MiniPlay Teacher Information
It is time again for Mini Plays! One of the most extraordinary and rewarding educational programs in the nation takes place each year right here in south-central Indiana. And it can take place in your classroom!
The highly successful and long-running Mini Play Festival sponsored by the Bloomington Playwrights Project invites students in grades 3 - 12 to submit original 10-minute plays in categories based on grade level (elementary, middle, and high school). Youth produce, direct, and perform the winning plays in each category at the Mini Play Festival each spring.
Mini Play requires aspiring playwrights to write on a theme in the elementary and middle school categories. High school entries can write on the theme or any other subject they choose. The theme for this year is ENGAGING THE ENVIRONMENT. The 26th annual Mini Play wants to involve students in the ever-growing green movements and philosophies. Submitted plays must tell stories about some aspect of an environmental issue that faces the world, our country or our local community. Students can write about current events such as climate change, threats to the world's coastlines, and genetic engineering of food sources. They can also pen plays on historical figures prominent in environmental movements like Rachel Carson, John James Audubon, Jacques Cousteau, or Karen Silkwood. They can write how youth can effect change by campaigning, writing letters, or even starting their own green movement. There is no limit to what a student can compose that tackles the subject of living in a sustainable, more green environment. A winning play will illustrate how well a student crafts an original story, characters, and setting while understanding the theme.
The BPP can assist you and your students to conceive of and research play ideas by providing:
* a free playwriting workshop for your class (please schedule soon because dates fill up quickly)
* lesson plans and resource information on how to use the theme of ENGAGING THE ENVIRONMENT effectively in playwriting
* website information for how to assist students in generating play ideas
* curriculum ideas on how to use our local newspaper as a source to generate play topics
* information on how Mini Play adheres to Indiana Academic standards in Language Arts and Science
Please encourage your students to submit a play for consideration. Deadline for submissions is Monday, December 9, 2009. This gives your students over two months to write a play. Winners will be notified on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 by a special surprise visit to their classroom. Enclosed are instructions on contest guidelines and how to submit your students' plays for consideration. Many teachers choose to require their students to write a Mini Play since it adheres too many of Indiana's academic standards for language arts.
Winning playwrights receive:
* recognition in the local media
* full production of their winning play during the 2010 Mini Play Festival
* certificate of recognition
* cash prize (1st Place - $75, 2nd Place - $50, 3rd Place - $35)
* recognition at a special ceremony during the Mini Play Festival
* 100% fee waiver for the 2010 Mini Play Theatre Camp
* reproduction of their plays at various venues during the 2010-2011 school year
In the past 25 years, nearly 9,000 plays have been submitted to Mini Play and were read by over 345 judges, representing the BPP, local schools, Herald Times, Indiana University and the Bloomington community. Mini Plays invite local youth to explore their imagination and proudly display it for public consumption. Thank you for your time and I hope to see Mini Plays from your students.
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