Write Here! Write Now!

Write Here, Write Now! is a ten-minute high school playwriting competition and student play festival open to 9th-12th graders in New England.

MISSION
Write Here, Write Now! seeks to discover and strengthen the voices of student writers across New England.
 
THE COMPETITION
The annual competition gathers scripts from high schools across the region, offering Creative Writing, English and Theater teachers the opportunity to assign a ten-minute play as a part of their classroom curriculum.  Submitting a play is free-of-charge and writers, regardless of their proximity to Providence, are encouraged to apply.  Submitted scripts are adjudicated by Trinity Rep Education, Artistic, and Literary staff.  Each year, four winners are selected with one winner from a Providence, RI high school.

THE PRIZES
In addition to receiving a staged reading of their plays, the winning playwrights receive a $100 prize, a scholarship towards any Trinity Rep Young Actors Studio after-school class, and 20 free tickets to a Project Discovery student matinee performance for their schools during the 2014-2015 season.

THE FESTIVAL
The festival portion of Write Here, Write Now! strives to honor the student writers' texts while offering the playwrights the chance to see their work alive on stage for the first time.  Each year, in an evening performance, the winning scripts receive staged readings on our main stage, directed by Trinity Rep staff and acted by our company members and Brown/Trinity M.F.A. students.  From the moment the winning scripts are chosen, Trinity Rep dramaturgs, directors and actors work alongside the student writers to clarify and breathe physical life into the playwrights' words and worlds.

FROM THE PLAYWRIGHTS
"When I actually got to see my play performed, I pretty much geeked out.  I love theater and I've always been involved with theater; now I was in the same room as professional actors and directors and playwrights and designers and holy moly this is even cooler.  There was something so exhilarating about seeing what I had written come to life.  Some things were just like I had pictured them, others were different but even better.  Everything was just so real.  I will never forget that experience because it made me see where I could end up if I worked hard and kept pursuing writing." -Bonnie Atterstrom, 2013 WHWN Winning Playwright

"When the day arrived, I left school slightly early so I could watch the rehearsal.  It was thrilling to see the actors and watch their interpretation of my play.  When my play started, I tried not to blink so I wouldn't miss a single moment.  It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life." -Kirby Kochanowski, 2013 WHWN Winning Playwright

"Write Here, Write Now! was an amazing experience.  Seeing characters and ideas that I had created on a real stage was like nothing I had ever experienced before.  It has inspired me to dedicate myself even more to my writing.  I am incredibly thankful." -Andy Letai, 2013 WHWN Winning Playwright

"When I look back at my life, at my artistic development, Write Here, Write Now! will probably be one of my defining moments.  Thank you for giving me this opportunity, this proof, this honor, this once-in-a-lifetime experience.  I was involved in the whole process after the winners were announced.  I worked with a fantastic dramaturg who really took the time to understand and appreciate my play.  It felt great to write the blurb, to choose the music and the pictures, to explain why I wrote certain lines, to develop a whole performance based off this - thing - I wrote.  It was almost as thrilling as the night when it was performed, watching the actors spin the letters into sounds." -Aaron Kaplan, 2012 Winning Playwright

"What's so awesome about Write Here, Write Now! is the playwrights are not simply cast away once they win.  I was still granted complete creative control over my play.  I felt that the work I had submitted was valued for what it was and I did not have to unwillingly sacrifice any of it.  The playwrights are included in every step of the journey and they're exposed to everything that goes into making a play possible." -Dane Christian Sadler, 2012 WHWN Winning Playwright

"My experience with Write Here, Write Now! was more than I could have asked or hoped for.  It provided me with a platform to test my ideas, support in learning a new process and the breed of determination that only the realization of a dream can draw out.  It motivated and inspired me as a writer.  It helped me to step out into the public view and see the realities of my piece- the flaws, the beauty, the things even I had never seen."        -Rebecca Steigelfest, 2012 WHWN Winning Playwright

Please email Jordan Butterfield and Camron Parker at jbutterfield@trinityrep.com with questions or inquiries.