• encourage playwriting instruction by middle and high school teachers
• enrich writing experiences in the classroom through the use of improvisation and creative dramatics
• expose students to theater and playwriting in an active, creative way
• use theater to improve other important skills, such as critical thinking, writing, self-expression, and teamwork
• explore theatrical performance as a way of publishing student work, improving literacy skills, building self-confidence, and enriching positive community

Arena Stage invites D.C. metro-area students between the 5th and 12th grades to enter an original ten-minute play into the 2009 Student Playwrights Project Ten-Minute Play Competition. Plays must be received no later than Friday, December 5, 2008.

Awards for winning playwrights:

• Up to ten winners workshop their plays with professional playwrights, directors, and dramaturgs
• Winning plays are performed by professional actors in February
• Winning playwrights receive a $500 cash prize
• Honorable Mention plays receive staged readings by professional actors

Playwrights:

• Playwrights must be students in 5th through 12th grades
• Students must attend school in the District of Columbia, the City of Alexandria, or one of the following counties: Loudoun, Prince William, Fairfax, Arlington, Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s, or St. Mary’s. Home schooled students must be residents of D.C., Alexandria, or one of the listed counties

Requirements:

• Plays must be the original, unpublished work of one playwright. Pieces written by more than one student will not be accepted.
• Suggested length is 6-12 pages; plays longer than 15 pages will not be read.

NEW THIS YEAR: All submissions must include an Arena Stage cover sheet, which may be downloaded here >
Plays will not be accepted without a cover sheet.

• All plays must be typed, double-spaced, in 12 pt. font, with page numbers.
• The title of the play and the playwright’s grade should be listed on each page of the play.
• The playwright’s name, contact information, or school should not appear anywhere on the play except the cover sheet.

Mail three (3) copies of the play with the cover sheet attached to the top copy to:
           
Student Playwrights Project
Arena Stage – Community Engagement Division
1101 Sixth Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024

Entries must be received by 5:00 pm on Friday, December 5, 2008 to be eligible for competition. Submitted scripts will not be returned. If you would like to confirm receipt of your submission, please enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard. Please do not call about the status of your play. Winners will be notified by Arena Stage and the list posted online in January.

For more information, please call (202) 234-5782 or email education@arenastage.org.

Watch video performances of the 2005 winning plays on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage >

There are several other ways for teachers and students to participate in the Student Playwrights Project.

ONE-TIME INTERACTIVE PLAYWRITING WORKSHOP FOR STUDENTS

Teachers whose schools are located inside the Capital Beltway may schedule a one-time interactive playwriting workshop with an Arena Stage theater-educator to help prepare students to write a ten-minute play. 45-minute workshops may be scheduled to take place between October 27 and November 25, 2008. Workshops are limited to 30 students and are FREE as long as at least ten students submit an entry to Arena’s annual ten-minute play competition (details below). We are sorry that we cannot accommodate free workshop requests from schools located outside the Capital Beltway. If your school is not Metro-accessible, you may be asked to provide transportation from the nearest Metro station. Call (202) 234-5782 or email education@arenastage.org after October 1 to arrange a workshop.

We are recruiting middle and high school teachers (grades 6 -12) to be Partner Teachers in our intensive year-long program. Applications are due September 12, 2008.

In the fall: An Arena Stage-trained teaching artist works with students to explore the art of
writing a ten-minute play. Students then write individual ten-minute plays to submit to Arena’s annual competition.

In the spring: The teaching artist works with the same class as a group to devise and rehearse a
collaborative ten-minute play, which the class then performs at the Student Playwrights Project Showcase in April.

PARTNER TEACHERS WILL RECEIVE:

• A year-long partnership with Arena Stage.
• An Arena-trained teaching artist in your classroom to work with you and your students directly. The teaching artist will come to your classroom for approximately 18 visits between October and May. You and your teaching artist will determine the schedule. The teaching artist will direct the students in a student-written, student-performed piece. The plays will be performed in a final Showcase on April 20 and 21, 2009 (location TBA).
• Professional development workshops on playwriting, creative dramatics, improvisation, and directing. Workshops are taught by professional artists and Arena Stage education staff. (See calendar for required workshop dates.) Training may be eligible for professional credit or re-certification hours.
• A 150-page Student Playwrights Project Handbook, complete with lesson plans, theory, and resources. Teachers also receive a copy of Viola Spolin’s Improvisation for the Theater, Will Weigler’s Strategies for Playbuilding: Helping Groups Translate Issues into Theatre, and Michael Rohd’s Theatre for Community, Conflict & Dialogue: The Hope is Vital Training Manual.
• Theater tickets for your class to see a weekday matinee of an Arena Stage production in the fall. Teachers are responsible for arranging transportation.

REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING TEACHERS:

• Meet with your assigned Teaching Artist in person or by phone to schedule visits and to plan.
• Plan to devote 20-25 hours/class periods throughout the year to have the Teaching Artist lead an ongoing exploration of theater and playwriting in your classroom.
• Be present in the classroom and involved as a participant in the activities presented by the Teaching Artist, since teacher participation provides a strong positive model for students. Student teachers are welcome to participate, but they cannot substitute. You, the classroom teacher must be present when the Teaching Artist is working in the classroom.
• Ensure that each student completes an individual ten-minute play and submits it to the Competition.
• Ensure that students are prepared to participate (lines & blocking memorized) in the final performance Showcase (location TBA).
• Attend all required professional development workshops.
• Arrange transportation for Arena Stage fieldtrips to ensure students’ participation.
• Continue the work on playwriting or rehearsal between Teaching Artist visits. You may be dropped from the program if the Teaching Artist reports that nothing has been done in the classroom between visits.

If selected as a Partner Teacher, you must commit to all aspects of the program.

The cost per teacher application to participate in the Student Playwrights Project is $300.

Download the application to be a 2008/2009 Partner Teacher >

For more information call (202) 234-5782 or email education@arenastage.org.

APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED AT ARENA STAGE NO LATER THAN 5:00 PM ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12.

Arena Stage is recruiting university students to serve as teaching artists-in-residence and to represent Arena Stage in local middle or high school classrooms for the 2008-2009 school year.

Requirements:

• Applicants must have a theater or education major/minor/background.
• Applicants must be juniors, seniors, or graduate students. 
• Applicants must be available to attend all trainings, theater performances, and the final showcase. 
• Applicants must be available to work with one classroom for a minimum of 18 visits from October through April. 
• Applicants must be able to provide own transportation.

Preferences: Experience and/or education in playwriting, directing, and teaching youth.  Persons of color encouraged to apply.

Download more information or apply to be a teaching arist-in-residence >