2024 FINALISTS
MATTERING
by Donna R Boyd
THE REAL HOUSEHUSBANDS OF VERMONT by David Carkeet
MY NEW ASSIGNMENT by Bruce Deveau
BAAD NEWS by Abigail Espinal
WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU MELONS by Kimberly Ferse
THE HIGH PRIESTESS AND THE FOOL by Elle Collins
STOCKED by Serena Norr
CLEAN by Emmett Spaw
TO SUBMIT FOR 2025
15-minute plays are accepted for review October and November 2024 for the event in March, 2025.
Submission Instructions
If Your Play Is Selected
Production Fee
Playwrights will be charged a $100 fee to cover the $500 prize as well as the cost of hiring the stage manager/technical director.
The Theater Project does not charge a submission fee for its THINK FAST one-act festival. We do, however, charge a $100 production fee to help cover the cost of the $500 prize as well as the hiring of a stage manager/technical director to work with the productions on their technical needs as well as supervise a rehearsal and record the final performance on TTP’s Zoom platform.
Although we would rather not charge a production fee, the reality is that without help from participating playwrights, we would not be able to offer this showcase for new works.
About the Competition
The Theater Project’s annual short play competition awards the winner for Best Play a $500 prize. The contest is open to adult playwrights, 18 and up. There is no fee to submit your play for consideration, but there is a participation fee for the finalists who present (see below). Plays are accepted in the fall for a virtual event in March 1- 3, 2024. Eight to ten short plays are selected for three prerecorded broadcast performances.
At each performance, the audience will vote for their favorite play. After the final performance, judges will award: Best Play ($500 prize), Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Audience Favorite (play) certificates.
Plays can be either dramas or comedies but must be no more than 15 minutes running time. This restriction is absolute and plays that exceed 15 minutes will not be considered. Sets, lighting and sound requirements must be simple. No elaborate props or effects. Playwrights invited to participate must have plays that are ready-to-perform and supply their own actors and directors who are recorded via Zoom by The Theater Project.
MARCH 2023 FINALISTS:
Kim Ferse (Seattle, WA)
Helen Mao (Olney, MD)
Cindi Sansone-Braff (East Patchogue, NY)
Teddy Durgin, (Wake Forest, NC)
Michael Towers (Westford, MA)
Marcus Harmon (Brooklyn, NY)
Curt Strickland (Stoughton, MA)
Sarah Congress (Asbury Park, NJ)
THE ENVELOPE, PLEASE.
Our panel of judges agreed that this was an exceptionally strong field -- congratulations to all participants.
The nominees for best director:
And the winner is: Bonnie Webster, I AM SANTA
The nominees for best actor:
And the winner is: Hartley Erickson, 20th ANNIVERSARY
The nominees for best actress:
And the winner is Lily Rogers, MOLTING
AUDIENCE FAVORITE – an extremely close count -- The winner is a tie:
SPEED DATING, by Curt Strickland & MOLTING, by Michael Towers
The nominees for the Judges Prize and the $500 cash award:
And the winner is MOLTING by Michael Towers
ALL ARE WELCOME
The arts have brought people together for thousands of years, and The Theater Project is a small part of that proud tradition. We strive to make everyone—audience, artists, and technicians—feel welcome and seen, regardless of age, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or presence of a disability. We aim to provide opportunities for the open exchange of ideas as our contribution towards a more inclusive and compassionate society.
These programs are made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey Arts & Culture Renewal Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation, the Essex County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and by the generosity of our many sponors and donors.
Please visit OUR SUPPORTERS for a complete list of sponsors, donors and funders.