Kicking Down the Doors (NSW)
NSW Playwrights’ Initiative
PlayWriting Australia is holding a free forum for emerging playwrights in NSW
‘Kicking Down the Doors’ Information and Networking Forum
5.30pm – 8.30pm, Thursday 10 March 2011
Venue: The Sound Lounge, The Seymour Centre
University of Sydney Cleveland St (Cnr City Rd) Chippendale NSW 2008
**UPDATE** If you weren't able to attend the Playwright's Forum back in March, have a read of the Forum Report prepared by facilitator Edwina Deakin, EJD Consulting and Associates. Click here to download the report (PDF)
The Information and Networking Forum was a free event as part of the National Play Festival 2011 open to emerging NSW playwrights. Edwina Deakin facilitated an open discussion around the ways unproduced playwrights can:
- Learn about assessment programs and opportunities
- Identify barriers and solutions to gaining access to theatres
- Build a community of playwrights able to network and explore shared goals
PlayWriting Australia’s Artistic Director, Dr Chris Mead shared advice on what factors are considered in the assessment of unproduced plays. Panel members also included representatives of the Australian Writers’ Guild, the NSW Writers’ Centre and NIDA.
Key topics of concern or inspiration identified by the participants were discussed in small groups, with playwrights leading the conversation and taking a major role in identifying solutions. This forum aimed to create a space for collaboration, support and progress. Click here to read the full report
KICKING DOWN THE DOORS at the National Play Festival 2011
You can also see readings of plays by two of the Kicking Down the Doors playwrights during the National Play Festival. We're delighted to feature the work of NSW playwrights, come and experience these wonderful new works and show your support for the states emerging talent!
Heaven by Kit Brookman
Drama, two men, two women
When a schoolgirl, Angela, dies in a random road accident Max gathers a ragtag group of teens to bring her back from the dead. Is there life after adolescence? What does come after death? And could we really handle it if we knew – especially if it just kept hanging around?
A Hoax by Rick Viede
Drama-comedy, two men, two women
A troubling, monstrous and ceaselessly provocative story of a girl pretending to be a girl whose story was written by an angry male social worker. Race, politics and extreme story manipulation collide in this piece of exploitation theatre at its finest.
4pm on Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Rafferty's Theatre, Parramatta Riverside
Church Street, Parramatta 2150
For more information and to buy tickets, check out the National Play Festival website
www.nationalplayfestival.org.au
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What is Kicking Down the Doors?
We want to remove the barriers to having new work read, heard and seen, giving all-comers the chance to have their work played by some of our best actors in front of an audience that includes industry heavyweights. This initiative is open to all NSW-based playwrights who have not yet been professionally produced.
Eligible playwrights are invited to submit an excerpt of a full-length play to be included in the live, public reading presented by a professional cast 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.
PlayWriting Australia and Arts NSW are attempting to knock down some of the barriers to getting new Australian plays onto the state’s stages. This is just the first of a series of initiatives in NSW designed to respond to the needs of emerging, developing and established playwrights.
Kicking Down the Doors is a great new initiative in partnership with Arts NSW, designed to open doors to previously unproduced playwrights. Over 100 writers have submitted a short extract from a full-length play and we’ll be presenting as many as we can!
Kicking Down the Doors Reading, 20 September 2010
PlayWriting Australia held a free public playreading event for the Kicking Down the Doors initiative in September 2011. Over seven hours, our amazing cast of eight read excerpts from 82 plays submitted by unproduced writers from across New South Wales to an audience of over 200 people throughout the day. The numbers were impressive, but so was the quality of the work, giving us just a taste of a huge range of stories, styles and voices. It definitely left everyone wanting more.
Our awesome rotating judging panel, who shortlisted the best playwrights for the PWA mentorships, were Jane Bodie (Playwright & Head of Playwritng at NIDA), Leland Kean (AD, Tamarama Rock Surfers), Ralph Myers (AD, Company B), Polly Rowe (Literary Manager, STC) and Sam Strong (AD, Griffin Theatre Co).
The Kicking Down the Doors playwrights who have been offered mentorships with PWA were Tahli Corin (winner of the audience vote), Rick Viede, Laura Hopkinson, Anna Houston, Kit Brookman and Tresa Ponnor.
In choosing which writers will be mentored, we reflected on each of the submitted works across various methods of scrutiny - the initial read by independent assessors, rehearsal day feedback from the directors and cast, scores and comments from our industry judges and the audience vote. Ultimately, we were so impressed by the potential of writers that we have offered six mentorships, rather than the two we had initially planned for!
Supported by
Arts NSW
