Submissions due August 14, 2015
Selected short plays will be performed during the Autry’s American Indian Arts Marketplace in Los Angeles. This year’s theme: What is family?
Today there are many variations on what it means to be a family. Your play on the family story might focus on the more traditional, extended family story (parents and children residing with other family members); or perhaps the so-called nuclear family; or maybe it’s a story of a mother or father raising their children; or a brother, his sister, and her children; or maybe you want to explore GAP family stories (grandparents raising grandchildren); or an adopted or created family story.
What does all of this mean to the Native American family and identity? Are we born into a family for life, or do we surround ourselves with adopted “family members” as we grow older? Whether a family is biological or chosen, it has shaped our identity and formed our histories.
Native Voices seeks short plays (5–16 pages long) that address the many ways a Native American family forms and functions. Plays may be a celebration of family life, or an examination of complexities and issues in Native families. Alternately, plays may dramatize traditional family stories or family histories. Specific topics can range anywhere from coming-of-age stories to foster care or adoption stories; the discovery of shared heritage to the cycle of historical trauma. Both comedies and dramas are always welcome.
Selection Process: Short plays (5 page minimum–15 page maximum) that are related to the theme and are received by August 14, 2015 will be read and evaluated by a national reading panel comprised of Native American theatre artists and community members along with nationally recognized theatre artists. They will select 5 to 8 plays for the festival based on the creative use of the theme, originality, theatricality, and execution. Selected plays will be given a staged reading on November 8, 2015, as part of the Autry’s annual American Indian Arts Marketplace. A panel of celebrity judges will select the 2015 Von Marie Atchley Award for Excellence in Playwriting, a $1,000 cash prize.
Checklist for All Submissions
- Please label script attachment as follows: PlayTitle_Author’s Last Name, First Initial (Example: MyNewPlay_Doe, J.doc).
- You must use a standard playscript format (observe one-inch margins, use a #12 Times or Courier font, number all script pages).
- Include a title page with full contact information (mailing address, phone numbers, email address) and a draft or revision date.
- Include a character breakdown.
- Provide a biography of 75–100 words. Please label attachment as follows: Bio_Author’s Last Name, First Initial (Example: Bio_Doe, J.doc).
- Provide development history for the play. Label attachment as follows: DevHistory_PlayTitle_Author’s Last Name, First Initial (Example: DevHistory_MyNewPlay_Doe, J.doc).