E-news
E-News - July 2010
There’s a fantastic selection of opportunities for Australian playwrights around at the moment and PlayWriting Australia are pleased to bring you all the details! We have just announced a brand new initiative to help New South Wales-based playwrights make the leap from unproduced to in-demand. Yes, we are Kicking Down the Doors and promoting new voices here in Sydney where it’s notoriously difficult to get heard. Entries are now open for the Max Afford Playwright's Award, the winner receives $10,000 cash as well as a spot at PlayWriting Australia's National Script Workshop in 2011. Applications close soon! We’re still accepting submissions from Tasmanian-based writers for our Creative Development Studio Winter Session in October plus the big one, submissions are also open now for the 2011 National Play Festival. If you’ve got a script that embodies the energy and excitement of Australian theatre, then we want to hear from you!
Having just wrapped up the National Script Workshop, AD Chris Mead gives us an update on how our six selected playwrights went over two weeks of intensive development. PlayWriting Australia also welcomes our new General Manager, Elizabeth Hill, who joined us last week bringing with her a wealth of skills in policy, strategy and community engagement. We’re so pleased to have her aboard! At the close of the National Script Workshop, we farewelled the inaugural PlayWriting Australia General Manager and all-round superstar, Ben White, who we miss (already). Big thanks Ben, best wishes for your new role at the STC.
In the spirit of door-kicking, we want to get the word out as far and wide as possible about these opportunities, so please feel free to forward this email on to anyone you think may be interested. And, as always, keep an eye on our website at www.pwa.org.au for details of everything we're up to and all the ways you can get involved.
New NSW Playwrights’ Initiative: Kicking Down the Doors - Public Readings, 20 September 2010
This is the first stage in a series of initiatives, in partnership with Arts NSW, to remove the barriers to having new work read, heard and seen. We’re giving unproduced playwrights in NSW the chance to have their work played by some of our best actors in front of an audience that includes industry heavyweights. Eligible playwrights are invited to submit an excerpt of a full-length play to be included in the live, public readings presented on Monday 20 September at CarriageWorks in Sydney.
We’re looking for enticing, intriguing scenes that will leave everyone in the room wanting more! Two of the best, most promising writers at the event will receive a six-month mentorship with PlayWriting Australia’s Artistic Director, Chris Mead, and will have their work showcased at the National Play Festival in 2011.
To find out more and get involved, download the guidelines and application form from our website.
Applications close 27 August 2010
Public Reading 20 September, at CarriageWorks in Sydney
More information Download full application details here
Supported by Arts NSW
National Script Workshop 2010: Chris Mead’s tells us how it all went
I am very happy to report that the Workshop was a grand artistic success. It was unseasonably cold – on one day the temperature at the CarriageWorks’ cafe peaked at 10.5 degrees – but the weather simply contributed, I am sure, to a sober and unyielding work ethic. With each play requiring very different types of dramaturgy, so rooms displayed all forms of emotional heat, from monk-like quietude to explosive energy, from pencils out paper-strewn madness, to blocking, performance notes and much hilarity. Each of the six playwrights and their teams tweaked, examined, interrogated their first drafts with readings and inspiration and rewrites. Our directors were impressed with the calibre of actors and the actors were all fired by the quality and diversity of the plays at the Workshop. Congratulations to all involved! We are continuing to follow up on future production possibilities for these six wonderful plays, keep an eye out for them.
If you haven’t already, check out the Sydney Morning Herald article by Joyce Morgan, who visited us during the National Script Workshop.
Call for entries:
Max Afford Playwrights’ Award
This biennial award is open to stage, TV or film writers between the ages of 18 and 40. The winner receives $10,000 cash as well as a maximum of $10,000 towards the development of a work at PlayWriting Australia’s National Script Workshop in 2011. This is a fantastic opportunity for writers between the ages of 18 and 40, at any level and from anywhere in Australia so definitely check it out!
The Max Afford Playwrights’ Award is an initiative of the late Thelma May Afford in memory of her husband, Max Afford and is administered by the Trust Company. Entries must be submitted to The Trust Company no later than 5.30pm on 6 August 2010. The winner will be announced late 2010.
More information
Find out more and download the application form online at the Trust Company’s website
Or contact the Trust Company’s Jane Ryan on (02) 8295 8100 or email awards@thetrustcompany.com.au
Applications close 6 August 2010
Creative Development Studio 2010 (Winter session)
Creative Development Studios provide the opportunity to undertake a three-day period of intensive work on a script in a late draft stage. The Winter Session 2010 is being offered in Sydney exclusively for the support of a project written by a Tasmanian playwright. It includes return airfares and accommodation, enabling the writer to join PlayWriting Australia in Sydney. Applications will only be accepted for the Winter Session 2010 from playwrights normally resident in Tasmania.
Applications close 13 August 2010
Runs 11-13 October, Sydney
More information Download full application details here
Supported by Arts Tasmania
National Play Festival 2011
The National Play Festival is a unique opportunity to develop and present your work, in performance, to a national and international audience of theatre companies and producers. It is Australia’s leading showcase exploring exciting, innovative and bold new directions in writing for theatre.
We are now calling for submissions for consideration for the 2011 Showcase season of polished readings of new Australian plays – the centrepiece of the National Play Festival. In 2011, the Showcase season will present a snapshot of the future of Australian playwriting. We strongly encourage imaginative and inventive responses to the possibilities of theatre. The Showcase season is attended by key producers and presenters from across Australia to preview the selected works and join in the debate about where theatre writing is going. Works showcased at the Festival in previous years have gone on to be selected for production, and the Festival has also been a springboard for playwrights to access residencies, commissions and development opportunities both here and abroad.
Applications close 10 September 2010
Runs March 2011 (exact dates TBC), Sydney
More information Download full application details here
On stage: Don’t miss new productions of works supported by PlayWriting Australia coming up in August.
The Berry Man by Patricia Cornelius
A beautiful new play by Patricia Cornelius (Love, Do Not Go Gentle, Who’s Afraid of the Working Class) about growing things – potatoes, berries and babies – and about growing up – gathering all the elements of the past and letting them go.
5-14 August
Butter Factory Theatre, Wodonga
Presented by HotHouse Theatre
Developed at PlayWriting Australia’s National Play Festival 2009
If you have any difficulty downloading any of the information or need any additional details, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@pwa.org.au.
--
PlayWriting Australia
