Australian Arts review - Australian Theatre Festival NYC announce 2025 New Play Award
Now in its sixth year, the Australian Theatre Festival NYC 2025 New Play Award will celebrate two new plays or musicals with distinct Australian voices.
https://artsreview.com.au/australian-theatre-festival-nyc-announce-2025-new-play-award/
Generously sponsored by Shane & Cathryn Brennan, the New Play Award offers a total cash prize of $20,000 USD for two unproduced, full-length plays or musicals written by Australian writers, over the age of 18.
This year’s award winner will receive a cash prize of $15,000 USD, development work with Co-Artistic Director Mark Barford and be presented as a staged reading as part of the Australian Theatre Festival NYC (conditional upon ability to appropriately cast NY based Australian actors.) This year’s award runner-up will receive $5,000 USD.
“We are thrilled to announce our 6th consecutive New Play Award, after a record amount of submissions last year,” said Barford & Delves. “The award exists to help fulfil our mission of celebrating and showcasing Australian stories and artists in New York City and is the only award of its kind.”
New Play Award alumni include 2021 winner Lewis Treston’s Hubris & Humiliation – which has since received a production at the Sydney Theatre Company, receiving stellar reviews and lauded as ‘startlingly good’ (The Guardian, 5 stars) and 2022 winner Melissa-Kelly Franklin’s Paradise Lost – which recently won the 2024 Jill Blewett Playwright’s Award (South Australian Literary Awards).
“Winning The New Play Award meant so much more than the prize money and accolades attached (though that’s unreal too!),” said 2023 New Play Award winner, Sally Alrich-Smythe. “From the first zoom call, I was struck by how much the team at Australian Theatre Festival cared about my show.”
“They wanted the best for it, and threw everything they had at giving it a platform. And the efforts of everyone paid off: seeing my play read out by a group of exceptional actors, supported by awesome design and direction, on a stage on 42nd St in New York City? Something I’ll never forget. I’d recommend the experience to any playwright,” said Alrich-Smythe.
Submissions for the Australian Theatre Festival NYC 2025 New Play Award are now open and close on Monday 24 February 2025 (9.00am – NYC EST). For more information and entry guidelines, visit: www.australiantheatrefestival.com for details.
Image:Australian Theatre Festival NYC 2025 New Play Award (supplied)
