SuBMISSIONS FOR THE JOHN GASSNER NEW PLAY COMPETITION IS SUSPENDED for 2012. THANKS FOR YOU INTEREST. PLEASE CHECK BACK.

The festival and playwriting contest is named for John Gassner (1903-1967), one of the most distinguished names in American theatre. Gassner, a Long Island resident, pioneered the field of dramaturgy in America and championed American playwrights. (Stony Brook University has one of the nation’s leading graduate programs in Dramaturgy in America.)

Created by the Department of Theatre Arts, the John Gassner New Play Competition (JGNPC) solicits scripts from playwrights from around the country and encourages the development of new American plays through its annual playwriting contest. The contest seeks full-length plays that are both relevant and intrinsically theatrical. The contest is administered by the Stony Brook University department of Theatre Arts' Graduate Program in Dramaturgy. Our MFA Dramaturgs spend the year reading the many submissions, selecting finalists and choosing the winner as part of their studies in new play development under the guidance of Steve Marsh. The winning playwright will be in residence and will work with our students and professional actors in preparation for the reading.

This year's winner, SOMETHING ABOUT A BIRD by Trina Kakacek, received a staged reading on May 11th 2011.

For more information call literary manager, Steve Marsh in the department of Theatre Arts at 631-632-4291.

Previous winners

(2010) SOMETHING ABOUT A BIRD by Tina Kakacek

(2009) MONSTROUS BEAUTY by Karla Jennings

(2008) ALBATROSS by Dennis Schebetta

(2007) Saving Grace by James McLindon
(2006) Off Compass by Kelly Younger
(2005) Japanese Death Poem by DT Arcieri
(2004) Love in a Thirsty Land by Alan Glass
(2003) Ephemera by John Yearley

For more information call Literary Manager, Steve Marsh in the Department of Theatre Arts at 631-632-4291.