We will be matching 6 UK playwrights with 6 Singaporean playwrights to for an international playwriting exchange. Writers will work together over a 6-month period from January until June 2025. Each pair will send each other work-in-progress and maintain regular contact through online meetings.
Box of Tricks and Centre 42 will introduce Pen Pals online, discussing their ideas at the start of the process, and meet again for a midway catch-up. We will host an online scratch event halfway through the process to allow writers to hear extracts of their work in progress and receive feedback from their peers.
At the end of the exchange, all 12 Pen Pals will send their drafts to Box of Tricks and Centre 42 to be read ahead of a final debrief and feedback session. To celebrate our first international Pen Pals exchange we will present live events in Manchester and Singapore after the exchange to showcase the work of our 12 writers.
Eligibility Criteria
Our Pen Pals International programme is open to writers who have already got experience of writing for theatre. We define that experience as having written at least one full length script (60mins+), although this does not need to have been professionally produced.
UK writers must be members of Box of Tricks’ PlayMakers Network. Writers must also be 18+, and either resident in, or originally from, the North of England.
Singapore writers must be Singapore residents and/or are residing in Singapore and must have written ONE (1) full-length play
To Apply
Interested writers can apply to be part of the next Pen Pals cohort via this online form. The application window will open on the 7th October 2024, and the deadline for applications is 10:00 BST (which is 17:00 UTC in Singapore) on the 31st October 2024.
The application consists of the following:
- A short example of your playwriting (up to 15 pages). This can be a short play or an extract from a longer piece.
- An indication of your level of writing experience. Please don’t worry if you don’t have a traditional CV – just let us know what you have done to date.
- A short statement expressing what inspires you to write for theatre, why you’d like to be a Pen Pal and what you’d hope to gain from the experience. UK playwrights please also indicate where in the North you are based or are from.
- A brief pitch/treatment/outline of the piece you’d like to develop with your Pen Pal. If you’ve already started writing the script, feel free to include a short extract.
Schedule
7 October – 31 October 2024:
- Application window
November 2024:
- Pen Pal selection and matchmaking process.
December 2024:
- All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application.
January 2025:
- Introductory meetings between UK and Singapore writers.
February 2025:
- Full cohort zoom meetup.
April 2025:
- Midpoint meetings between writers and members of the Box of Tricks and Centre 42 teams.
May 2025:
- Online scratch. 6 writers will have the chance to hear up to 10 minutes of their script read aloud by other members of the Pen Pal cohort.
June 2025:
- Drafts submitted.
July 2025:
- Debrief meetings.
July-Aug 2025:
- Live showcase.
Pen Pals International 2025 application guidelines
Deadline: 31 October 2024
