Arts Writer
ENTRIES for submissions for The Imbewu Trust’s 2016 SCrIBE Scriptwriting Competition are now open.
Celebrating its fifth year, the SCrIBE Scriptwriting Competition is a platform for local writers to develop their work. Prizes include having a script produced for a professional run at a Cape Town theatre; mentorship programmes and engaging in feedback sessions with audience members at staged readings of the script.
The competition has evolved since its inception, continuously identifying how best to nurture specific scripts, writers and their writing styles. Previous entrants have gone on to rework their text as a result of the open readings and some on to further professional runs.
The 2015 winner, Francois Joubert, will have his play Four/Vier, produced by the Imbewu Trust for a run in Cape Town later this year. Kimberley Buckle, winner of the 2014 Scribbler’s Dream will work with a leading writer /director to develop her writing style and technique.
Other finalists from previous years have included acclaimed theatre makers and writers such as Joanna Evans, Menzi Mkhwane, Eliot Moleba and Gabriella Pinto, as well as other new voices.
Criteria for 2016 are that the scripts should be in English, no longer than 40 pages or 80 minutes long and with a maximum of five cast members. The scripts must not have been previously produced on a professional stage before and entrants must be over 18 years old. Judges are looking for original content of outstanding quality that explores the diverse range of South African stories.
“We are delighted SCrIBE is entering its fifth successful year,” says Samantha de Romijn, co-founder of the Imbewu Trust. “It is a unique competition with the methods and prizes it offers to allow writers to grow. Each winner is granted a specific prize, that is most beneficial to his or her writing needs. Every year, the playwrights and also the audience members, directors and actors of the staged readings, comment how useful and insightful they have found the process of staged readings with audience discussion afterwards.”
The Imbewu Trust was established to promote the development of contemporary arts and to showcase it on an international stage. It seeks to create an accessible community of varied voices that can flourish through collaboration, resourcefulness and innovation.
The Trust created the competition to provide new opportunities for writers to fully develop their work. The panel of SCrIBE judges comprises a group of seasoned theatre practitioners. The deadline for submissions is July 31.
l To access an e ntry form: www.imbewuarts. com