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I thought this might be of interest to your members The Castillo Theatre Launches the 2009 Mario Fratti-Fred Newman Political Playwriting Contest The Castillo Theatre believes that theatre, at its best, is a playground of the social imagination. But in the sandbox of the American stage, our play has for too long been constrained by financial concerns dictated by a conservative political and cultural environment. There have been few forums for playwrights and plays that push the political and cultural envelope. The purpose of the Mario Fratti-Fred Newman Political Playwriting Contest is to encourage the writing of such plays and to provide a stage for scripts that, due to their progressive/radical and experimental vantage point(s), would not otherwise be produced. The Mario Fratti-Fred Newman Political Playwriting Contest was founded by its namesakes in 2004. Mario Fratti is the author of some 70 plays (the best-known being the award-winning musical Nine) which together have received a total of more than 600 productions internationally. Fred Newman is a philosopher, psychotherapist, political strategist, and author of over 30 postmodern political plays and musicals, and he is the retired artistic director of the Castillo Theatre. The contest is looking for scripts for the stage that engage the political/social/cultural questions impacting on the world today. The plays should not have been previously produced, and may be in any style, set in any historical time or location, contain any number of characters, and be of any producible length. The plays must be in English and, due to production limitations, no musicals can be considered. The first-prize winner will receive a production by the Castillo Theatre at the All Stars Project on 42nd Street as part of its 2009-2010 season. Five runners-up will receive public readings at Castillo during the summer of 2009. The contest will be judged by a distinguished selection committee from the progressive and experimental theatre community. All submissions must be received, in English, by December 30, 2008. Hard copy only. Scripts will not be returned. Send all submissions to: Castillo Theatre ATTN: Political Playwriting Contest 543 West 42nd Street New York, N.Y. 10036 Questions and inquiries should be addressed to Dan Friedman, dramaturg, via email: castillo@allstars.org.