Geelong Short Play Festival seeks local talent

A new writers’ festival, which will culminate in a series of theatrical performances later this year, has launched in Geelong and locals of all experience levels are invited to get involved.

The inaugural Geelong Short Play Festival, organised by the Geelong Writers community group, is calling for submissions of previously unperformed 15-minute plays, with a limit of five characters, on any theme.

Submissions will remain open until April 27 and each writer can enter up to two plays, which will be judged by an expert panel of three theatre professionals.

This judging panel will select six winning plays, to be announced in May, each of which will be performed by one of four local theatre groups – Geelong Repertory Theatre, Queenscliffe Lighthouse Theatre, Kaleidoscopic Void and Theatre 3Triple2 – at Geelong Arts Centre in November.

Festival co-ordinator Paul Bucci, who is a short play writer himself, celebrated the accessibility of the artform and encouraged writers across the region to “put on their creative caps and get busy”.

“The festival is a great opportunity for regional playwrights and smaller theatre groups to be presented and perform on the big stage,” he said.

He encouraged applicants to think beyond the comedy skit format and to pay close attention to how the characters communicate with each other.

“The major thing about writing a play, whether it’s short or long, is that it’s a true representation of how people speak.

“If you listen to how people speak, there’s a lot of pauses and slang words used and abbreviations and so on. So, it’s trying to make it a bit more [reflective] of the vernacular.”

For those who submit their works to the festival, Bucci said the real gain is the opportunity to see their play performed, noting it was often a moving experience to see how others interpret your work.

“That’s a really lovely experience because with most writing, you put a full stop at the end and that’s it.

“With writing plays, there’s another level of creativity that goes into it from the director and the actors and all the stage crafters.”

Bucci said Geelong Writers envisaged the festival becoming a permanent fixture in the Geelong theatre scene and invited sponsors to “hop on board” to support local talent.

For more information about the Geelong Short Play Festival, contact Paul Bucci on 0428 326 012.

For competition terms and conditions, or to submit your work for consideration for the festival, email [email protected]