PUHI — Women in Theatre says it is time to sharpen your pencils, cudgel your brains and create your mini-magnum opus. WIT’s biennial 10-minute play festival — dubbed “Kaua‘i Shorts” — returns in August for its fourth season. From now
PUHI — Women in Theatre says it is time to sharpen your pencils, cudgel your brains and create your mini-magnum opus.
WIT’s biennial 10-minute play festival — dubbed “Kaua‘i Shorts” — returns in August for its fourth season. From now until April 1 the group will be accepting submissions from far and wide.
The first submission was received Jan. 7 all the way from the United Kingdom, according to Romey Curtis, originally from England and one of the founding members of WIT.
“I’ve never had one from there before,” she said.
Typically, WIT produces 16 plays during the festival, which is scheduled for the weekend of Aug. 9 at the Kaua‘i Community College Performing Arts Center in Puhi. The plays are chosen by a panel of experienced judges and the audience is given the opportunity to vote for their favorites, who are honored during the last day of performances.
“It’s always been a big success,” Curtis said. “We have some very fine resident playwrights on island, but we also encourage new writers to take part — everyone has a least one play in them.”
Participants may choose any subject that is suitable for a general audience, but plays that have been professionally produced are ineligible. Adaptations may be considered and previously written work may be submitted, even if it has been presented at another festival.
“The play must be of the required (10-minute) length, with a simple setting and not more than six characters,” Curtis said.
The main message is to keep the play short and sweet.
Plays must be submitted as an email attachment before April 1 to Romey Curtis at romeycurtis@aol.com. The scripts will then be circulated among the judges, who will select the finalists.
Auditions will be held to cast the plays in early June and production assistance will be provided by WIT.
The plays will be presented to the public Aug. 9 and Aug. 10. On Aug. 11, the three judges will announce their choices for the drama and comedy categories, as well as the Audience Choice awards. Each winner will receive a certificate, accompanied by applause.
In 2011, 22 plays from around the country — some as far as New York — were submitted. The submissions were narrowed down to 12 finalists and showcased playwrights from Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, the Big Island, Oregon and California.
“With that many plays, there are a lot of people involved,” Curtis said. “Whenever there’s a competition, people get excited.”
Winners of the 2011 Kaua‘i Shorts festival were “The Girl Next Door” (Comedy) by David P. Scott, “Story of a Fly” (Drama) by Richard C. Goodman, “Heroine” (Audience Choice on Friday) by Mark Tjarks, “Tornado” (Audience Choice on Saturday) and “The Gift” (special award for Comedy/Drama) by Frank Reilly.
For more information visit www.womenintheatre.org or call Romey Curtis at 635-3727.
