#WrAP2020 announcement!
We promised this year’s #WrAP (write a play) challenge would be better than ever, and now we’re going to tell you why!
This year, we’ll be inviting all #WrAP2020 participants to submit their work to us. Up to 4 writers will then be selected to take part in our brand new development programme ‘London Playwrights 2020’, where we will provide mentorship, dramaturgical support, professional advice, and masterclasses. The programme will culminate in a rehearsed reading in front of industry professionals in late 2020 (dates TBC).
In addition to this, all writers who submit their work to us will receive feedback from our readers.
What is #WrAP2020? WrAP (or write a play) is our annual January playwriting challenge. Those who take part receive inspiration and support directly to their inbox throughout the month of January, with the aim of wiring a first draft within a month, you can find out all about it here.
Who can take part? Anyone can take part in #WrAP2020, even if you’ve never written a play before – however, you do need to be a member of London Playwrights’ Workshop in order to take part. Membership costs from just £3.63 per month and the revenue we make from this goes directly back into keeping our organisation going, and also supports initiatives such as this one. Find out more about joining here.
What we are looking for: we obviously won’t be expecting you to submit a polished play to us, after all you’ll have only had a month to write it! Instead, we’ll be looking for brilliant ideas, stories which need to be told, unique writing voices – and writers who are committed to developing their idea over the course of the year. If you don’t complete your first draft by the end of January, that’s fine too – we’ll be asking writers to send us a one-page outline along with however many pages of their script they have, so there will be chance to tell us more about your idea if it’s still in its’ early stages.
You don’t need to live in London to be considered for the programme but you will need to be able to attend the masterclasses and the readings, which will take place in Central London (venue and dates TBC) and you need to be over 18 to apply.
How to apply: we’ll be sending out full submission guidelines and details of how to apply to #WrAP2020 participants at the beginning of January.
Timeline:
- January: writers participate in #WrAP2020.
- 14 February: submission deadline for work-in-progress scripts and one-page outlines.
- 31 March: Selections will be made and London Playwrights 2020 will commence!
- April – November: selected writers will receive dramaturgical support, mentorship and masterclasses – TBC.
- December 2020 (date TBC): rehearsed readings will take place.
*We will aim for all writers who submit their work to receive feedback within 3 months, but this may change depending on the number of submissions we receive.
Deadline: 14 February 2020 for work in progress scripts and one-page outlines (sign up to #WrAP2020 before 1 January so you don’t miss any of the emails!)
Source: LPW
Great idea! Can previous WrAP participants enter with whatever they worked on before?
Yes, but you’ll need to sign up for #WrAP2020 in order to get the full submission details via email – what you choose to send us is up to you though!
To travel to London for any of the above will cost me at least £150 a time (travel, cheap hotel) so unless I know exactly how many meetings I will have to go to I will have to say no.
Hi Alun, we’re still working on confirming all the details – which we will send out to #WrAP participants in early January. We’re currently expecting to run approximately 4 masterclasses in London along with dramaturgy/feedback sessions (which could be done by Skype if necessary). We appreciate that this opportunity won’t be accessible to everyone, particularly those living further away from London but we are working very hard to create a fantastic opportunity for the chosen playwrights to get a free year of script development and invaluable support in developing their work.
Would this be suitable for musical theatre writings and/or adaptations?
Yes, definitely adaptations. For musicals, #WrAP wouldn’t include any support for writing the songs etc – but would still be useful for building the story and structure.
This is brilliant! Thank you for providing this opportunity.
I found WrAP last year very helpful, although i couldn’t follow daily with the emails, it kept me engaged in the project i had in mind, which i went on to continue working on after the end of the month. Great pointers, inspiration and encouragement, without the pressure of having to complete something by a definite day.
Such a great idea to add an extra motivation this year, looking forward!
That’s brilliant Eva, thanks for the feedback! And we’ll be accepting work-in-progress for the submissions so if life gets in the way of following the emails daily throughout January, writers can still submit whatever they have.
Bit confused about the distinction between signing up for #WrAP2020 and for submitting your draft at the end of Jan – how do you become a #WrAP2020 participant in the first place please?
Hi Hazel,
Find out more about signing up for WrAP2020 here: https://londonplaywrightsblog.com/?p=15455
All those who sign up for WrAP2020 will receive an email with full submission details at the beginning of January, and will have until 14th Feb to submit their work-in-progress scripts and one page outline.
Hope that helps!
Kimberley
Hi. I tried to register a couple of times last night, after becoming a member of the group. But haven’t been sent a confirmation email. Is there something I’m doing wrong?
Sorry about that, David. I am not sure what went wrong but I’ll look in to this. In the meantime, I have registered you manually so you will receive WrAP emails in January. Thanks for signing up!
Hi, I signed up and received my membership confirmation but I haven’t received any emails or submission details yet, please can you advise. Many thanks, Jaye.
Hi Jaye,
Sorry to hear this, I’m not sure what has happened but I will add you to the WrAP mailing list now and I will email you with the links to the WrAP emails which have been sent out so far.
Thanks,
Kimberley