Maine Youth Playwriting Challenge

Open to all up to age 18 – 10 days!!

“I just wanted to send along a resounding THANK YOU for your thoughtful and uplifting comments. Elias’s face just lit up as we made our way through them (and frankly, so did mine! 🙂 I am treasuring this experience co-writing with Elias. As sad as this sounds, although we both love storytelling, our lives are so busy, we’ve never slowed down to do it together.” 

-From Elisha Emerson, Elias’s mother

Elias has completed the challenge

In the Maine Youth Playwriting Challenge, Museum & Theatre educators turn playwriting into a ten step process, and guide participants through online challenges and direct mentorship. The playwriting challenge is designed to create a community of playwrights, promote the positive self-identity, and inspire the next generation of creative professionals. Playwriting original works develop self-esteem and communication skills in young people. By building a sense of accomplishment through artistic collaboration, the Maine Youth Playwriting Challenge will be a chance for young playwrights to imagine their work on stage and see themselves as writers and creative contributors to the community.

We’ve completed a 10 facebook challenge, but beginning April 6th, our playwriting challenge is moving to Instagram! The 10 Day Playwriting Challenge is moving over to a new social media platform: instagram, in order to reach a new audience. Playwrights can sign up on our website at www.kitetails.org/theatre for direct mentorship and to participate in readings, or follow along on instagram by following @childrensmuseum_theatreofmaine.

MAINE YOUTH PLAYWRITING CHALLENGE 

Many theaters have a ritual at the end of the night. They leave a ghost light on, which is a single, incandescent bulb that lights a path for anyone working late. There’s superstition around this ritual– some say it’s to keep theatre ghosts happy. We think it’s a symbol of hope. That even if a theatre is empty, even if it’s one night, the theater itself is never dark. The Children’s Theatre of Maine has been continually performing plays for a young audience since 1922. We are the oldest continuously running children’s theatre in the country! That’s 98 years of plays for young audiences. While schools are not in session, and while theatres are dark, now is the time for artists to hunker down and turn on the ghost light while we write our stories. Join the Maine Youth Playwriting Challenge.

The Maine Youth Playwriting Challenge at the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine empowers families to:

• Write stories
• Document our world and the time we’re living in
• Join in community
• Celebrate the imagination of Maine Youth

The Maine Youth Playwriting Challenge is an online challenge for young playwrights in Maine, to challenge and support each to write a play during this unique time of social distancing. These plays may take many forms, from realistic family dramas to utter absurdity.  This challenge will take place while school is not in session and challenge young playwrights to write short plays, focusing on: setting, character, structure and more!

If you are interested in participating, SIGN UP by completing the form to receive prompts and guidance from our theater staff.

GUIDELINES

• Anyone can participate, so long as you live in Maine and you are under 18.
• Plays can be team written (you can co-write a play with a friend through google docs, or even minecraft!)
• Playwrights are welcome to work closely with adult mentors if they’d like. (i.e. you can co-write a play with your dad! Or your entire family!)

If you have any questions please contact Reba Askari at reba@kitetails.org. Reba is the Director of Theatre & Education at Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine.