Submit your 2024 Juice Box Play below:

Our first year for our JUICE BOX ORGANIC ONE ACT PLAY COMPETITION was an amazing success with submissions of original one act plays from approximately 200 gifted playwrights from around the world. We truly were an international event with much positive feedback from so many of you that participated. Rather than list the numerous quotes of support from many of last year's participants, we want to share a letter with you sent by a participant from Virginia that summed it all up for so many participants. We were blown away and we wanted to share this participant's enthusiasm with you all. Click on the link below if you would like to read it.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EC-Wf_DiQJy702rjZscG-a-7kUCfkHPkP6l8AhqRSCU/edit?usp=sharing

We hope many of you will get involved by submitting your own one-act play in the weeks ahead and/or attend the final performances here at Lake Shore Center for the Arts in July.  

***PLEASE NOTE! IMPORTANT!  Submitted plays  must run in length at least 8 minutes and less than 12 minutes.  Plays over or under this running time will need to be revised and resubmitted or will be eliminated. PLEASE TIME YOUR PLAY!!!! In  general, one standard page of script equals one minute of performance time.

JUICEBOX ORGANIC COMPETITION OVERVIEW

JUICEBOX ORGANIC ONE ACT PLAY COMPETITION  has been created as an opportunity for playwrights invited from around the world to submit and possibly stage or have an assigned group stage their one act  play in front of a live audience (for those that advance to the finalist production level).  

Each play submitted is asked to pay a $10 administration fee used to cover the costs for compiling and mailing back all your evaluation forms and materials. This is NOT an entry fee but rather an administrative fee used specifically to offset printing and mailing costs for returning all evaluation materials to playwrights. ALL plays will be read and evaluated by our panel of  five experienced and knowledgeable judges. Written feedback from judges will be returned to all contestants at the conclusion of the competition. Each playwright will receive a hard copy packet/s of ALL evaluations filled out by our staff for each play submitted (each playwright may submit up to three plays).  

The top ten  plays (5 comedies and 5 dramas) will be determined by the scores of the JUICE BOX executive committee. These finalist plays will then have a cast determined to present each play at final performance. 

PLEASE NOTE THAT AS THE PLAYWRIGHT OF A FINALIST PLAY YOU MAY DIRECT YOUR OWN PLAY AS WELL AS UTILIZE YOUR OWN CAST IF YOU DESIRE, BUT IT IS NOT REQUIRED.

You may also utilize highly skilled  Lake Shore Center for the Arts directors and actors to perform your play. FYI, this past year all of the finalist plays were directed and cast using Lake Shore Center for the Arts members. More on this when we reach that point.

Final rounds and awards will take place on July 26th, 27th and 28th. The top five (5) nominated plays in comedy will perform on Friday, July 26th at 7 PM. The top five (5) nominated plays in drama will perform on Saturday, July 27th. Ranking will be done in each category and a first, second and third place winner will be announced in both comedy and drama with a 4th and 5th place “honorable mention”. Cash awards and certificates will be awarded to the top three (3) placers and certificates to 4th and 5th place.

Minimal staging may be utilized in this final staged production. Lighting needs to be simple up and down lighting. A spotlight will also be available if required. Sound capability is available for music or sound effects. Please bring or send a thumb drive with your sound cues on it if you are using sound. Set up and tear down should take no more than five minutes pre and post-show. Simplicity in production is a key factor.

Monologues and soliloquies ARE included in this competition. No musicals or plays for children are included in this competition at this time.   Comedy will compete against other comedies, drama against other dramas. It is up to the playwrights to designate which classification/genre their play or plays fall into on their cover pages.  This is for a more equal comparison of each genre of play.

Play submissions and inquiries are presently being accepted. Shortly after you have submitted your script, you will be notified that your script was received.                                                                                     

The deadline for the acceptance of scripts for consideration is no later than February/01/2024. Submit your script/s using the form on our website.

PLEASE NOTE! Each director  MAY provide his/her own cast if  their play is selected for production as A FINALST (the director may serve as a cast member if needed.) 

HOWEVER, we realize that many of you are not able to produce your own play here in NY due to distance, costs or scheduling logistics. If you are unable to produce your play yourself, JUICEBOX PLAYERS can produce your play for you as mentioned earlier. Our players are made up of experienced performers that will present your play in a professional and well rehearsed way of which you will be proud. PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU WILL NEED A JUICEBOX CAST TO PRESENT YOUR PLAY IF IT IS SELECTED AS A FINALIST.

Judging will be carried out by audience members being asked to rate each play they see with an overall score of 1-10. Audience members will contribute half the utilized scores with the judging team's average score making up the other half.  

1. ELIGIBILITY-Plays must be an original script or scripts (if more than one entry).
2. YOU MAY SUBMIT scripts from last year if you would like the script to be evaluated by the new panel of evaluators.
3. SCRIPT REQUIREMENTS -The scripts should be no less than eight (8) minutes and no more than twelve (12) minutes of total onstage running time. Over or under-timed scripts will be eliminated. Please note that your play will be judged on the content of the play. No points will be added or subtracted for set additions, costumes, lighting,  props or any component that is not directly impacted by the written word of the script. 
4. SUBMISSIONS SHOULD include a cover page which should include the playwright's name, genre of play, contact information, and any special instructions No Identifying Information within the script itself to maintain anonymity during judging. Participation fees must be paid for each play entered at the included registration link upon entry. 
5. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS February 1st, 2024 ALL ENTRIES SHOULD BE SUBMITTED BELOW
6. CAST - A brief description of each character should be included in your script. You should have no more than 4 characters.
7. GENRES - Comedy, and drama ( including mystery, thriller or monologue) are the genres being included in the contest. No musicals or plays for children are included in this competition.  
8. TECHNICAL LIMITATIONS - Play settings should be simple, easy to set up and take down, and suitable for small stage theater. Stock essential furniture pieces will be available for your use. Emphasis should be on the playwright’s word, not on the set.
9. FORMAT - Submit your script utilizing standard script formatting. Number all pages within your script.
10. ANONYMITY - The playwright’s name or any information that would identify the playwright or her/his affiliation must not appear in any part of the play proper, only on the cover sheet. Your play will be assigned a number for identification. This is to allow the script to be initially evaluated anonymously.
11. ORIGINALITY - We are looking for plays that are truly new and not adaptations of previous works.  
12. VERIFICATION - By submitting your play for inclusion in the competition, you are verifying the play is your own original work 
13. PLAYWRIGHT BIOGRAPHY - If your play is selected for live performance inclusion in the festival you will need to provide a 150-word biography on yourself as well as a high-resolution headshot of yourself.
14. SUBMISSION LIMITS - Each playwright may enter one to three different scripts. No playwright will have more than one of their scripts selected for contest finalist performance.
15. ADMINISTRATIVE FEES - There is a $10 administrative cost for each script  to cover evaluation feedback materials from all judges which will be compiled and mailed to each playwright payable online via credit card at: UPDATE LINK
16. DEADLINE - Your completed entry form, your uploaded script and your participation fee must be received by February 1st, 2024.
17. UPLOADING - You may only submit your play(s) electronically via the online entry form.
18. SELECTION CRITERIA - All scripts will initially be read and evaluated by our team of readers.  
19. PERFORMANCE - All performed plays will be adjudicated by a team of experienced and qualified individuals without regard to production values outside the playwright’s control, including sets, costumes, and lighting. Winning plays will be announced following final performances on Sunday, July 28th, 2024.
20. INTENT NOTIFICATION - It would be greatly appreciated if you could send us a notification e-mail prior to your official submission if your submission will be sent later, so that we have a better idea of the number of entries to ultimately expect. This is not required but would be greatly appreciated. Please send this to:  juicebox@lakeshorecenterforthearts.com
21. AWARDS - Awards will be $500 for first place, $250 for second place, $100 for third place and certificates for 4th and 5th place in both comedy and drama classifications. In addition, framed JUICEBOX ORGANIC award certificates for each level will be awarded. 

We look forward to receiving your script or scripts in the not-too-distant future. You obviously have the same love of theater as we do as demonstrated by your interest, work, and participation. We will work hard to make certain this will again be a memorable experience for you.

If you have any questions or comments or if you want us to know you will be submitting a play at a later date, you may contact us directly at: juicebox@lakeshorecenterforthearts.com