Squint Opens Applications For Playwriting Award and Educational Programme For Low-Income Artists

Award-winning, East London-based theatre company Squint today announces and opens applications for The Squint Playwriting Award. Accompanied by a six-month Educational Programme, the Award is designed to support East London artists from low-income backgrounds for whom money is currently a barrier to professional development. The programme includes Workshops, Masterclasses, and Q&As, with each of the participants assigned a mentor relevant to their background and emerging practice.

Andrew Whyment, Artistic Director of Squint, and Lee Anderson, Literary Associate of Squint, said today: "As a new work company comprised of artists from low-income backgrounds, we know first-hand how a lack of money, few industry contacts and feelings of imposter syndrome hold artists back. It's the talented playwrights who struggle to pay bills and have to work second and third jobs just to scrape by who are often the first to leave our industry. So we're doing something about it. Our programme will discover, develop and champion ten exceptional playwrights of the future".

Nadia Fall, Artistic Director of Theatre Royal Stratford East, said today: "We are thrilled to partner with Squint Theatre on this great initiative through our Freelance Royalty Scheme. It's vital that we continue to support local artists, particularly from low-income and marginalised backgrounds. I'm really proud that Stratford East will be hosting the final showcase in November, and urge new writers to apply".

Squint will remove financial obstacles to participation by paying participants London Living Wage for all contact hours throughout the programme as well as travel expenses. Bursaries for access costs are also available. Following research from Create London, University of Edinburgh and University of Sheffield reporting that only 18% of the arts industry is from working-class backgrounds, this programme addresses this by providing professional development opportunities for ten early career playwrights from low-income backgrounds.

Following an Industry Showcase at Theatre Royal Stratford East, one participant will be awarded The Squint Playwriting Award, a Writer's Guild of Great Britain one-act play commission, to realise their first full-length play. This includes a commissioning fee of £6110 and six months of additional mentorship and dramaturgical support.

Participants are invited to submit either a written or audio/video application. Applications close on Monday 8th May with Selection Workshops on Friday 19th May and Saturday 20th May. Sessions will then run 1-2 times weekly from Wednesday 5th July at Applecart Arts, in the form of Workshops, Masterclasses, Q&As and Mentoring sessions, the majority of which will be run by practitioners from low-income backgrounds. Confirmed artists include Debbie Hannan, Kane Husbands, Sami Ibrahim, Sid Sagar, Elliot Warren and Ross Willis. The programme culminates in an Industry Showcase at Theatre Royal Stratford East on Friday 3rd November and the Award Announcement on Monday 6th November.

Supported by Applecart Arts, Arts Council England, Cardboard Citizens, Compass Collective, Hackney Empire, John Thaw Foundation, Maria Björnson Memorial Fund, National Youth Theatre, Synergy Theatre Project, Theatre Royal Stratford East's Freelance Royalty Scheme and Unity Theatre Trust.

This is a pilot year of what Squint hopes to be an annual programme. If you'd like to support Squint's work contact Producer Claire Gilbert: producer@squinttheatre.com

For further information and how to apply visit: https://www.squinttheatre.com/the-squint-playwriting-award

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