Contest Specifics:
- The play may be 10 minutes or less.
- There should be a story arc that answers a question.
- Characters should be well developed.
- The primary character should be dynamic and complex.
- The script must be original, typed in 12-point Courier font with pages numbered.
- Once registration closes, you will receive a link to a google form. When you are ready to submit, you will use that link.
- The following information must appear on the first page (cover page): title of the play, student’s name, school, current grade, email address, home address, city, state, zip code, home phone number, name of teacher, and signed statement certifying the originality of the submitted work.
- The following information must appear on the second page (title page): title of the play. No other information may appear on this page.
- Students may collaborate on a single monologue.
- Students may not submit more than one entry.
How to Write a 10-Minute Play
When writing a 10-minute play, any method can be used to brainstorm the standard parts of any story, such as the character, world, and so forth. For best results, focus your brainstorming for a 10-minute play on the same things you would for a short story.
Ask a question:
Every 10-minute play should ask a question. It is something to keep in mind when writing a 10-minute play as it helps you avoid writing a sketch.
Ask any sort of question. Make this the focus of your play. It will give your play purpose.
Develop your character, conflict, and setting:
After you've asked the main question of your 10-minute play, you'll want to flesh out the characters, setting, and conflict that derives from your question.
Develop at least one complex character to engage your audience.
Skip exposition:
Due to the time constraint, you'll need to skip exposition of any kind to get to the action. Introduce the conflict as soon as possible so the audience knows why they're following your story right away.
Tips for Writing a 10-Minute Play
Cut out extraneous details:
Unlike a short story, there is an actual time limit to this piece, so cut out anything that isn't relevant to your story. This could be a side character, a scene, or a line of dialogue. Once you've written your script, look at it with a critical eye and treat every detail of your story like a choice. Ask yourself if it answers the main question you posited at the beginning of this post, and if it doesn't, cut it out.
Use action to add depth:
Avoid telling the entire story with dialogue alone. You have living, breathing people on stage who can use their bodies, their movement, and their expressions to tell even more. Make your story more efficient and jam-pack it with more information by adding action that signals deeper meanings.
Judging:
A professional, working playwright will read your monologue and choose winners. The number of winners will be based in part on the number of entries.
Prizes:
The METG will host an in-person reading of the winning piece(s) if current public health conditions allow. Prizes will be determined by the METG Board of Trustees.
Workshop Info:
The writing workshops are included in your registration! The first Playwriting Workshop will be Tuesday, November 22nd from 5:00pm-7:00pm on Zoom. The workshop will be led by Jackie Martin.
Jackie Martin is a teacher and playwright from Norwood, MA. Jackie’s plays have been produced by theaters, high schools, and universities around the United States. Awards include the Peter Honegger Prizes for Best One Act and Best Short Play (2019), the Audience Choice Award at Shadblow Theatre’s Short Play Festival (2020), and the LabWorks Producers’ Choice Award at the Pittsburgh New Works Festival (2021). Jackie’s award-winning one-act play Corrections is published by Heuer Publishing, and her short play for virtual performance, We’re Alright, is published by YouthPLAYS. In addition, Jackie’s plays and monologues have been featured in several anthologies including GO PLAY OUTSIDE: Twenty-five Short Plays Written for the Great Outdoors (Applause, 2021) and “Best Of” anthologies from Smith & Kraus (2020, 2021, and 2022.) Jackie is a member of Playwrights' Platform and Dramatists Guild of America.