2011 Charles M. Getchell New Play Award Winner Nicolas the Worm by Eddie Zipperer Nicolas the Worm – Nicolas Gutiérrez left Cuba with his wife, brother, and baby daughter in 1956, and is living in exile in Miami when the play starts (4 years later).  The other members of Nicolas’ family are having a much easier time assimilating than he, as he longs to return to his homeland and see the people of Cuba freed from tyranny.  One day an American man claiming to work for a “private company” asks Nicolas to join a covert mission to free Cuba.  Nicolas accepts the invitation but must convince his family that it is the right thing to do.  Concetta, his wife, is angry because she can’t bear the thought of him being in harm’s way.  Pedro, his brother, is angry because he wants to play professional baseball, and he’s afraid that his new responsibilities will stand in his way of achieving that goal.  Despite his family’s reluctance, Nicolas joins Brigade 2506 and becomes a part of one of the biggest military betrayals of all time at The Bay of Pigs.  While Nicolas is away, Pedro sells his car and - confused in his new role as the family’s patriarch - attempts to have a romantic relationship with Concetta. After being taken as a prisoner of Castro for 22 months, Nicolas returns home a different man.  He no longer has the use of his legs, and he is overwhelmed by the betrayal he feels from all directions: the U.S., the Cuban people, God, his priest, and his own brother.  He spends the rest of the play trying to find a way to be able to put his faith in all these things again. Eddie Zipperer is an award winning playwright whose published plays, Don’t Fear the Reaper (Dramatic Publishing Co.) and Jupiter Jones: Rock Star Vampire Hunter (Pioneer Drama), have been produced across North America from Fairbanks, AK to Miami, FL.  His short plays have won several awards and have been produced in Los Angeles, North Hollywood, Australia and Off-Broadway in New York.  Eddie has an MFA from Georgia College & State University and currently teaches composition there.  He is also a member of the Dramatists’ Guild of America, Inc. Respondent Gary Garrison is a playwright, author, Executive Director for Creative Affairs of the Dramatists Guild of America and Artistic Director/Division Head of Playwriting for the Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing at the Tisch School of the Arts.

Mission: The SETC New Play Project is dedicated to the discovery, development and publicizing of worthy new plays and playwrights. This project will select one "winning script," present a staged reading of that script at the annual Southeastern Theatre Conference Convention in collaboration with the playwright, and conduct an adjudication of the play by a select panel of judges.

Eligibility: Playwrights who reside in the SETC region (or who are enrolled in a regionally accredited educational institution in the SETC region) or who reside outside the region but are SETC members are eligible for consideration. SETC Region states include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia.

Guidelines:

1. Entries will be accepted between March 1st and June 1st annually. Click here for application.
2. One submission per playwright only. Full length plays or related one acts; No musicals or children's plays.
3. Plays must be unproduced (no professional productions) and unpublished. Readings and workshops are acceptable.
4. Plays must be submitted by email attachment in Microsoft Word or PDF format with the following guidelines:
   • Text should be in 12 pt type and in a plain font such as Times New Roman.
   • Script must include page numbers at the bottom of each page.
   • The author's name should not appear anywhere in the script.
   • Do not include resumes, playwright biographies or a history of the play.
   • 1 copy, Word or PDF format, attached to an email.
   • Completed Application Form included as separate email attachment. Electronic signatures will be accepted.
5. No previous submissions will be accepted without substantial rewrites having taken place.

Notification and Award: The winning playwright will receive a $1,000 cash award and be designated as the winner of the Charles M. Getchell Award.

1. The playwright will be invited to the SETC convention at the expense of SETC. The play will be considered for publication in Southern Theatre magazine.
2. The decision of the panel of readers will be announced in November of each year.

Questions and Submissions should be sent to:

Chris Hardin
Austin Peay State University
hardinb@apsu.edu