The submission window is closing for the Clauder Competition playwriting contest. Plays must be postmarked or electronically submitted by Thursday, March 31.
The Clauder grand prize winner will receive a cash award of $3,000, as well as a full production at Portland Stage with a professional director, designers and actors.
Jeb Brooks created the competition in 1981 to support New England playwrights and bring their work to the attention of the greater theater community. The competition aims to provide exposure, encouragement and critical feedback to promising playwrights who typically receive little more than a return postcard for material they send to theaters and producers, according to a news release from the company.
“I remember how discouraged I felt when the only response to my submission was a curt statement in the mail saying that my work had been rejected,” Brooks said. “I wanted to make the competition a more positive experience by ensuring that all submissions would be given a thoughtful reading and feedback.”
One of the key components of the competition is that every writer who submits a play has that play read and reviewed by at least two readers, and every writer receives a letter from Portland Stage containing details from the evaluations of their submitted play.
Beyond providing feedback to every author, the competition identifies exciting new works by New England playwrights and ensures their successful launch through readings and productions.
Since 1998, it has been supported by Portland Stage, which adjudicates the competition and provides a creative home for the winning playwright. In addition to the grand prize winner, the Clauder selects two gold prize winners who each receive $1,500. The grand prize winners will be invited to workshop their play at the Little Festival of the Unexpected, Portland Stage’s annual new play festival where playwrights, professional theater artists, and audiences develop new works in a nurturing environment. The grand prize-winning play is then provided a full production in the following year.
The company plans in March to hold the live premiere of Greg Lam’s “Last Ship to Proxima Centauri,” the 2020 Clauder competition grand prize winner.
Past competition winners who have launched successful playwriting careers include: Pulitzer Prize winners Paula Vogel and Quiara Alegría Hudes, Brenda Withers, Liz Duffy Adams, Melinda Lopez, Adam Bock, William Donnelly and Tom Coash.
Additional commendations will be awarded to the best play submitted from each of the six New England states.
For submission restrictions and guidelines, visit portlandstage.org/script-submissions. The winning play will be announced in March 2023.
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