Theatre for children and young people play competition (Poland)
Started in 1986 and organized by Zbigniew Rudziński, the competition aims to add new plays to the repertory of theatres working for young audiences. There have been two international editions so far. The play competition is an integral project in the policy of the Children’s Art Centre of Poznan and aims to inspire and promote contemporary playwriting. The Centre has had at its disposal over 1500 plays written by hundreds of well known, experienced and very young authors. The invited playwrights can develop their skills during annual workshops, while their selected works have a chance to be published in New Plays… and other books (like Dramatik aus Polen or Polish Reader), to be staged as part of The Author’s Stage, to be promoted at Polish (and sometimes international) theatre festivals and to be described in their internet catalogue of scripts at www.nowesztuki.pl. The competition has been held twenty two time up to 2011. Many of the competition plays – over 115 – have had their first nights in professional puppet, drama and television theatres; much more of them – in school amateur drama clubs.