tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89971554646253806232024-03-13T08:11:29.969-04:00New Jersey Young PlaywrightsFor over 30 years, the NJ Young Playwrights Contest has been deepening the writing experience for young artists by providing detailed feedback from theatre professionals. The New Jersey Young Playwrights blog continues that mission to provide discussion, instruction and inspiration to interested young writers.Director of Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14777053984472907922noreply@blogger.comBlogger296125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-28912870774367379552021-07-04T12:09:00.003-04:002021-07-04T12:09:39.085-04:00Update on the NJ Young Playwrights FestivalDear Friends and Followers,As you may have guessed, the New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival is no longer in operation. Sadly, Writers Theatre of NJ, the organization that produced the contest/festival since 1989 closed its doors at the end of 2019. I recently discovered that I still had access to this Facebook page and felt it was a good time to update you on the status of this program.I had Dr. Jim DeVivohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14507577407625688556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-17651378712042876642017-05-22T12:02:00.000-04:002017-05-22T12:02:23.085-04:00Announcing the 2017 NJ Young Playwrights Festival plays
We are pleased to announce the plays and playwrights whose work will be presented at the 2017 New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival on June 26 & 27:
High School (grades 10-12)
Hot Dogs and Feminism by Jasmine Sharma, Bergen County Academies
Learn Your ABCs by Elijah Gaines, Lindenwold HS & Jaleel Lindsey
Packing by Michael Villanueva, Middlesex County Acedemy for Performing Arts
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-42655873789752106962017-05-17T13:15:00.000-04:002017-05-17T13:15:15.272-04:00Junior HS & Elementary selections coming soon!We've finally resolved the issues that prevented the announcement of the Junior HS and Elementary selections. That information will be released on Friday. Thanks for your continued patience and understanding!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-61392642349971363742017-05-04T16:57:00.000-04:002017-05-04T16:57:00.463-04:00Nearly there!Hang in there, young playwrights! We're almost done confirming the last details of the Festival. Once I get final approval, I will be in touch with the playwrights whose scripts have been selected for the Junior HS and Elementary division presentations. We can also confirm the last scheduling details, too. Just a few days more. Thanks for your patience!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-21164631306791616332017-03-24T12:29:00.002-04:002017-03-24T12:29:36.414-04:00Junior High School finalists notifiedJunior HS finalists (grades 7-9) have been notified via the email address provided with the script submission in January. Please note that if you submitted a script as a classroom project that the notice may have been sent to your teacher. Finalists will have until April 6 @ 11:59 PM to make any revisions to their script and re-submit it for final consideration by our selection panel.
ElementaryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-13611410423216888382017-03-22T12:27:00.000-04:002017-03-23T22:33:37.354-04:00Selecting finalistsUPDATED March 23rd -
We have now begun to prepare to move the Junior HS division of the NJYPF into the final round. Playwrights whose scripts have advanced to this level will be notified by email late tonight. Elementary playwrights will be notified late next week. We should have all of the festival scripts selected by the end of April and will make a formal announcement of the plays to be Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-82810709556559797482017-02-28T10:37:00.000-05:002017-02-28T10:53:33.996-05:00Update on NJYPF & Presenting the 31st annual Madison YPFFestival judging has moved into the second round for each division. We expect to notify high school finalists this week, as well. In the meantime, we are turning our attention to our local playwrights with the 31st annual Madison Young Playwrights Festival. Actors from Writers Theatre of NJ will perform the following work at our partner school in Madison later this week. Congratulations to the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-25835509037382625062017-02-01T12:32:00.002-05:002017-02-01T12:32:18.166-05:00Contest Judging Underway for 2017It has been two weeks since the extended submission deadline for the 2017 New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival and I am happy to report that the first round is well underway! We had a remarkable number of submissions this year with an increase from 2016.
Our new critique forms are speeding up the process and at least 1/3 of the total submissions have already been judged in the first round. The Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-17609958662605180622017-01-04T11:41:00.000-05:002017-01-04T11:41:31.970-05:00Deadline Extension for the 2017 contest
URGENT!
We have decided to extend the submission deadline for the 2017 contest. The new deadline is:
SUNDAY, JANUARY 15 by 11:59 pm.
Plays must be submitted through the website no later than 11:59 pm on that date. There will be no further extensions, so please be sure to get your plays in before this time.
Any plays already received will go out to readers next week.
Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-64139163727718070512017-01-03T13:40:00.001-05:002017-01-04T11:49:59.966-05:00How to Submit a Script to the 2017 contest(This page was amended at 3:07 pm on January 3 and reflects the correct procedure for submitting your play.)
Well, hello there! Happy New Year!
It has been a busy season of playwriting with youth at Writers Theatre since I last posted on this blog. While my posts have been infrequent in 2016, when there were published, they moved to the Writers Theatre blog on the general website, but more Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-64196485591985718072016-02-29T01:27:00.001-05:002016-02-29T01:28:29.421-05:00Finalists Contacted for High School ONLYWe've reached the final round of judging for the High School division. A total of 18 scripts made it to the final round in this category. Emails have been sent to the finalists with further instruction for the contest. If you are in grades 10-12 and did NOT get an email this morning, I'm sorry but we will not be presenting your play this year. Thank you so much for sharing your words and ideas Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-54641866138153010562016-02-26T12:57:00.001-05:002016-02-26T12:57:44.133-05:00National Tell a Fairy Tale Day - Jersey DevilIt's National Tell a Fairy Tale Day and we're sharing a post from the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area about the Jersey Devil. This would be an interesting writing prompt for a future play. Any takers?
https://www.facebook.com/RevolutionaryNJ/photos/a.10150877871156325.418615.81672091324/10153486422081325/?type=3&theater
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-41728798568682084032016-02-23T14:56:00.001-05:002016-02-23T14:56:33.727-05:00Almost done... sort of...Our readers have been hard at work reading and critiquing plays for the NJ Young Playwrights Festival. A large amount of scripts in the Junior HS division means that the process for getting through those plays will take longer than for the High School and Elementary scripts. With that said, we're almost to the moment when we can contact the finalists for the High School and Elementary divisions. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-28658409306797604882016-02-19T21:30:00.000-05:002016-02-19T21:30:46.790-05:00NJYPFestival playwright part of the Paula Vogel Mentors Project in PhiladelphiaEmma Baxter has been a finalist & winning playwright in the NJ Young Playwrights Festival and a student in our summer playwriting workshops for young writers. We were happy to nominate her for the Paula Vogel Mentors Project @ Philadelphia Young Playwrights and look forward to her future work! Congratulations, Emma!
http://www.newjerseyhills.com/randolph_reporter/news/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-59904997857655867372016-01-08T11:14:00.001-05:002016-01-08T11:14:35.005-05:00The other sideThank you to everyone who submitted a script for consideration in the 2016 NJ Young Playwrights Festival. I am nearly finished organizing the files to send to our first round readers. We will start the reading process in a matter of days!
Please remember that we do not confirm the receipt of a script: there are just too many to sort through and organize for us to do this efficiently. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-25921161248138218292015-12-21T09:00:00.000-05:002015-12-21T09:00:20.390-05:00Submissions due today!This is it. No more extensions. You have until 11:59 pm tonight to send us your scripts for the 2016 New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest & Festival. For details visit the website.
Happy writing!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-74078421193962647962015-12-19T20:21:00.000-05:002015-12-19T20:21:56.738-05:00Deadline extended thru MondayWe've decided to keep the submission deadline open a few more days. However, we must close the submission period on Monday night, December 21. Once midnight strikes the next moring, the script collector will close. Be sure to get your scripts in now and remember to complete both steps:
1) Complete the online submission form at
2) Send your play as a Word or PDF document to njypf@ptnj.org.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-69628781033223997462015-12-18T23:59:00.000-05:002015-12-18T23:59:07.142-05:0024 hours to go!That's right! Just 24 hours until scripts are due for the 2016 New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival. (Remember, this is a one-day extension due to the technical glitch that sprung up earlier in the week.)
Get your script in now!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-15429494858756598092015-12-17T13:28:00.000-05:002015-12-17T13:28:33.312-05:00Submission deadline extension!As you know, we collect your scripts via an online process on our website at www.njypf.org (choose the hotlink for Guidelines & Submissions). There are two collectors set up on the site and this afternoon we discovered that unfortunately one of those collectors was programmed to close a day earlier than it should. Our apologies to anyone who could not submit their script due to this error.
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-74725877635527997022015-12-12T21:44:00.001-05:002015-12-12T21:44:32.914-05:00One week left!We are now less than ONE WEEK AWAY from the submission deadlines for the 2016 New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival! Please remember that submitting your script to us is a two-part process:
1) Complete the playwright information page on the website at www.njypf.org. (Use the link for Guidelines and Submissions)
2) Send your script as an email attachment (Word Doc or PDF only, please!) to njypf@Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-68663299334088249222015-11-25T12:00:00.000-05:002015-11-25T12:00:02.198-05:00Call for Readers and ActorsWe're looking for Readers and Actors for the 2016 New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival. Interested? Please fill out our survey (here) to get more information and to share your interest.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-79911505195539526612015-11-18T08:30:00.000-05:002015-11-18T08:30:02.661-05:00One month to go!Hey NJ Young Playwrights, there's only one month to go before your scripts are due to us on December 18th!
Happy writing!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-3721527859993213632015-11-09T08:30:00.000-05:002015-11-09T12:36:43.255-05:00Here's the Pitch!When writers have an idea, or a completed script, and are looking for financial support, they sometimes need to give a presentation of that play to a producer (think Shark Tank for writers). Similarly, other writers (usually in television) meet together frequently to share plot ideas with one another. Talking about a story idea in this situation is called giving a "pitch". A pitch is a summary ofAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-49170209486815656632015-11-05T08:00:00.000-05:002015-11-05T08:00:01.601-05:00As Long As It Needs to Be
The
most frequent questions and concerns I receive from young playwrights preparing
their scripts have to do with the limits that we place on script format and
page count. In fact, this was the most troubling thing to the writers in a
playwriting class I just finished teaching. They were constantly checking the
number of pages and double-checking to see if I thought they might have enough,
or Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8997155464625380623.post-80599759148384311942015-10-23T15:40:00.000-04:002015-10-23T15:41:02.519-04:00Congratulations to four of our NJ Young Playwrights
A scene from Good News! by Philip Anastassiou (2013)
This month we are thrilled to congratulate four young playwrights from New Jersey who have achieved regional and national recognition for their work.
Alexa Derman (NJYPF 2014) and Philip Anastassiou (NJYPF 2013) wrote plays that were selected for production in the 2016 National Playwriting Competition at Young Playwrights, Inc. This is a Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com