We operate on the principle of “passionate advocacy” developed by the Lark – if your play hits the right chord with the right reader, it can go far. Give us a chance to be passionate advocates for your play. Throughout the year, we communicate with theaters and producers all over the country, and pitch the heck out of the scripts we love.

ABOUT THE JEWISH PLAYS PROJECT: The Jewish Plays Project puts bold, progressive Jewish conversations on world stages. The JPP’s innovative and competitive development vehicle invests emerging artists in their Jewish identity; engages Jewish communities in the vetting, selecting and championing of new voices; and secures mainstream production opportunities for the best new plays.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

David Winitsky
Artistic Director 

Jeremy Stoller
Resident Dramaturg & Contest Producer

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