It's SCrIBE Time - Entries Open for Prestigious Scriptwriting Competition

Entries for submissions for The Imbewu Trust's 2016 SCrIBE Scriptwriting Competition are now open. Celebrating its fifth year, the SCrIBE Scriptwriting Competition is a platform for South African writers to develop their work. Prizes include having a script produced for a professional run at a Cape Town theatre; mentorship programmes and engaging in feedback sessions with audience members at staged readings of the script.

The competition has evolved since its inception, continuously identifying how best to nurture specific scripts, writers and their writing styles. Samantha de Romijn, co-founder of the Imbewu Trust, comments:

We are delighted SCrIBE is entering its fifth successful year. It is a unique competition with the methods and prizes it offers to allow writers to grow. Each winner is granted a specific prize, that is most beneficial to his or her writing needs. Every year, the playwrights and also the audience members, directors and actors of the staged readings, comment how useful and insightful they have found the process of staged readings with audience discussion afterwards.

Previous entrants have gone on to rework their text as a result of the open readings, with some productions going on to further professional runs. The 2015 winner, Francois Joubert, will have his play FOUR/VIER produced by the Imbewu Trust for a run in Cape Town later this year. Kimberley Buckle, winner of the 2014 Scribbler's Dream will work with a leading writer or director to develop her writing style and technique. Other finalists from previous years have included acclaimed theatre-makers and writers such as Joanna Evans, Menzi Mkhwane, Eliot Moleba and Gabriella Pinto, as well as new, rising voices in the theatre industry.

Criteria for this year's competition are that the scripts should be in English, no longer than 40 pages or 80 minutes long and with a maximum of five cast members. The scripts must not have been previously produced on a professional stage and entrants must be over 18 years old. The Imbewu Trust and judges are looking for original content of outstanding quality that explores the diverse range of South African stories.

The Imbewu Trust is a non-profit organisation which was established to promote the development of contemporary South African theatre and arts and to help showcase it on an international stage. It seeks to create an accessible community of varied voices that can flourish through collaboration, resourcefulness and innovation. The Trust created the SCrIBE Scriptwriting competition to provide new opportunities for local writers to fully develop their work. The panel of SCrIBE judges comprises a group of seasoned theatre practitioners.

The deadline for submissions for the 2016 SCrIBE Scriptwriting Competition is 31 July. Information and the entry forms are available on the Imbewu Arts website and can also be sent in response to a request via email.

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