Second rehearsal and Junior HS/Elementary performances

Another fun day yesterday with a split rehearsal schedule. The first couple of hours were spent blocking out the high school plays, but the main focus of the afternoon was the Junior HS/Elementary presentation.

The junior high and elementary plays are presented as a reading with actors performing at music stands at the front of the stage. The biggest challenges in staging this type of presentation are deciding what stage directions are needed to tell what can't be shown and then managing the traffic of actors from their seats to the stands. It's nice to have a little movement to accentuate the work the actors' vocal and physical performances.

Some pictures from the tech rehearsal for the Junior HS/Elementary performance are to the right.

The evening performance was very well attended. We were fortunate this year to have the opportunity to recognize not only the playwrights whose work was being produced, but also the other playwrights who plays made it to the final round of judging. Certificates were presented to all of the division finalists and to the schools of the winning playwrights. Pictures of those groups are at the bottom of this post.

Today we'll wrap up rehearsals for the High School plays and present those at 7:00 pm. There is still some room left if you haven't made a reservation yet. Please come out and join us to support the incredible work of these playwrights!

The Junior HS Division finalists with their teachers and the cast.

The Elementary Division finalists and the cast.

First day of rehearsal for the 2012 NJ Young Playwrights Festival

Yesterday was an exciting and very busy day of first rehearsals for the New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival. We began with a read through of the plays from the Junior HS and Elementary divisions and spent the afternoon with the high school plays. It is always fun to meet the playwrights and connect faces and personalities with plays. We also enjoy having the chance to talk with the playwrights about their plays - the inspirations behind them, the subtexts, etc.

We're back at it again this afternoon. First, we will continue blocking the high school plays and then transition into a very loose tech for the Junior HS and Elementary plays ahead of the readings at 7:00 pm tonight!

We have received a number of requests for reservations for tonight. Still a good amount of seats, so please do join us! 7:00 pm at the University Center Little Theatre at Kean University.

Here are just a few pictures from the high school rehearsal. Additional pictures can be found on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/njypf. We have a few from the earlier read through as well, but don't have them downloaded yet. Should do so soon. In the meantime, enjoy!

Last day before the weekend deadlines!

As of 1:15 today, we have 194 entries for the Contest; however, I have noted that a handful of them are entries that are not complete. This means that you either have not sent a script to njypf@ptnj.org or did not finish completing the form online. Be sure to do both!

Also, when sending your script to njypf@ptnj.org, you MUST indicate the following in the subject line of your email:

YOUR LAST NAME - TITLE of PLAY - DIVISION ENTERING

We have a lot of emails that don't have that info and are playing catch up to make sure they get in the right place. You can help ensure that the play is received and processed properly by including that information above in the subject line of your email.

Remember, plays are due by 11:59 pm on the following dates:

• Saturday, January 14 - Grades 10-12
• Sunday, January 15 - Grades 4-9

Happy writing! And happy entering!

2 1/2 days to go!

As of this moment (2:30 pm), we currently have 152 scripts in the mix for the 2012 New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest & Festival. Keep 'em coming!

5 Days to go!

This is the final week of open submissions to the 2012 New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest! Be sure to submit your work by the appropriate day:

 

• High School (grades 10-12) - script due NO LATER than 11:59 pm on Saturday, January 14
• Junior HS (grades 7-9) and Elementary (grades 4-9) - script due NO LATER than 11:59 pm on Sunday, January 15

 

To submit your script you must do BOTH of the following:

1. Complete the online information page at http://www.njypf.org/ (click the link for Guidelines and Play Submissions, then scroll down to the bottom of the new page)
2. Send your script via email as either a Microsoft Word or PDF file to njypf@ptnj.org. Please include your last name, play title, and division in the subject line of your email.

If we do not receive BOTH of the above items, your play will not be included in the Contest!

 

Thanks and happy writing!

Revisiting the debate about format

With 10 days until the script submission deadline, I thought I would publish the link to one of our most visited posts: "The Debate About Format". Every year there are many questions about how to format a script submission. Please use the information in this post as a guide. You will find the link below.

http://njyoungplaywrights.blogspot.com/2009/12/debate-about-format.html

Happy writing!

Congratulations to former NJ Young Playwright, Mary Hamilton

We recently read that former New Jersey Young Playwright Festival winner Mary Hamilton (2000 and 2001) was named as one of six finalists for the 2012 Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship. Congratulations, Mary!

http://www.p73.org/2011/12/14/finalists-for-the-2012-p73-playwriting-fellowship-2/

(11 days to go until scripts are due!)

Deadline approaching

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a creative and inspiring holiday season.

Today begins our official countdown to the submission deadlines for the 2012 New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest & Festival. While there are two deadlines for scripts, the countdown will mark the days until January 14, which is the date that High School division (grades 10-12) plays are due. So...

12 days remaining to submit your script!

Be sure to visit the program website at http://www.njypf.org/ for details on how to send us your play. Please remember that this is a two-step process. Many of you have registered via our online survey form over the last few months, but have not yet submitted your play. I will follow up via email with everyone who has done this by the end of this Friday (January 6). After that time, the reminders will stop. So, get that play in now!

(The information below contains a correction from the original post)

Also, if you are planning to submit your work to the national Young Playwrights Conference (a separate program conducted by Young Playwrights, Inc.), that deadline was yesterday, January 2; however, Young Playwrights, Inc. has indicated on their website that they will accept scripts with a POSTMARK of January 3 since yesterday was a Federal holiday and the post office was closed. Please see their website for details about that contest at http://www.youngplaywrights.org/. YOU CAN SUBMIT TO BOTH CONTESTS, so you are highly encouraged to do so.

Happy writing!

2012 NJYPF deadlines announced!

Summer is a great time to start working on a new play! Plenty of time to write and read with your friends. And certainly let us at Playwrights Theatre now if we can be of any help.

The submission deadlines for the 2012 New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival are as follows:

• January 14 - High School / Rewrites / Podstages divisions
• January 21 - Junior HS / Elementary divisions

Please note that these are "postmark" deadlines. Therefore, we must receive your script in our njypf@ptnj.org inbox with a time stamp no later than 11:59 pm on the dates listed above.

Happy writing!