2005-09-03: Update

I finally got the US DVD and it is indeed very slick, as expected. As per the update below, let me know if you want a copy. All the noders' plays from both UK and US productions are now available online at http://screamingmediaproductions.com/giss - I will be putting the whole set (including non-noders') online eventually but have prioritised E2 people. Because I can.

2005-08-21: Update

Sketches from the UK performance are now available online at http://screamingmediaproductions.com/giss

2005-08-15: Update

I have, at last, got a copy of the DVD of the UK performance. I have to warn you that the picture & sound quality is disappointing - the recording was made by an unattended camera on a tripod and is, frankly, a bit naff. By contrast, the American production was recorded rather more professionally, with three cameras, because they had the good sense to get some film students involved. I don't have a copy of that yet but it sounds like it will be worth waiting for.

So, if you want a copy of the UK DVD, msg me with your address & whether you need an NTSC or PAL copy. If you've no idea what NTSC and PAL are don't worry, just say so and I'll try to figure it out from where you live. I'm happy to send off copies for free to anyone who submitted a play (whether it was performed or not); if anyone who didn't submit something wants a copy msg me and we can work something out.

I'll do another update when I get the US production's DVD, when they're done with their slick, professional, UK-shaming editing.

2005-06-17: Update

The decision process is over! There were a great many more entries this year, partly due to the success of last year's show, and partly due to the new international format, so the competition was much stiffer, but I am proud to say that the following E2 entries will be performed:

Brooklyn

Harrogate

Congratulations to all the above authors. I am of course grateful for all submissions, and it's a great shame that all the plays can't be performed, but I think E2 can be proud; they are performing one hundred plays between the two theatres, and so our ten represent a very healthy percentage from a competition open to a worldwide field.

Performance details

Go and see the shows!

The performance in Brooklyn will take place on Thursday, June 30 at 8:00 pm in the New Workshop Theater at Brooklyn College. For ticket information call (718) 951-4500. Tickets are $5.00

The performances in Harrogate will take place at 8.30pm on Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd of June in the Studio at Harrogate Theatre (it will be the same show both nights). Tickets can be purchased from the box office on 01423 502116, priced £5 (£3 concessionary rate).

2005-05-07: Update

The quest is now closed. Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry. There are so many! I gaze upon them like a proud father. I have sent them all on to the theatre and now we must wait to see which ones are chosen to be performed.


Original quest writeup:

Following the resounding success of last year's Gone in Sixty Seconds theatre quest, I present the sequel!

For those of you that missed it last time around, the exciting, amazing deal is thus: Submit your short plays to E2. I will pass them on to Harrogate Theatre, UK, and, this year, Brooklyn College, New York, who will choose a selection of them to perform as part of their international writing festival. The performers will be the Young Company of amateur actors in Harrogate, and undergraduate theatre students in Brooklyn College, and the shows will take place in June 2005.

The shows will also be filmed and made available online, so that authors that cannot make it to the shows can still see their work performed.

The festival is open to all, not just to E2, so be aware that you are up against competition! Last time around, E2 scripts accounted for about a third of those chosen to be performed. That was good, but I'm pushing for half this year. Just think how great it would be to have your work being performed by actual human beings, in front of other human beings who have paid to get in and everything.

Just to be very clear: not all plays can be performed. As well as artistic merit the director must consider practicalities, so please don't assume your play will be chosen. Don't let that put you off, though! The more entries we get, the better!

The rules

  1. Plays must last no longer than 60 seconds.
  2. The cast size may not exceed 12 actors.
  3. All submissions must be received by Friday May 6th 2005
  4. Individuals may submit as many one minute plays as they wish.

(That last rule doesn't mean you can write a five minute play and submit it as five one minute plays, though.)

Further to those rules, there are practical limitations since the plays are all performed one after the other, with barely a pause for breath between them:

  • There's no time for real costume changes - generally actors will be wearing neutral clothes. They can probably stretch to a hat, though.
  • There's no set beyond that which can be hastily constructed from a few chairs in five seconds.
  • No elaborate props. Smallish things that can live in pockets or in a box at the side of the stage should be alright.

So, you can see here that we want short, sharp scripts. So short in fact that calling them 'plays' might be stretching it a little. 'Sketches' perhaps. Comedy is the most likely candidate for such a short slot, and is always much appreciated, but by no means consider yourself limited to humour! Moving an audience with tragedy or thrilling them with drama in a mere sixty seconds is a challenge worthy of the talented writers we have here.

I suggest reading your sketch out loud with a stopwatch to get an idea of how long it is, but as a rough guide, I think 200 spoken words is the absolute most you can get away with.

Be sure to check out last year's competition and the submitted entries.

Submitting and the resulting baubles

Submit your entry at Gone in Sixty Seconds 2005 - Theatre Quest Entries. You can submit multiple entries in the same writeup. Please remember to give your plays titles, also. (I set a bad example by forgetting to title mine, whoops).

If you want the layout to be super-professional, check out screenplay format. That's for films really, and I think the simpler layouts that noders have used so far are fine, but it's there if you want it.

Also, and I forgot to mention this originally, please let me know the name you would like to use when I submit the entry to the theatre. This can be your real name, or a pen name, or your E2 username, or whatever you like; it's what will be in the programme if your play is performed.

This quest is being sponsored by kthejoker, who will be dispensing C!s and XP bonuses for submissions, and I will send a copy of the show programme to all the noders whose work is actually performed.

It is traditional, in quest writeups, that I also inform you that plagiarism will be met with the death penalty in one of its more extreme forms.

Entries so far:

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