YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FOR CHANGE: BULLYING TYA/USA and AATE’s National Middle School 10-Minute Playwriting Contest

NATIONAL COMPETITION SUBMISSION RULES

1.) Only AATE and TYA Member organizations may participate as a sponsoring organization in National Competition.

2.) All sponsoring organizations must register through the national website. No call, mail-in or faxed submissions.

3.) In order to be eligible, ALL sponsoring organizations must adhere to the rules established by the national office and must include the logos of AATE and TYA on their marketing materials.

4.) Each sponsoring organization may submit only one entry to the national contest. 5.) Only plays written by students in grades 6 – 8 will be accepted. 6.) Of the plays submitted by sponsoring organizations, finalists will be chosen by a nationally

recognized panel to be available on AATE and TYA/USA websites for organizations to use for educational purposes. Directing and curriculum materials will also be available on the websites.

7.) One of the finalists of the National Competition will have their play presented in a staged reading by up to four (4) professional actors and a director at The Kennedy Center for TYA’s Pre-conference.

8.) The finalist chosen to have their script read and 2 family members will have the opportunity to attend conference (Hotel, travel included).

9.) Students may not enter plays to more than one sponsoring organization. 10.) Students must have permission from a parent or guardian to enter the contest. A signed

Parent Consent Form must be included with all submissions. 11.) Plays must be the original work of the author and not an adaptation of pre-existing work

(including works in the public domain). Scripts may not be co-authored. 12.) Completed scripts must be no longer than 10 minutes when read aloud. 13.) Scripts may have up to, but no more than six characters. 14.) Scripts must be in standard American format. Check the creative and style guidelines if you

have questions about how to do this. 15.) AATE and TYA/USA reserve the right to change any contest rule. 16.) AATE and TYA/USA reserve the right to accept or reject any play submitted to the contest

for any reason. 17.) AATE and TYA/USA reserve the right to request changes and revisions from submitted

scripts. 18.) AATE and TYA/USA may post the names of the chosen playwrights on marketing and

press materials. 19.) Chosen playwrights agree to allow AATE and TYA/USA to document (photos and

recording) for its use. 20.) By submitting a play, you are giving AATE and TYA/USA permission to produce or excerpt

your play now or in the future, and giving permission for your script to be made available online for free download for use.

Young Playwrights for Change: Bullying

CREATIVE TIPS

Having trouble getting started on your script? Suffering from writer’s block? Read on for some quick tips and strategies

to get inspired or keep your creativity going.

Elements To Think About

Theme - Think about the theme of anti-bullying and how your play will address the theme. Is there a particular

aspect of bullying you want to address—cyber bullying, peer pressure, physical or verbal bullying?

Setting - Where is your play set? At a school? In your community? In the future or the past? In outer space? Get

creative—your play can be set anywhere!

Characters - You can have up to six characters in your play. Who are the characters you’re working with? How

do they feel about one another? What do they want? What are they afraid of? How do they feel about

themselves? Interesting characters have thoughts, feelings, reactions to situations, and sometimes are

unpredictable. Do the characters change over the course of your play?

Plot - What happens to your characters over the course of your play? Is there a beginning, a middle, and an end?

What is the central conflict or event in your play?

Brainstorming and Getting Started

Create a “portrait” of your main character by making a list of words that describes him or her. Be as specific as

possible.

Try writing about a character’s, worst day, or their favorite song, biggest fear, most treasured possession,

person they admire, or a- question they would ask another character

Outlining or mapping out your story or plot before you actually start writing your script is a great way to begin.

Try a written outline, or use a different strategy.

Try telling the story of what happens in your play to a friend or family member and repeat this a couple of

different times so you get the feel for the important events you’re imagining.

Create a storyboard with text and/or images, or even some kind of map. Use drawings, symbols, or doodles

to represent events, characters, etc.

Or, try putting key scenes on separate sheets of paper and practice laying them out in different orders to

experiment with the sequence of events.

What If I Get Stuck While Writing?

Go back and read aloud what you have written so far. Sometimes reading out loud can give you fresh

perspective or new ideas!

Stuck on a particular scene or detail? Skip ahead or go back! Sometimes the order of your plot or sequence of

events in your play is not the order in which you write your script.

Find a friend or family member to read your work and give you some feedback.

Take a break! Get up from the computer, take a stretch break, eat a snack, take a walk or just do something else

for a little while. Then come back to your script with some fresh eyes.

Young Playwrights for Change: Bullying

RESOURCES

While we are looking for original work, not adaptations, the following resources about bullying might

inform and inspire you.

Website with information and resources from the US Department of Health and Human Services:

http://www.stopbullying.gov

Live phone help: LIFELINE at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Nonfiction:

Bullying and Me: Schoolyard Stories by Ouisie Shapiro; photographs by Steven Vote

We Want You to Know: Kids Talk About Bullying by Deborah Ellis

Why Good Kids Act Cruel: The Hidden Truth about the Pre-Teen Years by Carl E. Pickhardt, Ph.D.

The Unwritten Rules of Friendship by Natalie Madorsky Elman and Eileen Kennedy-Moore Queen Bees and Wannabees by Rosalind Wiseman

Fiction:

Bystander by James Preller

Confessions of a Former Bully by Trudy Ludwig

Facts of Life: Stories by Gary Soto

Lunch Money by Andrew Clements

Powerless by Matthew Cody

The Truth about Truman School by Dori Hillestad Butler

8th Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich Crash by Jerry Spinelli

Young Playwrights for Change: Bullying

Theme and Style Guide

THEME AND SUBJECT: We are looking for plays that contain a hopeful and honest anti-bullying message; scripts that

deal with the problems and consequences of bullying, but also possible solutions or positive changes. Bullying is

unwanted, repeated, aggressive behavior among school aged children. Both kids who bully and kids who get bullied

believe that the one who bullies is more powerful.

Characters: The play could address the experiences of …

Kids who bully

Kids who are bullied

Kids who assist bullying: These children may not start the bullying or lead in the bullying behavior, but

encourage the bullying behavior and occasionally join in.

Kids who encourage bullying: These children give the bullying an audience. They will often laugh or provide

support for bullying.

Kids who observe/bystanders: These children watch what is going on but do not show they are on anyone’s

side. These kids often want to help, but by providing a passive audience, they may be encouraging bullying

without knowing it.

Kids who defend: These children comfort the child being bullied and may come to the child's defense.

Most kids play more than one role in bullying over time. Every situation is different. Some kids are both bullied

and bully others.

The play could address various types of bullying, including …

Verbal bullying - saying or writing mean things: teasing, name-calling, inappropriate sexual comments, taunting,

and threats.

Social bullying - hurting someone’s reputation or relationships: leaving someone out on purpose, telling other

children not to be friends with someone, spreading rumors, and embarrassing someone in public.

Physical bullying - hurting a person’s body or possessions: hitting, kicking, punching, spitting, tripping, pushing,

taking or breaking things, and making mean or rude hand gestures.

The play could address some other aspect of bullying, including …

Cyber bullying - bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Examples of cyber bullying include mean

text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures,

videos, websites, or fake profiles.

Groups at risk – bullying can happen anywhere, to anyone. But some groups are at a higher risk of being bullied,

including youth who …

...are LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/ Questioning) or believed to be LGBTQ.

…have disabilities or other special health needs.

…are from religious or ethnic groups that are not part of the dominant group in a school or community.

STYLE. We are looking for plays that are …

Creative - Although we are looking for plays that deal honestly with the subject of bullying, they do not have to

be realistic in style. Plays could feature animals or fantasy creatures as characters, for instance, and could be set

in worlds other than our own.

Appropriate - We want plays that address the issue of bullying seriously, but they must be appropriate for

middle-school audiences to read, see and perform. We are not looking for profanity or offensive material.

Young Playwrights for Change: Bullying - Formatting Guide

Please use the following guide to make sure your scripts are in Standard American

Format before submitting them to YPC.

Page numbers keep

pages from getting lost or mixed up, which

would ruin a script. Num- ber pages in the upper right hand corner.

List all of your characters

at the beginning of your script. This helps a pro- ducer know how to cast your play. If possible, offer some description of each character.

Mark the beginning of a

new act or scene. Do

this in the center of the

line, not at the left mar- gin.

1

Title of Play

Characters Josh, a shy 5th grader who has written a play

Alexandra, an outgoing 5th grader who likes to write Ms. Stevens, their teacher, who is energetic and helpful

Act 1, Scene 1

JOSH I finished my play! But I feel kind of nervous about turning it in.

MS. STEVENS

Why? I thought the part about aliens from outer space visiting Earth

was especially exciting.

(Ms. Stevens smiles, moves towards Josh.)

VERY IMPORTANT: DO NOT list the name of the

speaker at the left mar-

Well...Maybe.

JOSH

gin of the page. This

makes it hard to read. Instead, list the full name

of the speaker in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS in the center of the line, where it is visible.

ALWAYS type your script with a space be- tween the last line of one

character’s dialogue and

the name of the next speaker. Scripts which

are not properly spaced

are very difficult to read.

(He takes his script out of his backpack and flips through the pages.)

I wish someone would read it out loud to make sure it sounds okay.

ALEXANDRA I could read your script! I’ve been working on mine too.

JOSH

Thanks so much! After you read my script, we’ll finish writing our plays

and type them in Standard American Format. Then we’ll send them to Young Playwrights for Change and see what they think!

Stage directions should

be indented (not cen- tered) with parentheses. Stage directions in the

middle of a speech start on a new line (indented), and then speech contin- ues on the next line.

Always type your script. For paper copies, type on one side of the paper only.

Act, Scene 1

Include the Title of the Play only on the first page, and center it.