Shakespeare's New Contemporaries - Cycle 4

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Deadline: November 18, 2020

SUBMISSION 

Shakespeare’s New Contemporaries is a groundbreaking, industry-changing undertaking that is discovering, developing, and producing a new canon of 38 plays that are inspired by and in conversation with Shakespeare’s work.  It’s an opportunity for playwrights of every background, perspective, and style to engage with Shakespeare and his stage practices. It’s our chance to bring living writers into the world’s only re-creation of Shakespeare’s indoor theatre: the Blackfriars Playhouse.

Playwrights get: a world premiere production of their play; $25,000 prize; travel and housing for the rehearsal and development process.

We’re looking for: unproduced plays that engage with Shakespeare’s work and embrace Shakespeare’s staging conditions.

BEFORE APPLYING, CONFIRM THAT YOUR PLAY MEETS OUR QUALIFICATIONS:

• The play must be able to performed with a cast of 10-12 actors.
• The play must be able to be performed with minimal sets.
• The play must be able to be performed with universal (shared) lighting.
• The play must be able to be performed with any and all music and sound effects created in real time, unplugged, and by members of the acting troupe.
• The play must be 2(ish) hours long.
• The play must be inspired by or in conversation with As You Like It, Henry VI (any/all parts), Romeo and Juliet, and Troilus and Cressida.
• The play must have not yet had a professional production. (Questions about this? Shoot us an e-mail).

PREPARE YOUR APPLICATION:

• To smoothly navigate the process, we encourage you to prepare your materials before beginning the application. To that end:
• Remove your name and any contact information from the script. Remove any agent or representation’s name and contact information from the script.
• Include a Character Breakdown at the start of the script. The breakdown must include age and gender and may include any other information you’d like us to know. If your play contains more than 12 characters, please be sure to include information about actor doubling.
• Title the document with the title of your play.
• Save your script as a PDF or Word document.

PREPARE THE APPLICATION FORM:

In addition to contact information and basic information about the play, you will also be asked for answers to the following questions. (Please note: each question has a 4,000 character limit – including spaces):

• Playwright bio.
• How does your play respond to Shakespeare’s play?
• In what ways does your play engage with Shakespeare’s Staging Conditions?
• Optional: Play History: If your play has had any development or production history, please briefly tell us about it.