Artists Rep Offers Public Vote to Award New Oregon Play Prize

Artists Repertory Theatre launches the final phase of awarding the Oregon Play Prize today by inviting the public to choose the winning script by open vote. From 131 plays submitted since November, the public will choose which of three finalists to they want to see Artists Rep develop and produce. The voting poll, descriptions and samples of the finalist plays are posted on the Oregon Play Prize webpage. The plays will be voted on by merit of the script and voter interest alone; to this end the playwrights' names are not included. Voting begins immediately and will end on September 15. The Oregon Play Prize winner will be announced on September 21, 2016.

The Oregon Play Prize is a $10,000 commission for a new play by an Oregonian. The play will be provided with development support and will receive a full production by Artists Rep. The timeline to production will depend on the readiness of the project.

Plays were submitted to Artists Rep between November 1, 2015 and January 31, 2016. All the plays considered for the prize were written by residents of Oregon, with a few exceptions made for non-resident writers with strong ties to Oregon. The scripts were submitted at varying stages of completion, from a well-developed idea to a completed draft, and the play could not have received a prior production. FINALISTS include:

Good Citizen - an exploration of Oregon's role in the Japanese internment camps during World War II and one man's fight to be recognized.

The full description and a five-page writing sample is on the finalist and voting webpage here.

Signs - A surrealistic comedy about love, purpose, and the little things that seem to matter so much to us.

The full description and a five-page writing sample is on the finalist and voting webpage here.

The Snowmaker - a psychological thriller in which a girl meets her estranged father and must figure out who - or what - he is running from.

The full description and a five-page writing sample is on the finalist and voting webpage here.

Artists Rep received 131 proposals for consideration. A team of 24 readers, comprised of Artists Rep staff and volunteers from the community, evaluated the plays and advanced 33 of them to a second round. Between April 1 and June 30, these 33 plays were read and scored by the team of readers. Each play was read by at least four readers and evaluated on the basis of originality, dramatic action, language, characters, theatricality and appropriateness for Artists Rep. Submissions were provided to the readers using a blinded format with the playwrights' names removed from all submitted documents so that the reading committee did not know who wrote the plays they read. For complete submission guidelines, click here.

In August 2014, Artists Rep was the recipient of a $125,000 Oregon Community Foundation "Creative Heights" grant to establish a robust new play development program that will create opportunities for local and national playwrights, ensure that underrepresented voices are heard on stage and establish Artists Rep and Portland as an engine for new play development, nationally.

Artists Rep's T|R|S program will commission a total of eight plays by 2017 - at least four of the eight commissions will go to writers of color, at least four will go to women, one play will be written for young adults and one will be the Oregon Play Prize, awarded to an Oregon writer. Artists Rep has extended four of the eight play commissions to Yussef El Guindi, Linda Alper, Larissa Fasthorse and Andrea Stolowitz.

T|R|S program initiatives include eight playwright commissions, the Oregon Play Prize and a new public theatre investigation program, Fresh Eyes. A remarkable intention of T|R|S is to provide the public greater and unique access to the process of new work development through blogs and online videos that allow for audience engagement. Through these strategies audiences can learn about this little-known part of the theatre world by witnessing the process of play planning, selection and development, as well as learning from writers and artistic teams about their processes and their challenges in developing new work. Leading these wide-ranging programs with the support of the OCF grant is Director of New Play Development & Dramaturgy Luan Schooler.

Artists Rep has become a significant presence in American Regional Theatre with a legacy of world, national and regional premieres of provocative new work with the highest standards of stagecraft. Our commitment to local artists is embodied by our company of Resident Artists, 24 professionals of varied theatre disciplines who are a driving force behind Artists Rep's creative output and identity. This commissioning program will position Artists Rep as an engine for new play development in the region and beyond. With this New Play Development program, Artists Rep strives to empower and support Oregon-based playwrights while also creating a Portland home for writers from around the country to develop their work. Additionally, this program will make a meaningful impact on equity in the arts by mandating opportunities for women writers and writers of color, and cultivating the next generation of theatre- goers by creating work specifically for young people (13 and up).

To post a comment, you must register and login.