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 SETC’s annual 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.
2019 Winner
The Other Half by Mark Cornell
A staged reading of The Other Half by Mark Cornell will be held Friday, March 1, 2019 as part of the 70th annual SETC Convention in Knoxville, TN. The reading will be immediately followed by an in-depth response session and critique.
About the Play
The Other Half is a love story. It centers around Michelle, a tough, but damaged young woman, and her relationship to identical twins, one of whom she falls in love with. Set in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains in Placerville, California, the play tells its story jumping backwards and forwards over a six-year period.
About the Playwright
Mark Cornell has had more than 75 of his plays produced in theatres around the world. Plays include Sprucehaven B (Frigid Fest, NYC), Two Turtle Doves (Common Ground Theatre), On Pine Knoll Street (winner of AACT NewPlayFest 2020), Bad Thing, Story Road, Theater More Like Baseball, and All the Answers. He lives in Chapel Hill, NC. He has an MFA in playwriting from UCLA.
2019 Respondent
Craig Pospisil
Craig Pospisil is an award-winning playwright and filmmaker. He’s the author of Months on End, Somewhere in Between, The Dunes and Life Is Short, published by DPS. His work has been seen in New York, LA, around the U.S., and in 17 countries, and has been translated into seven languages. His short film January was screened at over a dozen film festivals, including Bahamas, Berkshire, Big Apple, Hollywood Sky and Roma Cinema. He has written more than 60 short plays, including It’s Not You (theAtrainplays), Dissonance (Best American Short Plays 2010–2011), and There’s No Here Here (Best American Short Plays 2014–2015).
Past Winners
Year |
Playwright |
Play Title |
| 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 | Scott 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 |
Submission Period
Entries are accepted between March 1 and June 1, annually. Please review the guidelines before filling out and submitting your application. Complete applications should be sent to Getchell Chair Joe Frost at setc.getchell@gmail.com.
