Event info
Start Time: 6.00pm
Description
We are pleased to announce the latest People’s Play competition!
This Award is for playwrights from the North of England who are yet to have a full-length play performed professionally. Past winners include Peter Straughan (BAFTA & Oscar-winner for ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’), Carina Rodney (Audible, BBC Radio 4, Live Theatre) and Alison Carr (National Theatre, Finalist: Women’s Prize for Playwriting, BBC Radio 4).
One winning script will be chosen for a five-night production by us in our Studio Theatre in June 2023, and the writer will receive a cash prize of £1,000.
We are looking for a new full-length play on any subject, for a cast of any age or gender. Don't worry about how old you are or much experience you have - the Award is open to everyone with a story to tell.
Scripts are to be submitted by 6pm on Friday 30 September 2022.
On your script’s title page, please include your name, postal address, contact telephone number and email address.
The winning play will have a rehearsed reading in December 2022, to allow the writer to develop the script as necessary before rehearsals start in April 2023.
Entries should be emailed to productionscommittee@peoplestheatre.co.uk, or posted to ‘The People’s Play, People’s Theatre, Stephenson Road, Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 5QF’.
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Here are some factors to be considered when writing and submitting your entry:
Do send us a complete, full-length script. While there is provision for one read-through which may result in some redrafting, the People’s are looking for a play that is largely ready for production.
Do send us a stage play with a minimum running time of 60 minutes (there is no maximum running time). It can have an interval or not. If you're not sure how long your play is, try reading it out loud.
Do send us an original, unpublished and unproduced stage play. The play must not have had any production in any form, anywhere in the world, apart from a maximum of three public readings, showcases or performances. Please supply details of these readings/showcases/performances with your entry.
Do be aware of the space available (a black box studio with a performing area of approx. 5m x 7m).
Do think about the cast size. There’s been plays with cast sizes of 3 - 15 in the new Studio Theatre so far, so there's flexibility. We are an amateur theatre so we have the luxury of being able to stage plays with larger casts. But equally, be realistic.
Do own and control all copyright and all other related rights to the submitted script. It must be available for production and unattached to any other organisation or individual.
Do currently live in the North of England.
Don't us send TV, film or radio scripts.
Don't send us translations, adaptations of classic plays or other existing works, or musicals.
Don't send us more than one script. One entry per person.
If you have any questions not answered here, please email productionscommittee@peoplestheatre.co.uk
Please note, we are unable to provide feedback on entries. And by entering, if you win you are granting the right to the People's Theatre to produce your script on stage for five performances in June 2023.
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"We're excited to be able to bring the Award back after a hiatus. We know there are so many fantastic Northern writers out there, and many of our previous winners have gone on to write professionally. We love bringing new work to our audiences and we can't wait to read your scripts." - Tony Childs, Prod Comm
The People’s Play Award: A Playwriting Competition for Northern Writers
