It’s that time of year again – time to start preparing your polished scripts for the playwriting competitions with Spring to Summer deadlines. Here’s a quick look at some of the best-known playwriting competitions in the country.
Tarragon Theatre’s Under 30 National Playwriting Competition
Teamed up with the RBC Foundation, Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre has a contest for all Canadian playwrights under thirty years old. The mandate of the competition is to give young playwrights a bit of financial support for the further development of their play. In addition to receiving a cash prize of $3000, the winning playwright will have the opportunity to take part in Tarragon Theatre’s annual Play Reading Week, with airfare and accommodation paid for.
Plays must be written in English and must be at least 80 minutes in length. The deadline for this year is April 30, 2009 at 5pm – winners will be announced in September 2009. For more information on entry requirements and script formatting, see Tarragon’s website.
Theatre BC’s Canadian National Playwriting Competition
Now entering its 21st year, the National Playwriting Competition from Theatre BC is open to all Canadian playwrights, both professional and non-professional. The competition has three separate categories: One-Act, Full-Length, and Special Merit. There are no guidelines or restrictions on subject matter, and all entries are made under pseudonyms in order to keep the judging blind.
The judges of the competition will choose up to 10 finalists, all of whom will be given the opportunity to participate in Theatre BC’s New Play Festival, which provides the winners of each category with extensive dramaturgy and workshopping sessions, among other wonderful things.
Theatre BC’s deadline is July 20, 2009. There is an entry fee of $40, and the winners will receive a cash award of either $1000 (Full-Length), $750 (One Act), or $500 (Special Merit).
The Alberta Playwriting Competition
Open to all playwrights who reside in Alberta, the Alberta Playwriting Competition has two categories. The Grand Prize category is open to all unproduced scripts by Alberta playwrights. The Discovery Prize, on the other hand, is open to playwrights who have not had their work produced professionally, but who have had up to (but not more than) two scripts produced in a non-professional or festival setting.
Some of the country’s most famous contemporary playwrights, including Frank Moher, Vern Thiessen, and Marty Chan have won the Alberta Playwriting Competition in the past. The cash prize for the Grand Prize category is $3500; for the Discovery category, it is $1500. The deadline is March 31, 2009.
Act NOW! National Playwriting Competition
This competition is for truly emerging playwrights – it is open to students from grade 8-12 from all across Canada. From there, the competition is split into Juniors and Seniors. Entrants must submit a one-act play that somehow pertains to the environment by March 15, 2009. The winner from each category (announced on Earth Day, April 22, 2009) will win a $200 cash prize. They will also have their play performed across the country. Talk about a good career starter!
Best of luck with all of your play submissions!
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