About the Competition
Endowed by alumnus, novelist, poet and playwright A.E. Hotchner, this annual playwriting competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students at Washington University. Many past "Hotch" plays have gone on to full production in the PAD season and around the country. Two of our playwrights have won Kevin Kline Awards, and most recently Marisa Wegrzyn, a three-time Hotch participant, was awarded the prestigious national Wendy Wasserstein Award 2009 for her play Hickorydickory--which had its world premiere in our studio theater in 2005.
All Washington University Students are eligible to submit. All selected plays will be workshopped over a two-week period with a professional guest dramaturg, Wash U. actors and a PAD faculty director in Fall 2021. The workshop process will culminate in public readings of each play during two days of presentations. All plays selected will receive a cash award (full-lengths, $100; short plays, $25).
The Performing Arts Department will be producing the World Premiere of You Don't Live Here Anymore by Elizabeth Brown in Spring 2022 as part of the 2021-2022 Season. This play was selected from Hotchner submissions from the 2019 & 2020 A. E. Hotchner Playwriting Competitions.