Description
Theatre BC’s 2023 Canadian Playwriting Competition
is accepting entries until December 31st, 2023.
The annual contest, established in 1989, is one of Canada’s oldest English language playwriting competitions. Past winners include well-known Canadian playwrights, as well as emerging writers and those who are testing the waters for the first time. Many of our winners have gone on to successful productions and even major prizes, including a Governor General’s Award.
The competition is accepting original one-act and full-length plays in English, which will be competing for three prizes: $1000 for the Full-length winner, $750 for the One-act winner and $500 for a Special Merit winner.
In addition to cash prizes, one of the winning plays will be workshopped at Theatre BC's Mainstage 2024. Mainstage is our annual provincial theatre festival which will be held in Chilliwack, BC, July 2 - 6, 2024. The workshop will conclude with a staged reading for an audience of theatre practitioners from across British Columbia. This is a fantastic opportunity for one competition winner to see their play come alive and receive feedback from the Theatre BC community.
Theatre BC will engage three independent, experienced, anonymous judges to read and evaluate all submissions. The competition will include three rounds, after which the judges will choose the three prize winners. Writers will be notified of their play's status at the end of each round, and those playwrights whose work has progressed to the next round will receive judge's notes. For a small fee, writers can also receive a judge's critique.
Competition winners will be contacted at the beginning of May, 2024. To read the rules and regulations for the competition, please go to our website:
