Australian Theatre Festival NYC 2021 New Play Award

Co-Artistic Directors Mark Barford, Connor Delves and Jillian Geurts today announced the Australian Theatre Festival NYC 2021 New Play Award. The award is generously supported by Andrew J. Martin-Weber and Shane & Cathryn Brennan.

Now in its second year, the Australian Theatre Festival 2021 New Play Award will celebrate three new plays with distinct Australian voices that speak to the here and now.

The award offers a total cash prize of $10,000 USD for three not yet produced, full-length plays written by Australian playwrights, over the age of 18.

Last year’s inaugural New Play Award received a staggering 99 entries from Australian playwrights around the world, with Richard Jordan’s play “The Tiniest Thing” declared the overall winner.

This year we will award one winner with $5,000 USD and two additional finalists with $2,500 USD each. The winning play will be developed with ATF Co-Artistic Director Mark Barford and presented in New York City as part of The Australian Theatre Festival NYC in 2021.

Before submitting your play, please carefully read the following eligibility, terms & conditions, and entry requirements.

To be eligible plays must–

Be written by a playwright who is an Australian citizen, but can be a resident of any country, or is currently a permanent resident of Australia.
Be at least 60 minutes in length.
Not have been published.
Not have been previously produced at a production level (previous readings and workshops are okay).
Not be contracted for a future production.
Not have won another Australian playwriting award.

Terms and Conditions–

Due to the large volume of entries, The Australian Theatre Festival NYC is unable to give feedback.
Plays submitted may be original ideas or adaptations from other forms providing that permission to adapt the material has been obtained from the copyright holder. The rights for all material in the work must be secured by the playwright prior to entry including any songs, poems or quotes.
The Australian Theatre Festival NYC has worldwide first right of refusal to produce the winning play for a period of 12 months following the announcement of the winner.
A limit of one entry per Playwright.

Entry Requirements-

To submit your entry, please send the following information via email to australiantheatrefestival@gmail.com with subject line “ATFNYC New Play Award 2021”

Your full name, address, phone number and confirmation that you are both over the age of 18 and are an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
Attach a PDF version of your play with the label “title of your play”. Please do not include your name anywhere on the script but do be sure to include page numbers.
Attach a separate PDF with a one paragraph synopsis of your play & a character breakdown. Please write your name on this document and label the PDF with the “title of your play_synopsis&characters”

In sending us your play, you assure us that you have read the above terms & conditions and eligibility requirements for the ATF New Play Award. You declare your eligibility under the conditions and your agreement to the terms listed. You guarantee that the script is your original work, that you are the sole copyright holder of all material used and that it has never been produced for public performance.

Submissions are due midnight (NYC, EST) Wednesday June 30th, 2021.

The three finalists will be announced Monday August 30th, 2021.

The winner will be announced Monday September 13th, 2021.

For more information visit australiantheatrefestival.com/2021newplayaward

Sean McLoughlin