8 to the Barista 2023:  Anniversary

Announcing “Eight to the Bar/ista” –
GreenMan Theatre Troupe’s Third Annual
10 Minute Play Festival for Midwestern Playwrights
 
 
GreenMan Theatre Troupe is celebrating its twentieth year as Elmhurst, Illinois’ community theater.  From classics (Macbeth) to musicals (Bright Star) to dinner theater mysteries (Cheers to You, Kid!) to outside-the-box choices (Monstrous Regiment) to audience favorites (Harvey), GreenMan’s track record is impressive and consistent.
http://www.greenmantheatre.org
 

GreenMan will be presenting Eight to the Bar/ista, an evening of eight 10 minute plays.  The prompt is “Happy Anniversary!”  The show will be performed in July, 2023 at Brewpoint Coffee in Elmhurst, Illinois.  Eight plays will be selected.  Cash prizes for the selected plays will be determined by the audience voting on their favorites during the run of the show:
1st Place - $200.00
2nd Place - $100.00
3rd Place - $50.00
 
PLAY SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
 
1.  Playwrights may submit up to two plays each to GM10MP@comcast.net from February 1, 2023 through March 1, 2023.  Selected plays will be announced on April 30, 2023.  Playwrights must be currently residing in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri or Michigan.  Scripts with previous performances are permitted, but must be unpublished.
 
2. Prompt – “Happy Anniversary.”  Your play needs to be focused on an anniversary – any event that occurs yearly and isn’t a recognized holiday.  Birthdays, weddings, graduations, the anniversary of the battle of Agincourt, etc.  Whatever anniversary it is must be important to the plot, not just casually mentioned.  If you take an existing play, add, “Gee, it sucks this is happening on your birthday!” and the birthday is never referenced again… no.  Just no.
 
3. Content – Anything rated G to R.  No nudity or excessive violence, but other than that – go for it.  Our normal performance space is a church basement.  This production will be in the back room of a coffee house, with alcohol being served.
 
4. Restrictions – No more than six actors per script will be cast.  Doubling of parts will be permitted.
Keep the set and props simple.  A table or two and some chairs.  Easily obtainable props.  If your script requires six foot tall carnivorous pigs, we will be unlikely to do it justice.  But you can go the Second City route: chairs can become car seats, couches or six foot tall carnivorous pigs.
 
5.  Format – Limit: eight pages.  Plays must be submitted electronically as PDF files.  The playwright’s name must not appear anywhere but the title page; the judging is to be completely blind.  Stick to standard play format: one inch margins, 12 point Courier or Times font.  Title page (containing playwright’s name, address and e-mail), cast list page with brief descriptions of characters, followed by no more than eight pages of script.  The judges will read the finalists out loud to get a timing; anything longer than ten minutes will be disqualified.  A sample format is found here; don’t stray too far from this: http://www.playwrightslocal.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Samuel-French-Formatting-Guide.pdf
 
6. Genre – Comedy, drama, mystery, tragedy, farce… pretty much anything except monologues, musicals or children’s shows.  Also, we’re looking for original works.  Adaptations are permitted, but the original source must either be in the public domain, or have adaptation rights secured in writing by the playwright.
 
7. Quota – We will read up to 200 plays.  No more than 200 will be accepted.
 
8. Entry Fee – There isn’t one.
 
9. Royalties – None.  Comps – the playwright and one friend will be admitted free, as many times as they want to come.
 
10. Rights – GreenMan Theatre Troupe will have the right to perform your play for this production only.  Photographs will be taken, and unless requested not to by the playwright, plays may be video recorded for online viewing on YouTube, Facebook, etc.  All other rights are retained by the playwright.
 
11. Directing – Director submissions will be open on May 1, 2023. 
 
12. Selection – Sixteen plays will be chosen for the final list.  Eight directors will be selected, who will read all the scripts and choose three plays he/she would like to direct.  In most cases, directors get their first or second choice.  So you might get to direct your own play, but don’t bet the ranch on it.
 
If you have any questions, please direct them to GM10MP@comcast.net.
 
We look forward to reading your plays!