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So you want to be a playwright -- your name in lights, a Tony Award or even a Pulitzer Prize in your hands, the world at your feet? If you're a full-time high school student between 13 and 19 and can write a 10-minute play (approximately ten pages) to be submitted before midnight, Monday, March 15, you have a chance.

Sure it's short notice but the white-hot flame of inspiration lurks in everyone, waiting to be kindled. True, the contest publicizes a commercial enterprise, yet the rewards are worth, if not your soul, certainly your effort.

Here's the skinny: A joint initiative of Fidelity Investments and the current Broadway hit musical, "Billy Elliot," the contest reflects themes from that show. The story about a northern England boy who defies family to pursue his dream as a ballet dancer is, at heart, the journey of an individual's discovering his or her special talents. (If you haven't seen the show, rent the movie version.)

While writing from a theme is almost never a good idea, creating a character who has to overcome obstacles is essential in dramatic writing. In his "The Art of the Playwright," William Packard writes, "Action is the heart and soul of drama...A dramatic action is a want, a need, a desire, a going for something." Then come obstacles to these needs and wants which the character must try to rise above, sometimes succeeding, sometimes not. Out of these conflicting elements come plot, climax and resolution.

Why not focus on yourself or someone you know? Obstacles can be a person or a thing, internal or external. As guide, take a work you've already probably studied, like "Romeo and Juliet."

Of course, all of this must be told through dialogue, not description. It must live since it's to be acted by breathing people on a stage reaching out to a living, breathing audience. Would-be playwrights are encouraged to start anywhere, not necessarily at the "beginning," and let their imaginations go.

"I am a great believer that every child should have access to the arts," said Elton John, Fidelity FutureStage Honorary chairman and composer of the "Billy Elliot" score. "The arts can take you to a place you can only imagine. What Fidelity FutureStage is doing is encouraging young people to use their imagination and unlock gifts they never knew they had inside them."

The contest is an extension of the Fidelity FutureStage theater education program, now in its fourth year of providing theater experiences for students. "Fidelity FutureStage is our way to invest in the next generation," said Jennifer K. Brown, executive vice president at Fidelity Investments.

Following the March 15 deadline, all eligible plays will be reviewed by a panel of Broadway professionals. They'll be looking for originality/creativity of the play; character development; structure of dialogue and plot; and appropriateness to the "Billy Elliot" themes. Prizes will be given to the top 25 submissions.

As for the grand prize winner, that student will have the opportunity to attend the opening night of "Billy Elliot" in Chicago, walk the red carpet and attend the after-party. More exciting, the winning play will be produced at a gala event on June 14 at Broadway's Imperial Theater.

Go ahead. What do you have to lose?


For contest rules and directions for submission, go to www.futurestage.com/playwriting.

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