Abingdon, Va. -- The 7th Annual Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrightswill take place July 30-Aug. 12, 2007. Submissions of new Appalachian-themed plays or plays by an Appalachian author may be submitted until March 31, 2007.
Founded in 2001, Barter's AFPP provides an outlet for new plays and playwrights with a distinctly Appalachian voice. Any original play that has not been previously published may be submitted for consideration. Recent successes from the Festival include local playwright Doug Pote's Keep on the Sunny Side: The Story and Songs of The Carter Family and Man of Constant Sorrow: The Story of The Stanley Brothers, Kentucky native Catherine Bush's The Other Side of the Mountain, and St. Louis, Missouri playwright Ron Osborne's Wise Women, First Baptist of Ivy Gap, and My River, My Valley. Some of these plays have gone on to tour and production at other regional theatres.
Six plays are selected and given staged readings annually. Following each reading there will be a discussion of the play with the Festival Panel (made up of local and regional theatre professionals) and the attending audience. Barter Theatre hope this process will shed new light on the plays allowing the playwright to further develop their work. The winning plays from the readings are given Mini-Productions the following year. Mini-productions are fully produced plays with minimal technical elements such as costuming and sets.
Play submission guidelines are as follows. Plays must be written by an Appalachian playwright (currently living in the Appalachian Mountains which run from New York State to Alabama) OR the plays must contain Appalachian settings and themes. Full-length plays are preferred. Please submit the full script and an SASE if you wish your play returned. The writers of the selected plays will be provided with housing and transportation in order to attend the reading of their play.
The playwrights of the six selected plays will each receive $250 plus transportation and housing for two nights (the day before and the day of the reading). The winner of the Festival will receive $500 and a mini-production the following year. Second place will receive $250 and a possible mini-production the following year.
Plays must be received by March 31, 2007. Submissions may be sent to: Nick Piper, Director, Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights, P.O. Box 867, Abingdon, VA 24212 or e-mail to apfestival@bartertheatre.com
More info on the AFPP is available on the festival website: Click Here
