Writing Place

About

Writing Place is a joint project of Country Arts SA, Carclew and Australian Theatre for Young People and is supported by the Regional Arts Fund Strategic Initiatives.

Writing Place is a one-week residency for regional writers and performance makers aged between 18 and 26 living outside Australia’s largest cities (Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Canberra).

BACKGROUND

Writing Place has been established in response to consultation with young people and teachers from regional South Australia who expressed concern over the lack of scripts for teenagers that reflect the lives and circumstances of regional young people here and now. The little new work that does exist for teenagers in Australia tends to by written by or focussed on metropolitan and East Coast experiences. There is a need for performance work that reflects the landscape, attitudes and experiences of regional Australia.

Writing Place is an evolution of ATYP’s hugely successful National Studio that has been run annually since 2008.

ABOUT WRITING PLACE 2019

Drawing on ATYP’s experience delivering over a decade of play writing programs and using the combined knowledge and expertise of Carclew and Country Arts SA, Writing Place will bring together 20 emerging writers for a week of professional development, networking and mentorship with three leading Australian playwrights.

During the week-long residency each participant will generate and refine a short monologue or scene able to be performed by teenage performers. After the residency half of the scripts generated will then be selected for a hardcopy publication available to schools and youth theatres in 2020. Alumni of ATYP’s National Studio are now seeing their work presented on mainstages across Australia. Writing Place is a deliberate investment in an emerging generation of regional Australian storytellers, providing an intensive week of learning, thinking, connecting and most importantly writing to add to the cultural canon of regional storytelling.

We need to tell more stories that celebrate and explore the complex, dynamic, courageous, frustrating, joyful and often mundane heart that is regional Australia. The best people to tell those stories are regional writers.

SELECTION CRITERIA

• Must be aged 18-26 years when applications close.
• Must be based in Regional Australia (as defined by the Modified Monash Model here)
• This is a national call-out, regional interstate writers are encouraged to apply. We are seeking a wide spread of applicants that identify as regional, rural or remote.
• We are looking for applicants who are dedicated to improving their skills and interested in pursuinga professional career in the arts.
• We are excited by applications that engage with the themes and intention of Writing Place – that is to tell regional stories and nurture regional voices.
• We are looking for applicants who demonstrate talent and potential to write for performance.
• We encourage applications from beginning writers, emerging writers and experienced writers who meet the other criteria.

COST

• With thanks to the Regional Arts Fund Strategic Initiative we have been able to subsidise most of the cost to participate. Successful applicants will need to contribute a $450 participation fee. There is no cost to apply.
• We have endeavoured to keep the participant contribution as low as possible as we know cost can be a barrier, however it is an expensive undertaking to bring together twenty regional playwrights and three leading playwrights for a week and participant contributions are a vital piece of the puzzle to deliver this project.
• We encourage successful applicants to seek local sponsorship to cover their participation fee and any additional support required.
• Full scholarships are also available in exceptional circumstances.

Contact Alysha Herrmann at [email protected] for details about scholarships and if you need a support letter for sponsorship efforts.

PROGRAM INCLUSIONS

• The combined participation cost, including participant fee covers:
• Return flights to Adelaide
• Return travel Adelaide to Whyalla by bus (the road trip itself is part of the program activity)
• Dorm-style accommodation and meals for the entirety of the program in Whyalla
• One week of mentorship, workshops, masterclasses and inspiration from three leading Australian playwrights

NOT INCLUDED

• Travel to and from the participant’s nearest airport. Accommodation before or after Writing Place (accommodation is provided 3rd September – 10th September in Whyalla).
• Carclew is hosting the National Youth Arts Summit 12th – 13th September in Adelaide and we encourage Writing Place participants to apply and stay on for NYAS after Writing Place.

KEY DATES

• Applications now open
• Applications extended and will close 17 July 2019
• Writing Place residency 3 – 11 September 2019

HOW TO APPLY
Applications are now closed for this opportunity.

Check out the outcome of this project, a publication on monologues called This Was Urgent Yesterday here. 

FURTHER INFORMATION
Alysha Herrmann | 0416 267 391 | [email protected]

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