Start working on those 10-minute plays — the deadline for OCT’s annual contest is Oct. 31, 2024

Here’s the news from Oregon Contemporary Theatre about its annual 10-minute play contest:

DEADLINE OCT. 31, 2024

NORTHWEST 10 SEEKS SUBMISSIONS OF 10-MINUTE PLAYS
BY NORTHWEST WRITERS FOR 2025 FESTIVAL
NW10 Celebrates 17 Years of Collaboration with Oregon Contemporary Theatre

The Northwest Ten Festival (NW10) returns for its seventeenth year running, continuing on its mission to be the premiere ten-minute play festival in the Pacific Northwest. The ten-minute format shares the best elements of a long-form play, only in bite-sized pieces. The festival curates the best of new works from the Pacific Northwest representing a variety of genres. Playwrights from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia are eligible to participate. Submissions are open through October 31, 2024. Selected works will be presented at Oregon Contemporary Theatre in April of 2025.

Find more information about the NW10 Festival and complete submission guidelines at octheatre.org/nw10.

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NORTHWEST 10 2025: ELIGIBILITY & SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

• Open to residents of Idaho, Oregon, Washington state and British Columbia
• Submissions are open to the first 100 scripts received from September 1, 2024, through October 31, 2024.

• Scripts must be original, unpublished, and not produced or scheduled for production at the time of submission.
• Plays with small casts, simple sets, and minimal technical requirements are strongly preferred.
• Scripts must have a running time of approximately 10 minutes—this should total about 10 pages or fewer (exclusive of title and cast pages) in a 12-point font. Plays that are estimated to run less than 8 minutes or longer than 11 minutes will not be considered.
Please note: Large monologues can cause a play to run long, even when within the proper page limits. Read your play aloud at a regular speaking pace for an accurate time estimate.
• Plays must be in their final, ready-to-produce draft upon submission.
• Scripts will only be considered if they follow submission guidelines; NW10 may ask writers for an updated submission if guidelines are not followed.
• Limited to one submission per playwright per festival.
• Selected playwrights will be notified by January 1, 2025.
• Playwrights consent, if selected, to permit NW10 and Oregon Contemporary Theatre to produce their play in 2025.
• All selected playwrights will receive an honorarium and retain copyright and full ownership of their play.
• Plays will be presented live during a two-weekend run in April 2025; playwrights will be contacted regarding any digital presentation or update to production scheduling.
• Playwrights are asked to participate in an audience talk-back following the closing matinee.

SUBMISSION PROCESS

• Email entries with the subject “NW10 Submission – [Play Title]” to NW10Festival@gmail.com

• In the body of the email, include the following:
— Play title
— Playwright’s name, address, phone number(s) and email address
— Attach two PDFs:
— 1. [“Play Title – BLIND”] — your play, free of all contact information
— 2. [“Play Title”] — the complete version of your play, including contact information, to be used by actors and directors for selected scripts
.
• Submissions must be sent as PDF attachments only; no hard copy submissions or other formats will be accepted
.
• All submissions should be in a standard professional play format
.
• The first page of the script should include the title, character list and basic setting
.
• Title and page number should appear at the top of each page
.
• Deadline for 2025: Submissions must be received on or before October 31, 2024
.

Only the first 100 submissions will be considered; playwrights will be notified immediately if their submissions arrive after the cutoff date or the submission cap has been reached.