Submission Period
Entries are accepted between March 1 and June 1, annually. Please review the guidelines before filling out and submitting your application.
Nominations are now open:
About the Award
SETC’s Charles M. Getchell New Play Contest is dedicated to the discovery, development and publicizing of worthy new plays and playwrights. Submissions are accepted between March 1 and June 1, annually. One winning playwright receives a $1,000 cash award and an all-expense paid trip to the annual SETC Convention, where both a critique and staged reading of the winning play are held. The winning play is also considered for online publication and a feature in Southern Theatre magazine.
Click Here to read about the history of the award in an article by Chip Egan in the Winter-Spring 1999 Southern Theatre.
Click Here to learn more about Charles M. Getchell.
2022 Winner
A Complicated Hope by John Mabey
Marie and daughter Rose Marie are left adrift after their husband/father, Michael, passes away. But it’s how he leaves that alters the lives of the family forever.
Arnie, Michael’s boyfriend, yearns to heal those who’ve been hurt and unexpectedly discovers a family of his own.
Mirroring the erratic path of grief itself, A Complicated Hope flashes between the moments in time that changed them all. Their journeys explore the challenges of both finding a family of choice and letting yourself be found.
About the Playwright:
John Mabey is a writer and storyteller whose plays have been produced on stage in 7 countries and throughout the United States. John lived internationally for a decade in London and Amsterdam before residing in Atlanta and continues to work with theatre companies around the globe both virtually and in-person. John is also a certified Mental Health Counselor and published author on the topics of sexual identity and spirituality in academic books and journals. In 2021, John was awarded the ‘Panowski Playwriting Award’ and had plays published in ‘Smith & Kraus Best 10-Minute Plays’ and ‘Smith & Kraus Best Women’s Monologues.’ When not writing, they enjoy teaching and performing improvised comedy and true storytelling around the world. www.mabeyplays.com
Past Winners
Year |
Playwright |
Play Title |
| 2022 | John Mabey | A Complicated Hope |
| 2021 | Angela J. Davis | AGATHE |
| 2020 | Rachel Bykowski | 28 Light Years From Now |
| 2019 | Mark Cornell | The Other Half |
| 2018 | Sean Michael McCord | Moving |
| 2017 | W.L. Newkirk | Miss |
| 2016 | Ben Gierhart | Another Man’s Treasure |
| 2015 | Will Coleman | Helvetica |
| 2014 | Robert Plowman | The Missing Link |
| 2012 | Beth Kander | Scrambled |
| 2011 | Eddie Zipperer | Nicolas the Worm |
| 2010 | Alice Shen | Entitled |
| 2009 | Tommy Trull | Honeyboy |
| 2008 | Richard Aellen | Nobody |
| 2007 | Don LaPlant | Two Body Problems |
| 2006 | Dennis Schebetta | Obscura |
| 2005 | Scot Lahaie | Dogfall |
| 2004 | Lew Holton | Portal |
| 2003 | David Blakely | Tales of Shoogilly |
| 2002 | William Hayes | Going South with Phil and Margaret |
| 2001 | Alison Pruitt | The Trial of Susan B. Anthony |
| 2000 | Linda Nell Cooper | April Morning |
| 1999 | Steve Downs | Glossolalia |
| 1998 | Sheryle Criswell | …Where Late the Sweet Birds Sing |
| 1997 | David Davis | Five Exits |
| 1996 (Tie) | Kenneth Robins | Atomic Field |
| 1996 (Tie) | Thomas W. Stephens | Miserere, Passing Through |
| 1995 | Jason Milligan | Walking on the Moon |
| 1994 | Bob King | Dry Thunder |
| 1993 | Jett Parsley | Locked Doors and Lightning Bugs |
| 1992 | Richard Zinober | The House at the Edge of the World |
| 1991 | Adam Kraar | A Twist of Faith |
| 1990 | Andrew Young | Sanctuary |
| 1989 | Bernard Sabath | Father and Daughter |
| 1988 | Jan Henson Dow & Robert Shroeder | The Golden Dawn |
| 1987 | Eddie DeSantis | American Subway |
| 1986 | Bobbi Evors | Another Dimension |
| 1985 | Beverly Shatto | Song of the parakeet |
| 1984 | Pat Kaufman | Cookie Jar |