SUBMISSIONS TO THE AUSTRALIAN PLAYS CATALOGUE

Australian Plays are looking for script submissions for their catalogue.

SUBMISSIONS TO THE AUSTRALIAN PLAYS CATALOGUE

Australian Plays is committed to publishing, promoting and procuring the best Australian theatrical texts and helping the work of Australian playwrights reach the widest audience possible. The aims of the Catalogue are to further the reading, discussion, and importantly production of Australian plays and to extend the life of our theatre texts generally. Australian Plays also aims to ensure the Catalogue represents the myriad facets of Australian playwriting history, celebrating forgotten works and making our theatrical past accessible for generations to come. Both speak to each other, the past and the present.

If you are an Australian playwright and would like to send a script for consideration then here’s what you need to know.

Is my play eligible?

Australian Plays accepts professionally-written, production-ready performance scripts for stage across a range of styles and genres and only accept work by Australian writers and encourage playwrights at all stages of their career to submit their plays, provided that the work meets the following eligibility criterion:

• You hold any and all intellectual and publication rights. In other words, the script has not been currently or exclusively licensed to another publisher.

AND at least one of the following. The script has;

• Received a professional, fully-staged production.
• Received an independent, fully-staged production.
• Been through a professional script development workshop  with a recognised theatre company or organisation.
• Received a rehearsed or staged reading.
• Won or been shortlisted for a major writing prize.
• Been submitted by a professional writer’s agent or recognised industry body.

So, What are Australian Plays Looking for?

Australian Plays is looking for outstanding plays, which are formally or thematically original, possess a clear theatricality (i.e. are not stories for another medium) and are of a professional standard and production-ready. They are looking for writers and plays that represent the diversity, difference, divergence and diaspora stories of this country. Works that investigate the problems and possibilities of our time, grapple with ‘state of the nation’ issues, experiment with form and content, or add to the rich tapestry of theatrical texts available for reading, purchase and production.

Before you submit a script, familiarise yourself with the Australian Plays collection; look through the Red Door imprint, read the State of Play essays, subscribe to the newsletter, and explore the catalogue. This should give you a better feel for what Australian Plays looks for and supports with other writers.

What are they not looking for?

Australian Plays do not currently accept;

• very short plays (under 15 mins).
• multiple submissions (more than two plays per Submission Window).
• scripts in other forms; screenplays, teleplays or radio plays.
• prose texts, novels, memoirs, poetry etc.
• musicals (where all or nearly all the text is sung) though they do accept plays with. music (where most of the text is dialogue, with occasional songs).

Unfortunately, we cannot consider re-submissions or new drafts of plays we have read and responded to, unless we have specifically requested a re-submission.

• Eligible scripts are assessed on theatrical and technical merit, potential to engage the audience and whether it is production ready. They also note that eligibility does not guarantee acceptance.
• All submission will need at least 3 months to be assessed.
• Submissions are only accepted electronically and cannot accept scripts that do not meet a professional standard.

For the full breakdown of submission criteria go to the Australian Plays website.