It is with great pleasure and utter hubris that PianoFight issues this open challenge to playwrights, actors, directors, and any Bay Area theater group willing to take a risk and put up their material to be judged by an audience.

Last year, PianoFight produced a short play competition titled “ShortLived.” The contest ran for three months, with playwrights from all over the Bay Area submitting their work to be performed by PianoFight, and subsequently scored by audience members. The winner of the competition, Daniel Heath, was awarded the opportunity to pen a full-length piece to be produced by PianoFight for a month-long run in the theater the company manages, Studio 250. Heath delivered a whopper, titled “FORKING!” which premiered to sold out houses in the month of January and made its Los Angeles debut in February at Theatre Asylum.

PianoFight's "ShortLived" will return again this year for the same 3 month run, from April 3 - June 27, but with some significant changes to the format.

"ShortLived 2.0" will feature not only playwrights competing for the top prize, but any local theater group with the balls to have their work judged side by side with other short plays.

THE FORMAT:

"ShortLived 2.0" will consist of 6 rounds, lasting two weekends each, and concludes with a finals-best-of-the-best Championship Weekend which will feature the winners of each round, plus two wild card picks to be chosen by PianoFight.

Each round will feature 8 short plays, some written by aspiring playwrights and performed by PianoFight actors (see PLAYWRIGHT SUBMISSIONS), some written and staged by local theater groups (see GROUP SUBMISSIONS), and the rest penned and performed by PianoFight company members. The audience will then score each piece, and at the end of the two week round, the scores will be tallied and the round's winner announced on www.pianofight.com

At the end of each round, the four lowest scoring pieces will be dropped from rotation and replaced with four new plays.

The winning piece from each round will clinch a slot in the Championship Weekend.

The writer or group whose piece wins the Championship Weekend will be offered the opportunity to pen a full length piece, to be produced by PianoFight and staged for one month in Studio 250 at Off-Market.

GROUP SUBMISSIONS:

One group will be given one slot each round to perform a piece written, directed, and acted by that group.

If the piece wins the round it will immediately clinch a slot in the finals. At that point, the group will have the option of stopping performance of that piece until the Championship Weekend, or the group can write a new piece to be put into the line-up to compete for winning a second slot in the Championship Weekend (if a group were to win two rounds, it gives them better odds in the Championships and winning the competition).

If the piece does not win the round, but places in the top four, the group will come back to compete in the next round to try again for clinching a slot in the Championship Weekend.

If the piece is scored in the bottom four at the end of the round, it will be dropped from the line-up.

To submit, please send an email including the script you wish to perform, and a little about your company to piano_fight@yahoo.com

Any group with any script is welcome, so long as the piece has never been fully produced and does not run longer than 12 minutes. Groups will be chosen by PianoFight.

NOTE: Pieces should work in a black box setting, meaning a "set" will only include chairs or blocks etc. Props and tech should be fairly minimal as well, and entirely supplied by the group, not PianoFight.

PLAYWRIGHT SUBMISSIONS:

Any Bay Area playwright may submit any style of short play - sketch comedy, dramatic, or something in between are all welcome - so long as it has not been fully produced anywhere else, and it does not run longer than 12 minutes.

The script will be directed and performed by PianoFight company members.

If the piece wins the round, it will automatically clinch a spot in the Championship Weekend. It will also stay in competition for subsequent rounds until it scores in the bottom four pieces.

If the piece does not win the round, but places in the top four by the end of the round, it will stay on to compete again in the next round for a chance to clinch a spot in the Championship Weekend.

If the piece scores in the bottom four by the end of the round, it will be dropped from competition, and the playwright will be asked if he/she would like to submit again.

Submissions can be sent to piano_fight@yahoo.com

NOTE: Submission should not be prop heavy or require too much tech/sets - also, submitting playwrights must be from the Bay Area.