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Playwriting Contest

FOUNDING FREEDOMS

Founding Freedoms Playwriting Contest 2

Dear Educator,

The National Constitution Center is pleased to announce the return of

the Founding Freedoms Playwriting Contest. Thanks to the generous

support of the John Templeton Foundation, the Founding Freedoms

Playwriting Contest challenges public and independent school teachers

throughout the Mid-Atlantic region to increase constitutional literacy

and awareness of individual rights in their classrooms. The playwriting

contest asks 12th grade students to compose plays exploring the

contemporary meanings of the relationships between our founding

documents—the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution,

and the Bill of Rights.

We are very excited to launch the contest and want to encourage all

educators to engage their students with the supporting materials and

lesson plan provided. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate

to e-mail us at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Kerry SautnerVice President of EducationNational Constitution Center

INTRODUCTION

Whether planning a field trip, looking for innovative ways to enhance classroom instruction, or seeking a deeper understanding of U.S. history and active citizenship, the National Constitution Center is an educator’s ultimate civic learning resource.

Learn more at ConstitutionCenter.org/Learn.


Contest Information

Rules and Regulations

Submission Requirements

Playwriting Contest Prizes

Prompt

Cover Sheet for Play Submission

Scoring Rubric for Play Assessment

Additional Resources

Play Idea Worksheet

Arc of Story Worksheet

Style Sheet

CONTENTS

Page 4

Page 4–5

Page 5

Page 6–7

Page 8

Page 9

Page 10

Page 11–12

Page 13

Page 14


Playwriting contest open submissions will be accepted

through NCC’s online submission platform.

Last day for submissions for playwriting contest.

No submissions will be accepted after 11:59 P.M.

Playwriting contest winners will be announced.

Awards ceremony for winning playwright(s) and their teacher(s).

A professional production of the winning play will open to NCC visitors

for a month of performances. The winning playwright(s) will be invited

to attend the opening performance.

November 6, 2015

February 19, 2016

March 31, 2016

June, 2016

July, 2016

Enrollment

Length and Formatting of Plays

Scoring

Play Planning

Student(s) must be enrolled in 12th grade in a school located in the

Mid-Atlantic region. No more than three (3) students may collaborate

on a single submission.

Plays should be no more than 25 pages in 11–point font and, when read

aloud, should take no more than 30 minutes. All submissions must be

formatted as a play script including character descriptions, setting,

and stage directions. Plays not satisfying these requirements will not

be considered. See page 14 for more information.

See the scoring rubric on page 9.

All submissions must address the ideas in the playwriting prompt

and explore the deeper meaning of Benjamin Franklin’s response to

Mrs. Powel, including the underlying ideas and principles of the new

government and our founding freedoms. While plays do not have to

recreate the conversation between Franklin and Mrs. Powel onstage,

the conversation must at least be referenced and addressed in the play.

More information is contained in the prompt in this packet on page 6.

Plays can have no more than five actors, but may have more than five

characters as long as they can be played by no more than five actors

sharing roles. Plays should be able to be performed with minimal props,

scenery changes, and technical requirements. All plays should be non-

partisan and based on historical fact.

Contest Timeline


CONTEST INFORMATION


Plays should have clear, consistent citations. Please use APA

format for all citations. Additional primary sources are encouraged.

Plays are due no later than February 19, 2016, at 11:59 P.M.

Entries received after that date and time will not be considered.

Submissions must be made electronically thought the NCC

website using the online form. Hard copies will not be accepted.

A signed cover sheet (see page 8) must accompany each play.

Please name the file with the student’s name

(example: KerrySautnerPlay.pdf).

All intellectual property rights associated with the winning plays will belong to the National Constitution Center.

12th Grade Playwriting Contest Winner

First place: $2,500 to the student(s) and $250 to the teacher. Travel and accommodations for the student(s) (with one parent or guardian) and the teacher to the June 2016 awards ceremony. Second place: $1,000 to the student(s).

The first-place-winning play will be professionally produced and performed at the National Constitution Center in the month of July and the play’s script will be published online. The winning playwright(s) and one (1) parent or guardian will be invited to the National Constitution Center for the opening performance.

Citations

Submission Date

Submission Process

Cover Sheet

File Naming

Intellectual Property


Playwriting Contest Prizes

CONTEST INFORMATION

BackgroundIt was a typical, hot Philadelphia September when the Constitutional Convention ended. Most of the delegates – our Founding Fathers – were still in Philadelphia, having just hammered out the document that has supplied the basic principles of governance for our nation for over 200 years.

The details of the Constitution were a well-protected secret until its publication two days later, and would have been unknown to many people of the time. Informed citizens were anxious to know what kind of government the delegates would recommend. In parlors, churches, and places of business in the days and weeks before the Constitution was published, citizens had many questions: What kind of government is best for our recently liberated states? How will the people be represented in the new government and what will their role be? How will the citizenry of this new nation protect its newly won freedoms?

Mrs. Elizabeth Willing Powel, the wife of the mayor of Philadelphia and a close friend of George and Martha Washington, was an educated, well-spoken, and well-read woman of her time. She was not accustomed to keeping her opinions to herself. She would have listened to and participated in these discussions and debates that were occurring all over the city of Philadelphia in the heady days of the Constitutional Convention. On the day the Convention concluded, Mrs. Powel saw Benjamin Franklin, the most prominent member of the Pennsylvania delegation, leaving the hall where the delegates had just finished their work. She stopped him and asked, “Dr. Franklin, what have you given us?” Franklin is said to have replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

AssignmentYour job, as a playwright, is to imagine how Mrs. Powel might have reacted to Dr. Franklin’s advice that “you,” the citizen, are ultimately responsible for upholding the principles of the new government. What meaning would she have taken from his comment, and how would this have influenced her conversations about the new government with merchants on her way home, or with her household servants, or with her friends, or with her family around the dinner table that evening? Dramatize how the people in Mrs. Powel’s world would imagine and express their roles in the new nation based on Dr. Franklin’s advice. What would they have believed “keeping the republic” might entail? How would their faith, beliefs, and experiences from the Revolutionary War have influenced their views of a citizen’s role in the new government? What differences do you think they might have had about the idea of a republic?


PLAYWRITING PROMPT


RememberDrama is based on conflict. Plays are a competition of ideas and actions between characters. What kinds of disagreements might have played out around Mrs. Powel’s dinner table the night Franklin spoke those challenging words to her? Use your imagination, combined with historical research, to support your ideas and the world you create. Here are some potential characters to explore.

Family: Mrs. Elizabeth Powel and husband, Mr. Samuel Powel

Philadelphia Residents: Mrs. Powel’s neighbors, Powel household servants and the servants of her neighbors, merchants, tradesmen, and others

Visitors to the City: Ship captains and crews from foreign countries including France and England, with whom we had re-established trade after the Revolutionary War; Native Americans living in and near the city; and others. At dinner that night, Mrs. Powel’s guests might have included a member of any delegation to the Constitutional Convention or even a visiting British or French businessman, Powel’s husband being a prominent businessman himself and member of the Philosophical Society

PLAYWRITING PROMPT


Student name and grade:

Play Title:

School Name:

School Address:

School Phone Number:

Teacher’s Name:

Teacher’s E-mail:

Student’s Home Address (Street, City, State, and Zip Code):

Parent/Guardian Name:

Parent/Guardian E-mail:

Parent/Guardian Phone Number:

I certify that this is an original research project constituting only my work and that I am

the sole author. I also grant the National Constitution Center all intellectual property

rights associated with this play, therefore permitting its reproduction by the National

Constitution Center for any purpose.

Student’s Signature:

Date:

Parent/Guardian’s Signature:

Date:

COVER SHEET FOR PLAY SUBMISSION

SCORING RUBRIC FOR PLAY COMPETITION

DIALOGUE

DRAMATIC ACTION, PLAY STRUCTURE,

CONFLICT

ADHERENCE TO PROMPT AND GUIDELINES

CREATIVE PROCESS & SETTING

CHARACTERIZATION AND EMPATHY

RESEARCH AND HISTORICAL FACTS

MECHANICS AND FORMATTING

This rubric was developed using the Pennsylvania Writing Assessment Domain Scoring Guide (http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/state_assessment_system/20965/pennsylvania_system_of_school_assessment_%28pssa%29/1190526) and Elk Grove Unified School District – Opinion/Argument Rubric (http://blogs.egusd.net/ccss/educators/ela/rubrics-k-12/)

4 3 2 1

Dialogue consistently reveals character, traits, personalities, conflict, mood, and is consistent with style and form. Feels authentic, consistent with character voice throughout script.

Very original presentation of material captures audience’s attention. Setting serves character, theme, and story.

Logical, fluid development of play. Each scene includes compelling complications and is linked with transitions. Very clear beginning, middle, and end serve character regarding meaningful conflict, crisis, climax, and conclusion.

Characters are dynamic and multi-dimensional. Reader can empathize with the character’s situations and clear internal/external motivations.

Prompt and Guidelines are skillfully intertwined in play and serve the character and story. Play meets all of the requirements of theme, length, formatting, and production limitations as listed in guidelines.

Research apparent and supports founding principles. Sources are cited. Character language is consistent with time period(s) represented in the play.

No errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation. Dialogue structure is varied and interesting. Formatting is correct.

Dialogue generally reveals character, traits, personalities, conflict, mood, and is consistent with style and form. Feels authentic, consistent with character voice throughout script.

Originality apparent with variety and blending of material. Setting does not get in the way of theme and story.

Adequate development of play. Each scene includes complications and is linked with transitions. Clear beginning, middle, and end serve character regarding solid conflict, crisis, climax, conclusion.

Characters are sometimes dynamic and multi-dimensional. Reader can empathize with some of the character’s situations and internal/external motivations.

Prompt and Guidelines are intertwined in play and generally serve the character and story. Play generally meets the requirements of theme, length, formatting, and production limitations as listed in guidelines.

Some research apparent. Some sources are cited. Character language is mostly consistent with time period(s) represented in the play.

Some errors in style. Few errors in formatting.

Dialogue sometimes reveals character, traits, personalities, conflict, mood, and is sometimes consistent with style and form. It occasionally feels authentic and/or consistent with character voice throughout script.

Material presented with some originality/interpretation. Setting unclear and/or underdeveloped.

Poor development of play. Scenes sometimes include complications, transitions may be weak. Some elements of structure are missing, conflict may be weak.

Characters are mostly one-sided and flat. Reader can perceive little into the inner workings of the character. Character’s internal/external motivations are vague.

Prompt and Guidelines are present in some places within the play but may not always serve the character and story. Play meets some of the requirements of theme, length, formatting, and production limitations as listed in guidelines.

Some research into topic shown. Sources are inconsistently cited. Character language shows some consistency with time period(s) represented in the play.

Careless errors, no proofing evident, some formatting errors/missing elements.

Dialogue rarely reveals character, traits, personalities, conflict, mood, and is not consistent with style and form. Does not feel authentic and is not consistent with character voice throughout script.

Unoriginal or repetitive with little or no variety; no recognizable setting.

No development of play. Scenes contain no complications or transitions. Major aspects of structure are missing. Conflict may be nonexistent.

Character development is almost non-existent. Reader feels no empathy for character. Character’s internal/external motivations are not apparent or unrelated to the situation.

Prompt and Guidelines are unclear, confused, or nonexistent. Play does not meet the requirements of theme, length, formatting, and production limitations as listed in guidelines.

Lack of research hurts play. No sources are cited. Character language is not consistent with time period(s) represented in the play.

Riddled with errors. Reader cannot read play because formatting interferes with comprehension.



The following essays from the Digital Encyclopedia from the Department of Research and Collections at George Washington's Mt. Vernon, provide a helpful starting point for biographical research on Mrs. Elizabeth Powel and Benjamin Franklin.

http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/

article/elizabeth-willing-powel/

http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/

benjamin-franklin/

The Powel House, home of Mrs. and Mr. Samuel Powel, is located in Philadelphia and is part of the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks. As supporting partners of the playwriting contest, the Powel House historic site is open to students writing plays for the contest during the winter and spring for tours and onsite research by appointment. Please visit their website below for contact information.

http://www.philalandmarks.org/powel-house-1/

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Turning your Idea into a PlayNow that you have an idea, your next step in the playwriting process is to develop your idea into a play–to make it theatrical. To turn your idea into a play, focus on the essential elements found in every good play. To help youtransform your idea into a good play, complete the worksheet on the next page, which asks you important questions about those essential elements which comprise every good play.

“People always ask playwrights, ‘Where do you get your ideas for your plays?’ The simple truth is that there’s no rule of thumb for getting play ideas. Writers get play ideas from history, from current events, from overheard anecdotes and from personal experience…It’s not the quality of the idea that makes a good play, but the quality of the dramatization of the idea.”

“Plays seldom jump full-blown into existence but instead are products of the logical and creative investigation of ideas…Avoid frustration by expecting too much of yourself-it’s a mistake to think that if you were somehow ‘really creative’ you’d conceive the total play quickly or easily, and you’re setting yourself up for disappointment if you expect some magical flash of inspiration to give you a full scale play…Experienced writers tell you that creativity is one tenth inspiration and nine-tenths perspiration.”

“Don’t worry if you’re still unsure about certain items. After all, it’s early in the process, and you’re just starting to explore your idea. What’s important is that you attempt to fill everything out. This gets you started and tells you right away where more invention and thinking are needed.”

–From Jeffrey Hatcher, The Art and Craft of Playwriting, p 67.

–From Louis Catron, The Elements of Playwriting, p. 50

–From Buzz McLaughlin, The Playwright’s Process, p. 81

Some Words of Wisdom from the Theatre World

PLAY IDEA WORKSHEET


Working Title:

Central Character (first and last name, and a brief one sentence description. Do not include physical appearance):

Central Character's Want:

Opposing Character (first and last name, and a brief one sentence description. Do not include physical appearance):

Setting(s) (Think about locations, time of day, and time of year. How much time will lapse between the beginning and the end of your play?):

Conflict:

Obstacles in the way of resolving that conflict:

What happens? (What actions will your character take to achieve his or her want?)

Resolution (How does your play end?):

How does the central character change by the play's end?:

PLAY IDEA WORKSHEET

Professional playwright Jeffrey Hatcher includes these additional elements as essential to a good play: Tension and Suspense, Secrets, Love, Money, Power, Crime, Death, and Ideas.

–From The Art and Craft of Playwriting, p.77.


Introduce Characters:

Setting (where):

Wants:

(A big conflict/problem starts–usually in scene 2 or 3) What is the problem?

(a changed normal) What has changed since the beginning?

How are the conflicts solved?(People/things stand in the way, preventing the characters from solving the crisis and making it worse)

1.

2.

3.

(Try one obstacle per scene and think of different tactics that the characters try to getover the obstacles)

ARC OF STORY

2. Crisis

4. Climax Name:

3. Obstacles

1. Introduction

5.

6. Resolution or Conclusion

(the problems explode) What happens?

PROBLEMS GET BIGGER PROBLEMS GET SOLVED


A lack of page numbers can cause pages to get lost or mixed up, thus ruining the script. Number pages in the upper right corner (large enough to read!).

Please always list all of your characters at the beginning of your script. This helps a producer to know how to cast your play. If possible, offer some description of each character.

Mark the beginning of a new act or scene. Do this at the center of the line (not at the left margin).

VERY IMPORTANT:DO NOT list the name of the speaker over at the left-hand side of the page. This makes it very difficult for readers to read. Instead, list the full name of the speaker IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS in the center of the line, where it is visible.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS type your script with a space between the last line of one character’s dialogue and the name of the next speaker. Scripts which are not properly spaced cannot be read.

Stage directions should be indented with parentheses. Stage directions in the middle of speech start on a new line (indented), and speech continues on the next line.

Please use the following guide to be sure your scripts are in Standard American format before submitting them. Due to the volume of plays we receive and read, we need to ask that you adhere to these requirements. Thank you!

TURNING YOUR IDEA INTO A PLAY


1

Characters Joe, an outgoing 4th grader who likes to write Sue, a shy 4th grader who doesn’t like her play Ms. Pimm, their teacher, who is friendly

Act I, Scene 1

JOEI can’t wait for April 15. “Tax Day,” my dad calls it. We have been working hard on our own plays all year!

SUEI don’t care. I’m not sending mine in.

MS.PRIMMWhy not, Sue? I like your story about the two green monsters who fall in love.

(Ms. Pimm smiles, moves toward Sue.)

SUEWell...I’ll think about it.

(She pulls her script out of her notebookand flips through the pages.)

I would like to know what PYPF thinks of my work.

JOE Great! You and I will both finish our plays, andtype them in Standard American format. Then, inApril, we’ll send them in to the PYPF LiteraryCommittee and see what they think!

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