Playhouse On The Square's PLAY SLAM! Returns for Sixth Year

2023-2024 year marks the sixth year of Playhouse on the Square's 10-minute Young Playwrights Competition. Play Slam! is part contest and part celebration of new works by local Mid-South aspiring writers and theatre enthusiasts. All scripts submitted are adjudicated by a panel of judges that consists of the Play Slam! Coordinator, Playhouse on the Square staff and Associate/Resident company members, along with local writers and directors.

Five (5) Finalists and One (1) Winner from both the Middle and High School Divisions will be chosen to be represented in the Play Slam! Young Playwrights Festival. The Finalists will have their script presented as a staged reading with local actors. The Winners will have their script staged with minimal props and costumes and performed and directed by local professional actors. The Winner of both divisions will also have their play submitted to the Playwrights for Change competition as the Playhouse on the Square representative in this national competition.

Play Slam! is presented in partnership with the American Alliance for Theatre and Education's (AATE) Playwrights for Change competition. PFC scripts revolve around a different social theme each year. Past themes have included: “What Hope Looks Like,” “No One is Alone,” “Take a Stand,” and “Discovering the Truth About Ourselves and Others.”

This year's theme for Play Slam! is…Caring for Our World.