10-Minute Play Competition
WriteNow Berlin / CoronaNow Everywhere
Today sharing stories is more important than ever. Even though we are a Berlin based playwriting community we would like to make this competition accessible to anyone from anywhere around the world.
Coronavirus has disoriented us. What we took to be firm ground has turned out to be shifting sand. It is holding up a mirror to our vulnerability in every sense: the fragility of our health, the illusion of financial security, the let down of the government’s ability to manage a crisis at this scale. It created uncertainty, disbelief, fear and worry.
It has also created this hope that we might begin to see the world differently. Maybe we can view our problems as shared, and society as more than just a mass of individuals competing against each other for wealth and standing.
Everything is changing. So are you. Let’s make it for the better.
We would like to hear your stories. How is this pandemic affecting you?
Start thinking and writing.
Details and How to Enter
Deadline for submissions: Monday 8 June 5 pm
Winners announced: Monday 22 June
- Your characters should be in lockdown and using technology to communicate. This means plays will be set in digital platforms like Skype, WhatsApp, FaceTime or Zoom. They can be talking to each other from their beds, from the kitchen, they can play instruments, they can cook, teach each other how to use the technology, they can get undressed to jazz things up, they can play charades, they can get drunk, they can cry, beg, confess, laugh and argue. Everything is possible as long as the communication happens through their screens. Remember we will be recording the reading of these plays remotely through Zoom. So no park benches or outside world unless a quick escape is absolutely necessary.
- The submitted plays should be NO MORE than 10 minutes in length. (Plays that run longer than 10 minutes will not be selected, so do a timed reading before submitting your entry)
- The plays must be written in English.
- Your name and email address should be visible on the cover of the play where the name of the play is written.
- Only one entry will be accepted from each playwright.
- Please submit your plays in MS Word or PDF
- They must be original, previously unperformed and unproduced.
- We will present a rehearsed reading of each winning entry online, performed and directed by theatre professionals. The reading of these plays will be filmed remotely using Zoom which you’ll be able to watch from our website and our YouTube channel. We will inform you about the date of these recorded readings when we announce the winners.
What are we looking for?
We are looking for ten plays that move or amuse us, that connect not divide us, that help us to see things and each other differently. Stories that give us hope and courage.
Let your imagination soar!