King's Shorts Festival of Ten Minute Plays

Send Us Your Scripts

Open to:  Anybody, even if you have never written a script before.  Each play is to be submitted individually and each person can submit a maximum of two plays.  Plays must be typewritten.  Hand written plays are not acceptable.

Format:  10 minutes in length or less (when read) , can be any genre (comedy, tragedy, etc.).  Requires small number of characters (1-4) and simple production set.  all plays must be original, never been prerviously produced in any form.

Prizes:  Eight entries will be chosen to be performed on the King's Theatre stage and a $200 prize will be presented to the winning playwright as chosen by a committee from the Board of Directors of Theatre Nova Scotia.  A $100 prize will also be awarded to the second place playwright.  A "People's Choice" award will be chosen by a vote of the audience at all three performances.  The winners will be announced June 16, 2013, the final matinee of the festival, on the King's Theatre stage.

Submissions:  Send your play to the address below, with a non-refundable $ 10 entry fee (cheques payable to King's Theatre).  Musty be postmarked no later than January 11, 2013.  First page must have the title of the play and a pseudonym.  All subsequent pages should also contain the title.

Anonymity:  The name of the play and the actual name of the playwright (along with contact information) are to be sent, along with the play in a second sealed envelope; second envelope will not be opened until the judging is completed.  Scripts will not be returned and applicants will be informed by March 8, 2013 if their play is to be included in the Festival.

Further information:  Wayne Currie, (902) 532-0455, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it        or       Michelle Hall email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it         or          King's Theatre, (902) 532-7704   email    This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Send entries to the address below:

 

King's Shorts

c/o King’s Theatre

209 St. George Street

Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia

B0S 1A0

2012 King's Shorts Best Yet

 

 

King's Shorts Festival of Ten Minute Plays, held June 15, 16, and 17 at King's Theatre was, again, a huge success. Now in its sixth year, record attendance totalled over 500 for the 3-day event. Many attendees said it was the best festival ever with all eight of the plays presented deemed worthy of an award.

As in past years, Theatre Nova Scotia identified two of the eight plays as best written. The first place award of $200 went to Charles Salmon of Halifax for his play, The Chair, a nostalgic look at the repercussions of an inherited chair from an uncle. Janet Godsell of Wellington won $100 second place for her play, A Business Arrangement, a comedy about a lady hiring a hit man to kill her husband, with a shocking and surprising ending. A Business Arrangement was also chosen for The People's Choice Award as voted by the audiences at all three performances.

Started as a theatrical experiment in 2007, the Festival has become a fixture in the cultural life of the Annapolis Valley, this year attracting 53 manuscripts. Our thanks to all the playwrights, directors, actors and support people for their seamless efforts in putting together fine theatre.

A Brief History

In 2006 Dean Taylor, local Annapolis Royal playwright, was discussing ten minute plays with some members of the Annapolis District Drama Group, as well as with the Executive Director of Theatre Nova Scotia. They all felt that a Ten Minute play festival was the perfect fit for the Annapolis area and King’s Theatre. So Dean formed a committee that year, and in June 2007 the King’s Shorts Festival of Ten Minute Plays was born.

The Festival Today

Including the submissions for 2012, 209 plays have been submitted to the Festival from playwrights across Canada and the United States and every June eight plays are produced. The festival has included plays by first time playwrights and by experienced playwrights, by amateur writers and by professional writers, by men and by women, by young writers and by “more mature” writers. In 2012, a script was received from Greece!

Our Goal

Aside from being a fundraiser for King’s Theatre, King’s Shorts has two main goals. The first is to make live theatre more accessible to all - audience, playwrights, directors and performers alike, and the second is to help them experience, or continue to experience, the joy of live theatre. To that end, each play performed is assigned its own director and set of players. At each annual performance, a first and second place winner, based on the written work, is chosen by Theatre Nova Scotia. As well, a People's Choice Award is selected by the audiences at the three performances of the festival. To date, the winners of these awards are:  

Our Challenge to You

If you have never been involved with live theatre this is your chance. The plays are only ten minutes long so it’s a great opportunity to “jump in” with both feet. We are always looking for playwrights (new or used), for actors (experienced or otherwise), for directors (we’ll even give you a little training), for backstage crew (you only need a black t-shirt) and for audience members (you simply need the ability to enjoy yourself). In whatever capacity you choose, we look forward to seeing you at the Festival in June.