Writers Avenue Theatre Company’s First 20 Minutes Competition is open from September to December 2017 for submissions of original full-length previously unproduced plays which are not currently under option or commission. The competition is open to writers over the age of eighteen years who are resident in the UK and have not had more than one professional play production of a week or more.
Three selected writers will receive a £250 seed option to develop their play, will be invited to a read-through of their play and gain feedback from the literary team. Professional actors and directors will then bring the first twenty minutes of the plays to life in a full production and the audience will provide written feedback for the writers and along with a judging panel, vote for the play they would like to receive a full production. The ultimate winner will gain a £3,000 twelve-month option with Writers Avenue with the aim of having a four-week run of their play with the writer also receiving box office royalties. Two runners-up will receive a one year Platinum Membership which has offers and discounts, a rehearsed reading of their full-length play and invitations to special writing events.
Submissions should be theatre plays of 60-90 minutes set in the last fifty years and requiring no more than four actors. Include a title page with your name and contact details and a second page with a maximum thirty-word summary of the plot and a note of the genre, themes and setting/s for your play.