Berkeley Rep Seeks Scripts from Aspiring Teen Playwrights

Berkeley Repertory Theatre is now accepting submissions from Bay Area teens for its fifth annual Target Teen One Acts Festival. Every year, teens select two original plays penned by local students to be performed, directed, and staged by their peers. The winning playwrights are paired with mentors who are theatre professionals to receive feedback and support in revising their scripts for performance, and the entire production process is supported by Berkeley Rep's staff.

The deadline for submissions is January 1, 2007.  Performances take place next spring on March 30 and 31 and April 1, 6, and 7.

"It's so rare that teenagers get this kind of hands-on experience in a professional environment," adds Rachel Fink, director of the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre. "Mentors from Berkeley Rep guide the teens at every step of the process, and the resulting shows are enjoyed by hundreds of people."

Submissions must include the playwright's name, age, mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address, current grade, and school. Each play should be no longer than 45 minutes in length and may be sent by e-mail to teencouncil@berkeleyrep.org or by mail to Target Teen One Acts Festival, c/o Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, 2025 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA, 94704.

This year, teens who want to enter the contest also have two opportunities to get a leg up on the competition:

Teens who would like to receive advance feedback on their plays may submit their scripts early. Scripts received by the optional submission date of November 29, 2006 will be read by members of the play selection committee, who will e-mail suggestions for improvement directly to the playwrights and make themselves available for further consultation.

The Teen Council is also offering three free Playwriting Workshops on October 4, October 25, and November 29 from 4:30 to 6:00 PM. These workshops offer aspiring writers a chance to start or continue work on their scripts and a forum to pose any questions they may have about the process. Teens may attend one or multiple workshops, and no experience is necessary.

The Berkeley Rep Teen Council is a theatre youth group organized by teens for teens. Its goal is to foster the theatre audiences and theatre professionals of tomorrow by opening channels of communication between teens, theatre professionals, and the community at large. The Teen Council provides the opportunity for youth to participate in all aspects of the dramatic process: on stage, backstage, and in front of the stage through an affiliation with the Tony Award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

For more information, visit www.berkeleyrep.org, e-mail teencouncil@berkeleyrep.org, or call 510-647-2974.

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