2010 New Plays Festival Writers' Guidelines
1. We are looking for original work, preferably by new playwrights. We will only accept plays that have not been performed in front of a paying audience as of April 1, 2010*. Published plays are not eligible, nor are plays that have won awards. Our goal is to encourage new playwrights.
2. We are awarding 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place prizes. First Place prize will be $100; Second Place prize will be $50; and Third Place prize will be $25
3. Playwrights must pay a $5 reading fee for each play submitted. We will accept check or money order; please make fee payable to “Stormy Weather Players.” We are also accepting fees submitted through PAYPAL (see info further on). There are no contractual obligations or royalties paid to playwrights whose works are selected for the Festival.
4. While plays with running lengths of 10-15 minutes are preferred, we are accepting plays up to 30 minutes in length (30 pages playwright format).
5. There is no restriction on subject matter. However, we are looking for plays that have a broad appeal. Please exercise caution when using violence, obscenity, etc.—make sure it is artistically justified.
6. Up to 8 plays will be selected by our committee for performance in the Festival, to be held July 30 and 31, 2010. Each play will be performed twice. The audience is provided with a voting ballot, by which they vote for their favorite plays of the evening. Votes for the plays are tallied across all performances to determine First, Second, and Third place winners. The ballots also include feedback forms. We collect and collate the forms, and feedback will be provided to the winning playwrights via e-mail.
7. Simple staging requirements, including basic props and sets, will be accommodated.
8. Playwrights are invited to attend the production. The selected playwrights will be entitled to two free tickets to the Festival, Playwrights unable to attend can, of course, pass their tickets on to someone else. The Festival is held in Orange County, New York, which is in the Hudson Valley Area.
9. We ask that you include a short biographical sketch of yourself with your submission. Tell us what you do for a living, your writing background and aspirations, how you heard about the Festival, or anything else you think the audience might find interesting. We will make every effort to put these bios in the program, though we may need to edit them for length. Please also include contact information, including name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address.
10. Please mail your entries to the address below postmarked on or before April 1, 2010. Entries postmarked after the deadline will not be considered for the competition. Please include two copies of each play. Stormy Weather Players will acknowledge receipt of your play via e-mail. All plays will be shredded at the conclusion of the Festival, unless we receive a request for return, and a return envelope with sufficient postage. We are not responsible for lost, damaged or delayed mail.
11. While all selected plays will be performed, casting is subject to performer availability with regard to gender, ethnicity, and age.
12. Playwrights should be aware that Stormy Weather Players reserves the right to videotape performances for archival and review purposes. These recordings will not be sold or distributed.
Please send your entries to:
Stormy Weather Players, Inc
c/o Stephen Sywak, New Plays Festival Co-Producer
P.O. Box 506
Cornwall, NY 12518
Stormy Weather Players is also accepting electronic submittal of plays.
Electronic submittal requirements are, of course, slightly different:
1. Please save your play to PDF format. This will insure that your play will print out as intended, and also protects your play against modification (not that we would modify it; but in general). Plays in DOC formats are acceptable, but PDF is strongly preferred. Plays in TXT and EPS formats will NOT be accepted due to formatting and readability concerns.
2. The fee for electronically submitted plays is $5 per play submitted. Stormy Weather Players is accepting payment through PAYPAL. The payment address for PAYPAL is the same as the submittal address:
SWP_NEWPLAYSFESTIVAL@YAHOO.COM
The two Festival Co-Producers are:
Stephen Sywak (boothby171@yahoo.com)
Ellie Sywak (elizabeth_sywak@brown.edu)
Please feel free to contact us for any additional information
* If your play goes into production after April 1st, wins awards, gets published, makes you a million bucks, etc., then it will still be considered for the Festival, without bias.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2009 New Plays Festival
First Place: "How Nice of You to Ask" by Rich Rubin
Second Place: "Remote Control" by Connie Schindewolf
Third Place: "(procreative) SEX!" by Micah McCoy
Congratulations to the 8 semi-finalists
"(procreative) SEX" by Micah McCoy
"How Nice of You to Ask" by Rich Rubin
"Washout" by Connie Schindewolf
"Waiting for Bobby" by Mollie Ramos
"Biff & Blanche" by John M. Twomey
"ME" by Maia Akiva
"Pelicans" by Ellen Prescott
"Remote Control" by Connie Schindewolf
2009 New Plays Festival Writers' Guidelines
1. We are looking for original work preferably by new playwrights. We will only accept plays that have not been performed in front of a paying audience as of April 25, 2009*. Published plays are not eligible, nor are plays that have won awards. Our goal is to encourage new playwrights.
2. We are awarding 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place prizes. First Place prize will be $100; Second Place prize will be $50; and Third Place prize will be $25.
3. Playwrights must pay a $5 reading fee for each play submitted. We will accept check or money order; please make fee payable to “Stormy Weather Players.” There are no contractual obligations or royalties paid to playwrights whose works are selected for the Festival.
4. While plays with running lengths of 10-15 minutes are preferred, we are accepting plays up to 30 minutes in length (30 pages playwright format).
5. There is no restriction on subject matter. However, we are looking for plays that have a broad appeal. Please exercise caution when using violence, obscenity, etc. -- make sure it is artistically justified.
6. Up to 8 plays will be selected by our committee for performance in the Festival, to be held July 24 and 25, 2009. Each play will be performed twice. The audience is provided with a voting ballot, by which they vote for their favorite plays of the evening. Votes for the plays are tallied across all performances to determine First, Second, and Third place winners. The ballots also include feedback forms. We collect and collate the forms, and feedback will be provided to the winning playwrights via e-mail.
7. Simple staging requirements, including basic props and sets, will be accommodated.
8. Playwrights are invited to attend the production. The selected playwrights will be entitled to two free tickets to the Festival on the evening their work is staged. Playwrights unable to attend can, of course, pass their tickets on to someone else. The Festival is held in Orange County, New York, which is in the Hudson Valley Area.
9. You should include a short biographical sketch of yourself with your submission. Tell us what you do for a living, your writing background and aspirations, how you heard about the Festival, or anything else you think the audience might find interesting. We will make every effort to put these bios in the program, though we may need to edit them for length. Please also include contact information, including name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address.
10. Please mail your entries to the address below postmarked on or before April 25, 2009. Entries postmarked after the deadline will not be considered for the competition. Please include two copies of each play. Stormy Weather Players will acknowledge receipt of your play via e-mail. All plays will be shredded at the conclusion of the Festival, unless we receive a request for return, and a return envelope with sufficient postage. We are not responsible for lost, damaged or delayed mail.
11. While all selected plays will be performed, casting is subject to performer availability with regard to gender, ethnicity, and age.
12. Playwrights should be aware that Stormy Weather Players reserves the right to videotape performances for archival and review purposes. These recordings will not be sold or distributed.
Please send your entries to:
Stormy Weather Players, Inc
c/o Stephen Sywak, New Plays Festival Co-Producer
P.O. Box 506
Cornwall, NY 12518
Stormy Weather Players is also accepting electronic submittal of plays. Submittal requirements are, of course, slightly different:
1. Please save your play to PDF format. This will insure that your play will print out as intended, and also protects your play against modification (not that we would modify it; but in general). Plays in DOC format are acceptable, but PDF is strongly preferred. Plays in TXT, RTF, and EPS formats will NOT be accepted due to formatting and readability concerns.
The fee for electronically submitted plays is now $5 per play submitted. Currently, Stormy Weather Players is only accepting payment through PAYPAL. The payment address for PAYPAL is the same as the submittal address:
SWP_NEWPLAYSFESTIVAL@YAHOO.COM
The two Festival Co-Producers are:
Stephen Sywak (ssywak@hvc.rr.com)
and Peggy LaRose (mlarose@hvc.rr.com)
Please feel free to contact us for any additional information
* If your play goes into production after April 25th, wins awards, gets published, makes you a million bucks, etc., then it will still be considered for the Festival, without bias.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2008 New Plays Festival:
1st Place “Fit for Love” by Carl L. Williams
2nd Place "Where Trails Lead" by Carl L Williams
3rd Place "Buried at Sea" by Joe Musso
The eight plays that have been selected as finalists are (in no particular order):
Carl S Williams: Fit for Love
Judy Klass: The Child is the Mother of the Woman
S A Consodine: Maternal Instincts
Joe Musso: Buried at Sea
Mary Owens: Taking the Stick
Edward Versailles: Nobody Sells Carpet Like Bill
Carl S Williams: Where Trails Lead
Gabrielle Fox: Google
Congratulations to all the finalists
2008 New Plays Festival Writers' Guidelines
1. We are looking for original work preferably by new playwrights. We will only accept plays that have not been performed in front of a paying audience as of April 30, 2008*. Published plays are not eligible, nor are plays that have won awards. Our goal is to encourage new playwrights.
2. We are awarding 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place prizes. First Place prize will be $100; Second Place prize will be $50; and Third Place prize will be $25.
3. Playwrights must pay a $5 reading fee for each play submitted. We will accept checks or money orders; please make fee payable to “Stormy Weather Players.” There are no contractual obligations or royalties paid to playwrights whose works are selected for the Festival. 4. While plays with running lengths of 10-15 minutes are preferred, we are accepting plays up to 30 minutes in length (30 pages playwright format). 5. There is no restriction on subject matter. However, we are looking for plays that have a broad appeal. Please exercise caution when using violence, obscenity, etc. -- make sure it is artistically justified. 6. Up to 8 plays will be selected by our committee for performance in the Festival, to be held across multiple dates in July, 2008. Each play will be performed twice. The audience is provided with a voting ballot, by which they vote for their favorite plays of the evening. Votes for the plays are tallied across all performances to determine First, Second, and Third place winners. The ballots also include feedback forms. We collect and collate the forms, and feedback will be provided to the winning playwrights via e-mail. 7. Simple staging requirements, including basic props and sets, will be accommodated. 8. Playwrights are invited to attend the production. The selected playwrights will be entitled to two free tickets to the Festival on the evening their work is staged. Playwrights unable to attend can, of course, pass their tickets on to someone else. The Festival is held in Orange County, New York, which is in the Hudson Valley Area. 9. You should include a short biographical sketch of yourself with your submission. Tell us what you do for a living, your writing background and aspirations, how you heard about the Festival, or anything else you think the audience might find interesting. Please also include contact information, including name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address. 10. Please mail your entries to the address below postmarked on or before April 30, 2008. Entries postmarked after the deadline will not be considered for the competition. Please include two copies of each play. Stormy Weather Players will acknowledge receipt of your play via e-mail. All plays will be shredded at the conclusion of the Festival, unless we receive a request for return, and a return envelope with sufficient postage. We are not responsible for lost, damaged or delayed mail. 11. While all selected plays will be performed, casting is subject to performer availability with regard to gender, ethnicity, and age. 12. Playwrights should be aware that Stormy Weather Players reserves the right to videotape performances for archival and review purposes. These recordings will not be sold or distributed.Please send your entries to: Stormy Weather Players, Inc
c/o Stephen Sywak, New Plays Festival Co-Producer
P.O. Box 506
Cornwall, NY 12518
This year, Stormy Weather Players IS accepting electronic submittal of plays. Submittal requirements are, of course, slightly different: 1. Please save your play to PDF format. This will insure that your play will print out as intended, and also protects your play against modification (not that we would modify it; but in general). Plays in DOC format are acceptable, but PDF is strongly preferred. Plays in TXT and RTF formats will NOT be accepted (due to formatting concerns)
2. The fee for electronically submitted plays is $7.50, per play submitted. This covers the added expense of our printing copies of the play for distribution to the selection committee. At this point in time Stormy Weather Players is only accepting payment through PAYPAL. The payment address for PAYPAL is the same as the submittal address:
SWP_NEWPLAYSFESTIVAL@YAHOO.COM
The two Festival Co-Producers are:
Stephen Sywak (sywaks@asme.org)
and Peggy LaRose (mlarose@hvc.rr.com)
Please feel free to contact us for any additional information
* If your play goes into production after April 30th, wins awards, gets published, makes you a million bucks, etc., then it will still be considered for the Festival, without bias.
2007 New Plays Festival
The winners are:1st Place:
Resurrection for Dummies, by Rhea MacCullum
2nd Place:
The Magician and the Memory, by Michael Vukadinovich
3rd Place:
Teaching Juliet, by R. Douglas Madsen
Congratulations to the winners and the finalists
The eight plays that have been selected as finalists are (in alphabetical order): Everyone Gets a Chance, by Alli Charles
Flashes, by Tom Tunnington
A Good Deed, by Jim Gordon
Huck Finds the Raft, by Michael Burgan
In the Trap, by Carl L. Williams
The Magician and the Memory, by Michael Vukadinovich
Resurrection for Dummies, by Rhea MacCallum
Teaching Juliet, by R. Douglas Madsen
The performances will be at Munger Cottage, in Cornwall, NY, on Friday and Saturday, August 24 and 25, 2007, at 8:00 pm. All eight plays will be presented on both nights. Ballots will be provided to our audience so that they may vote for their favorite plays.
Admission is free.
Donations are welcome.
We are now accepting entries for 2007 Pregnant Chad New Plays Festival
2007 Writers' Guidelines
1. We are looking for original work preferably by new playwrights. We will only accept plays that have not been performed in front of a paying audience as of March 31, 2007*. Published plays are not eligible, nor are plays that have won awards. Our goal is to encourage new playwrights.
2. We are awarding 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place prizes. First Place prize will be $100; Second Place prize will be $50; and Third Place prize will be $25.
3. Playwrights must pay a $5 reading fee for each play submitted. We will accept checks or money orders; please make fee payable to “Stormy Weather Players.” There are no contractual obligations or royalties paid to playwrights whose works are selected for the Festival.
4. While plays with running lengths of 10-15 minutes are preferred, we are accepting plays up to 30 minutes in length (30 pages playwright format).
5. There is no restriction on subject matter. However, we are looking for plays that have a broad appeal. Please exercise caution when using violence, obscenity, etc. -- make sure it is artistically justified.
6. Up to 8 plays will be selected by our committee for performance in the Festival, to be held across multiple dates in July or August 2007. Each play will be performed twice. The audience is provided with a voting ballot, by which they vote for their favorite plays of the evening. Votes for the plays are tallied across all performances to determine First, Second, and Third place winners. The ballots also include feedback forms. We collect and collate the forms, and feedback will be provided to the playwrights via e-mail.
7. Simple staging requirements, including basic props and sets, will be accommodated.
8. Playwrights are invited to attend the production. The selected playwrights will be entitled to two free tickets to the Festival on the evening their work is staged. Playwrights unable to attend can, of course, pass their tickets on to someone else. The Festival is held in Orange County, New York, which is in the Hudson Valley Area.
9. You should include a short biographical sketch of yourself with your submission. Tell us what you do for a living, your writing background and aspirations, how you heard about the Festival, or anything else you think the audience might find interesting. Please also include contact information, including name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address.
10. Please mail your entries to the address below postmarked on or before March 31, 2007. Entries postmarked after the deadline will not be considered for the competition. Please include two copies of each play. Stormy Weather Players will acknowledge receipt of your play via e-mail. All plays will be shredded at the conclusion of the Festival, unless we receive a request for return, and a return envelope with sufficient postage. We are not responsible for lost, damaged or delayed mail.
11. While all selected plays will be performed, casting is subject to performer availability with regard to gender, ethnicity, and age.
12. Playwrights should be aware that Stormy Weather Players reserves the right to videotape performances for archival and review purposes. These recordings will not be sold or distributed.
Please send your entries to: Stormy Weather Players, Inc C/O Stephen Sywak, New Plays Festival Co-Producer
P.O. Box 506
Cornwall, NY 12518 USA We are NOT accepting electronic submission of plays (e-mailed submissions) The two Festival Co-Producers are: Stephen Sywak (sywaks@asme.org)
and Brian Fiorio (btf53@hotmail.com)
Please feel free to contact us for any additional information
*This particular guideline has been a point of contention with many new playwrights. Previous years’ guidelines referred to plays that were “professionally produced,” which may have added to the confusion. As stated, our goal is to provide a venue for new playwrights. We do not, however, want to spend an inordinate amount of time “policing” playwrights in an attempt to discover what’s been produced, or who’s been paid for what level of production. Simply put: there goes the $5 per play entry fee! In the past, we’ve actually had people e-mail us with links to festivals, revealing that this play or that is being presented to a paying audience. While we’ve appreciated the help, there’s still a bit of a “1984” feeling about it. We’d love to avoid situations like that, ourselves. We will continue to rely on the playwrights letting us know if one of their entries has been produced elsewhere in front of a paying audience. And, we will also run a quick search on the Internet on or about April 1st, just to check. As Ronald Reagan once said, “Trust…but verify.” If your play goes into production after March 31st, wins awards, gets published, makes you a million bucks, etc., then it will still be considered for the Festival, without bias.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2006 Pregnant Chad New Plays Festival!!!
1st Place:“Interrupted Memories” by M. John Bohane 2nd Place:
“A Street Car Named St. Charles” by Molly Ramos 3rd Place:
“Pierced” by Audrey Cefaly
Past Programs