Premiere Stages, the Professional Theatre Company in residence at Kean University, seeks submissions to the annual Premiere Play Festival. Three playwrights will be given public readings of their work in March. One playwright will receive $2,000 and a fully produced Equity production in our 2010 season; another will receive $750 and an Equity workshop in June; the third will receive a cash prize of $500. Agents may submit full scripts; playwrights may submit a synopsis and 8-page script sample directly. All playwrights must reside or have been born in the greater metropolitan area (NJ, NY, CT, PA). Deadline: January 15, 2010. No entry fee. For complete submission guidelines, please visit www.kean.edu/premierestages

About the Festival
Premiere Stages is committed to supporting emerging playwrights by developing and producing new plays. We provide playwrights with an encouraging and focused environment in which they can develop their work through discussions, rehearsals, sit-down readings, staged readings, and fully-produced Equity productions.

Submission Guidelines
*Plays must be full-length and have a cast size of no more than six.
*Plays submitted must be unpublished and must be works that have not been previously produced (readings, workshops, showcases are okay).
*Plays must be written by playwrights who were born or reside in the greater metropolitan area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania).
*Playwrights of color are highly encouraged to submit their work.
*Preferred plays will have at least one character that can be played by a college-age actor.
*Preferred submissions will explore or address contemporary issues.
*If you would like the script/synopsis returned, please include a SASE
*DEADLINE for postmark of scripts/synopses is January 15, 2010.

Plays and synopses will be evaluated by a panel of arts professionals. The panel will submit their recommendations to the producing artistic director and resident dramaturg.

Playwrights (non-agent submissions)
Playwrights submitting without an agent must include:
*A brief synopsis of the play (no more than half a page).
*A character breakdown.
*A history of the play’s development (if any).
*The playwright’s professional bio or resume
*A script sample from the play (no more than 8 pages).

The panel will request full scripts from synopses of interest. Playwrights who are asked to submit full scripts, including those not selected for expanded development, will receive an evaluation of the submitted play from the panel upon request.

Agent submissions
Full scripts will be accepted from legitimate literary agencies and by professional recommendation.

The schedule for the Premiere Play Festival is as follows:
*September, 2009: Premiere Stages begins accepting submissions
*Through Jan. 15, 2010: Deadline for submission to festival
*March 1: Scripts are reduced to three finalists
*Mid-March: Readings of three plays
*March 21: Festival winner and runner-up are selected for expanded development
*March to July: Development of scripts continues
*June, 2010: week-long staged Reading of Runner-up
*July or September, 2010: Full Production of Festival Winner

Send all submissions to:
John Wooten, Producing Artistic Director
Premiere Stages at Kean University
1000 Morris Avenue
Hutchinson Hall, 2nd Floor
Union, NJ 07083

For more information about the Premiere Play Festival, please visit our website at www.kean.edu/premierestages

Source: The Loop