Winchester theater holding playwright competition

More Information For more information, contact Winchester Little Theatre at 662-3331, wlt@wltonline.org or www.wltonline.org. Do not include the title or subject matter of submissions in any e-mail regarding questions about the competition. Competition guidelines Who: Virginia residents. Students of Virginia colleges and universities. Those residing within a 50-mile radius of Winchester. What: The New Virginia Voices’ Playwright Competition will honor one first-place winner with $350 and the staged production of a manuscript; the second-place winner will receive $150, and two honorable mentions will receive $50 each. Manuscripts must be original and not based on other sources and be unpublished, nonmusical and unperformed; preference will be given to works without gratuitous language or “adult” material. Performed work should be one hour or more in length and contain six or fewer characters; multiple roles are allowed if doubling is feasible and consistent with overall flow of performance. The set should be minimal or easily suggested. Manuscripts must be typed and preferably stapled or in a reasonably sized binder; no loose pages or diskettes will be accepted. When: Submissions must be postmarked by Aug. 1, and early submissions are encouraged. The winning play will be produced by WLT Jan. 12-22, 2011. Where: Submissions should be mailed to the following address: New Virginia Voices’ Competition Winchester Little Theatre 315 W. Boscawen St. Winchester, VA 22601 E-mail questions to the following address, but do not include the title or subject matter of your submission in your e-mail: wlt@wltonline.org. More information can be found online at www.wltonline.org. How: An entry form and self-addressed, stamped post card should accompany each manuscript, and playwright’s name must not appear on any part of the manuscript. This will result in immediate disqualification. Entry forms are available online at www.wltonline.org. Manuscripts will be judged by number only and the winner notified by post card. Manuscripts will not be returned.

By Josette Keelor -- jkeelor@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER-- Community theater is important for the promotion of local arts, but participation by residents is just as necessary.

Creative input is exactly what Winchester Little Theatre is seeking in its latest venture, the New Virginia Voices' Playwright Competition.

The prize could spell an exciting future for the winner: A full-length play performed onstage next January.

The theater is accepting full-length stage plays postmarked by Aug. 1. The rewards for the winner are many, from the monetary prize -- $350 -- to recognition from the thespian community, but more important is the staged performance, said WLT board president Paul Bailey.

"The biggest fact is that we're going to produce it as our January play," Bailey said. It will be the same length as the theater's usual January play, he said.

Last year's 24-hour play, for which local playwrights gathered together to write, practice and perform a one-act play within the time span of 24 hours, was a big success, he said.

This year he and other board members wanted to encourage playwrights to submit full-length plays as well.

"We had some really great submissions," he said of last year's effort.

The 24-hour-play will not take place this year, but, he said, "We hope to bring that back next year."

The board members' busy schedules make it difficult for the volunteer theater to offer too many programs throughout the year, he said.

"That's the difficulty of theater, anymore, that we all have to work," he said.

"But, we want to promote the arts," he said, and the upcoming competition is "an effort to get more playwrights."

All Virginia residents and students at Virginia colleges and universities are eligible to compete; others who live within a 50-mile radius of Winchester also are welcome to submit their manuscripts. Playwrights are limited to two submissions, and manuscripts must be unpublished, nonmusical and unperformed, according to the competition guidelines.

The winner will gain not only recognition for his or her creative efforts but will also benefit from the experience of working alongside theater veterans.

"They coordinate with the theater and ... [will] be a major part of the entire process," Bailey said. He believes it will be an exciting experience for the playwright to work with the actors and crew. "We will have that symbiotic relationship."

Those new to the play writing experience might find that staging the play is difficult, he said, because they are restricted in the size of the stage and length of the performance.

Once they see it acted out, they might find a more effective way of plotting out certain ideas. This gives the playwright a greater opportunity in having the chance to see the script performed.

Contestants may submit any genre they wish, from comedy to drama, he said, which is consistent with the types of plays WLT generally performs throughout the year. Bailey said the volunteers try to get a good mix of genres.

"We're more intent on doing plays that the audience wants to see," he said. It's also more fun for the actors to have the chance to perform different types of characters, he said.

"A dramatic actor wants to do something meaty," he said.

The theater's main goal, though, is to provide for the community, whether for audience members or for volunteers. The more they have to work with, the better the experience will be for everyone.

The idea is "to have more people writing plays ... we want to produce," he said. "The play is the thing, as they say."