Guidelines for A PLAY FOR IRELAND

Applicants must adhere to the following conditions to apply

• Must be 18 years or older at the time of application

• Must be an Irish citizen or a non-Irish citizen who is living/based in Ireland for 2018-2019.

• Must not be a current Fishamble staff member

• Must not be an immediate family member of any current Fishamble staff member

• Must not be currently under commission to Fishamble

• Must not have had a full-length play previously commissioned and produced by Fishamble. A full length play is considered to be one which occupied an evening slot of its own.  Playwrights who have previously been commissioned as part of Whereabouts, Shorts, and Tiny Plays for Ireland are eligible to apply.

• Must be available for six programme development sessions in April, May, June, September, October, November (28th April, one Saturday/Sunday each in May, June, September and October, and 10th/17th November) to the best of their knowledge at the time of application. 

 
Your Application

• Applications are submitted through an online form on the Submit page, with a Work Sample emailed separately to APFI@fishamble.com.
• PLEASE read these guidelines and FAQs carefully. If you have a query that has not been answered in either of these two documents, please email info@fishamble.com with ‘APFI Query’ in the subject line before Monday 23 January 2018. Queries submitted in other formats, or after this date, may not be answered.

• Please note the word-count limits, and check that you are within the limits at https://wordcounter.net Any applications with word counts of more than 10% above the limit will not be considered: ie, 300 word count = 330 words MAXIMUM are allowed.

• You cannot save and return to your application. Gather all information prior to starting your application. Applications cannot be edited once submitted.

• If you have multiple ideas, please note that you cannot submit more than two ideas. Any additional applications will not be considered.

• You must submit a short statement about yourself.

• You must outline any playwriting/writing experience to date.

• You must let us know why you want to submit an idea to A Play For Ireland.

• You must submit a Treatment – this is the most important part of the application. This will be a 300-word statement outlining what you would like to develop through A PLAY FOR IRELAND. This should not be a sample of text, but instead, a broad description of the project.

• You must email a Work Sample to APFI@fishamble.com with your name in the subject line. This must be in the format of a theatrical playscript. Excerpts from novels, short stories, poetry, or other prose will not be accepted. You are welcome to supply context for the sample (eg: ‘in this scene, Mary has confessed that she is…’), but this description must be included in your stipulated word-count. 

• The personal information submitted through the application form will be used solely for the purpose of managing applications for A PLAY FOR IRELAND. If selected, your contact information will be shared with your partner venue.

 
The Programme

• Applicants must indicate a preferred partner venue, at which they will attend the majority of monthly group meetings with their fellow venue playwrights. A PLAY FOR IRELAND is run in partnership with six venues across the country, in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Belfast; they are Pavilion, Draíocht, The Everyman, Lime Tree Theatre/Belltable, Town Hall Theatre and Lyric Theatre. 

• Applicants must commit to attending meetings at their chosen venue during 2018 (6 monthly meetings between April – November, excluding July and August, the first and final meetings will take place at Fishamble’s office in Dublin).

• Fishamble will purchase an option to commission the plays of the final 6 chosen playwrights in spring 2019. It is crucial that work and ideas submitted is the intellectual property of the applicant to ensure plays can be presented and commissioned in the future. Applicants agree to let Fishamble option their project for 12 months (from spring 2019) if they are selected for Phase 2 of the project.

• If selected for full production, the Applicant grants Fishamble permission to commission the play, using a standard Fishamble commissioning contract which adheres to best practice and to use their image and likeness to promote the production of A PLAY FOR IRELAND.