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It’s like American Idol, only…good. Tonight marks the start of the first annual PlayOffs, an elimination-style weekly playwriting competition in which hand-picked playwrights produce new work based on top-secret prompts designed to “push them to create their best work at a breakneck speed,” says Michael Emmitt, co-founder with Sean Paul Mahoney of Horse & Cart, which is putting on the series. “It’s the best chance to see new plays come to life right before your eyes.”
For this first live round, which starts at 8 p.m. at Paris on the Platte, 1553 Platte Street, the sixteen competing playwrights were given two cues — a woman of a certain age (over thirty, mid-thirties or teenaged) and Paris — and asked to craft a three-minute monologue. Six contestants will be booted from the competition after a panel and audience members vote tonight; the rest will move on to next week’s competition. The month-long contest will culminate with a live finale on August 29 at Voodoo Comedy Playhouse, 1260 22nd Street.
Get tickets for tonight’s installment, $12, at horseandcart.co, where you can follow the PlayOffs action. Emmitt and Mahoney will also air weekly wacky video and audio updates on YouTube.
Thu., Aug. 1, 7 p.m., 2013
