Prize: $5,000

Generously sponsored by the Dan School of Drama & Music at Queen’s University.

Award Submission Guidelines:

• The playwright must be a full or supporting member of Playwrights Guild of Canada in good standing. (Faculty of Queen’s University and The Dan School of Drama & Music are not permitted to apply for this award.).
• The play must be a minimum of 60 minutes in length.
• The play has not yet had a premiere production as of April 3rd, 2023. The play could have been workshopped, but it hasn’t had a professional production. If it has been produced during the Fringe it is still considered eligible. Please contact PGC for plays that have been selected for further production (i.e. Toronto Fringe’s Next Stage Festival) or juried festivals such as SummerWorks.
• The work must be written in English or be the first English translation. Please note: If the winning play is an English translation and both creators are PGC members, the playwright and translator will split the award evenly.
• Theatre for Young Audience musicals will be accepted.
• You cannot submit this musical to any other award category.
• An original work.
• Adaptations are accepted, but must involve substantial changes in form and/or expression. If the adapted work is not in the public domain, the playwright must include written permission from the original creator.
• Plays that were submitted to the 2022 Award program are ineligible unless substantial changes have been made.
• Provide recordings of 5 sections from various songs, (up to 10 minutes maximum of total music submitted). NOTE: The sections do not need to represent 5 different songs. The recordings do not need to be professionally recorded (piano & vocals will suffice). This is to give the jury an idea of tone.
• All scripts and song selections are read and listened to as blind submissions. This means that all names and identifying features must be removed prior to submission.