Market Street Arts Festival scheduled in Brownsville in May
Market Street Academy and Performing Arts Center in Brownsville recently announced a writing contest to run in conjunction with the May 20 – 22 Market Street Arts Festival.
Submissions will be accepted in poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction in four age categories: 6 through 10, 11 through 14, 15 through 18, and 19 through 90, according to Dr. Fred Lapisardi, the center’s artistic director. Group submissions with no age restrictions also will be accepted for original puppetry presentations. Writers may submit their works between now and May 2.
“We keep the rules as simple as possible,” Lapisardi said. “Poems should be no longer than twenty lines written in either free verse or traditional metric forms, rhymed or un-rhymed. Fiction and creative non-fiction should be up to 500 words for the 6-10 group, a thousand words for 11 through 14 year olds, and fifteen hundred words for those from 15 through 18. The limit for writers 19 and older will be 2,000 words. Puppetry shows should run from 5 to 10 minutes.
“The theme of the Arts Festival: ‘The Historic River Port of Brownsville, where the Old National Road Crosses the Monongahela River, and the past flows into the future,’ should, in some way, however slightly, be reflected in each entry.”
Prizes will be awarded in each age group and genre.
“We’re planning an awards ceremony for the kick-off event of the Market Street Arts Festival,” Lapisardi said.
There will be certificates for first, second and third place in each genre and age group. Each first place winner will also be given a writing scholarship to Market Street Academy, which will be good for either four one-hour individual writing tutorials or free tuition for an eight-session writing workshop. First place winners also will get to read their works at the awards ceremony.
The puppetry contest will be open to mixed-age groups rather than to individuals in specific age categories. Combinations of children and parents are encouraged. An original written script will accompany a DVD on which each group records its 5 to 10 minute play. There are no restrictions on the type of puppets to be used.
“It can be anything from marionettes to Bunraku, from shadow to finger puppets, or a combination of several types of puppet mixed with actors,” Lapisardi said. “The key here is technique and originality. We will select the best to be performed at the awards ceremony.”
Market Street Academy and Performing Arts Center also plans to sponsor a new publication “The Market Street Arts Review,” most likely in tabloid form. Winning entries from the writing contests will appear in the first edition along with photos from the festival.
These contests are open to the general public, and there are no entrance fees.
For entry forms with a full set of contest rules, write to Lapisardi, Market Street Academy, P.O. Box 382, Brownsville, Pa. 15417 or e-mail MarketStArts@gmail.com. For more information about the Market Street Academy, go online to marketstreetarts.wordpress.com.