Rod Parker Playwriting Award

NewFest: Chops (2010-2011 Season). Photo by Kirk J. Miller.

The Rod Parker Playwriting Award and NewFest are both funded by the generous support of Rod Parker ’51. Mr. Parker wrote his first play while an undergraduate at Emerson College, and in 1991 made the Playwrights Festival possible by creating an endowment to fund fellowships for student playwrights and support the first productions of their work.

Emerson College is very fortunate that alumnus Rod Parker has seen the importance of supporting new playwrights as a way of keeping the theater vibrant. 

2012–2013 Submission Information

Eligibility

The Rod Parker Playwriting Award is open to all current Emerson students.

Submission Deadline

Submissions are due November 2, 2012 at 5:00 pm.
Submissions should be placed in the NewFest Submission Box in the Emerson Stage Office on the 6th floor of the Tufte Performance and Production Center.

Submission Guidelines

• No more than two submissions per playwright
• Four copies of your script
• Single-sided
• Bound with a binder clip—no staples
• All scripts must include a title page with your name, major, year of graduation, play title, your address, email address, and a telephone number where you can be reached during the winter break and during the spring semester

Award

The winner of the award will receive a cash prize in addition to a full production of his/her script by Emerson Stage during NewFest 2012.

Selected scripts will also be staged as part of the NewFest Readings.

Winners of the Rod Parker Playwriting Award

2011–2012

Rough & Tumble by Patrick McDonald
The following were presented as part of the NewFest Readings:
Crystallization by Jenna Danoy
Sam Loves Alex by Robin Goldberg
The Crib in the Corner by Taylor Paul
End of the Line by Ady Pié
Menage by Lena Raff
Catatonia by Dan Robert
And a special reading of Closet Talk by Rod Parker

2010–2011

Chops by Kirin McCrory
The following were presented as part of the NewFest Readings:
Tiny Vessels by Nick Chris
Adam and Evelyn by Patrick Curran
Sunshine Farm by Elizabeth Hagerty
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Katie Johnson
Carry That Weight by Nora Reilly
Binarism by Emily Skeggs
Facilitator of Fatalities by Zachary Stevens
Things We Said Today by Nathaniel Taylor-Leach

2009–2010

Paint by Dan DeNicola
The following were presented as part of the NewFest Readings:
The Gallows by Zachary Forray
Lethologica by MJ Halberstadt
Pillowtalking by Nicolas Coburn
Jim and Paul Meet in Dreams by Danielle Mohlman
Transportation Theory and the Statistical Interpretation of Thermodynamics by Jason E. Weber

2008–2009

Harold Fall or King Will by George Watsky
The following were presented as part of the NewFest Readings:
Another Kind of Dreamcatcher by Brandon Koons
Beauty by Andres Solorzano
Called Back by Harry Vaughn
Dangerous Curves by Emily Fulop
Duck and Cover by A.J. Knox
Hamlet versus MacBeth by Dan Perrault
Nice Guys Finish Last by Patrick Lord
Shooting the Moon by Emily Graham-Handley
Tin Pan Alley by Justine Spingler

2007–2008

Rubik's Cube by Kimberly Barrante
The following were presented as part of the NewFest Readings:
Better Home Awaiting by Adam Patterson
The Wonder by Lindsay Soson
Harold’s Fall by George Watsky

2006–2007

Lift by Kelly McCabe
The following were presented as part of the NewFest Readings:
The Rubik’s Cube by Kimberly Barrante
The Family Room by Josie Campbell
The Rise and Fall of the Sensitive Man by Liam Carnahan
I Don’t Want to be Frankenstein by Anders Nelson
Bound by David Shaw
A Collaboration by Jessie Shaw

2005–2006

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by David Lawson
Life in Space by Justin Becker

2004–2005

Blue Cheese Chronicles by Sarah Carey
Runners-up:
Halfway Home by Amanda Shank
Monsters by Gail Phaneuf

2003–2004

Goodbye Dolly by Jody Houser
Top Hats and Old Standards by Alison Potoma

2002–2003

Shoot the Bull by Jeffrey VanDreason
Cubicles by Alexander C.P. Danner

2001–2002

a TACK of an American Conscience by Johnmichael Rossi
Runner-up:
A Murder, a Mystery, and a Marriage by Jason Beaubier

2000–2001

People Watching by Alexis Clements

1999–2000

Fiddler's Green by A.J. Mell
Prodigals by Rachel Grissom

1998–1999

The Bug by Julie Christine Phillipps
Runners-up:
And Truth by Mary Stanford
Breaking Procedure by Nicole DuFresne

1997–1998

Back Porch by Michell Sylvester
Runners-up:
The Ripening by Sage Wells
Gritos Y Chismesitos by Michael Cavazos-Alcacio

1996–1997

Because I Remember You by Julianne Homokay
Runners-up:
Instant Life by Amy French
Family Business by Laurie Leftkowitz

1995–1996

When in Duluth by Steven Abrams
Runners-up:
Cold Water Flat by Marylou DePietro
Land of the Jane, Home of the Dicked by Thessaly Lerner

1994–1995

Dinner by Lucy Holstedt
Runner-up:
Brave Navigator by David Valdes-Greenwood

1993-1994

Death in Wintertime by Cristina Iovita
Runners-up:
Thursday by Sean Graney
Struggle in a World Without Love by Tom Epstein

1992–1993

Ashika by David Frankel
Runner-up:
Scarcity by Amy Ansara

1991–1992

Love on the Vine by John Cole
Runners-up:
Nirvana is Dead by Josh White
Separation Anxiety by June Rifkin Clark

1990–1991

Back in Your Own Backyard by Joe Antoun