Kennedy Center 2018 VSA Playwright Discovery Program

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Young writers with disabilities and collaborative groups that include at least one student with a disability are invited to explore the disability experience through the art of writing for performance: plays, screenplays, spoken word poetry (for single performer or a group), or music theater. Writers are encouraged to craft short works from their own experiences and observations, create fictional characters and settings, or choose to write metaphorically or abstractly about the disability experience.

The piece may be of any genre, and scripts should be in the ten-minute play format. Entries may be the work of an individual student or a collaboration by a group of up to five students that includes at least one student with a disability. The competition has three divisions: Primary (grades 6-7), Junior (grades 8-9), and Senior (grades 10-12) (or equivalents). A panel of performing arts professionals selects the division winners.

One winning piece is chosen in each the Primary and Junior Divisions (grades 6-7 / ages 11-13 and 8-9 / ages 13-15 respectively). Winners will be featured in the press and on the Kennedy Center website.

Selected winners in the Senior Division (grades 10-12 / ages 15-18) will receive exclusive access to participate in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in Washington, D.C., and the opportunity to participate in staged readings and workshops alongside the nation's premier collegiate playwrights as well as participate in the festival’s award ceremony. The Playwright Discovery Program winners will participate in the festival from Wednesday, April 11 – Saturday, April 14, 2018. Winners of the Senior Division must be present for the entire event in order to be eligible for the award.

The application deadline is Wednesday, January 17, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

More on the web site.