THE 2023 THEATRE503 INTERNATIONAL PLAYWRITING AWARD CRITERIA
Please read the Award criteria carefully, as Theatre 503 will be unable to consider any play or writer that does not meet what they have set out below. If you are a translator or collaborating with a translator, there is further information at the bottom of the page to take into account.
Entry condition
- The 2023 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award aims to identify and champion debut/early career playwrights.
- You are an eligible writer if you have not already had a full-length play of more than 65 minutes produced for 3-4 weeks or more in any theatre, and two weeks or more in a major subsidised theatre/organisation including a national tour.
- You only have limited international credits where longer runs are not part of a country’s ecology and/or limited screen credits
- Work must be submitted by the writer or the translator and not through a third party/agent
- The reading process is anonymous. Please do not include your name or contact details anywhere in the text of your script. Your personal information will be held separately
- The online portal will be open for submissions from 12 noon (GMT) February 21 until 12noon March 21 2022. Any entries received after this time will not be eligible
- Only entries submitted online though theatre503.com/writers/submissions will be accepted.
- Please do not submit any material by any other means. E.g. on paper, email, CDs, digital media
- Please do not submit or include any other material, or include images in your script
- Adaptations or musicals are not eligible
- Plays must be written/translated into the English Language
- Plays (including translations) must never have been professionally optioned, produced or published at the point of submission
- Only one script may be submitted by each writer
- Theatre503 must be informed immediately should you wish to withdraw your play at any point
For Translators
- While they are very keen to encourage first time translators, we are aware that a degree of experience may also help the realisation of the original writers script, so are open to a wider pool of translation experience.
- Please ensure permission of the original writer has been secured before submitting the translation (and vice versa)
- Should a translated play win the award, the prize money and advance shall be split equally between both parties
- Both parties shall also be credited as winning writer and translator (or as finalists) in all subsequent award information and publicity
- More than one translation can be submitted but each must have a different original writer
By submitting a script for consideration you agree that:
- You are over 16 years of age
- You have not had a play produced for a 3-4 week run in any theatre, two weeks or more in a major subsidised theatre/organisation including national tours, limited international credits and/or limited screen credits
- The script does not contain any detail of your identity
- You are the writer of the play and exclusively own and control all copyright and all other related rights to the play (and the translator owns and controls the rights to the translation)
- The play is over 65 minutes in length
- The play is original, unperformed, unpublished work for the stage and has not been produced anywhere in the world. In the case of a translation, this applies to both the English language translation and the work in its original language.
- The play is available for production and unattached to any other theatre or company
- If you are the winner you will receive £3,000 in prize money and £3,000 as an advance against 8% of the gross box office, to grant Theatre503 the exclusive license to produce the play for up to 18 months after the announcement of the award
- Samuel French Ltd, a Concord Theatricals company, will have the exclusive right to publish the winning play in return for an advance to be negotiated in good faith
A note about access
Theatre503 have an ongoing commitment to make our space as accessible as possible. They are currently in the process of addressing their venue’s structural challenges, and will always seek solutions to broaden ways of making the work seen more widely. In the interests of welcoming play submissions from writers who may have access issues with their current theatre, it is their intention to have a physically accessible space by 2024 and/or will seek a production opportunity in an accessible venue should this capital project be delayed.