2015

australia playwriting

we seek, develop

and champion

new australian stories

for the stage

Andrew Bovell Keynote Address, National Play Festival 2014 (Sydney). Photo: S. Godfrey

welcomeWelcome to Playwriting Australia’s 2015 program

You’ll see in the following pages that we’re bursting at the seams with the range of programs we’re offering. As the national company charged with developing new writing for the stage, our job is simple – to ensure there are more astonishing new plays in Australian theatres; to ensure those plays are always extraordinary; and to ensure the range of those writers is as wide as possible to reflect the Australia we live in. No small task.

This is our biggest year yet. More programs than ever before. More opportunities for playwrights to develop their work with us. More workshops. More readings. More writers doing what they do better than any of us –imagining and shaping new worlds.

At the core of Playwriting Australia’s work is a fervent commitment to extending the craft of writing plays. How do we match the bravery of our biggest and boldest ideas with the skills needed to make those plays unignorable? Our range of creative development work extends this year to include one-on-one dramaturgical support, and Rapid Fire bursts of activity around your new play.

Following our most successful National Play Festival yet in Sydney last year, in July we decamp to Adelaide to revel in all that’s magical about writing for the stage, stacked with incendiary new plays and inspiring conversations.

Playwriting Australia has long been recognised as an incubator of the very best new talent, and we seek out and celebrate writers of exceptional promise from every region, culture and background we can find. In 2015, we present readings of new Asian Australian plays in three cities and launch a unique retreat for our leading Indigenous playwrights.

In Melbourne we’ll be working with a group of mid-career artists to hone and extend their dramaturgy skills, and we’ll be searching nationally for the country’s hottest emerging directors to participate in our Directors’ Studio.

And, as if that weren’t enough, we end the year with the Chain Play, a raucous and magnificent celebration of playwriting. We invite a cohort of twenty phenomenal writers to contribute one scene each to a brand new play.

There’s something magical underpinning our expanded program – it’s a belief and assertion that new plays change the way we think about our lives.

I hope you’ll join us throughout the year.

Tim RosemanArtistic Director

new play development

National Script Workshop 2013National Script Workshop 2014 Photo: E. Amato

More info

Submission closing dates26 Jan National submissions

TBC Max Afford Award

3 Aug National submissions

14 Aug Theatre companies & producers nominations

Where SydneyPerth

WhenFebruary AprilSeptemberNovember

Websitewww.pwa.org.au/new-play-development

The widest range of opportunities for the creative development of new scripts

A new play is a fusion of imagination and ambition, made in collaboration. Our writer-led programs offer time, space, flexibility and creative expertise to explore and invent, supported by the best actors, dramaturgs and directors in Australia.

In 2015, we launch a more tailored approach to the way we support new plays by offering three different development programs:

National Script Workshop: our intensive development workshop of one or two weeks.

Rapid Fire Sessions: a one-day workshop giving playwrights the chance to hear their script and receive immediate feedback.

One-on-One Dramaturgy: up to six months of on-going individual dramaturgical support.

Alongside national submissions, development opportunities are offered to Western Australian playwrights, playwrights of Indigenous or diverse cultural backgrounds nominated by theatre companies or producers and the winner of the Max Afford Award.

igniting excellence

Playwright Jane Bodie, National Play Festival 2014 (Sydney). Photo: D. Prichard

Re-imagining the role of the playwright in the theatre-making process

The PWA Lab supports the creative combustion that happens when playwrights are involved in innovative theatre practice.

The Lab is a workshop for non-traditional forms of theatre, multi-authored text and non-writer-led work. This might mean established writers experimenting with new forms or genres; cross-artform collaborations with artists working in other disciplines; adding writers into devising ensembles; or creative teams looking to explore a new idea or working methods.

Companies, collectives and individual artists wishing to develop a new idea, a new partnership or a new form are invited to apply. Proposals need to have a playwright involved and include details of other creative team members attached to the project.

More information about the application process and full guidelines will be available in March 2015.

More info

Application closing date11 May

WhenAugust

Websitewww.pwa.org.au/pwa-lab

inspiring new ways of writing

pwa lab

Playwright Julia-Rose Lewis, National Play Festival 2014 (Sydney) Photo: D. Prichard

The highlight of the new writing calendar, the National Play Festival is a sumptuous feast of new Australian drama. We cherry-pick the finest works developed through our core programs, and the result is four days of gourmet theatrical indulgence.

Showcase: Public readings of the most dynamic new plays in Australia from our greatest writers and thrilling new voices.

Public Forums: The National Play Festival fizzes with a sizzling series of public events featuring Australia’s leading artists.

Writers’ Program: Playwrights are invited to discover new frontiers in craft and ambition in masterclasses, forums and discussions.

Industry Program: Playwrights, creatives and producers assemble to unpick the key issues facing our sector.

The full program will be announced in May 2015.Read more at www.nationalplayfestival.org.au

Festival Partners

national play festival 22 – 25 July, Adelaide Festival Centre

Annette Shun Wah and participants, Lotus Playwriting Workshop (Sydney)

diversity

Playwriting Australia is pioneering a national search for a generation of playwrights that better reflects the country we live in. One of our key aims is to cast the widest net to discover and nurture new voices we don’t often hear.

We offer training and mentorship opportunities to aspiring playwrights, in partnership with schools, communities and theatre producers. We also insist upon diversity throughout our programs, including the National Script Workshops and in our research and development work.

In 2015 we focus on Indigenous storytelling and dramaturgy and new works by Asian-Australian playwrights in our Lotus project.

If you are an Indigenous or Culturally and Linguistically diverse artist interested in developing your playwriting skills, or have an idea for a partnership, contact our Diversity Programs Coordinator Teik-Kim Pok by email at diversity@pwa.org.au or call 02 8274 0904.

Read more at www.pwa.org.au/diversity

unearthing the greatest stories nationwide

More Info

Expressions of Interest by24 April

When 30 September – 7 October

WhereBundanon (Regional NSW)

Websitewww.pwa.org.au/indigenous-retreat

Indigenous Playwrights RetreatA new program to bolster Indigenous playwriting in Australia, supporting a group of outstanding First Nations writers.

A week-long creative residency at Bundanon (Regional NSW), the retreat will focus on writing, sharing work and creating a community for exploring ideas, taking risks, mentoring and collaborating.

The program will be self-facilitated by the playwrights themselves around a framework developed by PWA.

SongritesIn 2015 we continue our work with the Sydney Opera House to support the development of new plays by Indigenous musicians Casey Donovan, Abie Wright and Troy Brady. Each artist will receive a week-long development of their work to explore pathways towards production.

Indigenous DramaturgyWhat are the unique challenges of developing Indigenous plays? How might dramaturgs navigate the adaptation of traditional creation and Dreaming mythology, respect oral storytelling traditions in communities, or performances incorporating Indigenous languages?

Led by Isaac Drandic, Playwriting Australia is working with Ilbijerri and Yirra Yaakin theatre companies and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists across Australia to define new ways of supporting and shaping Indigenous works.

Principal Program Partners

supporting indigenous stories

Working across three states in an ambitious partnership with Performance 4a, we have spent the last year training over twenty Asian-Australian playwrights in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, offering them vital support to write new plays.

In 2015, we invite the most promising young writers in each city for a special presentation of their new work-in-progress. In collaboration with local theatre partners and Sydney Writers’ Festival, we present collections of the most exciting new voices to Australian audiences around the country.

Presenting Partners

2015 Lotus Showings

Brisbane Sydney Melbourne22 April 23 May 5 JuneLa Boite Theatre Sydney Writers’ Festival Malthouse Theatre

Parramatta Riverside Theatres

Websitewww.pwa.org.au/lotus-playwriting

Playwright Michele Lee, National Play Festival 2014 (Sydney) Photo: D. Prichard

Playwright Angela Betzien and director Leticia Caceres (Photo Stephen Henry)Directors Studio 2014 (Sydney)

creatives academy

More info

Application closing dates 17 Apr Dramaturgy Internships25 Sept Directors’ Studio

Expressions of interest for Rehearsal Room Internships are open all year round.

Directors StudioSydney7 – 11 December

Dramaturgy InternshipsMelbourneMay-October

Websitewww.pwa.org.au/creatives

Directors’ Studio Following the success of our Sydney pilot, the Studio expands to a week-long national course for emerging artists focusing on the particular dynamic of directing new plays.

Participants will gain tools for creative development, vocabulary for production, and techniques for working with text to realise and enhance a playwright’s vision.

Dramaturgy TrainingOur six-month dramaturgy training program provides training in script assessment, playwright feedback, creative development and programming.

In 2015, this highly successful program will be offered for mid-career artists based in Melbourne and will be led by Melbourne Theatre Company’s Literary Director, Chris Mead.

Rehearsal Room InternshipsEmerging artists are invited to join us in the rehearsal room to observe our creative development processes at the National Play Festival and National Script Workshops.

for theatre makers working with new plays

national travel grantsConnecting artists across the country

Grants are open to individual artists, small-to-medium theatre companies, regional producers and venues as a way to encourage playwrights to find new ways to collaborate and build a wider audience for their work.

More info

Application closing dates 12 June14 December

Websitewww.pwa.org.au/state-exchange

State Exchange

Facilitating national careers for Australian playwrights, State Exchange provides up to $2,000 for artists at all stages of their careers working on a new play across state borders.

Erin Thomas Playwright Fund

In memory of playwright Erin Thomas, the fund provides travel bursaries for emerging playwrights living outside major cities to participate in our programs or attend other career development opportunities or events.

More info

Application processYear-round applications

Websitewww.pwa.org.au/erin-thomas

Playwright Erin Thomas (photo Thomas Family)

advocacy We connect all levels of the industry in a conversation about the role of playwrights in the Australian cultural landscape.

To represent playwriting nationally in 2015, Playwriting Australia will hold a series of national playwright consultations to share ideas, information and find solutions to industry-wide questions. These conversations will be as much about art as mechanics, and we will create room in our program to respond to the issues raised.

We play a critical role in advocating for playwrights and play development throughout Australia, including:

Presence at major industry events, conferences and sector-wide meetings;

Working with companies to encourage investment in new plays and playwright development;

Working with colleagues across the sector to create a new model for best practice in new writing;

Script sharing and promotion, nationally and internationally;

Lending our expertise to assessment, programming or selection panels.

Stay up to date, subscribe to our e-news www.pwa.org.au/subscribe

PlaywrightLech Mackiewicz, State Exchange 2014. Photo: A. Hanuszkiewicz