There are not many avenues for amateur playwrights and directors to gain experience in the Illawarra, especially for entirely new work.
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Wollongong Workshop Theatre (WWT) is continuing their commitment to create these types of opportunities with a call for submissions.
Vice president Juliet Scrine said when the organisation began over 70 years ago its premise was to “provide a space for local writers to put work on” and it still stands today.
“We used to do a season of short plays called Work Shorts but we find there is so much happening now ... and you don’t get a lot of opportunity to do a full length work,” Ms Scrine said.
Writers of new works (especially those who are keen for a career in the arts) can put forward a submission in the hope it is chosen to be developed by WWT including script editing and development in 2019.
Ms Scrine said it’s incredibly valuable to see a play come to life on stage, not only for personal satisfaction, but to tweak their product so it may go onto to see audiences at other theatres.
“They’ll see it’s come to life, and see what scenes might need some work on and they also get to work with actors and directors who have some experience,” she said.
Illawarra playwright Adam O’Brien came to the company with an idea for his show Our Neighbourhood in 2015, which focused on the effects of European colonisation on the land and indigenous Australians. That play ended up touring in Sydney and Wagga Wagga.
While Wollongong doctor Damian Ryan was able to fulfil a long held ambition to write and direct a play. The end result was SignAL being brought to the WWT stage in 2017.
“He had this idea in his head for many years,” Ms Scrine said. “It was a really fun project, and that will probably be the only one he will ever write.”
One full-length new work will be chosen to start development from September 2018, to feature in the 2019 season.
While directors can also make submissions on established shows they would love to take the helm of in the coming year. Submissions will need to include who manages the rights to the production and the cost, their production team, the approximate budget, cast breakdown and preferred time of year for the show to run.
“A director comes to us with a play they really want to do and then they come to us with a budget and all that sort of thing then as the committee we put it on,” Ms Scrine said.
All applications will be taken until June 30. For more information visit: www.org.au