Unsolicited Scripts

Does MTC consider unsolicited manuscripts?

No. MTC does not have the resources to read and assess the hundreds of unsolicited manuscripts received each year from playwrights, and it is our strict policy to return them unread.

If you do not accept unsolicited scripts, where does the new Australian work staged by MTC come from?

If you look over the list of new Australian plays staged by MTC, especially in recent decades, you will note that most playwrights were well advanced in their writing careers before we began to produce their work. This is to be expected, since writing for mainstream theatre audiences requires the sort of dramaturgical skills that can only come with patient development. Established MTC writers, such as Hannie Rayson, Joanna Murray-Smith and Matt Cameron, originally came through the ranks of smaller companies in Melbourne and elsewhere. There is little likelihood that MTC would produce a play by a writer without a track-record with other companies.

However, MTC is constantly looking out for the next wave of writing talent and members of our creative team regularly attend performances of new work in Melbourne. We also maintain a keen interest in writers produced by other major companies interstate and in plays that win or are short-listed for major awards. When promising playwrights come to our notice we may decide to help them in their development, usually with a hope that one day they will produce work suitable for the Company.

How are writers developed by MTC?

This depends on how far they have advanced in their craft. Early on, we may just express an interest in their work and ask to be informed of performances and readings so that someone from the Company can attend. Later, we may invite the writer to send us their latest play. With a particularly promising work or writer, we may organise a reading or provide dramaturgical assistance. In the last few years, this has been done formally through our Affiliate Writers Program and our Hard Lines play readings. Established writers, that is, writers with a track record in mainstream theatre and especially those with a significant association with MTC, may be commissioned to write a play, usually after a discussion with the Artistic Director on a particular idea or first draft.

If MTC does not read and comment on unsolicited scripts, how can I get feedback on my play?

There are a variety of organisations that specialise in providing feedback and support for new and emerging playwrights. For example:

PlayWriting Australia 

PO Box 914
Newtown NSW 2042
Australia
Website: http://www.pwa.org.au/

The Australian Script Centre

Website: www.ozscript.org

Australian Writers Guild

Website: www.awg.com.au

Melbourne Writers Theatre

Website: www.melbwriters.org.au

Playlab, QLD 

Website: www.playlab.org.au