A list of competitions, grants, developments and general opportunities open to Victorian (Australian) playwrights; all due in April and early May 2020.
It is possible that due to COVID-19, and the closure of many arts-related activities around the world, that some of these opportunities may no longer be current. Please check carefully before submitting.
Please note that I will not post any opportunity that requires playwrights to pay a fee. This policy is shared by other playwriting circles, including NYC Playwrights.
If you are aware of any other opportunities not listed here, please contact samanthahill.writes@gmail.com, and I’ll endeavour to update the page as soon as possible.
| Date Due | Name of Opportunity | Type of work | Details |
| Ongoing, until funding exhausted | Quick Response Arts Grants | Support for online content or development of new work | Up to $4000 available for various creatives to assist during COVID19. Victoria, Australia only. |
| Weekly, every Wednesday | Slackline Productions’ Cyber Stories | Submit short monologue or short two-hander for filming on youtube | Female-identifying playwrights only, featuring a character over 35 who also identifies as female. Winner chosen every week, filmed, and put up on youtube channel. UK. Worldwide submissions.* |
| April 1st | Acadiana Repertory Theatre Submissions | Submit full length plays for 2021 season | Plays with no production history, never published can be submitted for the 2021 season, Louisiana, USA. No pay or prize. Worldwide submissions.* |
| April 1st | Alpine Fellowship Theatre Prize | Submit proposal for a play | Theme: Forgiveness and Retribution. Proposal for a play no longer than 45 minutes. Winner receives rehearsed reading and £3000. London, UK, worldwide submissions.* |
| April 1st | Fade to Black Play Festival | Submit 10 minute plays for festival | Selected winners receive US$100, inclusion in play festival. Playwright must identify as African-American, Black or of the African diaspora. Plays must not have been produced or published. Texas, USA. Worldwide submissions.* |
| April 3rd | Artplay New Ideas Lab | Propose new project for children and families | Payment $10,000 to $20,000 for delivering project in conjunction with children (co-creators) in response to ‘climate emergency.’ Must be in Melbourne, Victoria for workshopping/development/presentation process. |
| April 4th | Breakwater Theatre Connected 2020 | Submit a filmed monologue under 10 minutes | Write and film a monologue – must have been written after March 18th 2020. Family friendly content. £100 prize. UK. Worldwide submissions.* |
| April 7th | Arts & Disability Mentoring Initiative (Oz Council for the Arts) | Grant for collaboration/ mentoring on specific project | $30,000 grant for artists with a disability, used to mentor, develop artistic practice. Australia wide. |
| April 10th | Artists’ Exchange One Act Play Festival | Submit 10-20 minute plays for festival | Competition for short plays, winners presented at the One Act Play Festival, Rhode Island, USA. No prize money. World wide submissions.* |
| April 12th | Open Space Arts Summer Festival | Submit 15-20 minute plays for festival | Theme: Wonderlust/Wanderlust. Short, family-friendly plays that can be performed outside. No prize. Maryland, USA. Worldwide submissions.* |
| April 13th *Recently Added* | Community Strengthening Grants | Creative Community – Arts and Culture Grants | Funding up to $10,000 for a community project – Boroondara Council residents. |
| April 14th | Fuse Darebin Funding | Grant to develop new work | Funding up to $20,000 to develop and present new work. Could be remote/virtual/documented presentation, rather than a public gathering. For Darebin Council-based artists and community organisations. |
| ‘Mid-April’ | City of Literature Office Call-out | Pitch a new creative work for online publication | $300 payment for accepted pieces. Only for artists who have lost work due to COVID19, currently residing in Victoria, Australia. |
| April 15th | First People’s Investment Program | Grant to develop skills or create new work | $1000-$20,000 grant for First Peoples of Australia in a variety of artistic streams. Victoria, Australia only. |
| April 15th | Gi60 One minute play festival | Submit one minute play for festival | Winners presented at One minute play festival, NY, USA. No prize money. Worldwide submissions.* |
| Apri 15th | John Gassner Memorial Playwrights Award | Submit full length plays for staged reading | Staged reading given to winner(s). Plays must not have been published or produced before. Connecticut, USA. Worldwide submissions.* |
| April 15th | Stonecoast Review | Submit up to 12 pages for publication in journal | Theme: Superstition. Work must not have been published previously. Selected contributors will receive a copy of Stonecoast journal as prize. Maine, USA. Worldwide submissions.* |
| April 15th | Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund | Travel grant for writing purposes | $2000-$10,000 grant to support various artists/literary workers to undertake travel. Writers Victoria, Australia-wide submissions. |
| April 16th *Recently added* | COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund Grants Program | Grant for a project that responds to COVID-19 | Up to $1500 for projects that respond to the crisis and involve members of the community. Open to people who live/work/study/volunteer in Darebin, Moreland or Yarra council areas. |
| April 17th | Creative Communities – professional development stream for individuals | Grant to attend an event | Up to $1000 to attend a professional development opportunity. Only permanent residents of Greater Geelong Municipality. |
| April 27th *Recently added* | Application for Yirramboi Festival | Submit expression of interest for festival | Commission provides support to First Nations artists to create new work. Must be based in Victoria. |
| April 30th *Recently added* | In One Act 2020 | 5-stage writing program and performance | Free playwriting development opportunity. Held both online, and in person (when possible). Victorian based playwrights only. |
| April 30th | Playmakers Repertory Company | Submit full length for future consideration | Blind submissions of unproduced, full length work for an intergenerational theatre company. North Carolina, USA. Worldwide submissions.* |
| April 30th | Carlo Annoni Prize | Competition – Any length play/musical | Plays on any topic affecting the LGBTQ+ community, and the promotion of diversity in love, society, politics and culture. 1000 Euro prize. Milan, Italy. Worldwide submissions.* |
| May 1st | Aurand Harris Memorial Playwriting Award 2020 | Submit a full-length play for a young audience | Submit unpublished and unproduced plays for a young audience. Winners receive staged reading. No musicals, no scripts for adults. USA. Worldwide submission.* |
| May 3rd | Lord Mayor’s Creative Writing Awards | Submit a script under 30 pages | For unpublished writers only, including playwrights with performed work. Prize is up to $12,000. Victorian residents only. |
| May 12th | Nylon Fusion Theatre Company Short Play Festival | Submit 10 minute play for future production | Submit a play about 10 minutes on the theme Retrospect: the worst of times. Will be produced in future (no further details given, no prize mentioned). USA/UK company. Worldwide submissions.* |
| No end date | Isoplaytion | Submit 15 minute plays for publication on website | Submit 15 minute plays responding to COVID19 to be published on Josef Weinberger Plays website. No other prize, plays will be published frequently. UK. Worldwide submissions.* |
*Please note that some international opportunities do not provide clear guidelines around which countries they accept submissions from. If in doubt, please contact them directly.
Samantha Hill 