If you have always wanted to see your words come to life, the Mississippi Theatre Association is offering the perfect opportunity for you.

The state theatre association is again sponsoring its Playwriting Contest with divisions for youth and adult playwrights. The deadline to submit a script to the competition is October 1.

MTA Executive Director Stephen Cunetto said the competition is open to all Mississippi authors and submissions must be original, one-act plays. The winners of each division will have a staged reading of their work presented at the 2011 Mississippi Theatre Association Festival, he said.

“Since 2007, MTA has been issuing a call for original scripts by Mississippi playwrights,” Cunetto said. “Our competition has two divisions – a youth division, for students under the age of 18; and an adult division, for playwrights 18 and above.

“The winner of each of these two categories receives a staged reading at the annual MTA festival, including a response from an established playwright,” he added.

Kevan Jenner Brown of Gulfport and Steven Mockler of Ocean Springs were named the 2010 Mississippi Theatre Association Playwriting Competition winners.

Cunetto said the scripts are judged in two rounds. All scripts submitted to the competition are first read by a committee. The committee ranks the scripts and then submits them to a final judge. This year’s judge is Gary Garrison, a playwright and author, as well as the Executive Director for Creative Affairs of the Dramatists Guild of America and the Artistic Director and Division Head of Playwriting for the Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing at the Tisch School of the Arts.

MTA Playwriting Division Chair Tonya Hays is excited about this year’s competition and the opportunities it provides.

“Playwriting is a unique discipline,” Hays said. “It gives a writer the hope of having his or her words realized by others – literally putting words into the hands of directors and the mouths of actors. It’s a truly collaborative art form, and one we’re proud to celebrate at the Mississippi Theatre Association festival.”

Hays will oversee this year’s youth division and Beth Kander, a former winner of the MTA Playwriting Contest will oversee the adult division. To submit your entry or review the entire rules, visit http://www.mta-online.org and click on “Playwriting Competition.”