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29th Annual 10x10 Information
SCRIPTWRITERS HOUSTON
29TH Annual 10 x 10
TEN-MINUTE PLAY AND SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
Submission Rules and Guidelines (aka “The Fine Print”)
Note:  Any questions about submission rules and guidelines should be sent to
 swh10x10@gmail.com
FINAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED:
​PLAY: Monday, June 3, 2019     FILM: Thursday, August 1, 2019
Interested in directing?  Please see the CALL FOR DIRECTORS document below. Interested in performing?  Please see the CALL FOR ACTORS document below.
Who May Submit
Open to everyone within a 100-mile radius of Houston 77002. 
Rules & Guidelines for Stage Plays
  • Plays must have a performance length of 10 minutes.
  • Plays use the guide of 1 page = 1 minute, but extended periods of action and/or dialogue will affect the performance length of the piece.  If you have a long monologue or a section of quick back-and-forth quips, note this too will affect the time.  Submissions that clearly exceed the 10-minute performance length or are significantly under length will be excluded from judging and no submission fees will be refunded.  Plays will be read aloud, using a stopwatch and any plays that read longer than 10 minutes will be disqualified.  ADVICE:  Read your play aloud before submitting.  If chosen as a submission, playwrights will be responsible for working with their directors to ensure the appropriate performance length, prior to the start of rehearsals.  While a rubric for judging scripts will be used, and length will be an element, excessively lengthy and short scripts will be disqualified before evaluation. 
  • Plays must be your original work.  Adaptations and pieces based upon other work will not be accepted without appropriate clearance documentation.  Scripts without such documents will be automatically excluded from judging and no submission fees will be refunded.  So, to be safe, make it your own.  As previously noted herein the 2019 10x10 play festival does not have a theme.  Therefore the onus is upon you as the writer to craft a play, which you feel is entertaining and compelling.  Your play may amuse, instruct or persuade the audience; these choices rest squarely upon your shoulders.
  • Plays must be producible with the use of few to no technical requirements.  Plays must not require the use of significant lighting or set and must use limited sound and props.  Remember that there will be ten plays of different styles and settings produced back to back.  You want your audience to say, “the plot was fascinating and the interaction between the actors was so real” instead of “the set was nice and I liked your choice in the music.”  We encourage the focus on engaging characters and a dynamic through-line.
  • Plays must contain only 2-3 actors.  Monologues are not accepted and will be excluded from judging and no submission fees will be refunded.  Plays requiring the use of more than 3 actors will be excluded from judging and no submission fees will be refunded.  Plays can include more than 3 characters and actors can portray more than one character, but there can be no more than 3 actors on stage at any time.
  • Plays must not have been previously produced or published.  Plays, which have been previously produced or published, will be excluded from judging and no submission fees will be refunded.  If the play is chosen and it is learned that the play has had production or publication, the play will be removed from the program, an alternate will be chosen, and no submission fees will be refunded.  Plays that have had a concert reading are allowed.  Removal can happen any time before opening night.
  • Only a maximum of five of the ten entries in the final 2019 Scriptwriters Houston 10 x 10 Festival will be allotted to writers who were presented in the previous year 10 x 10 festival.  A minimum of five of the ten writers will be persons who have been engaged members of Scriptwriters Houston for at least three months.  A maximum of four of the scripts will be by those who are NOT SWH members.  All submissions will be scored and the top 10 scores will be selected as the aforementioned rules are applied.  Then, the next highest scores, as many as necessary, will be selected until a slate accommodating the aforementioned rules in solidified.
  • Plays must be complete in nature and not part of a larger piece.  Submissions should stand-alone and not be a scene from a larger work.  Part of the challenge of a 10-minute play contest is to construct a complete work with the designated performance time.  It should not be a thinly veiled teaser for your full-length play.  The integrity of your artistry is at stake.  If this occurs, it could affect your ability to submit to future 10x10's or other Scriptwriters/Houston events.
  • Playwrights may not submit more than five (5) plays for members and (2) plays for non-members consideration.  If more are submitted, only the first of those submitted will be considered (Artistic Director’s discretion).
  • Format (READ THIS!)  Please follow the COVER PAGE instructions above.  Please include your name ON THE COVER PAGE ONLY (in the email itself if emailed as a pdf), not on any other page of the script.  Please make sure the title of your script and page numbers appear as a footer on every page of your script.
  • By submitting their work, playwrights agree to allow their work to be produced at the Scriptwriters Houston 2019 10x10 Showcase during the second and third weeks of September at Company on Stage.  Ten plays will be selected from the entire pool of submissions.  A panel of script evaluators will determine winning plays.  Winners will be notified by in June, via email from Scriptwriters Houston.  The selected scripts will be listed after playwrights are first notified of the selection of their respective plays and this information will be posted on the Scriptwriters Houston Facebook page.  The decision of the evaluators will be final.  Winning writers will receive a $50 honorarium (so you get your fees back in you are selected!)
  • Upon submission, you agree to abide by the decision of the evaluators.  No refunds will be given for submissions after the submission due date.  If you need to pull your play for whatever reason, a refund of the submission fee (not the membership fee) may be requested, but only if done by June 1, 2019.  Your play will not be sent to the evaluators and you will not receive any feedback.
  • If your submission is selected, we may make a recording of the event.  The recording is for publicity and archival purposes and won’t be sold.  If possible, we will give a copy to the playwrights or at least make their section of the program available.
  • Any questions about submission rules and guidelines should be sent to swh10x10@gmail.com.  Subject: 10x10 Question.
Rules & Guidelines for Films
  • Films must be 10 seconds to 90 seconds.  Trailers and pieces of longer projects are acceptable. 
  • Films must submitted via a transfer service accessed in the public domain or emailed with an .mov, .mp4, .AVI extension.  Do not let this deter you.  Contact SWH BEFORE submission if this is in question.
  • Submissions that clearly exceed the length or are significantly under length will be excluded from judging and no submission fees will be refunded. 
  • Films must be your original work.  The person submitting the work must be a primary writer of the work.
  • All works are eligible.  Eight(8) entries will be selected of all those submitted.  A minimum of four of the eight writers will be persons who are members of Scriptwriters/Houston.  The Artistic Director will have discretion.
  • Each writer may submit a maximum of two submissions. A maximum of one per writer will be accepted. 
  • By submitting their work, writers agree to allow their work to be shared at the Scriptwriters Houston 2019 10x10 Showcase during the second and third weeks of September at Company on Stage.  Eight films will be selected from the entire pool of submissions.  A panel of script evaluators will determine winning films.  Winners will be notified by in August 15th, via email from Scriptwriters Houston.  The selected films will writers will be notified prior to this information being posted on the Scriptwriters Houston Facebook page and made public.  The decision of the evaluators will be final.  Winning writers will receive a $50 honorarium (so you get your fees back in you are selected!)
  • Upon submission, you agree to abide by the decision of the evaluators.  No refunds will be given for submissions after the submission due date.  If you need to pull your film for whatever reason, a refund of the submission fee (not the membership fee) may be requested, but only if done by August 15, 2019.  The writer will not receive any feedback.
  • Any questions about submission rules and guidelines should be sent to swh10x10@gmail.com .  Subject: 10x10 Question.
Submission Format For Cover Pages
(If stage play is hand delivered or sent in a Word Document.  If emailed as a .pdf, this content goes in the body of the email only.  This also applies for film submissions.)
  • Author’s Name, Address, Phone Number and E-Mail
  • Title of Play
  • An indication of complete or incomplete membership renewal.  Incomplete membership renewal subscriptions will include submission fees paid in the Amount stated above, by the methods stated above
  • The following statement: "I have read and understand the submission rules, guidelines, and deadline.  I accept the terms of submitting my work to the Scriptwriters Houston 2019 10 x 10 Playwriting Contest.  I also give permission to Scriptwriters Houston to make a recording of my play as produced by Scriptwriters Houston, and to grant to Scriptwriters Houston license to use that recording to promote Scriptwriters Houston, by way of public/electronic media, including but not limited to YouTube, Facebook, e-mail attachment, or by way of a television, film, or radio broadcast or podcast. [INSERT WRITERS NAME HERE]"
How To Submit Scripts and Films
ELECTRONICALLY:
  • To submit electronically, please send an email with the above information in the body to swh10x10@gmail.com.  Subject: 10x10 Entry.  (This is the PREFERRED method of entry.)
  • SCRIPTS should be forwarded as a WORD or PDF ATTACHMENT.
  • FILMS can be shared through a transfer service, cloud sharing method, or via email.
MAIL DELIVERY:
  • Please provide the information above in your cover letter attached to one (1) hard copy of your submitted script(s) and mail to Scriptwriters Houston, P.O. Box 981106, Houston, Texas 77098.  Submissions mailed/hand delivered must be delivered on/before May 1, 2019.  Note:  This does not mean postmarked by!  It must be in the P.O. Box by May 1st!
  • We will send you a confirmation email to note when it has been received.
  • FILMS may be send through mail delivery on a flash drive.
 HAND DELIVERED:
  • Hand delivered to our monthly meeting, April 15, 2019 at 7pm at the Montrose Counseling Center, 401 Branard Street, Room 114, Houston, Texas 77006.
Costs
STAGE PLAY:
  • The first two (2) submissions are free for Scriptwriters Houston(SWH) members with a cost of $10.00 per additional submission, up to a maximum of five (5) submission.
  • Writers who are not members of Scriptwriters Houston, but who live within the 100-mile radius of 77002, may submit one (1) play with no submission cost, and a maximum of two submission, $15 for the additional submission. 
FILM:
  • The first submission is free for Scriptwriters Houston (SWH) members with a cost $10.00 per additional submission, up to a maximum of two (2) submission.
  • Writers who are not members of Scriptwriters Houston, but who live within the 100-mile radius of 77002 may submit a maximum of two submission for $15 each.  
For membership standing to be applicable to the festival submission the membership fee of $35 to Scriptwriters Houston must be paid by April 15, 2019, which is the monthly meeting of SWH.  While membership fees will still be accepted after this date, they will not be applied to this festival process and the $15 per submission will apply.  Be advised that membership to SWH usually closes on February 28th so this is an extension and other opportunities for membership will happen later in the year!!!
HOW TO SUBMIT FEE:
The fees (and membership dues if you haven’t paid your 2019 dues yet) can either be:
  • Mailed as a check made payable to:
Scriptwriters Houston
P.O. Box 981106
Houston, Texas 77098 Current membership renewals (those done by April 15th end of day) should indicate such on their cover sheet.  Anyone who falsely claims a current membership status will have their play disqualified.
Judging Criteria And Tips
Stage Scripts will be evaluated using the following criteria:
  • Producibility
  • Length
  • Number of Characters
  • Originality
  • Creativity
  • Entertainment Value
  • Evaluator Judgment
Film submission will be evaluated using the following criteria:
  • Technical quality of product submitted
  • Length
  • Story Development
  • Originality
  • Entertainment Value
Final Notes
  • Feedback on submissions is not a guarantee.
  • Having said that, don't try to write to the judges.  They come from various backgrounds and of diverse experience levels.  You should instead write the best possible script you can that adheres to all requirements.
  • The hardest part of a ten-minute play or a short film is writing a ten-minute play or short film.  You want your script to still make an impact, be entertaining, and to leave the audience wanting to see more of your work in the future, but you have to do all of that in limited time. 
  • Revise!  Do not send in your first draft.  Yes, you will hear from playwrights who rush to write something at the last minute, send it in seconds before the deadline, and are still selected.  This is the exception and not the rule!
  • Edit!!  Take time to work on your film submission.  Less might be more so you have time to create an adequate package.
  • For further clarifications, send all questions to swh10x10@gmail.com.  Subject: 10x10 Questions.  (Please be judicious about this.  Don't send your questions at 10 pm on June 3rd and please be very patient as you await a response.)​
10x10 PDF Rules
PDF Copy of 10x10 Rules
PDF Copy of 10x10 Rules-Extension
Call For Directors Document
Call for Actors Document
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