Michael Kanin Playwriting Awards Program

[Master Teacher José Rivera addressing the playwriting,
directing and acting workshop participants of the National KCACTF
in April 2000.]

The distinguished playwright and screenwriter Michael Kanin (1910-1993) arranged for a remarkable series of awards to be given to student writers whose plays are produced as part of the festival. The purpose of the program is to encourage college students to write for the stage by providing the opportunity for them to engage in the complete playwriting process.

Playwrights can best learn their craft by collaborating with actors, directors, and others through all stages of production, including rehearsals and performances. The festival expects the same high standard of production support for original scripts as is given any entry.

[Master Teacher José Rivera with some of the student
participants.]

Each new play registered as a Participating production will be considered for regional and national festival presentation with other entries. The play selected to receive the National Student Playwriting Award will be presented at the national festival. The KCACTF National Selection Team will view National Student Playwriting Award entrants selected for regional festival presentation and select from that pool of entries.

The student-written play must be entered at the appropriate level. Plays eligible for the National Student Playwriting Award must be Participating-level entries. All others may be entered at either the Associate or Participating level. All student-written entries must receive some kind of public performance either at their own university or at a regional festival. [replace with new guidelines about entering scripts?]

Student playwrights interested in participating in the Ten-Minute Play Award should contact the regional chair for specific information.

List of Awards

Rules and Procedures for the Michael Kanin Playwriting Awards Program

A new play or musical may be a collaboration, adaptation, company-written play, or a play based on factual materials but may not be a translation. To be eligible, adaptations from other works must include written permission for works under copyright and must involve substantial changes in form and/or expression.
A full-length play is defined as either one major work or two or more shorter works written by the same playwright, based on a single theme, or encompassed within a unifying framework. In all cases, the entry must provide a full evening of theater-approximately one and one-half hours or longer, including intermissions. (See the Short Play Awards Program for productions that may not fit this category.)
The award(s) for which the play is to be considered must be clearly indicated on the registration form filed with the national office, the copy filed with the regional chair, and the copy filed with the regional playwriting chair. Verification of student status of the playwright must be provided by the theater department chair. A space is provided on the registration form to confirm student eligibility.
College theaters may produce plays written by students other than their own, provided the students meet the requirements detailed in item 5 below.
To be eligible for any student playwriting award, an undergraduate must carry a minimum of 6 semester hours (or equivalent quarter hours), while a graduate must carry 3 semester hours (or equivalent quarter hours). Undergraduate, graduate, and continuing part-time student playwrights must be matriculating, degree-seeking students. It is expected that work on the new play will have begun during the period the student is so enrolled, and the production must be presented during that period or within two years after his or her enrollment ends. The head of the theater department in which the student playwright is enrolled will verify in writing to the regional Playwriting Awards Committee chair that the playwright is a bona fide student as set forth in this paragraph.
As with regular entries, materials may be submitted at any time during the year. Those presented after the deadline established by the region will be considered for the KCACTF of the upcoming year.
All student-original plays entered in the current KCACTF year are eligible for any of the appropriate playwriting awards. Only productions entered as Participating entries may be considered for the regional and national festivals.
If the play is a student-original play, acknowledgment of all individual award entries must be noted in the program, e.g., "This play is entered in the Michael Kanin Playwriting Awards Program and is being considered for the Lorraine Hansberry Award and the National Student Playwriting Award."
A copy of the script must be forwarded to the KCACTF National Office for each individual playwriting award entered by e-mail with the play(s) attached to Gregg Henry at ghenry@kennedy-center.org in Word or PDF format. In addition, a copy of the script should be sent to the regional playwriting chair no later than thirty days prior to the play's initial KCACTF production (go to your regional website to find your regional NPP Chair contact information). All new works intended for inclusion in the Michael Kanin Playwriting Awards Program must be accompanied by written documentation or a script. A one-paragraph synopsis for each new play must accompany the application form and the script. All submissions must include a completed cover sheet which can be found on the regional website.
The final draft of the script must be in the national office no later than December 1, 2009. Failure to submit scripts before the deadline will result in ineligibility for the award. (Consult your Regional Playwriting Chair for possible exceptions to this rule.)
Playwrights, student and non-student, whose plays are developed and produced as part of the KCACTF Michael Kanin Playwriting Awards Program, agree to acknowledge in perpetuity the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in all productions of the play subsequent to its presentation in the KCACTF, regardless of whether the presentation occurred on the local, regional, or national level. Acknowledgment must appear in written form in the program (such as Stagebill) production credits.
The KCACTF National Playwriting Program encourages the continuing development of new plays through revisions leading toward subsequent productions. The entry of a new play in the awards program does not disqualify it from future entry as a participating or associate production for the Playwriting Awards Program by the school that originally produced the work, or by any school, provided that:
1. the work has been revised;
2. the play did not previously win one of the national Playwriting Awards;
3. the playwright is still eligible (as set forth in paragraph 5, above).
Recipients of the Michael Kanin Playwriting Program Awards whose plays are not presented as part of the Washington national festival will be invited to the Kennedy Center, all expenses paid, during the KCACTF national festival to accept the award at a KCACTF public event. The winner's regional chair can accept the award on behalf of the winner and/or his or her school.
All scripts must be typed following the standard play manuscript format (e.g. Samuel French style sheet or see our Standard Format page) and paginated. It is recommended that scripts be sent by e-mail to the appropriate entity. However, if e-mail is impossible, clear photo-copies or letter-quality computer print-outs are acceptable. All manuscripts must be firmly bound in a cover; however, electronic submission is preferable. Eligible scripts must be received by the KCACTF national office by the deadline specified (December 1st of every year). Submissions not adhering to these guidelines will be disqualified.

Note: There are separate Rules and Procedures for the Short Play Awards Program and the Musical Theater Award.