Florida Studio Theatre Seeks Short Plays and Sketches for New Play Festival

Florida Studio Theatre is seeking compelling short plays and sketches for inclusion in the annual New Play Festival during the spring. These scripts will be reviewed and used to develop long-term relationships with new writers for future programming. New Play Development is the lifeblood of FST. It is a year-round activity that is fully integrated with each of the theatre's other programs. FST's approach to new play development focuses on the continued life of the work.

The New Play Festival provides a forum for playwrights of all ages to develop plays that can be fully produced. From our young playwrights to our emerging adult playwrights and seasoned play-writing veterans, the Sarasota Festival of New Plays broadens the breadth and depth of thought in American theatre by encouraging people of all ages and perspectives to write plays.

Catherine Randazzo, Associate Artist, remarks on the development of new plays at FST, "FST's new play development program makes a commitment to continue the life of new plays and their playwrights. This commitment reaches into all genres of playwriting as the art of live theatre evolves. This theatrical season we bring Florida Shorts back to FST's New Play Festival -- as language evolves and society changes, playwrights capture topical issues to present on the stage. Those issues can be presented in many ways and FST looks forward to the myriad of sketches presented in the theatrical form of shorts."

Associate Artist, Jason Cannon, also speaks to the importance of new play development, "FST has a history of developing sketch work in-house, most specifically in our Laughing Matters series, which shows no signs of slowing down, and the more voices we can bring in to that process the better. And with the new Bowne's Lab we have a perfect venue to explore more experimental theatrical forms, take dramatic and comedic risks, and expose our audience to cutting edge stories and jokes!"

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Review thoroughly before submitting. Submissions not following the guidelines will not be considered.

- Any genre or style (including musical, TYA, multi-lingual)

- Ten minutes max length. Technically, this means 10 pages from top of show, not including title page.

- Short plays and sketches will be accepted from 9am on November 16 until 6pm on December 16.

- Electronic submissions should only be sent to FSTshorts@floridastudiotheatre.org as a PDF. Submissions sent to any other address will not be accepted.

- Include a page with title, contact info, synopsis, bio, and production history.

- Plays and sketches longer than 10 minutes will not be accepted.

- The volume of scripts we receive prevents us from providing feedback or contacting any playwrights other than those selected for production.

- Each playwright may submit one play for the Festival. Send us your best!

- Selected playwrights will be contacted in Feb/March, and the winning plays will be produced in May.

For questions please contact Associate Artist/Literary Manager Catherine Randazzo at crandazzo@floridastudiotheatre.org. Submissions sent directly to Catherine will not be considered, submit only to FSTshorts@floridastudiotheatre.org.

Known as Sarasota's Contemporary Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by Jon Spelman. Starting out as a small touring company, FST traveled to places such as migrant camps and prisons. The company then acquired the former Woman's Club building, becoming the first permanent venue. Shortly after Producing Artistic Director, Richard Hopkins arrived, the building was purchased and renamed The Keating Theatre. In the years that followed, Florida Studio Theatre established itself as a major force in American theatre, presenting contemporary theatre in its five venues: the Keating Theatre, the Gompertz Theatre, the Parisian style Goldstein Cabaret, the John C. Court Cabaret, and Bowne's Lab Theatre.

Even with its growth, Florida Studio Theatre remains firmly committed to making the arts accessible and affordable to a broad-based audience. FST develops theatre that speaks to our living, evolving, and dynamically changing world. As FST grows and expands, it continues to provide audiences with challenging, contemporary drama and innovative programs.

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