Write a play for Futurespark Festival

Futurespark, a festival that is aiming to showcase emerging new writing talent, is looking for 10 minutes plays.

The organisers are looking for writers of all levels of experience to submit work. The best 10 minute plays will be assigned a professional director and performed in front of a live audience at the festival, which takes place at the UK Centre for Carnival Arts in Luton on the 11th and 12th July 2013.

In total there will be between 8 to 10 scripts performed, and the organisers say they welcome scripts for all sorts of characters, from a variety of backgrounds and ages, as they will cast based on the chosen scripts, not the other way around like how some competitions with a fixed cast operate.

The theme is Carnival, so all plays submitted must be inspired, however indirectly, on this theme.

To help, here's the definition of 'Carnival':

1. A period of public revelry, merrymaking or celebration
2. An exciting or riotous mixture of something

This is the first year of Futurespark. It's been setup by How it Ended Productions, a Luton-based theatre company who have also performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and toured shows.

Producer Thomas J Millington says: "As a fan of new writing, Futurespark is an exciting project for me to be able to produce. I love reading all sorts of scripts and there will be a great sense of pride when only the best are performed in front of a live audience. It's a great opportunity for writers to showcase their work and it's also a place where creative partnerships can be formed. How it Ended are supremely grateful to the UK Centre for Carnival Arts for allowing us to use their venue for this event and we hope that we can work on more projects with them in the future."

So, if you're thinking of writing a script for the festival, or already have one you think is suitable, you need to remember the following points...

1. Your piece must be no longer than 10 minutes in duration (perform it out loud to yourself if you're unsure as to how long it is).

2. Only use basic sound/lighting and minimal props... it needs to be something that can easily be staged.

3. Extracts or adaptation will not be accepted.

When you've got your script together, attach it in Word of PDF format and send it to this email address: futurespark@howitended.co.uk

The deadline is Midnight on the 20th May 2013.