Old Miner Children’s Playwriting Contest

Hosted by the Theatre for Youth and Education (TYE) Center at Utah Valley University

The TYE Center at Utah Valley University is hosting the fourth annual Old Miner’s Children’s Playwriting Contest.  The contest has two divisions (a) the “National Division” for a playwright currently living in the United States and (b) the “Utah College Division” for a playwright currently enrolled at a Utah college or university.

The sponsor of the contest has a special interest in plays about real children.  As an incentive, the sponsor is offering an additional $500 “Strike It Rich Prize” to be awarded to one of the winning plays, or split between the two winning plays, if the scripts are based on the lives of actual, individual children.

The winning national playwright will receive a five-day residency culminating in a staged reading of the script, tentatively scheduled for April 13-18, 2018.  The award includes airfare, housing, and per diem plus a $1000 cash prize. All submitting playwrights may opt to receive written critiques of their plays.  Finalists may opt to receive design responses and/or oral responses from UVU theatre students. As part of the residency experience, the winning national playwright will serve as a mentor to the Utah college winning playwright.

The winning Utah college playwright will see a staged reading of his/her script with up to eight hours of workshopping and rehearsal during the April 13-18 time period. The award includes a $250 cash prize and lodging during the residency if outside of Utah County but not transportation. The winning Utah college playwright will participate in the development of the winning national playwright’s play. Both playwrights will receive mentoring and support from the director and/or dramaturg throughout the process.

The Old Miner’s Children’s Playwriting Contest is named after Tom Norris. Tom was born Jan 2, 1920 in Caliente, Nevada. Growing up during the Depression as the oldest of seven children, Tom was well acquainted with poverty. He had one life’s ambition: to make a million dollars. He did so, many times over, in the mines of Battle Mountain, Nevada. Once he accomplished his goal, he realized that working hard to make the money was more fun than having it.  Tom never spent much money on himself, but was generous to the community around him, especially the children. He never received a college education, but was a voracious reader and passionate learner. He wanted to make sure the children in his community got the best education, were knowledgeable about world events, and learned to think for themselves. Tom was an avid debater and prolific writer of letters to the editor which he always signed as “The Old Miner.”

The Old Miner’s Children’s Playwriting Contest is funded through the generous support of the Tom and Mary Norris Foundation and facilitated by the TYE Center at Utah Valley University.