The 2011 New Works Festival Committee is looking for new works by New England-area playwrights and will be accepting full-length, one–act (30-60 minutes) and 10-minute plays. The Firehouse Center, located in Market Square, Newburyport; will run the four-day Festival over two weekends: January 21-22 and January 28-29, 2011.
All works will be judged by a panel of five judges who are selected from the New England theatrical community. The Festival will then be comprised of a combination of shorts, one-act plays and full lengths selected from the submitted plays that are deemed strongest by the judges. During the Festival the full-length plays will be staged readings while the others will be memorized. All submissions must be post-marked, or hand-delivered to Firehouse Center, Market Square, Newburyport, MA 01950; or e-mailed (ONLY 10-minutes plays may be e-mailed please!) to info@firehouse.org by July 18, 2010. Prizes will be awarded for those plays selected as Best Full Length ($150.00), Best One-Act ($75.00), and Best 10-Minute ($75.00).
Since 2002, the Firehouse Center for the Arts and the New Works Festival have fostered the development of local theater companies, writers, directors, and actors. Providing insight on the playwriting process from conception to presentation, this festival allows us to share with the community a rare and special look at the abundant talent in New England. The intimacy of the Firehouse’s 195-seat venue means that a writer can be ‘up-close and personal’, both with audience members to judge their reactions to the new works first-hand, and with the actors on stage. In addition, the Firehouse theater staff handles the production details smoothly and with dispatch. “As a writer, I felt respected and honored. The Firehouse Center is a lot more professional in this regard than many larger outfits in larger markets that I've encountered in my career,” says Joe Byers, whose ten-minute play “Tater” was directed by Diana Kerry at the 2009Festival.
For more information and to download Submission Guidelines and an application please go online at www.firehouse.org.
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