TCR Accepting Applications for Underground New Play Festival

Cedar Rapids - "Continuing an annual tradition, TCR will hold the Underground New Play Festival during the fall of 2013. The Festival is currently accepting submissions of new plays written by playwrights residing in Iowa, or who have strong Iowa connections. TCR is looking for a wide variety of original plays which have never been produced or published.

Submissions can be ten-minute pieces, one-acts, or full-length plays. We welcome a wide variety of genres, from comedies to dramas to musicals, and pieces can appeal to a family audience, a strictly adult audience, or may be pieces geared specifically to a child audience.

Both established and experienced playwrights, as well as those new to the craft, are welcome to submit work. In addition to adult playwrights and directors, youth in grades 6-12 are encouraged to submit plays and apply to direct.

A blind copy of each play submitted will be read by a selection committee chaired by TCR's artistic director Leslie Charipar. Each piece selected by the committee will be produced by volunteer directors (also chosen by the committee) in the Grandon Studio theatre at TCR. Each Underground New Play Festival has been unique. Audiences are challenged by seeing new material and having an opportunity to participate in talkbacks with each piece's playwright, director and cast. Playwrights have the opportunity to see their work performed, and often rework material based on actor and director feedback. Those new to directing have opportunities to work with a cast and crew in producing a piece in a supportive workshop environment, and every Festival sees both new and returning actors onstage. The Festival is a true workshop experience for all participants.

Key dates for the 2013 Underground New Play Festival
May 6, 2013: Deadline for play submissions and director applications.
May 31, 2013: Public announcement of the play titles selected and the names of each play's volunteer director.
June 30, July 1-2, 2013: Actor auditions and callbacks for the Festival plays.
September 2013: Underground New Play Festival performances.

For more information on submitting a play or applying to direct, please visit http://www.theatrecr.org/get-involved/get_underground/. Additional questions regarding the Underground New Play Festival may be sent to TCR Education Coordinator Mike Wilhelm (mike@theatrecr.org)."

(Source: TCR Newsletter)