The First 20 Minutes is a new writing competition that takes form in three progressive stages.
1. The First 20 Minutes
The opening twenty minutes of 6-8 plays are performed over two performance by professional actors without scripts in front of the paying public and industry. After each play is performed the audience provide written feedback. The best plays, as voted by the audience, are shortlisted for...
2. The Next Stage
The shortlisted writers are asked to submit up to 3 drafts of their play with support from the Artistic Director and Literary Department. The writers recieve written feedback and a face to face dramaturgy session. Upon the submission of the their last draft the Artistic Director selects which plays will receive a rehearsed reading. Each performance is followed by a post play discussion between the audience, actors, director and writer and the writer also receives audience written feedback. The plays then go on to be performed in...
3. The Final Stage
After further work with the literary department the writers show the opening twenty minutes again and the audience vote for the play they would like to receive a full production. An industry judging panel is also brought in to score each play out of 10. The audience votes and judges scores are added up and the play with the highest wins an 18 month play option with Writer's Avenue in which the writer will receive ongoing support to develop the script and a full production in a London theatre.
General Guidelines
- We provide 12 hours of rehearsal space.
- We provide actors, a director and a stage manager
- We do not accept plays that require more than six actors. Actors can play more than one character.
- We do not accept plays under 60 minutes or over 90 minutes
- We do not accept film scripts, short plays, physical theatre, absurdist/avante garde plays, musicals, pantomimes, children’s plays, historical plays, play adaptations, historical biographies or classical plays.
- We do not accept plays that have already been produced professionally
Submission Guidelines
The extract should be the opening twenty minutes of your original play.
Please send your play following the guidelines below. Please send as one document and in pdf.
If you do not have the software to convert your script into pdf you may send it as a word document:
1. On the FIRST page please write and answer the following questions in ONE sentence.
a) What is the main story/plot?
b) What do you want the play to do? (i.e. how do you want it to affect the audience?)
c) How is the play relevant to a contemporary audience?
d) What genre is it. (no more than two words please)
2. On the SECOND page please put the title of your script and your contact details (address, number and email)
3. On the THIRD page please write your character descriptions including gender, age,
profession, relation to other characters and if vital to the context race, accent and physical attributes.
4. From page 4 onwards should be your script
5. On the LAST page please include a detailed scene breakdown of the entire play.
6. Please ensure the script is formatted to a professional standard, with at least a 12p font, page numbers
and adequate spacing between lines.
7. Please name your document the title of your play and your name
8. Please write the title of your play in the subject heading of the email
9. The actual script should be no more than 25 pages.
Please allow us up to three months to respond.
If your play is shortlisted we will ask you to send the full script.
Good Luck!
. < | 
