Applications Open For MTC NEXT STAGE Writers-in-Residence

Applications are now open for the 2019 intake of resident writers as part of MTC's NEXT STAGE Writers' Program.

Three new participants will be selected for the program, taking up residency with MTC in August for an initial 12-month period, with the possibility of extending into a second and third year.

MTC Artistic Director Brett Sheehy said, 'Our NEXT STAGE residencies are about investing in and supporting the development of playwrights in order for them to build their craft and a sustained career. Theatre is a collaborative artform, and we believe the collaboration ideally begins at the very start with a close and on-going relationship between writer, production company and audience. With six writers currently in residence as part of NEXT STAGE, we have already seen the benefits of having writers embedded in the Company and look forward to welcoming three more in the coming months.'

MTC's NEXT STAGE writer-in-residence placements are opportunities for writers who have a background in playwriting, demonstrate skill and ambition, and would benefit from specific experience of writing for a major theatre company.

Writers are provided with an annual stipend, a workspace at MTC HQ, dramaturgical support from MTC's artistic team as well as the chance to gain insight into programming, directorial, creative and casting process of a major theatre company.

MTC's NEXT STAGE Writers' Program is a five-year, $4.6 million initiative that was launched in 2017 and is co-funded by MTC and the donors and foundations comprising MTC's Playwrights Giving Circle.

The program was established to address the need for greater investment in Australian writers through increased resources dedicated to commissioning, workshopping and developing plays. The pioneering initiative allows MTC to both build on existing and foster new artistic relationships over the long-term and on a scale that was previously unattainable.

MTC's NEXT STAGE Writers' Program is in its second year and, across the residencies and commissions, there are currently 20 writers as part of the program. The first NEXT STAGE commission to be staged, Golden Shield by Anchuli Felicia King, will have its world premiere at Southbank Theatre in August this year.

For more information about MTC's NEXT STAGE Writers' Program and the writer-in-residence applications visit mtc.com.au/NEXTSTAGE.

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