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THE W. R. FOUNDATION AWARD
WILLY RUSSELL AND
TIM FIRTH - THE SINGING PLAYWRIGHTS OFFER
£5000 FUND TO STAGE NEW WRITING AT 2005 EDINBURGH FRINGE
Willy Russell (Educating Rita,
Shirley Valentine and Blood Brothers) and Tim Firth (Calendar
Girls, Our House, Neville’s Island, Preston Front) have
conquered the theatrical and literary world as well as that of
film and television. But both began their careers with plays
that were first staged at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe –
Willy Russell’s first show was Blind Scouse at The Rifle
Lodge Broughton Street in 1972 and Sam Mendes directed Tim Firth’s
first show Hexen, a play about witchcraft in Cheshire, 20 years
ago.
In recognition of this and
to help promote the staging of quality new writing for theatre
on the Edinburgh Fringe, Willy Russell and Tim Firth have come
together to create a new award - The WR Foundation Award
- which will fund a piece of new writing to the tune of £5000
towards the staging of the production at the Edinburgh Festival
Fringe 2005.
Willy Russell and Tim Firth
have also joined forces with David Pugh, the West End and Broadway
Producer (ART and The Play What I Wrote), who will administer
the award.
The world deserves to see quality
new writing and The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the foremost
showcase for the International stage. Russell and Firth invite
all those who have written a new play, are writing a new work
or who have the most incredible new production but can’t
afford to stage it to apply for THE W. R. FOUNDATION AWARD.
How to apply for THE W.
R. FOUNDATION AWARD:
Get an application form for
the THE W. R. FOUNDATION AWARD. Application forms are
available by emailing dpl@davidpughltd.com or calling 020 7434
9757 or by post from David Pugh Ltd, 41 Beak Street, London,
W1F 9SB.
Send scripts together with an application form by post to Wendy
McAdam C/o David Pugh Ltd, 41 Beak Street, London W1F 9SB by
24 December 2004
Judging will begin in January 2005. A panel of judges, including
Willy Russell, Tim Firth and David Pugh will pick the winner.
The judges decision is final.
The Winner of the THE W. R. FOUNDATION AWARD will be made
on 14 February 2005. The £5000 prize money can be spent
on any costs to enable the play to be presented at the 2005 Edinburgh
Festival Fringe. The winning play must be presented at the 2005
Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Please Note: There are no restrictions
to the scripts that can be sent except that they should be in
the English Language and be text-based rather than dance or movement
led.
Performers at this years Festival
will be able to see Willy Russell and Tim Firth’s show "The
Singing Playwrights" for free on Saturday 21, Sunday 22,
and Monday 23 August at 5.30pm at the Pleasance Grand, and pick
up an application form in person from David Pugh who will be
available for discussion after the show. The complimentary tickets
for these performances of The Singing Playwrights are
 subject to availability and strictly on a first
come, first served basis. They can be obtained by going in person
to the Pleasance Box Office with your performer’s pass and
quoting "The WR Foundation Award".
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