Pittsburgh Public Theater Announces 2022/2023 New Play Contest

Pittsburgh Public Theater has announced the third annual New Play Contest. The competition is open to writers based in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. The winning playwright will receive a $500 honorarium and a staged reading in The Public's PlayTime series in summer 2023. Submission guidelines and form can be found online at ppt.org/playcontest. All submissions received by 11:59 EST on Friday, December 16 will be given consideration.

As a true public theater, Pittsburgh Public Theater provides a platform and, more importantly, a home for regional artists to amplify their voices. The New Play Contest is one of the ways The Public strives to meet this goal and, in its infancy, it has yielded notable results, including last season's winner Lisa Langford being featured in the 30th anniversary Ashland New Plays Festival.

"I submitted my play to Pittsburgh Public Theater because I was a finalist in another playwriting festival alongside Pittsburgh Public Theater's previous New Play Contest winner, Emma Gibson. I really admire her work so I figured it must be a good opportunity. Boy, was it ever! First, everyone at Pittsburgh Public Theater was amazing, helpful, and accommodating. Next, I was paired with a director I was dying to work with (Resident Director Justin Emeka) and he did not disappoint," explained Lisa Langford, winner of the 2021/2022 New Play Contest. Seeing my play through this director's eyes showed me themes and connections I'd never noticed before when writing this play in isolation. Hearing the phenomenal cast read my play, I realized there was a character never seen in this play who had a story that needed to be told and I started work on a companion piece."

Brian Pope, Casting and Literary Director at Pittsburgh Public Theater spearheads the program and has been instrumental in its evolution over the past three years. "All the classic plays we know and love from Hamlet to A Raisin in the Sun were once new plays. There was a time when no one had read or seen them, but when they premiered, their impact was indelible. They challenged the form and introduced audiences to incredible artists, says Pope. "I believe in the potential of all new plays to change the game in their own unique ways, and it's an honor to set the stage for that thrilling blend of innovation and collaboration with this contest."

Script submissions will be accepted beginning Tuesday November 15, 2022. To enter, playwrights should visit ppt.org/playcontest and complete the online submission form by Friday, December 16, 2022 at 11:59pm EST. Late submissions or multiple submissions will not be considered.

Submission must meet the following guidelines:

• Runtime of 60-100 minutes
• Consist of a cast of no more than 10 actors
• The play must not yet have received a fully staged physical or digital production
• English should be the primary language
• Musicals will not be accepted

The full text of each submitted play will be adjudicated by a cohort of local readers over three rounds. The criteria for evaluation will include use of theme, effectiveness of plot structure, clarity of playwright's perspective, character development, as well as overall impact of the work. Writers whose plays advance to the Final Round will be notified in February 2023. The winning play, chosen by the members of Pittsburgh Public Theater's Playwrights Collective, will be announced in March 2023, and a staged reading of the winning play will be presented as part of The Public's PlayTime series in summer 2023.

Playwrights of all cultural, racial, and gender identities, and of all abilities are encouraged to submit. Please visit ppt.org to learn more about The Public's ongoing work to promote anti-racism on and off the stage and to read the organization's Land Acknowledgement Statement.

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