CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

ROCKFORD NEW WORDS 2024

The West Side Show Room is seeking new 10-minute works which will be presented in a staged reading Feb 2-4, 2024 in Rockford, Illinois.

We accept spoken word poetry, plays, monologues, stories— anything written for live performance.

Theme: What I Learned From My Ex:
Length: 10 minutes or less
Award: $200
Deadline: OCT 15, 2023

THEME

WHAT I LEARNED FROM MY EX:

You know who we’re talking about. They used to be the center of your little cosmic world— but now they’re gone gone gone! Ex-romantic partners, ex-family members, ex-friends, ex-pets— they all had to go! This year, we are asking writers to explore the laughing lessons your doomed relationships left behind.

RULES

1. New Works: written after Aug 15, 2023

2. Theme: What I Learned From My Ex:

3. One Written Work per writer

4. Language: English

5. Writer Location: anywhere in the world!

6. Originality: no translations, adaptations, or excerpts of other works

7. Copyright: you must own it

8. Eligibility: no published or produced works

9. Length: Stories/Monologues: 4 pages or less double-spaced. plays 10 pages or less

10. Reading Time: 10 minutes or less

Works will be accepted until October 15, 2023 at 5:00pm CDT. Writers will be notified about the status of their submission no later than December 15, 2023.

SUBMIT YOUR WORDS

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Claudia Consuelos (she/her)

Claudia Consuelos was raised in Rockford, IL and graduated from Rock Valley College with an Associates of Arts and Associates of Science. She then transferred to Illinois State University where she earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Sociology and Pre-Med. While in college, Claudia helped increase voter registration, lobbied for institutional funding, and pushed for accessible scholarships among holding different executive positions in extra curriculum organizations. After college, she returned to work in Rockford. Through her education and professional career, Claudia’s passions are demonstrated through bringing awareness to different topics such as Mental Health, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, LGBTQ+, First Generation Students, and other underrepresented groups. Claudia implemented and led the first Latinx Graduation at Rock Valley College, assisted in creating different DEI statements and initiatives, and connects individuals and organizations to important resources.

Claudia currently works as the Director of Workforce Development for Comprehensive Community Solutions, Inc. (CCS). Claudia oversees two youth workforce development programs- YouthBuild Rockford and RockForWork. Claudia also organizes marketing for CCS, write grants, conducts different fundraising initiatives, and forms partnerships with community organizations and members. Claudia believes in the mission of CCS and is passionate to help young adults with personal and professional development.

In the community, Claudia currently serves as the Artistic Director for the Rockford New Words Festival. Claudia also serves in the Board of Directors for the Rockford Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She is a member of the Coalition for Latino Leaders and is happy to volunteer for different organizations and events. Claudia is also trained to be a Safe Zone trainer, does presentations on marginalized groups, community success, workforce development, cultural competence, inspirational and personal growth, and other topics.

WRITING WORKSHOP

THE THREE STORY METHOD
Instructor: JP Rindfleisch IX
SAT Sep 16, 2023

Rockford New Words presents the RNW 2024 Writing Workshop.

This year we were thrilled to have Rockford area writer, and RNW 2023 poet, JP Rindfleisch IX. In this workshop, students were introduced to basic concepts of creative writing using The Three Story Method by Zach Bohannon and J. Thorn.

This free three hour workshop also covered the Rockford New Words submission process, discussion of this year’s theme “What I Learned From My Ex:,” and how to writers can bring their unique perspective to writing for live performance.

WORKSHOP INSTRUCTOR

JP Rindfleisch IX (they/them)

JP Rindfleisch IX is a writer, editor and podcaster from Rockford with a persistent desire to network and build communities for writers. If they could sum up their writing into one tagline, it would be "Curator of things Dark, Strange, and Queer."

The moment they attribute as the launch of their writing career was when they took the leap and ended up in the basement of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, crafting a story world for an apocalyptic anthology with a collection of amazing indie authors.

Since then, they have discovered an amazing community of writers, and now they want to bring that excitement to Rockford.

You can find out more about JP here: jprindfleischix.com

SPONSORS

ROCKFORD NEW WORDS 2024 is made possible by a generous grant from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois.  

The mission of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois is to serve as a catalyst for giving in order to attract, preserve, and grow an endowment for the current and future needs of the people of Northern Illinois. Since its founding in 1953, CFNIL has granted more than $65 million for charitable purposes in the region.

CAST & CREW

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Claudia Consuelos

PRODUCER
Epic Midway Jones

MARKETING COORDINATOR
Elijah Lowry

ROCKFORD NEW WORDS FOUNDERS
Sharon Nesbit-Davis, Nathan Alan Davis, Epic Midway Jones