Competition celebrates one of North Carolina’s most famous writers
(Chapel Hill, NC, August 5, 2019) PlayMakers Repertory Company, in partnership with the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Advisory Committee and The Thomas Wolfe Society, proudly announces the opening of the International Thomas Wolfe Playwrighting Competition, in conjunction with the celebration of 100 years of playmaking at UNC-Chapel Hill. Wolfe, one of North Carolina’s most famous writers, was a Carolina alumnus and member of the Carolina Playmakers acting troupe. Started in 1919 and led by Professor Frederick H. Koch, the Carolina Playmakers pioneered the American Folk Play as an art form.
The International Thomas Wolfe Playwrighting Competition is seeking submissions of full-length, unproduced scripts that reflect Wolfe’s legacy: plays that capture a largeness of spirit and an expansive vision of life, that are, paradoxically, rooted in a geographic place. Works that explore Wolfe’s life and/or adaptations of his fiction are encouraged.
The submission period closes September 15, 2019.
“Any North Carolina-based theatre artist—whether writer, actor, or scenic designer—is keenly aware of the impact of Thomas Wolfe’s novels and short stories,” said Vivienne Benesch, PlayMakers’ Producing Artistic Director. “His characters burst with ambition, love of life, and sorrow, and live in settings that we recognize and immediately relate to, like the famous mountain town in ‘Look Homeward, Angel’. Those same qualities have also been influential to writers across the country and across the globe. We are excited to partner with The Thomas Wolfe Memorial and The Thomas Wolfe Society to discover how a new generation of writers is both inspired by Wolfe’s rich, storied legacy, and also how they transform it for the 21st century. The winner will receive a $7,500 cash prize and development support from PlayMakers, as part of our commitment to producing new works for the American theatre.”
About PlayMakers Repertory Company
PlayMakers Repertory Company is North Carolina’s premier professional theatre company. For more than 40 years, we have produced relevant and courageous work that tells stories from and for a multiplicity of perspectives, and creates transformational impact in our immediate and extended communities. We are proud to be part of a 100 year tradition of playmaking at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. PlayMakers has been named one of the “best regional theatres in America”. In recent years, PlayMakers has prioritized developing exciting, far ranging new works for the stage and has produced seven world premieres in the last three seasons.
About The Thomas Wolfe Memorial and The Thomas Wolfe Society
The Thomas Wolfe Memorial is a State Historic Site in Asheville, NC and receives support from the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Advisory Committee. The Thomas Wolfe Society was established in 1979 to promote appreciation and study of the works of this famous American author.
PlayMakers contact: For more information, contact Diana Pineda, 919.962.7114 or dmpineda@email.unc.edu