MEDIA RELEASE 10 June 2003
WINNERS OF YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS COMPETITION ANNOUNCED
Eight young playwrights have been singled out in the Seventh New Zealand Young Playwrights Competition, an event that
has established itself as an important stepping stone in the development of new writers for our theatre. Organised by
script development agency Playmarket, the competition (open to those aged between 16 and 22) this year has recognised
three winners and three runners-up:
Northern Region
Winner: Benjamin Cleaver (Auckland) - Bus Stop
Runner-Up: Rochelle Bright (Auckland)- A Long Walk in the Rain
Central Region
Winner: Daniel Musgrove (Welllington) - About Time to Blind Jack Hunter
Runner-Up: Claire Van Beek (Wellington) - Yours For the Taking
Southern Region
Winner: Lisa Norriss (Christchurch) - The Glockenspiel Dockyards
Runner-Up: Sarah Robertson (Christchurch) - Portrait
These writers will be teamed up with professional directors and dramaturgs and casts for a week of workshops and
professional development in Dunedin from Monday June 30 to Friday July 4. The plays will receive presentations at Allen
Hall Theatre during the day on the Friday. This year's competition is run in association with the Theatre Studies
Department at Allen Hall Theatre, Otago University with further support from Aoraki Polytechnic.
The judges and Playmarket also awarded Highly Commended to two scripts they considered of distinction: Miria George
(Wellington) with Oho Ake/The Awakening and Thomas Sainsbury (Auckland) with Epidemic. The judges were Christchurch
dramaturg and director Elizabeth O'Connor and Paekakariki playwright Sarah Delahunty, with Playmarket's Mark Amery
facilitating.
And what are our young playwrights writing about? The scripts to be presented in Dunedin feature an absurdist take on
life on your local bus, the fantastical games of an elderly couple, the strange world of a young blind man, an encounter
between a Vietnam vet and an angel, the story of a middle class Christchurch family, and three sisters' quest for love.
"The entries for this year's competition proved there are plenty of young writers in New Zealand who aren't afraid of
tackling either the real, dark dangers inherent in ordinary life or the absurdist and fantastical possibilities that
writing for the stage can achieve," says Playmarket Script Development Manager Mark Amery. "This competition suggests
that the future of New Zealand playwriting is in really interesting hands."
For further information on the results or the presentations in Dunedin contact Mark Amery at Playmarket ph. 04 382 8462
or email scripts@playmarket.org.nz.
Mark Amery
Script Development Manager, Playmarket
New Zealand's playscript advisory service and playwrights' agency