A Premiere Opportunity for Playwrights and Actors

Miriam Moore-Keish ’19

Throughout July, August, and September, I attended rehearsals for the Eden Prairie Players’ annual collection of one-act plays, performed during  the last two weeks of September. Founded in 1992, The Eden Prairie Players carry out their mission of “inspiring and nurturing theatre opportunities for artists and volunteers, and entertaining and challenging theatre experiences for audiences.” The show I performed in, “A Harmony of Both,” by New York playwright Terence Patrick Hughes, combined dog chew toys, mortality, call centers, transcendentalism, Ralph Waldo Emerson, manipulation, and inappropriate workplace dynamics. Quite a “challenge theatre experiences,” I think.

Not only does the company host opportunities for actors and actresses, but it offers unique connections for creative writers and playwrights. The Eden Prairie Players produce two collections of one-act plays a year: in the fall, the general collection and in the spring, the women’s one-acts. The women’s one-acts are produced by female identifying playwrights, directors, and actors. The opportunity for actresses and playwrights overlooked in the patriarchal system of performance to be taken seriously and given their own space is refreshing in a male-dominated field.

Each selection season caps their submission number at 250 plays. Volunteer readers select the top 20 to advance to a table read, and the top eight get cast and performed. Submissions are open to the international community, as long as the play is submitted in English and takes between 10 and 30 minutes to perform. If you are a playwright interested in receiving compensation for premiering your work, you can visit the one-act submission guidelines to be notified of submission periods and guidelines. The general collection of one-acts just closed their submissions, but the women’s one-acts submissions open in May (in case you have a little time during the semester to fine-tune your playwriting).

Likewise, if you are an actor or actress interested in getting involved in the Twin Cities theatre community, you can keep your eyes on the Eden Prairie Players audition notices for audition opportunities. The selection committee is currently deciding on which general submission one-act plays to premiere next fall, so directors and producers will hold auditions over the summer. Actors only need to prepare one monologue, and the atmosphere is incredibly low-key. In the meantime, if you have any questions about how dog toys relate to “The Over-Soul,” “Self-Reliance,” or “Nature,” I’m your gal.