Bay Street's 'Writing The Wave' Competition Seeks Young Voices

Over the course of the last several years, the annual New Works Festival at Bay Street Theater has brought fledgling plays and musicals off the page and onto the stage in the form of readings and workshops. It’s a process that not only gives audiences a first look at brand new theater offerings, but also provides playwrights, lyricists and composers with valuable feedback on what could possibly be the next big hit as they look to make their work marketable on the world’s stage.

One such play was Wade Dooley’s “The Prompter,” a two-person comedy which began life as a reading at the spring 2018 New Works Festival at Bay Street and ended up opening the theater’s mainstage season the following year, with Tovah Feldshuh in the starring role.

This year’s weekend of readings, “Title Wave: The 2022 New Works Festival,” is scheduled to take place May 6 through May 8. In addition to the slate of fresh work that will grace its stage, Bay Street is also looking to add an entirely new component to the play reading weekend — one that will invite teenagers with something to say to join in as well.

“Writing The Wave: The 2022 New Works Creative Writing Competition,” is a creative writing contest that is open to all Suffolk County teens age 13 and older. Offered in conjunction with the New Works Festival, as Allen O’Reilly, the theater’s education director, explains, it’s another initiative designed to bring young voices into the theater.

“We thought, let’s do something for the local teens by introducing a creative writing competition,” O’Reilly said in a recent phone interview. “I think it’s a great idea and we’re not necessarily looking just for playwrights, but anyone with a passion for poetry, an author, songwriter or playwright who wants to have their work read by professionals. It can be a rap, a short scene, a monologue, and it can be submitted in any language.”

The top three finalists of the teen writing competition will have their work presented at Bay Street during May’s New Works Festival, and O’Reilly notes that if the student doesn’t feel comfortable performing their own piece in front of an audience, actors taking part in the festival will step in to present it.

In many ways, the teen writing competition is an attempt to rebuild the type of youth programming that Bay Street offered several years ago — specifically, its Young Playwrights Program, created under the leadership of theater cofounders (and husband and wife) Emma Walton Hamilton and Stephen Hamilton. The program took teaching artists and the craft of playwrighting directly into middle and high school classrooms and at the end of the multi-week sessions, brought student plays to life on the Bay Street stage. But that program was discontinued after the couple left Bay Street to join the staff of Stony Brook Southampton’s MFA in Creative Writing and Literature program, where a similar initiative was created known as YAWP (Young Artists and Writers Project).

“I think we’re trying to reinvent something strong and sound,” O’Reilly explained. “The playwrighting programs were healthy and established a nice relationship with the local teens. We owe great appreciation to Steve and Emma who built it. A number of years have passed and I do feel like we’re rebuilding that — we’re doing our best to replant the seeds.”

Now, O’Reilly notes, Bay Street is looking for ways to bring back the teens and with this competition, he is encouraging young writers from across the county to submit their work. While the deadline is currently April 5 for submissions, it’s possible the date will be extended in an effort to spread the word to a larger number of students.

“I’ve reached out to a lot of schools, as well as the Shinnecock Nation, and mid-island schools within Suffolk where I live,” he said. “I’ve also gone to the local favorites, like Pierson, Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island.”

There are great rewards up for grabs, and in addition to all three finalists having their original material presented live at Bay Street Theater, the first place winner of “Writing The Wave” will receive a $100 prize, a subscription to Bay Street’s 2022 mainstage summer season, and an all-access pass to the New Works Festival. The second place winner will receive a mainstage subscription and a New Works Festival pass, while the third place winner will receive the festival pass.

“I think the kids do want to write, and I feel like with this, they would have a chance to have a voice and express their ideas in any format they’re comfortable with,” O’Reilly said. “If they want to get it heard or seen, this is the opportunity to do that.”

To spread the word, O’Reilly said that Bay Street Theater is planning to set up tables in the lobbies of local schools during upcoming high school musical productions to let the students know about the writing competition and the New Works Festival.

O’Reilly notes that there are other opportunities for local youth at Bay Street as well, not just acting classes, but auditions for the summer production of “Ragtime,” which has roles for children and teens.

“If we get them in the door and acting in the shows, that can only lead to more kids coming in and us building those relationships,” said O’Reilly. “They’re out there, and if we can entice, excite and inspire them, that will be great.”

“Writing The Wave: The 2022 New Works Creative Writing Competition” is open to all Suffolk County teens age 13 and up. Submissions must be original work written by the applicant, and can take the form of poetry, spoken word, rap, monologue, song or short scene. Submissions must include the original written text in a PDF or DOC file, or a video link (Vimeo or YouTube) of the original work being presented or performed. Submissions must be no longer than five pages or five minutes in performance length. Finalists will be selected on originality, creativity and innovate use of language. The submission deadline is Tuesday, April 5. Contact Allen O’Reilly at allen@baystreet.org for more information.