It has often been said that a million monkeys with a million typewriters will, just by random chance, produce all the world’s great works of literature. So what would happen if we throw our brilliant community members in front of their keyboards with a challenge?

5th Wall Productions is proud to announce its first annual playwriting contest. One Million Monkeys seeks to encourage new works and emerging playwrights. The top three submissions will receive a prize and certificate. The top submission in each category will be eligible for a stage production by 5th Wall Productions.

THEME: This year’s theme is Fire. Do we mean flame, the ally and scourge of mankind? The explosive propulsion of a projectile? The tragic snuffing of a career trajectory? The definition and interpretation of the theme are limited only by the imagination of the playwrights (and whatever thesaurus they can get their hands on). Writers should view the theme as a point of inspiration rather than a restriction.

DIVISIONS: Submissions will be grouped by age and will be judged within their age division: Kids (ages 12 and under), Teens (ages 13-18) and Adults (ages 19 and above).

AWARDS:

Kids Division - First Place: $50; Second Place: $25; Third Place $10
Teens and Adults Divisions - First Place: $100; Second Place: $50; Third Place $20

Prizes will be cash, goods and gift certificates of equal value from local merchants, or some combination of both.

WRITING GUIDELINES: Entries must be new works; they cannot have been previously produced. Plays should be no longer than 30 minutes in the Kids and Teens Divisions and no longer than 45 minutes in the Adults Division. Plays can be any genre (comedy, drama, mystery, etc.).

There is no set limit in the number of characters, although 2-8 actors total is recommended. Minimal setting and other technical needs are encouraged. Neither of these are necessarily restrictions or criteria for winning submissions, but keep in mind that complex actor or technical needs may be a factor in the ability of 5th Wall Productions to produce the top winners for the stage.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Electronic submissions are preferred and should be in Word, TXT, or RTF format. The first page must have the author’s name, address, phone number, email, and age, as well as the play’s title. Subsequent pages may not contain any identifying information beyond the title. There is a submission fee ($5 for Kids Division, $10 for Teens and Adults Divisions). This may be paid by PayPal (link below) or money order made out to 5th Wall Productions can be mailed to: 5th Wall Productions; PO Box 30703; Columbia, MO 65205. Electronic script submissions should be sent to Pamela Thomas at: pthomas7@5htwallproductions.org.

SUBMISSION FEE

Kids Division $5.00 Teens Division $10.00 Adult Division $10.00

GROUP SUBMISSIONS: Multiple authors may work together on a submission if they wish. If the authors span multiple age divisions, the submission will be considered to be in the division of the oldest author on the writing team, who will be designated as the primary contact. Division of any prize won is the responsibility of the entrants.

DISCLAIMERS: 5th Wall Productions retains the rights for one royalty-free staging of winning entries. All rights will thereafter revert to the author. Manuscripts will not be returned.

DEADLINES: All submissions must be received by May 7, 2010. Winners will be announced June 2, 2010. The performance of the winning plays will take place in late August/early September – exact date and location TBA.

A downloadable version of the contest guidelines can be found here