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30th Annual 10x10 Ten Minute Festival Information
SCRIPTWRITERS HOUSTON
30TH Annual 10 x 10
TEN-MINUTE PLAY 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:
​PLAY: September 10, 2021
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.
  • Consider using a standard format.  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.  Any play that is well over 10 minutes at the first group rehearsals will be asked to adjust, per the director's discretion.
  • 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.  We encourage a direction toward joy and hope.
  • 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.
  • In honor of our 30th anniversary, three of the ten entries will be reserved for scripts that have been presented in past 10 x 10 festivals.  These three scripts may be published or unpublished bust must not require a royalty to be paid by SWH and must be submitted by the playwright.  If you have a play that was presented and it was received well by the the larger audience, please submit it again.  Three of the remaining entries in the final 2021 Scriptwriters Houston 10 x 10 Festival will be reserved for those who have been members of scriptwriters for a minimum of three months at the time of submission.  Spots in the "Reserved" categories will be released as necessary.  All submissions will be scored and the top 10 scores will be selected as the aforementioned rules are applied.
  • With the exclusion of the plays that have been presented over the 30-year history, 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.
  • 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 three (3) plays for consideration.  If more are submitted, only the first of those submitted will be considered (Artistic Director’s discretion).
  • By submitting their work, playwrights agree to allow their work to be produced at the Scriptwriters- Houston 2021 10x10 Showcase during the first full week of December 2021 at Theatre Suburbia.  Ten plays will be selected from the entire pool of submissions.  A panel of script evaluators will determine winning plays.  Winners will be notified via email from Scriptwriters Houston.  The selected scripts will be notified prior to public announcement.  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!)  All submissions will receive aggregated evaluator feedback.
  • 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, no refund will be given.  If submission is reneged prior to evaluation your play will not be sent to the evaluators and you will not receive any feedback.
  • If your submission is selected SWH may make a recording of the event 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.​
Submission Format For Ten Minute Play
EMAIL ONLY.  The content below should be in the body of the email only, not inside the script submission.  The submission must be in PDF or Word format.  Do not send any links to access your document, as they will be disqualified.
  • Author’s Name, Address, Phone Number and E-Mail
  • Dates of paid membership as you recall
  • Title of Play
  • Indicate membership status:  1) I am not a member but am submitting a script that was done in a festival past.  2) I am not a member and am not becoming a member at this time.  (Please see COST section below.)  3) I am a member and have been a member for over three months.  4) I am submitting my membership with this script submission(s).
  • Indicate:  *YEARS of PAST 10 x 10 presentation or *NO PAST 10 x10 presentation
  • Include 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 2021 10 x 10 Festival.  I also give permission to Scriptwriters Houston to make a recording of my stage 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]"
  • Play may be written in whatever format the writer chooses.  You are encouraged to follow the format of Dramatist Guild or one of the publishing houses, such as Dramatists Publishing.
  • Please only place the title of your script and page numbers as a header or footer on every page of your script.  This is the ONLY content that should be found inside the script submission.  Do not include the name of the playwright inside the script submission document or the script will not be evaluated and no refund will be given.  It is acceptable to submit a second document with the title page to your play indicating your copyright information.
How To Submit Ten Minute Play
DELIVERY OPTIONS:
  • ELECTRONICALLY:  To submit electronically, please send an email with the above information in the body of the email to swh10x10@gmail.com.  Subject: 10x10 Entry.  SCRIPTS should be forwarded as a WORD or PDF ATTACHMENT.  Please follow the guidelines on what should be in the body of the email and what may be on the script submission itself.
Cost
CURRENT MEMBERS (As of July 31, 2021):  1st Script=Free, 2nd Script=Free, 3rd Script= $10.00
NON-MEMBERS (As of July 31, 2021):
  • OPTION #1:  JOIN SWH at a reduced membership fee of $25.00 (It is usually $35.00) and 1st Script=$10.00, 2nd Script=free, and 3rd Script=$10.00.
  • OPTION #2:  1st Script=$10.00, 2nd Script=$10.00, and 3rd Script=$10.00
ALL WRITERS MUST LIVE WITHIN 100 MILES OF 77002.
How to Submit Cost
The fees (and membership dues) can either be:
  • Mailed as a check made payable to:
Scriptwriters Houston
P.O. Box 981106
Houston, Texas 77098
OR OR Judging Criteria for Ten Minute Play
  • Producibility
  • Length
  • Number of Characters
  • Originality
  • Creativity
  • Entertainment Value
  • Evaluator Judgment
Tips for Ten Minute Play
  • 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 is writing a ten-minute play.  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!
  • For further clarifications, send all questions to swh10x10@gmail.com.  Subject: 10x10 Questions.  (Please be judicious about this.  Send your questions before 10 pm on September 9th and please be very patient as you await a response.)​
10x10 Documents
​10x10_Rules Document
​Call for Directors Document
​Call_for_Actors Document
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