Queer Playwriting Award Showcase

Applications for 2024 have now closed

The annual Queer Playwriting Award Showcase is part of the Midsumma Presents program, a collaboration between Gasworks Arts Park and Midsumma Festival.

This development program aims to identify, support and develop new playwriting talent and get queer issues out there for mainstream audiences to consider and enjoy. The LGBTQIA+ community is diverse, exciting and full of stories and ideas that deserve to be heard on the stages of performing arts venues throughout the country. This is the chance you have been waiting for to tell a bold, funny, new, important, or exciting story to Australian theatre audiences.

Creators of new or developing works of theatre are invited to submit their proposals for consideration by a panel of supportive industry professionals. If you have an idea for a show, a completed script, or anything in between, we want to hear from you. Up to 4 works will be selected by the industry panel, and invited to present a 15 minute staged reading at Gasworks Arts Park as part of Midsumma Festival. One work will be selected to receive ongoing support and development with a view to becoming a full-scale work to be presented in Midsumma Festival 2025 or beyond. The ultimate aim of the Queer Playwriting Award is to tour the work nationally to expose it to a wide range of metropolitan, regional and rural audiences.

If you have any queries, contact Gasworks Arts Park on 03 8606 4200 or email marisa@gasworks.org.au

For updates and more information, keep an eye on the Gasworks and Midsumma websites, and follow us on social media.

 

Image credit: Suzanne Balding (Waterfowl by Callum Mackay, QPAS 2023)

  • Event Details
    Date & Times:
    • Queer Playwriting Award call-out commences: Thursday 1 June 2023
    • Call out closes: Sunday 2 July 2023
    • Selection Panel Meets (to select finalists): Mid-July 2023
    • Applicants notified and participation/details confirmed: Late July 2023 
    • Queer Playwriting Award & Showcase: Monday 22 January 2024
    • Selection Panel Meets (to select Award recipient): February 2024
    • Award recipient announced: February 2024

     

  • Callum Mackay

     

    QPAS 2023 WINNER ANNOUNCED

     

    Congratulations to all the shortlisted finalists of the 2023 Queer Playwriting Award Showcase, presented in partnership with Midsumma Festival on 23 January.

    We are delighted to announce the winner: Waterfowl by Callum Mackay.

     

    “I am incredibly honoured to have been chosen as the winner of this prestigious award. Presenting Waterfowl through QPAS with the support of Midsumma and Gasworks has been a tremendously rewarding experience and I’m very excited to be given the opportunity to continue being a part of… I’m beyond excited to present this play to a wider audience and share a story I am so personally proud to tell." Callum Mackay, playwright

    “Callum is an exciting new writing talent and his play Waterfowl will not only sit well in a future Midsumma season at Gasworks, it also has the potential to go on to have a healthy touring life at venues and festivals beyond our backyard. We look forward to our forthcoming collaboration with Callum and his team in developing Waterfowl into a full production for public presentation at Gasworks during Midsumma Festival soon." Marisa Cesario, Programming Co-ordinator, Gasworks Arts Park

    "Midsumma is very proud of this year's Queer Playwriting Award and all of the finalists, they have all worked hard to present their diverse stories and high-quality work. The program grows in popularity each year and its success wouldn't be possible without the continued partnership with Gasworks Arts Park. Congratulations to this year's winner, Callum Mackay, Waterfowl was deeply appreciated by audiences and we look forward to supporting the full work at a future Midsumma Festival." Karen Bryant, Chief Executive – Midsumma Festival

     

  • Read More Here

  • “QPAS is a fantastic initiative for the LGBTQIA+ community and cements Gasworks Arts Park’s commitment to support independent artists. There is a noticeable lack of new queer theatre works available in performing arts markets to be toured to venues in Victoria, and it is important to Gasworks Arts Park that we play a part in changing that. 
     

    It is no easy feat for artists to present a work in development to an audience, especially during its very early stages. It is especially gratifying to see how enthusiastic and generous the artists were in offering feedback and assistance to each other. I think that this is one of the most beneficial parts of this program – it offers the opportunity for independent artists to network with each other and potentially even find opportunities to collaborate."

    Marisa Cesario, Programming Coordinator - Gasworks Arts Park

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  • Applications for 2024 are now closed.

    Applicants will be notified of the outcome by the end of July.