New Circle Theatre Company Announces L.B. Williams Playwriting Contest For BIPOC Writers

New Circle Theatre Company announced a new play contest for playwrights of color (including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, etc.) this week.

NCTC is a company devoted to the development of new American plays. In furthering the company's mission to, in part, "foster diversity and parity," within the company, an annual playwriting competition for BIPOC writers was created.

This contest is different from many out there in that the company is seeking not so much new plays as potential new members of the company who wish to work with them continuously in the future to develop their new plays.

The contest is named to honor the memory of L.B. Williams, an actor in the company who passed away in 2017. He loved working on new plays, whether as an actor, or in his wise critiques, and regularly attended the company's Monday night readings to do so. His last role was in the Academy Award Nominated Short My Nephew Emmett.

NCTC's development process includes a reading of new plays at company meetings on Monday nights, followed by a developmental workshop with a director and cast, and finally, an Equity Showcase production of the play in their small theatre space on West 44th St in New York City upon approval of the Leadership team.The goal and focus are to allow the playwright to achieve the best possible version of their script.

For this particular contest, the following rules apply:

1. Plays should be suitable for or even specifically written to be performed over Zoom or equivalent digital technology.

2. Plays should run no longer than 10-minutes.

3. Plays may be on any theme and in any style, but should not rely on complicated production values to make them work.

4. No musicals, children's shows, or adaptations accepted.

5. New work only that has not been produced (staged-readings okay).

6. Deadline: November 1, 2020. Plays should be sent via email as a PDF only to nctcsubmissions@gmail.com, with the writer's last name and L.B. Contest in the subject line. (Ex: "Smith L.B. Contest"). Winners will be announced in January.

7. Winning plays selected for production will result in a royalty payment to the writer of $100. Writers maintain full copyright of their work.

8. Winning plays will follow NCTC's development process: a Monday night reading, followed by a workshop, followed by production. During the COVID-19 pandemic, that process will be online. By submitting your play, you agree to participate actively in that process.

9. Questions regarding the contest should be sent to the email address in #6.

Curating the contest are director Keith Greer; Kimmarie Bowens, an actor and stage manager; and Jon Fraser, a playwright, who is on NCTC's Leadership Team.