Playwriting Contest Results Are In

In order to solicit works aligned with current high school-aged students living in a globally connected and diverse world, CSW in cooperation with Boston University/Boston Playwrights’ Theatre (BPT), held a contest for New England playwrights that ended July 31, 2013. CSW chose two plays that differ in genre and themes of social unrest. Two playwrights will split the award of $500.

This is the first time that CSW has cooperated with BPT to launch a playwriting contest. The winning plays: “The Tree of the Methodists,” written by Michael Tooher and “Orbiting Mars,” by Peter Snoad, will be examined in several theatre classes throughout the year; both in writing style and structure, as well as taking a deeper look at the social themes. Tooher, based in Portland, Maine, said it was a wonderful honor for his play to have been chosen. “The Tree of the Methodists” is a coming-of-age drama set in different periods of time. Snoad’s play “Orbiting Mars” is a comic political satire. Snoad, of Jamaica Plain, MA, is thrilled that his work will be a learning opportunity for CSW students.

Although the program is still being developed, Barbara Whitney, the Chair of the CSW Theatre Department, looks forward to working with Tooher and Snoad throughout the year, and especially for a final presentation of a staged reading in the spring of 2014.

CSW received a little over 40 submissions from New England-based playwrights. Several of the contest requirements included a minimum cast size of 10 characters with as many speaking roles as possible, and play length 60 to 90 minutes, in line with high school productions. CSW and BPT accepted plays of any genre, adaptations of works in the public domain, series of thematically related monologues or collection of related one-act plays. The contest rules excluded anyone currently associated with CSW.