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Wednesday, August 5, 2020

‘Hear Me Out’ New American Monologue Competition Festival

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Deadline: August 15, 2020 Noon EDT
‘Hear Me Out’ New American Monologue Competition.
Labor Day, 2020. Festival Theme: ‘Me & My Masks’

All writers who consider themselves American are invited to submit one monologue on this year’s festival theme ‘Me & My Masks’ to compete for $5,000 in prizes and a shot at being named one of the 12 Finalist Winners which will premiere in a special Labor Day event open to the public and held entirely online via Zoom. The top cash prizes will be selected and awarded by an elite panel of judges including playwrights Kia Corthron, Gary Garrison, Julie Jensen, Kate Snodgrass and Doug Wright.

On Monday, September 7th, 2020, Roland Tec and Pinkplot Productions will host an online festival of monologues on the theme ‘Me & My Masks.’ All writers considering themselves American are invited to submit one monologue on this subject, not to exceed 4 pages or 2,000 words in length. Only one submission will be accepted from each writer.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Saturday, August 15th at Noon, EDT.

Monologues will be judged by a circle of theatre professionals on the following criteria:

Does the character speaking feel fully realized and authentically human?

Is this a monologue rather than just a story, the distinction being that in a monologue, the speaker’s intention drives the language from beginning to end. The person speaking is speaking for a reason, beyond the simple telling of a story.

Does the monologue relate in some way to the theme of the festival, “Me and My Masks?” Please note: The festival theme is intentionally open-ended. You may use the word “mask” literally or figuratively. Please consider the festival theme to be a point of departure, provided as your inspiration for your own wholly original creation. There is no need to incorporate any specific words or language into your entry. Please remember: the best monologues are born of a specific character in a specific situation speaking to a specific person or group of people.

Selection and Public Presentation:

Twelve monologues will be selected for online presentation at the September 7th Festival Event. From these twelve, three prizes will be awarded: The Golden Mask, The Silver Mask and the Bronze Mask. A Special Prize for the Most Daring Monologue will also be announced at the event. Audience capacity at this Labor Day Zoom Event will be capped at 250. Monday, September 7th at 6PM, EDT via Zoom.

In the tradition of so many great playwrights who began as actors, you are strongly encouraged to perform your own monologue. However if you’re absolutely terrified of this, you may bring your favorite actor friend to perform it for you or if that’s not feasible either you may indicate that you prefer we cast your monologue. (If you choose to leave the casting to us, monologues will be assigned to seasoned professional actors who will work on the material alone. If you wish to give notes to your actor before the presentation on September 7th, you may request a private YouTube video of your actor reading the monologue after which you may email notes. But actors who are generously giving their time to this experiment will not be allowed to enter into a formal rehearsal process.)

The 12 Competition Finalists’ entries will be assembled into a PDF and will be distributed to university theatre departments and conservatory training programs.

Regardless of whether your submission is chosen for the Labor Day presentation, all writers are encouraged to submit a video recording of their entry. All writer-created videos will be posted on a designated YouTube channel along with a link to the writer’s website or agent/representative email.

If you submit a monologue to the competition you’re strongly encouraged to attend the Labor Day Festival.

If your monologue is selected as one of the 12 Competition Finalists, your attendance at the September 7th Premiere (held online via Zoom) is mandatory. Any writer failing to attend the September 7th event will forfeit their position as one of the 12 Competition Finalists.


SUBMISSION DEADLINE: August 15, 2020, Noon, EST.

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