Salisbury Playhouse has teamed up with publishers and performing rights agents Nick Hern Books, international touring theatre company Out of Joint, BBC Writersroom and educational charity National Association of Youth Theatres to find an original script for performance specifically by youth theatre groups.
As a result of this initiative, A Play for the Nation’s Youth, the winning playwright will receive £1,000 and be supported through the development of the new work from the 25–page extract required to be submitted, with mentoring, workshops and a public staged reading.
If this process is successful, it is intended that the piece will have a production and could also lead to publication of the finished work, which will provide much–needed material for youth theatre groups as well as the challenge for the writer of creating a work for a large cast.
Submissions are invited of at least 25 pages of unperformed work suitable for performance by 11- to 19-year-olds with at least 20 parts for performers in this age bracket. The work may be entirely original or an adaptation of a text out of copyright and roles for adults may be included.
The deadline for submission is Friday 8 February 2013 with the winner being announced in April.
For further information visit www.salisburyplayhouse.com.