For KCACTF, a one act play is more than ten (10) pages, and less than one hour playing time. Generally 15-45 pages in length, a one act play is performed with no intermission.

Up to four (4) one act plays will be chosen as finalists by readers outside the region and will be given readings at the Region 3 Festival. From these four, two (2) finalists will be chosen to be considered for the John Cauble Short Play Award, and the playwrights will be asked to submit their scripts to the Kennedy Center for consideration.

This opportunity is for student playwrights from Region 3 who have NOT entered their play as either an associate or participating production. One full-length play will be awarded the Region 3 Full-Length Play award. The winning playwright will also be invited to present their work as a script-in-hand reading at the Region 3 Festival. In addition to the general guidelines for all submissions, please note the following additional guidelines for full-length plays:

1. Running time for the play must be longer than 60 minutes.
2. If selected, the playwright is expected to attend the regional festival where the play will be given a script-in-hand reading. If the playwright cannot attend the festival their play will still be eligible for the Michael Kanin Playwriting Awards, provided that the play has been either produced by a college or university, or publicly presented in a “rehearsed” or “staged reading” format following a significant development process. This reading can occur at their home school or at the regional festival (either is acceptable).
3. If chosen to participate in the Region 3 festival, the playwright may choose to bring their own director and cast, or they can choose to have a director assigned and a cast selected from among the actors who audition for the ten-minute play readings on the Wednesday afternoon of the festival.
4. Plays submitted for consideration for the Region 3 full-length play award may also eligible for some national awards for full-length plays from the KCACTF Michael Kanin Playwriting Awards Program, with the exception the National Student Playwriting Award, which must be awarded to a play entered as a participating production. When submitting your play, please check the boxes next to the national awards you would like to have your play considered for. You can read more about the national award categories at the Michael Kanin Playwriting Awards Program.

KCACTF, working together with Planet Earth Arts and Stanford University, is seeking student-written ten-minute or one act plays that specifically address issues of climate change, the environment and surrounding issues of urgent concern. For KCACTF, a ten-minute play is ten (10) pages or fewer (please see rules above for ten-minute plays). The winning play in this category will receive a $250 award at the Region 3 Festival and will be eligible for a $500 award at the National Festival.

In order to be considered for this prize, you must submit your play to the appropriate category (ten-minute play or one act play) on the Submittable home page, and then self-select the “Planet Earth Award” category.

The distinguished playwright and screenwriter Michael Kanin (1910-1993) arranged for a remarkable series of awards to be given to student writers whose plays are entered as part of the festival. The purpose of the program is to encourage college students to write for the stage by providing the opportunity for them to engage in the playwriting process.

If your play was entered as either an associate or participating production in the region, it is eligible for several national KCACTF awards through the Michael Kanin Playwriting Awards Program.

To submit a play for consideration for one or more of the national KCACTF awards, follow the link to the region 3 submittable tool below, use the link for “Full-Length Plays (NATIONAL KCACTF MICHAEL KANIN PLAYWRITING AWARDS PROGRAM)” and then self-selected which award(s) you would like the play to be considered for. You can read more about each category here:

Michael Kanin Playwriting Awards Program

NOTE: Full length plays must also be submitted directly to Gregg Henry at the National Office: ghenry@kennedy-center.org