What to Submit?
Write a mini closet drama inspired by one of the three pictures below; scenes from movies featuring characters wearing repurposed curtains.
Title (this and nothing else): Curtains
Special instructions
Maximum 30 lines; counting as from the beginning of the actual dialogue.
Dialogue between two characters. The success of the characters depicted will hinge on the persona of each—it must be clearly defined.
Rhyme is optional; therefore, any rhyme scheme (the pattern of rhyme), and any type of rhyme (perfect rhyme, slant rhyme, etc), are acceptable.
You may use any poetic device at your disposal, and it may be in any genre.
The design
The term closet drama (closet is an old term for a small private study or reading room) refers to non-performance plays written in verse form, often considered to be too tendentious in content for public airing. It relies on dialogue and not descriptions of scenes. These plays thrive in the realm of imagination, where the reader conjures scenes, characters, and emotions without the need for physical enactment.
For this contest: Even if you have not seen any of the movies these scenes were taken from, you may envisage your own scenario for these characters depicted and may lampoon the names – see my blog for details.
Concentrate on the dialogue to move this single scene (not a number of different acts, as found in conventional plays) forward. This is where show, don’t tell comes into play.
Format
IN THIS FORMAT and with these headings, and no other. You may add a brief Epilogue if your closet drama logically calls for it—it counts towards line count.
The description of the setting and the characters are BRIEF!
In single space lines!
You may dispense with boldface and italicisation of the words as depicted in my example, if you wish.
Setting:
Characters:
1.
2.
Dialogue:
MY EXAMPLE [17 lines counted]
Curtains (poetrysoup.com)
Glossary of pictures
First image: In Gone with the Wind (1939), Scarlett O’Hara famously sewed a stunning gown from her mother’s green velvet curtains. (See my BLOG.)
Second image: In The Sound of Music (1965), Maria made leisurewear for the children out of elegant drapes in the von Trapp mansion.
Third image: In Enchanted (2007), Giselle fashioned a gown from the curtains found in Robert’s apartment.
Q & A
Please pose any questions you might have at the relevant blog.
Curtains - NEW CONTEST - Suzette Richards's Blog (poetrysoup.com)
Judging criteria
CONTENT and FLOW are important factors, and the contest requirements must be met in full. Correct grammar and spelling (American or British) are desired.
Feedback
Feedback will be given on the top three winning entries directly on the drama. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Prizes
First Prize, Glory
Second Prize, Glory
Third Prize, Glory
Twelve Honorable Mentions
Preparing Your Entry
Submit one copy of your poem online. Format your poem. Please make your entry easy to read — no illustrations or fancy fonts.
English Language
Poems should be in English. Poems translated from other languages are not eligible, unless you wrote both the original poem and the translation.
A Note to Poetry Contestants
You are welcome to enter this contest, whether or not you won a prize in one of my previous contests.