2008 Charles M. Getchell New Play Award Winner NOBODY by Richard Aellen NOBODY Explores the life of African-American actor Bert Williams as he creates a blackface role so rich and affecting that he can neither surpass nor escape it. When he tries to break out of the minstrel stereotype, Williams finds himself a prisoner of his own success and the expectations of a 19th century audience. Richard Aellen is a playwright and novelist. Before he turned full-time to writing he worked variously as a steelworker, flight instructor, darkroom technician, and gold mine guard. His first one-act, Square One, was produced at the Manhattan Punchline Theatre while last year's full-length Farmers Of Men won the Stanley Drama Award. During the Cold War he published five thrillers and an award-winning young adult novel, Ozzy On The Outside. Other awards include a National Endowment for the Arts Grant, the Columbia-Doubleday Fellowship, Writers Guild of America/East Fellowship, and Millay Colony Residency. Richard is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Seaplane Pilot's Association, and the BMI/Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop.

Mission: The SETC New Play Project is dedicated to the discovery, development and publicizing of worthy new plays and playwrights. This project will select one "winning script," present a staged reading of that script at the annual Southeastern Theatre Conference Convention in collaboration with the playwright, and conduct an adjudication of the play by a select panel of judges.

Eligibility: Playwrights who reside in the SETC region (or who are enrolled in a regionally accredited educational institution in the SETC region) or who reside outside the region but are SETC members are eligible for consideration. SETC Region states include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia.

Guidelines:

1. Entries will be accepted between March 1st and June 1st.
2. One submission per playwright only. Full length plays or related one acts; No musicals or children's plays.
3. Plays must be unproduced (no professional productions) and unpublished. Readings and workshops are acceptable.
4. Plays must be submitted by email attachment in Microsoft Word or PDF format with the following guidelines:
   • Text should be in 12 pt type and in a plain font such as Times New Roman.
   • Script must include page numbers at the bottom of each page.
   • The author's name should not appear anywhere in the script.
   • Do not include resumes, playwright biographies or a history of the play.
   • 1 copy, Word or PDF format, attached to an email please, sent directly to Mark Charney at cmark@clemson.edu.
   • Completed application form included as separate email attachment. Electronic signatures will be accepted.
     Application Form -   Word     PDF 
5. No previous submissions will be accepted without substantial rewrites having taken place.

Notification and Award: The winning playwright will receive a $1,000 cash award and be designated as the winner of the Charles M. Getchell Award.

1. The playwright will be invited to the SETC convention at the expense of SETC. The play will be considered for publication in Southern Theatre magazine.
2. The decision of the panel of readers will be announced in November of 2008.