Stage Left Announces DrekFest: Worstament 2010

Welcome to DrekFest: Worstament 2010, Stage Left's annual, national search for America's worst ten-minute play. The first contest of its kind (as far as we know!), DrekFest is on a mission to expose bad writing for what it really is: damn funny. DrekFest is also on a mission to expose the new-play development process for what it sometimes can be: pretty damn ridiculous.

For clarity's sake, we are not out to make fun of writers or those who love them! We what we are doing is asking good writers to intentionally write awful plays that make us laugh on the inside (especially if that's noted in the stage directions) - and out loud.

We are now accepting submissions for bad, bad ten-minute plays. For Worstament 2010, four plays will be read each night of the Semi-Finals on Monday, August 2 and 9. The worst 2 of each Semi-Final round as determined by audience vote will go on to the Finals on Monday, August 16, 2010. One of these will be chosen as the Grand Prize-winning Worst Play by the audience in attendance. All readings take place at The ComedySportz Theatre, 929 W. Belmont in Chicago.

Cash prizes will be given to all eight Semi-Finalists, as well as other highly coveted honors for the truly terrible. In addition to Worst Play, prizes that may be awarded by our panel of adjudicators include those for Worst Title, Worst Opening Line, Worst Stage Direction and Worst Character Name, among others.

As this is a devo-process spoof, all plays will be performed as staged readings with minimal or no tech, and all stage directions will be read aloud. For the Semi-Final rounds, we will bring back past Drekfest winning plays to show the audience how it's done poorly. For the Final round performances, the writers will join the panelists onstage for a mock critique (safe, and all in good fun!), during which the awards will be given. Previous panels have included theater critic and professor, Jonathan Abarbanel, Steppenwolf Managing Director David Schmitz, ComedySportz President and CEO Matt Elwell and nationally known playwright Mia McCullough.

Past DrekFest finalists include Chicago-area playwrights Steve Spencer (author of the acclaimed plays Another Day In The Empire and Camp Freedom!) and two-time champion Rob Kozlowski (whose prizewinning DrekFest plays include Wilhelm Ferguson, Nationally Renowned Playwright, in the Midst of the Production of his Holocaust Play The Holocaust, Falls in Love with a Wheelchair-Bound Vietnam Veteran with AIDS, Whose Name Remains Unknown, Like So Many Others Like Him, from DrekFest 1, and The Frenzied Beating of the Jungle Tom-Toms Once More, Once More, from DrekFest 2).

Stage Left is proud to partner with The ComedySportz Theatre for DrekFest: Worstament 2010. ComedySportz team members will be joining Stage Left and our guest directors in staging the eight semi-finalists.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

If it's not already painfully clear, we want the funny! Preference will be given to scripts that make us laugh. Here are the submission guidelines:

DEADLINE: Submissions must be received by Friday, June 25, 2010 (note, this is not postmark date, it is a "received by" date).

Plays must perform at ten minutes or less (remember that stage directions will be read aloud)
Maximum of 5 actors per script (however, write as many characters as you please). There are no limitations on genre or subject matter.

Even though we're spoofing the devo-process, plays do NOT need to about play development
And...even though Stage Left's mission is about political and social debate, we know that bad writing knows no genre, so don't worry about adhering to the mission for this contest.

We will be using a Blind Submission process. ?Please include the following materials with your submission:

· A cover letter on a separate sheet of paper, included in the envelope with your play (or as a separate attachment, if emailing). Envelopes and emails will not be opened by judges, only by non-judge staff members. List your contact info, including name, phone, email & street address on your cover letter.

· Your resume.

· Your availability to be in Chicago on August 2, 9 and 16. Given this year's economy and the state of arts funding, Stage Left cannot provide travel support. You do not need to be able to travel to Chicago in order to send a submission to DrekFest; however, most of the fun is in being there!

· Your play(s). Do NOT include your name, by-line or contact info on the play itself. If mailed, plays must be clipped or bound in such a way that the pages can be easily separated for copying - no spiral bindings.

· Your submission fee of $10.00 per play (e.g., $20.00 if you submit two plays). All submission fees will go towards the cash prizes awarded to the winners - we won't make a dime off your dimes. If mailing, include a check made out to "Stage Left Theatre." If emailing, call us at 773-883-8830 x.3 by Friday, June 25th to charge your fee to a Visa or MasterCard.

A Note About Cash Prizes:

One hundred percent of the submission fees paid go back into the cash prizes. Therefore, the amount of the prizes will depend on the number of submissions we get. In past years, the Grand Prize has ranged from $300.00 to $400.00, and may be less or more as submissions warrant.

Please mail your submissions to:
Stage Left Theatre
Attn: DrekFest
3408 N. Sheffield Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657
- OR -

Email your submissions to: drekfest@stagelefttheatre.com

ABOUT STAGE LEFT:

Stage Left Theatre is an off-loop Chicago theatre now in its 28th season, with a mission to develop and produce plays that raise debate and challenge perspectives on political and social issues. Operating out of a 50-seat, storefront theatre in Chicago's vibrant Wrigleyville neighborhood, Stage Left has become a regional center for the development of new plays. The theatre's new-play development arm is Downstage Left, a multi-tiered program giving emerging and established playwrights the tools they need to bring a play from conception to production.

The company consists of an ensemble of directors, playwrights, designers, actors and stage managers who collaborate to mount a yearly subscription season of mainstage shows and our annual new-play festival, LeapFest.

UP NEXT AT STAGE LEFT: LEAPFEST 7

Can't wait for DrekFest? Want to see what Stage Left's new-play development program is really about? Then join us for LeapFest 7, running June 15 to July 3, 2010!

LeapFest is Stage Left's annual festival of political and social theatre. The goal of the festival is to be the bridge between development and production. To that end, every year five new plays are given three weeks of rehearsal and presented as workshop productions in rotating repertory over a three week festival period. From the first four installments, ten LeapFest plays have gone onto world premiere productions here in Chicago; two have been published; and three have received Jeff Awards, Chicago highest theatrical honor, for Best New Work.

ABOUT THE COMEDYSPORTZ THEATRE:
The ComedySportz Theatre (comedysportzchicago.com) is an improv-comedy entertainment and business services company. We provide smart, fast comedy in our theatre and on the road; and we use the fundamentals of improv to provide creative business solutions. Our theatre products and services include live shows in our theatre, improv training for life and work, and hosting events for small to large groups. Our creative business services include: customized corporate workshops and individual skills training; a traveling ensemble for private and hospitality events; talent/spokespeople for consumer events, trade shows and guerilla/street marketing; and other innovative, improv-based business solutions.

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