Please check out the details from past weeks via the below links (the winner of the third prompt will be posted soon):
- 22 March 2020, Being and Biology Challenge. Winning entry: First Week on the Floor, by Taryn Yoneda.
- 29 March 2020, Filters and Reflections Challenge. Winning entry: Crazy Planets, by Rex McGregor.
- 5 April 2020, Bava’s Gift Challenge. Winning entry: Painting During the Pandemic, by Christine Sloan Stoddard.
Note
This series was originally funded to run for a month. With the quarantine running substantially longer, we are now looking into ways of raising more money to continue the competition, but need to place it on hold until that part of the puzzle has been solved. We hope that we’ll be able to continue with additional challenges in the near future.
Overview
The COVID-19 pandemic is stressful for everyone, but especially for those whose livelihood have been directly impacted by the constraints of social distancing. One such sector is the performing arts.
While ICRL is a small organization, we want to help to the extent that we can, and are establishing the 2020 Playwriting Competition Series to put a little extra money in the hands of the actors and playwrights who have been impacted.
Here’s the gist:
Every other week we will post a new writing challenge based on a topic inspired by one of our ICRL Press titles. Playwrights will have a little under two weeks to create a short play, up to 10 minutes in length, based on that challenge. Specific expectations for play formatting and file naming, as well as the deadline, are provided with each challenge.
The winning play will be read by a cast of actors, with the reading recorded and posted online. The playwright and actors will each receive equal shares of a pot of money.
ICRL will start each pot of money with $100. Donations made to ICRL (that are not explicitly earmarked by the donor for other uses, e.g. scholarship or research support) during the period when the cycle is happening will be added to the pot. Further, for the first $100 of donations made, ICRL will match those funds – so in any cycle we will contribute between $100 and $200 directly, as well as all tax-deductible donations made to our organization.
Are you ready to make a donation now? Click here:
Note: If you want the donation to go towards this competition, specify it is for the Playwriting Competition when you make the PayPal donation. Once we receive enough donations to support additional rounds, we’ll start up the program again.