Sydney Theatre Company Announces The Patrick White Playwrights' Award and Fellowship Shortlist

Sydney Theatre Company has released the judges' shortlist of five plays in the running for the 2016 PatRick White Playwrights' Award which will be announced with a rehearsed reading of the winning play at The Wharf on Friday 26 May 2017 at 7pm. The winner of the prestigious PatRick White Playwrights' Fellowship will also be announced at the event.

The Award and the Fellowship are initiatives of Sydney Theatre Company and exist to foster the development of Australian playwrights while honouring PatRick White's contribution to Australian theatre.

The PatRick White Playwrights' Award is for an original, unproduced play. The winning playwright will receive $7,500 and the opportunity to work with a director and actors during a workshop culminating in a rehearsed reading of their play. Scripts are submitted anonymously, with the aim of acknowledging a playwright whose play is ambitious, demonstrates skilful application of craft and reveals great potential for a stage production. This year 106 entries were received for the Award, from which the following shortlist of five plays has been selected:

- Briony by Ben Chapple

- Extinction of the Learned Response by Emme Hoy

- The River of Grace by Vernon Pua

- Hot Tub by Lewis Treston

- Sundown by Sean Wilson

The Award judges are Kip Williams (Sydney Theatre Company Artistic Director), Tommy Murphy (playwright and current PatRick White Playwrights' Fellow), Sarah Giles (director) and Shari Sebbens (actor).

The recipient of the PatRick White Playwrights' Fellowship will be announced at the same time as the PatRick White Playwrights' Award.

Now in its fourth year, the Fellowship is a position for an established Australian playwright whose work has been produced professionally in Australia within the last four years. The winning playwright receives a $12,500 prize in recognition of their body of work and previous artistic achievements, as well as a commission from Sydney Theatre Company, which they will develop during the year long (26 May 2017 through to 25 May 2018) fellowship.

The four participants of the new STC Emerging Writer's Group will also be announced at the event. This initiative is aimed at supporting the professional development of writers as they meet throughout the year and receive mentorship from STC's Artistic Director, Literary Manager, PatRick White Playwrights' Fellow and Resident Directors.

Limited tickets for the event, which is part of the Sydney Writers Festival, are available from the STC box office: Tickets $5 (02) 9250 1777 or sydneytheatre.com.

To post a comment, you must register and login.