Science Playwriting Competition

ANNOUNCING THE 2023-2024 CONTEST WINNERS:

First Place:
Almost Certainly Not Real by Claudia Barnett
Second Place:
Slick, Slimy, Grimy, and Dead by Audrey Hunter
Third Place:
The Primrose Protocol by Harold Taw
Honorable Mentions:
The Volitive Effect by Richard Lyons Conlon

Katacala Nights by Gino Elia

A huge thank you to everyone who participated. We applaud your excellent work and hope you continue to create theatrical plays bridging the arts and sciences.

STAGED READINGS ARE WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2024, 5:00 pm, Simons Center for Geometry & Physics

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(Original Announcement)

The Science Playwriting Competition brings science and theatre together for the dissemination of scientific knowledge through an intriguing lens — providing inspiration for plays that lead to exciting ways of learning about science. Rooted in artistic expression, the best science plays can be exceptional works of art that aesthetically convey scientific concepts, potentially resulting in further explorations in both disciplines. In this way, science and theatre may learn from each other, through their common goals of investigating and gaining an understanding of the significance of science and how the world works.

The competition commenced in 2012 with the assistance of an NSF grant awarded for scientific outreach projects initiated by Professor of Physics Christopher Herzog with additional support from the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, and the C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics. The competition draws playwrights from all over the world who submit 10-minute plays with compelling stories and innovative expression of science and theatricality.

The preferred topics in hard sciences and technology include, but are not limited to: Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Computer Science, Space Exploration, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Anthropology and Archaeology.

-A public staged reading of the winning entries will be performed during the Spring 2024 semester at the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics.

Guidelines:

– Plays should be approximately 10 minutes in length (usually around 10 pages).
– Winning playwrights will receive a directed, live-staged reading of their work in the Fall 2023 semester.
– Plays must include a title page that includes the playwright’s name, address, phone number, and email address.
– Plays must be original unpublished work and must not be created with the assistance of any form of AI.

*Note: please submit electronic entries as a pdf file. Submitting your play implies permission to have your play performed in a staged reading in the fall semester; all submissions remain the property of the playwright.

QUESTIONS? CONTACT US AT scienceplays@scgp.stonybrook.edu

This competition is made possible by the generous support of the Simons Center of Geometry and Physics, and the C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics at Stony Brook University.