This is what we got from Colin Murphy (colin@theimagerie.ca )
 
I was wondering how I could post a sontest for community theatre on your web site.  "Reality: What A Concept".  

I am looking for submissions of short skits, 5 minutes or less.  Though there is a potential for you to make some money on this concept,  please keep in mind that we are a cash-strapped community theatre so we can't offer you any money to start but, if your skit is chosen we will send you a video tape of the skit performed live.

We are a small community theatre in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, and we're  hoping this will blossom into something larger. It goes like this:

A skit contest, wherein writers are encouraged to submit skits prior to a deadline.
First deadline is July 1, 2006

We are trying this out initially at our little 65 seat theatre to see if there is any interest out there from you writers.  Eventually we would like to see Individual theatres run the shows 5 times per year.

Each will revue about 20 skits (number picked arbitrarily).  The viewing audience will be asked to vote, actual vote results will be kept private until the fifth show. For the fifth and final show of the series, the winning skits from the previous four shows will be featured, re-done, sort of like a play-off.

Final voting will take place on that final day and the winning writers crowned live, if possible  (then extend to have "play-offs" between various Community Theatre groups, then on and on.) Skits will be original material, maximum 5:00 minutes, maximum 6 characters.

Skits fall into 3 categories:

• Musical/parody: orginal humorous numbers and original parodies
• Jokommercials:  parody of existing ad or totally invented product.
• Skits: humorous sketches
  

We are also toying with "dramatic short" as a category but we are not quite certain it will fit.  If you wish to submit these it won't hurt.

Each show there will be winners in each category. The revue "run" is not limited to one night. In our case we will be running them in a rotation of Thursday, Friday, Saturday for three weeks in a row, just like our regualar play rotation.

How does the show look?

We establish a Character with a side kick, ala Martin Mull and Barth Gimble from Fernwood Tonight (if you are unfamiliar, a very cheesy Johnny Carson/Ed McMahon take-off).  The show will have guests, likely characters in the skits, and have musical numbers and skits tied together like a variety show.

The Jokommercials would be intersperesed as though they are the actual sponsors.  The audience will be instructed at the opening as to what is expected of them and where the whole thing is heading and ballots provided with entries listed in the appropriate categories.

What's in it for the writers?

Initially, all I can offer, if your skit is chosen to be performed, is a video taping of your skit being performed and sent to you.  Eventually, I am hoping to obtain a title sponsor who will hold a "bank" of skits from which the competing theatres can draw.  All skits have the chance of being chosen by more than one theatre, so as you can see, the well written skits will have greater potential of being performed.   By having one "holder of the skits" for those skits that are chosen the writers can be properly compensated for their efforts from the central title sponsor. If a skit is never chosen, the writer is never compensated.  If the skit is immensely popular the compensation could be great.   I have to show that this works first in order to get that sponsor.  I think the potential is huge and I think we can all benefit if done properly.  So if you are interested, please submit your skits to colin@theimagerie.ca   I am eagerly looking forward to hearing from you.

Colin Murphy