A national professional ideas development & commissioning based initiative for playwrights in New Zealand.

The Young and Hungry Arts Trust commissions playwrights of all ages to create work that is acted, designed and appeals to 15 -25 year olds. The call for submissions for the Playwrights' Initiative deadline is 5pm, 16 November 2008. Please email young.hungry@gmail.com for more information. Submissions are assessed by a professional panel, in association with Playmarket. Decisions are final. Young and Hungry have the first option to produce the scripts it commissions.

We specifically focus on development through:

• Mentoring; pairing up playwrights with an established dramaturg to provide advice and support throughout the writing process.
• Artistic expression: providing an opportunity for playwrights to tell their stories.
• Skill development: ensuring that playwrights have the necessary support, funding and development opportunities.

Ideas Development

• We will select 4 playwrights from the overall submissions to write a 60 minute play based around the selected festival theme to a first draft stage.
• The play must have at least 6 characters, and a special appeal to people aged 15-25
• We will provide the 4 playwrights chosen with a dramaturg to mentor them from their initial submission idea to the development of their first draft script.
• A panel of four industry practitioners assesses the first 4 draft scripts. 2 playwrights are selected from the initial 4 to be commissioned to a final draft script. Our third playwright is usually a mid-career playwright.

Playwright's commissioning

• The 2 plays selected through to the final draft script are asked to complete three more drafts of their scripts.
• The playwrights are provided with support from a dramaturg over the entire writing period.
• After the second draft they have a reading
• After the third draft they have a professional 2 day workshop
• After the final draft the scripts are considered for production in the Young and Hungry Festival of New Works 2009

Making a submission

Your submission needs to:

• Be based on the theme - Daily Bread
• Have a special appeal to youth aged 15-25
• Have a minimum of 6 characters, preferably with no bit parts
• Ensure your play runs for no longer than an hour

You need to write

• The working title. Capture our attention right from the beginning
• A short synopsis of your story. Why is this going to be an awesome story to be shown on stage? (100-250 words).
• A scene by scene breakdown. This may be a list of events or a more detailed account of the action of the scene. Show us how you can build a story.
• A short explanation of why your play will appeal to 15-25 year olds. Tell us why they will want to act in it, crew it, design it and watch it on the stage (100-250 words).
• An outline of the characters. Minimum of 6 characters. Who are they? Are they well-rounded characters? What kind of journey will they be going on in the play?
• An outline of how your idea is based on the theme (100-250 words).
• A sample scene or two. This shows us that you can write in the dramatic from. Include dialogue and stage directions. You can include a full scene, or sections from the different scenes.
• A personal statement about playwriting (100-250 words).
• A covering letter explaining who you are, giving an outline of your writing background and explaining why you have submitted this proposal.

Tips for making a good Submission

• Put the working title of your play on every page of your submission.
• Number your pages
• The ideal length of your submission should be 5-10 pages long.
• Concentrate on giving us the feel of your play and why it will be a great experience for 15-25 year olds.
• Ensure you have a grasp on your story and some understanding of what you want an audience to feel and think about your play.
• The ideal length of your submission should be 5-10 pages long.

Keep in mind

Young and Hungry are interested in...

• Play ideas that incorporate a range of cultural backgrounds.
• Play ideas that have characters aged 15- 18 years old.

Registration

Send your submissions to

Young and Hungry Playwrights Commission
POBOX 27-364
Marion Square
Wellington

Make sure you include

• Name
• Postal Address
• Home Phone
• Work Phone
• Mobile Phone
• Email address
• Working Title of Play
• A story synopsis
• A theme outline
• A scene Breakdown
• An outline of characters
• A sample scene
• Your writing background
• Your statement about playwriting

Timeline