History
Formed in late 2006, PlayWriting Australia found itself a home in early 2007 in the busy post-industrial CarriageWorks
space in Sydney's Redfern. From this base, we work across the country in concert with theatre companies, presenters,
local playwriting groups, state funding bodies, international cultural bodies and other script development organisations.
Prior to the establishment of PlayWriting Australia, responsibility for script development at national level, besides
individual theatre company commitments, fell primarily to two organisations: the Australian National Playwrights
Centre (ANPC) and Playworks.
Established in 1973, the ANPC's annual National Playwrights' Conference quickly became a cornerstone of the industry.
The Conference supported the creative development, and offered showcase opportunities, to many notable plays in the
Australian repertoire.
Playworks, the somewhat younger sister of the ANPC, emerged in 1985 out of the Playing With Time Festival held at the
Wharf Theatre, Sydney. Identifying itself as the national women?s performance writing network, Playworks's primary
occupation was the promotion of women's writing for performance.
In 2006 the Australia Council for the Arts took the decision to consolidate its investment in script development in a
single, new organisation and both the ANPC and Playworks were subsequently wound up.
An interim management committee, including representatives from both the ANPC and Playworks, was convened to steer the
establishment of the new organisation. The organisation became fully incorporated as PlayWriting Australia and the
management committee appointed to the inaugural board in March 2007.
As the successor to both the ANPC and Playworks, PlayWriting Australia shares many of the goals and ambitions of those
two organisations. As PlayWriting Australia establishes itself and builds its platform of activities for the support of
playwrights, theatre companies and the artists who work with them, we are honoured to build on the combined legacy of more
than 40 years representing playwrights and their work.
