Prizes

The competition recognizes the most outstanding un-produced Alberta play with The Sharon Pollock Award ($5000 Cash Prize). It is open to all playwrights who reside in Alberta, whether they are members of the Alberta Playwrights' Network or not.

A secondary prize (Novitiate Prize) may be awarded at the jury's discretion to recognize the work of an un-produced playwright. There is no cash with the Novitiate Prize, but APN offers playwright and play development for the recipient. Celebrating its 58th consecutive year, the Alberta Playwriting Competition (presented in association with Theatre Alberta) is now open for submissions.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

Failure to meet all rules & regulations will result in disqualification of entry.

1.     ENTRIES MUST BE ORIGINAL. IF THE WORK IS AN ADAPTATION AND NOT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, PERMISSION OF THE ORIGINAL CREATOR OR RIGHTS HOLDER MUST ACCOMPANY THE ENTRY.

2.     ALL MANUSCRIPTS MUST BE IN ENGLISH.

3.     EACH ENTRY MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A NON-REFUNDABLE $50.00 PROCESSING FEE AND BY A COMPLETED AND SIGNED ENTRY FORM. IN THE CASE OF AN ONLINE SUBMISSION, A $2.50 SERVICE FEE WILL BE ADDED TO THE ENTRY FEE.

4.     CATEGORIES

• The Sharon Pollock Award (formerly the “Grand Prize”) is open to all un-produced scripts by Alberta playwrights. Scripts may have had workshops, readings and/or other development, but cannot have been produced in any capacity or medium. (Production includes Fringe Festivals or other public events, such as regional or provincial theatre festivals.)

• The Novitiate Prize is open to all un-produced playwrights submitting to the contest. The awarding of this prize is at the discretion of the jury.

5.     ELIGIBILITY

• Open to ALL Albertans whose primary residence has been Alberta for at least one year immediately prior to the submission deadline.

• All scripts must not have had, nor will receive, a public production prior to the March 31st, 2024 (11:59 pm, MT) submission deadline. Plays produced at Fringe Festivals are NOT eligible for this competition.

• Paid employees of Alberta Playwrights' Network are directly involved in the administration of the competition and are therefore not eligible.

• Musicals are eligible though will only be judged on the text. No supporting materials (scores, recordings, etc.) will be provided to the adjudicators.

• There is no minimum or maximum running time.

• Winning plays from previous Alberta Playwriting Competitions are NOT eligible. However, re-submission of non-winning plays is allowed, provided the play meets all other eligibility criteria.

6.     JUDGING, ANNOUNCEMENT, AND RECOGNITION

• An independent panel of qualified jurors performs the adjudication. Their decision is final. To ensure the integrity of the Competition, all entries are judged anonymously through a double-blind process: the identity of each playwright is withheld from the jury and the identity of the jury is withheld until the final decision is made.

  • Adjudication Process - We make every attempt to maintain the "double-blind" nature of the adjudication. However, the playwriting community, provincially and nationally, is small. Every year there is at least one play/playwright that a juror is familiar with. How do we address these conflicts?

    • The list of plays, which includes title only, is sent out to the jurors. Jurors are asked to identify any conflicts (they know the playwright or are familiar with the play). In the event of a conflict, that juror is recused from reviewing that play.

    • The first deliberation process ends with a compilation of a long list of plays for a secondary review. All jurors are asked to review all plays on the long list regardless of any conflicts.

    • During the second deliberation process, the plays are discussed in depth. If there is a conflict, the juror in question is asked to refrain from discussion and deliberation until the non-conflicted jurors have provided their feedback. The jury is instructed at all deliberations to not reveal details or to discuss the playwright. They are instructed to only discuss the play. At the end of the second deliberation process, the short list is compiled and if possible the prize recipient(s) are selected. In the event the jury cannot select a prize recipient(s), they are instructed to review the plays on the shortlist and a third deliberation date is scheduled.

    • If a third deliberation process is required to select a prize recipient(s), the same process, as noted above, is applied.

    • The jury is not informed, nor has any knowledge of the entrants who are eligible for the Novitiate Prize until a recipient for the Grand Prize has been selected. We do this in order to not prejudice the jury in any way and to ensure that Novitiate eligible plays/playwrights are adjudicated under the terms of the Grand Prize first.

    • The jury, at its discretion, can then choose a recipient of the Novitiate Prize from those eligible plays.

    • The jury is comprised of theatre professionals from many disciplines, with a focus on professionals with a background in playwriting, dramaturgy, directing, literary management, and/or literary criticism.

    • We make every attempt to convene a jury that is diverse and national in scope. We select a national jury:

      • to avoid as many conflicts as possible.

      • as part of our advocacy and dissemination goals. We like to share the work of Alberta playwrights with the rest of the country.

• The Jury will select, from all the eligible submissions a shortlist of plays. From this shortlist of plays, the winning play will be selected.

• The names of the shortlisted plays and playwrights will be announced in advance of the announcement of the winner. The shortlisted plays and playwrights will be announced via APN’s website, Press Release, and email to APN’s membership shortly after adjudication is complete. At the time of that release, a date will be set to announce the winner. The winner will be announced via APN’s website, Press Release, and email to APN’s membership.

• The shortlisted plays will be published in draft form on our website and shortlisted playwrights will be asked to submit their work to the Theatre Alberta E-Scripts program.

• Winners agree to permit the use of their name and title of their play in any promotion by Alberta Playwrights' Network. Winners are obligated to acknowledge Alberta Playwrights' Network and the Alberta Playwriting Competition in any publication, or production program of the winning script.

• Winning and shortlisted plays will be required to be sent to Theatre Alberta to become part of their library.

7.     PRIZES

• The Grand Prize winner will receive $5000.00 and a potential workshop/reading of the play.

• At its discretion, the jury may select an additional play from an un-produced playwright and offer the Novitiate Prize. This prize will include dramaturgical assistance from APN for that playwright in the form of an ACT ONE service or complimentary participation in one WORDSHED session.

8.     RULES FOR SUBMISSION

• If you are entering the competition with a hard copy via Canada Post, submissions must be postmarked or received in the APN office by the competition deadline of March 31, 2024 (Alberta Playwrights’ Network - #2 - 1709 8th Avenue NE, Calgary, AB, T2E 0S9). Entrants must submit one copy of their script unbound and quality-printed with the entry form and entry fee.

• Scripts must be typewritten or word-processed on white paper, one side only of 8 1/2" by 11" paper.

• The play title and page number must appear on each page.

• Pages must be double-spaced between speaking parts.

• The title of the play only must appear on the cover page. *

  *Any appearance of the playwright's name, initials or other identifiable mark on any part of the script (including the cover page) other than the entry form or workshop information will disqualify the entry.

• Entrants submit their material at their own risk.

• Each submission must be accompanied by a completed Entry Form.

• Each submission must be accompanied by a Non-refundable Entry Fee of $50.00 (cheque or money order payable to Alberta Playwrights' Network for hard copy submissions) or a non-refundable Entry Fee of $52.50 ($50 Entry Fee + $2.50 Service Charge for Online Submissions).