Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announced a national call for monologue submissions inspired by the world-premiere theatrical event Our War, a commission of 25 American playwrights as part of The National Civil War ProjectMonologues should address or react to the American Civil War and how it reverberates in America today, and up to three winners will be selected to receive a performance of their monologue at Arena Stage by members of the cast of Our War at a post-show public reading on Nov. 6 following the 8:00 p.m. performance. Directed by Anita Maynard-Losh, Our War runs October 21 – November 9 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle

Selected writers will also receive a session with American Voices New Play Institute dramaturge Jocelyn Clarke, a listing in the Our War program, and an award certificate. Video clips of the performed monologues will be posted on Arena Stage’s website and shared via social media.

“A driving force behind The National Civil War Project is to create a dialogue around war and its reverberations, and what better way to start a conversation than by representing many different points of view from around the country,” shares Artistic Director Molly Smith.

Monologues must be no more than three minutes (approximately 600 words in length), may be fictitious or based on family history and should be told from the point of view of a character associated with the American Civil War. Published and amateur writers, as well as students ages 18 and up, are encouraged to participateThe monologue may not have been previously published and must be written by one writer. No previous theater experience is required.

Applicants must submit their written monologue, name, address, phone number, email address and, if applicable, school name and grade to kogodcradle@arenastage.org by Aug. 11. Submissions will be read by Arena Stage staff and board members, local theater artists, and community partners. Monologues will be judged based on originality, character, storytelling, structure, and theatricality. Winners will be announced in September and a list of winning monologues will be posted at arenastage.org.

For additional details and competition guidelines visit arenastage.org/ourwar.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.