The Sky Cooper/Marin Theatre Company New American Play Prize

Norton J. “Sky” Cooper established the New American Play Prize at Marin Theatre Company in 2007 to celebrate the work of the American playwright and to encourage the creation of bold, powerful new voices and plays for the American stage. The Sky Cooper Prize will be awarded annually to either an established or emerging playwright for an outstanding new work. The play selected as the Sky Cooper winner will receive a full production at Marin Theatre Company as part of the theatre’s annual season and will be given regional and national promotion. In addition, the playwright receives a $10,000 award, as well as travel and accommodations for the MTC rehearsal period.

GUIDELINES

Plays must be full-length in any genre: comedy, drama, etc. Musicals, translations, individual one-acts and any play previously submitted for the Sky Cooper Prize are not eligible. Collaborations are welcomed, in which case prize benefits are shared. Plays may not have received a full-scale, professional production prior to submission. Plays that have had a workshop, reading or non-professional production are still eligible. Playwrights must be citizens of the United States. Playwrights with past production experience are especially encouraged to submit new work. Only one submission per playwright is allowed each year. If you are eligible for the David Calicchio Award you may submit the same play for both prizes.

Submission is a two-phase process:

Phase I: Submit a two-page maximum abstract of the play including title, character breakdown, brief story synopsis and playwright bio or resume. Also include 10 pages of consecutive sample dialogue. Do not send videos. Literary agents may submit full scripts of their client’s work. All abstracts and dialogue samples will be read. From these, selected manuscripts will be solicited for Phase II by October 1.

Due to the high number of submissions, not every playwright will receive a response to their Phase 1 submission. Do not send a manuscript with or instead of the abstract. Unsolicited manuscripts will not be read. Due to the high number of submissions we cannot return any materials. If you would like notification that your submission was received, please send it with a SASP. Electronic submissions are accepted in Word or PDF format only and paper copies must also be sent to MTC if requested. Please NO PHONE OR EMAIL inquiries.

Phase II: All manuscripts that have been solicited after Phase I will be read. Manuscripts should be neatly typed, securely bound and have the playwright’s name, contact address and phone number clearly visible on the front page. No solicited manuscript will be returned without a self-addressed, stamped envelope with adequate postage.

All final selections are made by Jasson Minadakis, Artistic Director of Marin Theatre Company.
Submissions are accepted between April 1 and August 31 (postmarked).

Address all submissions to:

The Sky Cooper New American Play Prize
Marin Theatre Company
397 Miller Avenue
Mill Valley, CA 94941

Or Electronically to skycooper@marintheatre.org