Submissions for ThinkTankTYA's 2nd Annual Playwrights Festival Closes on April 4th

Submissions for round one of ThinkTank Theatre's 2nd Annual TYA Playwrights Festival will close out Monday, April 4 at 11:59pm EST. Submissions are open to anyone 18+ and should not have had any prior professional productions in Florida. Playwrights selected for the Festival Showcase will receive travel and housing consideration to be present for a portion of the festival to take place August 12 - 21, 2022 at Stageworks Theatre. They will also receive a $500 honorarium for their play submission, generously gifted by the Gobioff Foundation.

Last July, ThinkTank Theatre debuted their TYA Playwrights Festival at Stageworks Theatre. Over 300 submissions came in from playwrights across the U.S. and Canada and two plays were selected to be produced as professional staged readings: Germaine Shames' "YEAR OF THIRTEEN MOONS" and Matt Harmon's "EXHIBITS IN THE ZOO". As was the process last year, a diverse reading panel will sift through the first round of submissions and pass along their recommendations for round two. For the second round, the reading panel will narrow down selections further and finally select between two and four plays to be presented as a staged reading during the Festival Showcase. Selections for round two will be notified mid-April.

ThinkTank's mission is to create theatre that is progressive, forward-thinking, and represents a diverse group of young people and the lives they experience in today's world. Specifically, this festival looks to produce content that is good for young people and families to enjoy, with thought-provoking material, and do not shy away from mature topics and subject matter. Plays and musicals with diverse casting, special-needs individuals, and characters of a younger experience (to be played by actors aged 14-18) will be given special consideration.

Playwrights can submit a 20-page sample of their play by visiting ThinkTank's website. Questions about submission materials can be directed to Festival Coordinator, Sadie Lockhart at TYAPlayFest@thinktanktya.org with the subject line: TYA Playwright's Festival. The deadline to submit is Monday, April 4, 2022. The following genres will be accepted: adaptation, adventure, biography, comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, fable/folktale, fantasy, musical, mystery/thriller, parody/spoof, period, science fiction, tragedy, mature young audiences and families. Plays should be between 60 and 90 minutes and require no more than 10 actors. Scripts should be accessible to ages 8+, but audiences are typically 12 and up.

Playwrights selected for the festival will receive a $500 honorarium and a professional staged reading of their show. This will consist of professional actors, directors, and dramaturgs from the Tampa Bay area working on the script with a performance and talkback at the festival. The plays are presented semi-staged, script-in-hand for audiences, providing the playwright further opportunity to develop the work, in the presence of our Tampa Bay community. Playwrights can also opt to receive travel and housing consideration so they may be present for the festival. Those productions produced at the Festival Showcase will be in consideration for a full production in one of ThinkTank's subsequent seasons.

The TYA Playwrights Festival Showcase will be held August 12 -21, 2022 at Stageworks Theatre. The 2021-2022 season of performing arts events for ThinkTank Theatre is made possible through the generous support of the The Gobioff Foundation, The Arts Council of Hillsborough County and the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners, The Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, The University of Tampa Physician Assistant Program, Palma Ceia Fit Body, Dark Door Spirits, Stageworks Theatre, the ThinkTank BOD, and ThinkTank's many generous donors and supporters.

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