Shortlist Announced

After a summer of reading, re-reading and discussion, we are now able to announce the shortlist for the Bruntwood Prize. The ten plays below now go forward to our judging panel who will meet on Monday 14th November to award a first prize of £16,000 and three awards of £8,000 each. Their authors remain anonymous until our awards ceremony on Tuesday 15th November to ensure the competition is judged on what they have written and not who they are.

We’re also able to announce below, the longlist of plays that have been part of a difficult and competitive shortlisting process. There’s a breadth and range of exciting work on this list that couldn’t make it onto the shortlist. We will be in touch with the writers of each of these pieces of work during October with a written response to the play that includes feedback from the process.

The Artistic Directors of the Royal Exchange had this to say about the process:

“The standard of work we’ve read over the past few months has been the highest the competition has ever received. Amongst the 2,188 writers who entered, we heard voices from Eastbourne to Aberdeen and from Scarborough to Galway tell stories that took on an astonishing variety of subject matter.

We feel this is a list of breadth that contains plays of real ambition in which ten different theatrical imaginations engage with the world around us. These are considerable plays and the prospect of developing some of them is thrilling. We’d like to thank each and every writer who entered this year for their enthusiasm, patience and for the stories they’ve told. There are exciting talents and fantastic work we haven’t been able to take any further in this process and it’s demonstrated the strength and depth of playwriting across the UK and Ireland.”

To find out more about the reading process for the Bruntwood Prize, click here.

1. Some of those plays violate this rule:

   ‘The submitted play must be available for production and unattached to any other theatre or company. Any scripts that have been professionally optioned, produced or published will be disqualified.’

   by Barabra - October 5, 2011 at 8:01 am

   • Hi

     Thanks for your message. The rules make provision for plays to have had contact or development with other companies, been shown in an amateur context or in whilst in progress or development.

     Best wishes

     by Bruntwood Prize Admin - October 5, 2011 at 10:04 am

2. Congrats to all both on the short list and the long list.

   x

   by Danny Summers - October 5, 2011 at 8:37 am

3. Anyone received the rejection email yet?

   Congrats to all successful.

   by Ada - October 5, 2011 at 8:48 am

4. Well, can’t say i’m not now totally disillusioned.

   by Charles - October 5, 2011 at 9:00 am

   • Sorry if you’re disillusioned and remember our process is in no way a definitive judgement on a play, nor would be want it to be. There’s so much great work in the longlist and beyond that we haven’t been able to recognise.

     Best wishes.

     by Bruntwood Prize Admin - October 5, 2011 at 9:05 am

5. Yeah, congrats to all – happy judging, judges!

   Is there a rejection email, then, Ada? Bruntwood?

   by Fred - October 5, 2011 at 9:13 am

6. @Fred, Oops probably not.

   by Ada - October 5, 2011 at 9:15 am

   • Hi

     No rejection email. We’ve emailed everyone who entered and all on our newsletter with the announcement and links to the list. Those went through at the same time as the announcement, but may take a while to filter through email.

     Best wishes.

     by Bruntwood Prize Admin - October 5, 2011 at 9:18 am

7. Ah yes – got it now. Cheers. (And sob!)

   by Fred - October 5, 2011 at 9:29 am

8. My concern is not so much with the plays that don’t make it to the list – even if it’s my own – but rather with those which do. I hope Bruntwood is different, but my experience with self-styled ‘talent-grabbing’ schemes is that they favour anodyne, emotionaly bombastic, intellectually shallow plays meeting a very particular checklist of what constitutes a good play. Should an unknown author submit something along the lines of ‘Copenhagen’ or Barnes’ ‘The Ruling Class’ it’d be met with derision, even if it were evert bit as good. Not that I’m suggesting that mine is, but the comparision stands in regards to institutionalised reactions to new plays.

   by Jack Klutas - October 5, 2011 at 9:37 am

   • Hi

     We definitely don’t have a check list for what makes a good play. We wouldn’t style ourself as ‘talent-grabbing’ but are about giving an opportunity to some of the most exciting voices we come across in the reading process, regardless of subject matter or of the background of the writer – which is why the process is anonymous. There are plays on our shortlist about the end of the USSR in Estonia, a family struggling in straightened economic circumstances in Essex today, a teenage outside in the American mid-west and many other topics. We’ve genuinely been led by how someone puts across a world and are excited by people writing from perspectives that feel fresh and that haven’t been seen on stage before. We can’t hope to honour more than a tiny fraction of the great work we’ve been sent, but that’s been our approach.

     All best

     by Bruntwood Prize Admin - October 5, 2011 at 9:46 am

9. Well done to all on both lists x

   by karen - October 5, 2011 at 9:54 am

10. surprised I never even made long list. I wrote a mind boggling masterpiece

    by Will - October 5, 2011 at 10:04 am

11. I see no mention of my play, Defending the Defenceless.

    Perhaps I’ll concentrate on turning it into a novel. And a movie.

    by Phillip Khan-Panni - October 5, 2011 at 10:17 am

12. Made the longlist, which is some comfort.

    Good luck to all those who made the shortlist.

    This will now give me the confidence to send my play out to other venues.

    by R P Murphy - October 5, 2011 at 10:32 am

13. Here’s an idea – why not put up a page on this website with synopses (provided by the writer), cast size, positive reader comments, extracts, and a contact for the playwright, for all the plays on the longlist (and the ones on the shortlist that don’t win). Then small companies that might be looking for plays but don’t have the resources to read so many plays themselves can find new work to produce – or playwrights to work with. Low cost, and it would be really useful both for writers and companies, I think.

    by francis - October 5, 2011 at 10:37 am

    • Hi Francis

      A great idea – bushgreen.org would be what we’d point you to as well. We will be developing writeaplay.co.uk so that it can be more interactive and allow writer to do more and engage more with each other, but that takes resources and time, so bear with us a little.

      by Bruntwood Prize Admin - October 5, 2011 at 11:42 am

14. Good idea Francis. Also, why doesn’t the Bruntwood tell the non select few, where they got in the comp? It would really help us judge where we are in our practice. Just tell us, at what round were knocked out please? I find just receiving the shortlist/longlist email a little unfair and cagey.

    by Barabra - October 5, 2011 at 10:57 am

    • Hello

      The only information from the process we haven’t announced is which plays were recommended for a second read as part of the process. The reason we judge this not be helpful is that we don’t feel it’s a fair reflection of where someone is in their practice. The competition is about giving people confidence in their work and not telling them we’ve dismissed it early on. There may be great work or the seeds of a great writer that didn’t go very far through the competition and we don’t feel it’s our right to pass public judgement on that work.

      I hope that makes sense.

      by Bruntwood Prize Admin - October 5, 2011 at 11:02 am

15. Well done to all the plays longlisted and shortlisted. And to everyone else, keep your collective peckers up and keep on scribbling away!

    by Bradley Middleton - October 5, 2011 at 11:01 am

16. ‘There may be great work or the seeds of a great writer that didn’t go very far through the competition and we don’t feel it’s our right to pass public judgement on that work.’

    Can’t you tell the writers if this applies to them? Not publicly, just in an email individually?

    It sort feels like it leaves people in the abyss, the way the process works now…I may be horrifically awful or I may have great seeds…?

    by Barabra - October 5, 2011 at 11:07 am

    • Whether public or private, I think we feel we don’t have the right to make a judgement like that based on reading 40 pages and not knowing anything about the writer, or where they are in their career. We completely sympathise with that sense of being in the abyss and it’s one of the down sides of a competition. However, we and many other theatres do offer free unsolicited submission in windows during the year (ours begins again in 2012). At the Exchange we response individually to each play with an assessment, but due to the volume and the speed required with Bruntwood we don’t have the resources to do that for all 2188 plays with the care and attention we would want to.

      by Bruntwood Prize Admin - October 5, 2011 at 11:37 am

17. To the person who mentioned having a website where people can see your work… you should sign up for bushgreen.org – it’s run by the very reputable Bush Theatre in London, and is a way of making contacts and having your work assessed widely.

    I do think a lot of this is luck – the right reader in the right mood on the right day.

    Let’s face it, all the ‘rules’ of playwriting are flouted by the greats. Chekhov is full of people telling us exactly what they feel, articulately, at length, and not doing anything, whereas playwriting courses always say ‘people in real life don’t say what they really think’ (really? I think people do), and that a character has to react to the problem they’re facing in a dynamic way in order to gain our sympathy. Shakespeare too, is full of articulate speeches about ‘what I’m feeling right now’ – and Hamlet is all about a bloke who doesn’t take action.

    So I do think there’s a lot of luck involved (though if I’d made it to the shorlist – or even the longlist – I’d probably say luck has nothing whatsoever to do with it, and that it’s all down to sheer, earth-shattering talent!)

    by Fred - October 5, 2011 at 11:19 am

18. Hi,
    Yippee! I made the top 2,188! I just wondered if you could satisfy my curiosity and let me know what percentage of the top 100 were comedies? (Just a rough estimate would do).
    Thanks

    by MLC - October 5, 2011 at 11:19 am

    • Hi

      Unfortunately, we can’t. So many of the plays we read just didn’t fit into a category like ‘comedy’, ‘tragedy’, ‘state of the nation play’ or any other. We read some incredibly dark plays that were funny and vice verse. I hope that makes sense.

      by Bruntwood Prize Admin - October 5, 2011 at 11:39 am

19. Fred – I love your comments…..

    by MLC - October 5, 2011 at 11:20 am

20. Barbara, I think it’s too much to ask of Brunters to respond to every entrant, privately – they made it clear that only a hundred people would get feedback – and I think a hundred is very generous!

    Once you open a dialogue, it’s difficult to shut down politely – far better not to start it in the first place.

    by Fred - October 5, 2011 at 11:21 am

21. Gutted I didnt reach any list!

    I am pleased that the shortlist shows minor evidence of interesting subject matter but also a little disappointed that it has predictable subject matter as winners also.

    Although I do not feel I deserved to be shortlisted I will not give up!!

    by Rebecca - October 5, 2011 at 11:22 am

22. Thanks to Fred 16 for bush green.org reference. Francis 13′s idea is still a good one. Best Wishes to all. There seems likely to be a lot of interesting playgoing ahead.

    by Gile Haworth - October 5, 2011 at 11:27 am

23. If anybody is feeling down in the dumps about not being shortlisted or longlisted, remember the last play which won this competition, ‘Pretend You Have Big Buildings’; it was possibly one of the worst things I have ever seen, and the writer now appears to have vanished into the ether. The opinion of the judges is subjective and sometimes they get it totally wrong. My advice would be to shop somewhere else.

    by Steve - October 5, 2011 at 11:40 am

24. Debbie Tucker Green’s play was called Truth and Reconciliation, and it played at the Royal Court this summer – I wonder if it was the same play as the one by ‘Baron Samedi’.

    by Fred - October 5, 2011 at 11:56 am

25. Thanks admin (and Fred) – I do know about BushGreen. I’m thinking, though, that since the Exchange has done all this playreading, it shouldn’t be wasted – the view of the Exchange’s readers might be interestingly different to those at the Bush – and the amount of work needed to put up pages for the longlisted plays is relatively trivial compared to the effort that’s gone into the competition already. Don’t underestimate the value of connecting writers to small companies. Its a way to production for plays that might otherwise stay in the drawer.

    by francis - October 5, 2011 at 12:05 pm

26. We learn more from our failures, mistakes and criticism. It’s fine to be disappointed if you didn’t make either of the lists, but see it as a learning opportunity. This is a time to go back to our scripts; review them with a more critical eye. If you haven’t already done so, find a way to get your play on its feet, to see for yourself what is and isn’t working. Small scale public exposure is also good for feedback. Yes it is all subjective. I went to a art exhibition the other day and thought it truly dreadful but someone out there thought it good enough to invest in. For this reason, it is important to find a company/director who is sympathetic to your work and get her/his feedback. Also, send your work off to a professional script reading service. Highlight the criticisms. You may not agree with it all but you will gain some fresh insights. Congrat’s to all those who got onto the short lists.

    by Joy Hetherington - October 5, 2011 at 12:45 pm

27. Don’t fret if you didn’t make the lists. If it makes you feel any better; imagine it as a bloody great big game of musical chairs. I doesn’t matter if you’re one of the best musical chairs players in the world; if there are hundreds of people going for the same one or two (or eight) seats, some quality people are going to be left standing. Keep writing and keep sending out those scripts and eventually, if you’re good enough, you’ll make it.

    by mr creosote - October 5, 2011 at 12:51 pm

28. Congrats to everyone that made a list! Was feeling a bit dismayed, but having heard from some people declaring that they’re on a list, and it turning out that they are professional scriptwriters, producers, authors, journalists, etc., don’t think I stood a chance with the quality and polishing they must have achieved. Apparently some of the plays have even been put on at theatre festivals in the past, which doesn’t seem fair – I’m sure they’re fantastic though! Shame this isn’t a purely amateur competition. I definitely look forward to seeing the winning play when it’s put on!

    by ben - October 5, 2011 at 1:51 pm

    • Hi Ben

      Work entered may have been performed or read publically whilst in development, but the rules of the competition don’t allow for it to have been professionally produced. Our aim has always been for it to be open to all writers and to create as level a playing field as possible by making entry anonymous.

      All best.

      by Bruntwood Prize Admin - October 5, 2011 at 1:56 pm

29. I was disappointed to find that there was another play submitted with the same title as mine: Cuckoo.
    I hope the other one flies high.

    by Jean - October 5, 2011 at 2:03 pm

30. Dear writers,

    I didn’t make it to either list. But I know that the decision comes down to personal opinion. I’ve seen some truly horrendous shows that have had amazing reviews and vice versa. Dont be disheartened. You cant wait for awards and recognition to come to you. It’s very easy nowadays to book a small fringe theatre and produce the play yourself for a couple of hundred pounds. Provided your marketing is strong you will make the money back on box office.

    Who cares what Bruntwood think of your play? Or Bushgreen? Surely, you write these plays because you want to see them performed? So go out and make it happen. I thought I had entered a strong play, and I’ll never know what they truly thought of it. But i still believe I have something worthwhile. So I’m going to produce it myself and invite these guys to come watch. Same with BushGreen, (who, by the way, read my play about a mysterious box, rejected it, and then two weeks later started a competition about writing about a mysterious box…coincidence?!) Anyway that’s by the by.

    Keep your chins up people. Who is anyone to say anything about what you’ve written. You enter a competition, there’s a chance you may lose. That’s just something you need to prepare for. Go and get it done at a fringe venue. Let the public decide.

    Good luck to all of those on the short list. And good luck to everyone who entered.

    Chris

    by Cymruambith - October 5, 2011 at 2:24 pm

31. Hey! I’m 101st equal! I’m so proud!

    by John - October 5, 2011 at 2:39 pm

32. High Five John!

    by MLC - October 5, 2011 at 2:56 pm

33. Not too worried about either list really, writers, you iether know you’re good or you don’t. You know what works, what doesn’t. That said, I really really need the money so if there is anyone on that short list who does well and is not short of a bob or two and has employment and is in it just for the fun and the fame and the pleasure of writing, Get my mail from the exchange and or just send them a check The Destroyer C/o and I’ll come by and pick it up… Thanx very much.

    by The Destroyer - October 5, 2011 at 2:58 pm

34. Boring and predictable.

    by Paul - October 5, 2011 at 3:46 pm

35. Some of them have been professionally produced, in some shape or form, or optioned and/or are certainly not unperformed and unproduced pieces of work, as stated in your rules. That’s the whole point being made here, and that’s what’s so frustrating.

    What’s your response to comment 24, by Fred? re: Truth and Reconciliation

    I believe a lot of it is people putting their friends plays through.

    It would also be interesting to know the demographic of your readers, if they were all white and middle class? I do find that to be incredibly dull, if the case.

    @ Fred Yes I do think they should reply individually, the exchange is a publicly funded theatre is it not?

    by Barabra - October 5, 2011 at 5:22 pm

    • Hi Barbara

      The rules explain that work cannot have had a full professional production, but that doesn’t include development work, rehearsed readings or workshop performances. This is obviously not a black and white area. We encouraged writers to get in touch with us should they have a query and gave the advice that seemed fairest to us. To clarify, the rule is not intended to mean the play can never have been under option or consideration by another company, just that it shouldn’t be under such an arrangement now.

      Truth and Reconciliation, the play listed here is definitely not the play of the same name currently being produced by the Royal Court.

      The competition is anonymous and so there is no preferential treatment for playwrights we know. We built a group of readers who were diverse in background, age, where they are from in the country and whether they were a director, writer, literary manager or actor.

      I’m sorry we weren’t able to reply individually to each writer. We would have loved to if we had the time and resources to, apologies if this offended you. I completely understand that you might object to some of our approach in the competition, but we do spend a lot of time thinking about the fairest way to run the prize and how it can be as open to submission from writers with little experience to those with a lot. The range of playwrights on previous shortlists, we feel, is testament to that.

      Best wishes

      by Bruntwood Prize Admin - October 5, 2011 at 5:35 pm

36. It’s a funny old game this industry. I submitted a highly controversial play it even made me cringe. However, it didn’t even make the long list. Ironically, the short version I wrote some years back got me on a TAPS course (t.v. writing sponsored by Skillset). I was one of thirty writers selected from three hundred and twenty-four (I think), which put me in the top 10%.

    I thought a longer stage version wouldn’t fail to get on a short list but it has failed. No doubt the zeitgeist has changed and therefore the market and that’s what really matters.

    by Funny ol' game! - October 5, 2011 at 5:53 pm

37. It just annoys me that wannabe writers constantly produce work, and never get the opportunity to move forward, because the organisations that seek the work, don’t give proper feedback. Or if they do it takes months, sometimes years to get the actual feedback…

    Also from what I understand of literary management, it is a very white middle class environment, and work is inevitably seen through that lens, despite anonymous submissions.

    Even when work by ‘BME’s’ – (whatever the hell that means) is produced, it sometimes is quite dreadful, because it’s the white man’s view of what it means to be black etc. Unfortunately consciously or unconsciously, I find that some ‘BME’ writers play to that stereotype.

    There’s a massive problem here, that I hope you might consider for your next competition.

    by Barabra - October 5, 2011 at 6:01 pm

38. I note that my comment has been removed. Touched a live wire somewhere?

    by Funny Ol' game - October 5, 2011 at 6:02 pm

39. Sorry I thought you’d blocked me! So I got my husband to re post!

    by Barabra - October 5, 2011 at 6:07 pm

40. Hi Bruntwood Team

    Is it at all possible to find out who read my manuscript and to enquire why they did not feel it worthy for feedback? I just don’t get how one person’s (possibly slanted) viewpoint can determine a writer’s theatrical success and what makes them so powerful … For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t be interested in seeing one of the shortlisted plays simply because their titles don’t ‘grab me’ in the least. And that’s the truth.

    by Violet - October 5, 2011 at 6:39 pm

41. @Barabra

    As a white middle-class male who didn’t make the Top 100, I’ve spent the day wondering if it was because my play was too white, too middle-class and possibly too male. I don’t think you can accuse theatre-land of ignoring any ethnic or social group, and I’m sure there are hundreds of writers who would argue that if anything there is too much representation of ‘minority’ groups on stage.

    Most of my previous writing experience has been in the film/TV world, where you’re lucky if readers/producers get past page 10 before chucking stuff in the bin, and nepotism is practically a job requirement. I think Bruntwood is as fair as it can be. Yes, it’s annoying to hear that established writers etc have made the shortlist, but at the end of the day these are the people you have to compete against. I think judging a play cold is particularly hard as so many plays that make the stage have gone through lengthy development, workshops, improv sessions. To send in a script and hope it hits is a big ask.

    Again, coming from the TV/film world, I can’t believe so many big theatres take unsolicited scripts and read them – their film/TV equivalents certainly don’t. So keep writing, keep sending stuff off, keep banging the door until some f**ker is forced to open it.

    by Jon - October 5, 2011 at 6:48 pm

42. P.S. I hope my manuscript has been completely destroyed and is not available for ‘inspirational fodder’ by any lethargic dramatists at the Bruntwood team or beyond who are simply using ‘failed’ manuscripts for their own devices!!! Bet you don’t print this one, Bruntwood!

    P.P.S. Mine’s copyright, so be careful !!

    by Violet - October 5, 2011 at 7:15 pm

43. Have to agree with Paul – choices are so often boring and predictable and you can almost run a book on what will win these competitions. I do feel that if this was based on anything more than personal taste then the judges would be capable of publishing a criteria but they’re clearly not. Just see so many dreadful new plays I really am convinvced that many people involved in theatre don’t know how to truly read a play for production. Sorry for thew gloomy words but still can’t help feeling this is still a game for white middle-class men and pretenious none-brains – a lack of true rigour and purpose undermines the whole thing under all the “puff”.

    by Marcia Mee - October 5, 2011 at 7:39 pm

44. It is interesting to note everyone’s frustrations but the hard thing to admit with any art form is that it is subjective – and what one person likes, another won’t. There is also the frustration for a dramatist in that our work is incomplete until performed. A rejected painting can still go over the mantelpiece, a script gets scribbled on, might get a second draft printed on the reverse and finally binned.
    I do agree with others that it would have been good to know if scripts had got through to the full or second read. If nothing else it would tell you whether your first 40 pages grab the reader.

    by Boho - October 5, 2011 at 8:06 pm

45. There seems to be a very pussy footing filter when it comes to seeking new talent.

    They’re too scared of raw cutting edge plays.
    They just want the Politically Correct stuff.

    by Will - October 5, 2011 at 8:18 pm

46. Agreed, Will … so long as it’s ‘outside of the box’ according to public demand definitely seems to be the Criteria Of The Day … some things will never change!!

    by Violet - October 5, 2011 at 8:25 pm

47. agreed Will. it becomes very, very dull. People are petrified to try new forms and tell new stories, take risks they often aren’t creatives also. The trouble with a system of readers is that people are preempting what they think the AD wants to see, when I suspect the AD doesn’t know what they want to see.

    by Barabra - October 5, 2011 at 8:44 pm

48. Oh, honestly some of you, just listen to yourselves… Any possible excuse to avoid having to accept that maybe your play didn’t get through because maybe – just, maybe – it wasn’t actually very good… Just saying…

    by Domnhall - October 5, 2011 at 8:53 pm

49. Let it go Barbara, let it go….

    by Gerry - October 5, 2011 at 9:01 pm

50. I have just arrived home from work (after a 16 hour day) and looked at the list, it was dissapointing not to be on it, however what I found more dissapointing was some of the above comments here. I would like to wish all of the authors on both lists congratulations and good luck and I would like to thank the organisers for running this competition. It turned out that my entry was not judged to be good enough in this instance by womever read it. If it didn’t get a full read, if it got a full read, if it got a 2nd read I will never know, but I knew the rules and criteria when I entered this competition as did everybody else. I can understand dissapointment but accusations of favoritism or class distinction or even racism are unfounded and unfair, there are few enough opportunities for new writers and with this resoponse from sour grape sellers, there may even be fewer.

    by Wilson Wood - October 5, 2011 at 9:20 pm

51. Interesting comments, Barbara. I actually think the structure of the competition, with the anonymity, is a much fairer procedure than the one most theatres judge plays. There’s one thing that might be improved – and that’s to have more playwrights involved in reading and judging. In general, (this from experience) actors, directors and literary managers appear to be good at identifying idiomatic dialogue and interesting imagined worlds, and sharply written character. They’re less good at judging structure, and focus, and what makes a compelling stage narrative. Playwrights are sometimes a little better at this. Certainly, if there’s been a consistent weakness in the winners in previous years (at least, the three I’ve seen), it has been that, for all their originality, and art in illuminating the world of the play, they’ve failed to construct the kind of tight, focused narratives that draw the audience in. Maybe this year will be different?

    by francis - October 5, 2011 at 9:37 pm

52. Putting months/years into a play and then it gets nowhere is very hard, but making any kind of a go at a writing career means you will get rejections and knock-backs – not everybody likes everything. Pinning all your hopes on one (draft of a) play in one competition will only lead to disillusionment. You will always have to take knock-backs, feedback and notes on your work. A competition like this cannot give feedback to over 2000 entries. Most writers who are forging successful careers started with a number of stories on the go and had small/short productions in all sorts of places to build up credits and experience – in the main there is no magic bullet and overnight success, writers have been building their craft for years before they gain ground.

    You look at your work. You redraft. You carry on.

    by Jimmy Osborne - October 5, 2011 at 9:43 pm

53. I’m disappointed too, but you know what – best of luck to those who have made it and thumbs down to those who are reacting so sourly – especially the ones who are convinced they have written a masterpiece – if only the world could see it! I’m glad the contest exists and hope the last ten all go on the great things.

    by Peter - October 5, 2011 at 9:53 pm

54. Hard to see that the benefits outweigh the costs in publishing the long list. Is it really better to give 100 people a slight pat on the back – and even that’s in a close but no cigar kind of way – and demoralise another 2000 who discover they didn’t even make the top 100.
    Absolutely fine to give the top 100 some feedback but why can’t that be done quietly and discreetly?

    by Brian - October 5, 2011 at 9:54 pm

55. very well put Francis, i like the Paines Plough model – no external readers, all in house by the AD’s etc or so their website leads you to believe…however alas it is still a extremely saturated white, middle class, male environment. Will this ever change? When will the balance be readdressed? We’ve been having this ‘debate’ since as long as a stones, been a stone…

    Not just in terms of race, but class…I’m so bored stiff by the middle class stories, for middle class audiences agenda. Trot off!

    Barabra

    by Barabra - October 5, 2011 at 10:04 pm

56. What a cracking post by chris at no. 30. And what’s with all the whingeing by just a few folk. If you think you’re play’s so damn good – well perhaps it is – but don’t expect it to automatically rise to the top in such a huge competition – especially bearing in mind that it’s all personal opinion. Personal opinion’s tend to differ from one another, you know. The opinion that counts is the audience. So like chirs says, go and bloody well find yourself one instead of relying on a few people by chance to happen to agree with you. Or, of course, organise your own competition. As for me – being still proud to be 101st equal with, frankly, a damn good play of its kind (in my opinion) but which was of a kind probably not suited to this competition (in my opinion) I’m going to get it produced somewhere where it’ll work well (in my opinion). And best of luck to all those who were equal 101st with me…

    by John - October 5, 2011 at 10:06 pm

57. not everyone can afford or have access to the resources that allow them to ‘simply put the show on themselves…’

    by Barabra - October 5, 2011 at 10:13 pm

58. No – that includes me – but I intend to go out, make a hell of an effort, make contacts, follow contacts I already have, look around, make a noise, push myself and others, and find somewhere where I’m not competing with another 2187 people. Whatever happens I will not expect people to do what I want just because I say so or because I think they should. Nor will I whinge if they don’t.
    Congratulations to the prize organisers on getting this far in a massive job. And congratulations too on politely apologising for being unable to respond in individual detail to all 2188 entrants instead of saying what you ought to be thinking!

    by John - October 5, 2011 at 10:21 pm

59. Sometimes winning doesn’t mean anything.

    Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock anyone?

    by Will - October 5, 2011 at 10:23 pm

60. This being gracious stuff is all okay but in reality, underneath it all the vast majority of ordinary people who want to have a go in any arts field are dismayed by the fact they will never get a foot in the door without connections and money. This isn’t sour grapes or whinning – it is ground swell of opinion that most of us are sick to death of the class prejudice that underpins and undermines any so called “fair” compeitition of this sort. I don’t think this is about a group of fools who have pinned their hopes on the narrow chance of winning or getting shortlisted for a competition like this – this is just a focus for how the working classes have felt for a long time about making it anywhere in any field where the middle classes assume a God given right. Attitudes are often part of bigger context. Come on, be honest, the titles of the short list are boring so how boring might the actual plays be???????

    by Marcia Mee - October 5, 2011 at 10:45 pm

61. Doesn’t else feel afraid that they have just sent their precious manuscripts annonymously to starving playwrights who could possibly high-jack their scripts for future inspiration?? You cannot copyright ideas and 2,078 have just been freely sent to the Bruntwood Team and beyond!! I, for one, definitely won’t fall for that again!!

    by Violet - October 5, 2011 at 11:11 pm

62. Marcia – I do know that one of the shortlisted plays is about working class themes by a working class writer.. How do you know they’re all by white middle class males?

    Violet – Mean this nicely,and with respect – but really …grow up!

    by Domnhall - October 5, 2011 at 11:37 pm

63. Hi Bruntwood Team

    Is it at all possibe to find out who read my manuscript and to enquire why they did not feel it worthy of feedback? I just don’t get how ONE person’s (possibly slanted) viewpoint can determine a writer’s theatrical success and what makes them so powerful in the first place … For what it’s worth I wouldn’t be interested in seeing one of the shortlisted plays simply because their titles don’t ‘grab me’ in the least. And that’s the truth.

    P.s. I hope my manuscript has been completely destroyed and it is not available for ‘inspirational fodder’ by any lethagic dramatists at the Bruntwood Team and beyond who are using failed manuscripts for their own devices!!

    Bruntwood Team : Please respond.

    by Violet - October 5, 2011 at 11:39 pm

64. Seriously, the ‘new writing’ theatre audience is a middle class audience. That’s the way it is.

    The plays that get put on might be by working class or racial minority writers (e.g. Roy Williams, Debbie Tucker Green) – but the audience is white middle class – and often middle-aged middle class.

    The working class theatre audience is musicals and pantos; working class audiences want instant gratification because they haven’t embraced academia as the middle classes have – they can’t take a whole play of mystifiying stuff which needs thinking about – and I speak as a working class bloke myself. Some of us get fired up by the arts, but most don’t – the middle class bunch have been fired up a bit more by a better education system.

    I come from a comprehensive education where the opportunities were there – but the parents aren’t interested in the arts, so the kids aren’t. School can push some kids that way, but if the ‘rents aren’t into it, the kids often aren’t either.

    I’ve seen middle-class teenagers sitting between their two parent with their arms around both of them, watching Caryl Churchill’s Top GIrls. That would be rare among working class kids.

    ‘New writing’, ‘serious’ plays – these are for those who have embraced education and the world of ideas etc. – which tends to be a middle class or upper middle class audience.

    I am from working class background but I love theatre – most of my friends from back home don’t give a shit, or if they do go, it’s ‘We Will Rock You’ – and there’s nothing wrong with that at all.
    )
    This is just for those who are moaning about a middle class stranglehold on theatre – well, the audience is middle class – they make it all happen by paying for the tickets! (And they often, very often, are interested in working class stories – see the whole of the 90s ‘In Yer Face’ movement, for example.

    There

    by Fred - October 5, 2011 at 11:45 pm

65. (Soz for the incoherent rant, but have just got home, pissed)

    by Fred - October 5, 2011 at 11:47 pm

66. What I was saying is, if you’re not middle class (as I’m not), you’re on a hiding to nothing if you think that ‘new writing’ theatre can be turned around to become a working-class pursuit. It just isn’t.

    Stick to musicals and pantos, if you want to write for a working class audience (I’m generalising – but it’s generally true)

    by Fred - October 5, 2011 at 11:52 pm

67. Bruntwood Team

    Please see above. I’m serious. I will never enter another competition like this again and am completely disillusioned because, sadly, I now believe modern day theatre is more geared towards what appeals to affluent middle-class audiences who will keep the theatre doors open than what was once believed to be ‘art for arts sake’… I do not forgive you!!

    by Violet - October 5, 2011 at 11:59 pm

68. I’m working class, I have a university education, I love: Chekhov, Ibsen, Strindberg, O’Casey, Williams, up to, Churchill, Sarah Kane and beyond – never seen We Will Rock You they just don’t appeal to me and the last time I went to see Panto I was six. Don’t ghettoize people – working class people, sex, age or ethinic minorities, plays like all the arts should be universally appealing, More over the people who go to see musicals go for escapism, a fun night out, and why not, comedy and light-hearted entertainment are quite appealing and necessary. But too much of London’s West End relies on film and music stage adaptations. The mass media is always involved, For heaven’s sake, 2012 when the world is watching there will be more American musicals on the West End such as Singing in the Rain, Top Hat, Crazy for You, Ghost, Jersey Boys, Shrek, Wicked, Ghost, Lion King. So British!!! And yet we are the best in the world at theatre, we do brilliant theatre. I just don’t want to see a play about a kid struggling to grow up in a broken family, a grim housing estate, or on drugs, been there done that, 10 a penny move on. Television is full of that stuff. I want something dangerous and exciting, make me think, if the synopsis for the shortlist was an advert, I think I will stay at home and read a book. Bruntwood just be ‘bleeping’ amazing this year, Push the boundaries and be radical and just have the balls to do it. But I’m thinking you’re going down a well worn route.

    by Paul - October 6, 2011 at 12:41 am

69. Before reading the lists this morning I prepared myself for two possible outcomes:

    1.Get on either list
    2.Get on neither list

    If I made it onto either list I would feel, in a small way, a sense of validation for the time and effort put into the work. Also I would try to use the feedback to make positive changes to the script, perhaps follow up with other companies, announce the good news and seek a producer for the play.

    If I didn’t make either list I would be disappointed no doubt but braced myself for the possibility, telling myself not to waste time feeling down but try and understand what went wrong, consider how I might improve the script and move on.

    Subjectivity is undoubtedly a part of the judging process. However, I trusted that the breadth and experience of the panel and the commitment of the Exchange to new writing would provide an excellent opportunity to put my work before a professional panel of scrutineers!

    by MJ - October 6, 2011 at 12:51 am

70. Jesus… If this is how you react to rejection, some of you seriously need to go back to the careers adviser.

    by Jon - October 6, 2011 at 6:56 am

71. A lovely opportunity despite lack of shortlisting – totally undoable before the age of t’Internet. Any other similar competitions anywhere? Can’t write much as I’m too busy picking myself up, dusting myself off, and…etc etc

    by Phil - October 6, 2011 at 8:00 am

72. Hello

    Many thanks for all your comments about the Prize and for the lively discussion that’s been had in the wake of the publication of the list. One of our ambitions for the Prize and for this site is that it should provoke disucssion and debate about playwriting.

    The range of different comments here demonstrates that we can’t please everyone with the way we run the Prize. We genuinely don’t have an agenda or a kind of play we want to see on the shortlist. On the contrary, we work hard to make the competition as open, fair and free as possible – for us there’s nothing that demonstrates this more than anonymous entry.

    There are some strange assumptions made in some comments here about the people we work with, the quality of the work on the shortlist and the kind of people who wrote them. For us the plays are formally adventurous and contain voices and subjects not often heard about – there certainly aren’t many about the ‘middle class’ characters described here.

    We take the privacy of our reading process very seriously. We certainly don’t name readers who tackled particular plays and definitely don’t allow plays to be seen by anyone other than the reader assessing them.

    Best of luck to all writers who entered as they move on with their work, we’re excited about seeing it on stage.

    by Bruntwood Prize Admin - October 6, 2011 at 8:22 am

73. Hi guys,
    I’ve checked both lists and sadly didn’t make the grade, however, I haven’t received an email and was wondering if there was anyone else in the same position.
    Thanks

    by Oscar - October 6, 2011 at 9:02 am

    • Hi

      The email contains the same text of the announcement as here, but may also have gone into your junk mail.

      Best wishes

      by Bruntwood Prize Admin - October 6, 2011 at 9:08 am

74. loved this one –
    “I see no mention of my play, Defending the Defenceless. Perhaps I’ll concentrate on turning it into a novel. And a movie.by Phillip Khan-Panni”

    Best of luck mate, it’s harder than you think!

    by Peter - October 6, 2011 at 9:52 am

75. Marcia, you wrote:

    “This being gracious stuff is all okay but in reality, underneath it all the vast majority of ordinary people who want to have a go in any arts field are dismayed by the fact they will never get a foot in the door without connections and money. ”

    I would disagree – I know lots of writers who have broken through by sheer determination and getting themselves out there and most of them have been on the breadline. They don’t know anybody when they start out but they don’t give up. I also know writers who have written one script and pinned all their hopes on it, never move on and spend their time telling everyone how they have been cheated. I’ve written 25 scripts and sold a few and had a film made and know lots of people in the business, but I didn’t make the top 100 so my play just wasn’t good or different enough in this case. That’s all it is. How many scripts do you have to write before you know you are good? 10? 20? Just keep on going.

    by Peter - October 6, 2011 at 10:03 am

76. Just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity, and wish all those shortlisted the very best of luck. It is hard not to feel disillusioned, but it was a tough call with so many entrants. The hardest thing I think is not receiving any feedback, I guess that’s probably what most of us would like, although completely understand the reasons that make it impossible. To everyone who didn’t get on either list, don’t give up, keep writing!

    by Sarah - October 6, 2011 at 10:05 am

77. Just wanted to point out that I’m working class, I went to comprehensive school in Manchester and I made the Longlist, so it not’s all white middle-class plays.
    And God knows how you can make assumptions about plays based solely on their title.
    Get over it.
    I think 30 pages – about 30 minutes of stage action – is more than enough to make an initial assessment. There has to be some guidelines – most scripts get a lot less of a look in when sent to theatres.

    by Mark - October 6, 2011 at 10:08 am

78. Violet – you are disillusioned because, without reading any of the other plays you actually must believe yours was better.
    This business is tough for everyone, and if I may quote Kelly Rowland on the X-factor the other week when talking to a contestant who could not sing but was convinced he was the next huge thing – “This business is full of people who will have opinions. If you can’t stand the heat, baby, you better get out of the kitchen.”

    by Peter - October 6, 2011 at 10:09 am

79. John at 58 – that is exactly the right attitude.

    Have to get off here now – have some writing to get on with!

    by Peter - October 6, 2011 at 10:10 am

80. I cautiously agree with Brian’s post 54 about the long list. Fair enough not to make the top ten but impossible not to go ‘Eek’ for failing to make the long list, especially as I and a friend, who didn’t make the grade either, have been lucky enough to see a 60-plus audience respond enthusiastically to our plays in rehearsed readings by professional actors. My friend’s play is a tight, political two-hander that received plaudits galore, mine a comedy that got laughs in all the right places. So what, damn it, turned the Bruntwood reader off in those first 40 pages? We’ll never know and we’ll move swiftly on, drawing comfort from the fact that an appreciative audience counts for more than one over-worked reader. Meanwhile, I strongly recommend people join a group – or start their own – that organises readings by actors followed by feedback. It is the best way to see where weaknesses lie, what works and what doesn’t – though sadly no guarantee that you’ll end up on the Bruntwood short or long list!

    by Kate - October 6, 2011 at 10:15 am

81. First of all, congratulations to the people on the shortlist (and longlist) – I hope you’re excited as I would have been, and not disheartened by some of the sour grapes comments above.

    It’s good to be critical about things, but it seems a bit much to judge a play purely on its title and a short synopsis. I’d rather wait until I’ve read / seen them and then make my mind up.

    Some people on here seem to think that they’re entitled to success – it’s a hard slog and I think we’re bloody lucky when theatres do create opportunities like this one, or offer to read all submissions. Perhaps I’m naive, but I do believe that if you’re good, polite, hardworking and persistent, then your work will be acknowledged at some point.

    As for the middle class thing – it seems to me that the shortlist leans more towards working class characters, and there seems to be a fair bit of ethnic diversity in there too. And surely theatre should be able to represent all sorts of people, from all sorts of backgrounds, INCLUDING middle class ones. I’m white and middle class – I can’t help it, I was born that way. But I still have good stories to tell, and hope that sometime soon a theatre company will help me to tell them.

    by Jessica - October 6, 2011 at 10:25 am

82. Jessica @ 81. I think the important word here is GOOD.
    If it’s a good story with GOOD writing it will get on. Trust the work.

    This competition aside, theatres have their own agendas and so it’s up to you to find one that fits your play.

    I have been to many writing groups and I hear this all the time:

    Middle class writers saying all the plays on are ethnic
    And ethnic writers saying they can’t find a theatre that wants their play.

    It’s an easy way out. Just to sit there and expect help. Sometimes you just won’t get it. It doesn’t mean your play is rubbish but that’s the way life is.

    If you think your story deserves to be heard then you put it on. You find that will and strength to put it on and if you believe in your work it will get on. It may be hard and scary but most people who get on in this world take control of their destinies a lot more than others.

    Then once the world sees how good your play is, the theatres will come running. That’s how it works for some writers who go on to greatness, for others, they’re lucky and win a competition.

    by Sue - October 6, 2011 at 11:00 am

83. @Sue – I realise my last paragraph could be misinterpreted!

    I wasn’t having a whinge but, rather, was trying to respond to those on here who’ve complained that the shortlist is very white middle-class male, when that’s not how it seems to me. I want to see a diverse range of plays at our theatres, from as diverse a range of voices as possible.

    I agree that the best way forward is to try to create your own opportunities. I’m writing and producing a one-woman show this Christmas for precisely that reason!

    by Jessica - October 6, 2011 at 11:17 am

84. sounds great, Jessica. Good luck.

    by Sue - October 6, 2011 at 11:29 am

85. Jesus give it a break and keep wriitng well done for the competition and to the readers and judges for working your way through so many plays.. how agonising!

    how encouraging to know there ere are so many playwrights out there ..working at this ancient craft and all with something to say.

    ..how can any one comment on a playthat made it to the lists, because of the title! You have no idea of the quality…you have not read it or seen it…

    Thank God the judges did not judge the quality of a play by it’s title!!!

    well done everyone that is on the lsit and to those like myself that did not, keep writing and keep your voice strong in your work and quit the sour grapes.

    by Katrina - October 6, 2011 at 2:04 pm

86. Just to say I now very much regret my first message (80), sent in the heat of the moment. Although it’s truthful, I don’t like its ‘poor little me’, boastful tone or the fact poor Bruntwood bore the brunt (as it were). Sorry, folks, humble pie time. I’d like to make amends by thanking Bruntwood for giving us writers such a great – and rare – opportunity and to say to everyone else, let’s have low expectations when entering competitions, let’s keep our peckers up and most of all let’s keep on writing.
    Maybe my two posts reflect how most of us feel: disappointment but also genuine gratitude to Bruntwood for taking on this mammoth and possibly unenviable task.

    by Kate - October 6, 2011 at 2:22 pm

87. I note there a few people who in responding to my comments make sweeping, saying I am making sweeping judgement sweeping judgements also. I have written nearly 50 plays, have won prizes and have had many published. I do try and try again – many of us do but I do think we can be forgiven for saying that we know the game. There is so much rubbish staged that shouldn’t be and I am shocked, even being in the business (at least partially) by the narrow judgement of some. That is why ultimately some of us are ready to criticise….because we have to flog ourselves to get one step forward yet others just have the door opened wide when what they produce is not so good. The reality check it that it is not a level playing field and if a clear criteria were published then the judges would be forced to specify what is good, works in theatre and reaches an audience rather than just what tickles the judges’ fancy. If there were a criteria then there would not be so many writers wanting feed back so badly as they would have something to measure themselves against. Believe me, vagueness always works in someone’s favour and so often it is the province of one making a judgement or decision.

    by Marcia Mee - October 6, 2011 at 2:26 pm

88. ok Marcia you have a point and I do know what you are saying it is a wider political issue and it is a problem with competitions we should not have to have them it should not be the way the arts and playwirghts are supported..there should be far more opportunities..genuine ones for writers and less of a stranglehold by a white ego centric theatre land..that only pays lip service to the alternative……Katrina

    by Katrina - October 6, 2011 at 2:32 pm

89. and while you have got me going..it is ultimately a bigger problem not about writers but audience and how audiences have access ..i.e affordability and access in location, interest..plays that speak to them, plays that work with them and that is the real tragedy that through systematic cuts, theatre has once again really become a luxury for the well off and not about communities and words that give voice to wider audiences and a possibility for change… this is a problem for writers …where is our audience how can we work with them but it is a bigger problem for society ….. bring back companies like 7.84….

    by Katrina - October 6, 2011 at 2:39 pm

90. oops sorry just read the synopsis for the shortlisted plays see you were not goign jsut on a title..actually I agree most of them sound vacuos and flimsy sorry but they do you may all have a point!!!maybe not sour grapes at all..umm what is the criteria who are the first readers before things get to the judges..that I would like to know because as with book publishing here I think, lies one of the problems!

    by Katrina - October 6, 2011 at 2:45 pm

91. I primed myself not to be on either list – then got very miserable yesterday. Emotion and logic are not always in synch, and sometimes you just feel like you’re on the scrap heap.

    But how illogical to assume that your play is crap, inadequate, when it is one of 2088 that got no feedback or validation.

    What you are saying (with this mindset) is that 2088 people cannot write a decent play, (including mine!) – and that 100 shining stars are lined up for applause and success.

    This is black and white, and cannot be the case, as the number of entries was entirely arbitrary, and 100 was always the limit of those who would get feedback, regardless of the quality of all the rest.

    If you got ‘nowhere’ then be proud. You entered, and well done!

    by Lana Turner - October 6, 2011 at 3:00 pm

92. This is art….if you want clear “criteria” and a written checklist to judge by, you’d be better off making baked beans!
    To be fair, most plays sound awful when reduced to a bare synopsis. Point 82 makes a great deal of sense – any excuse to avoid accepting that your play isn’t perhaps as good as it could and should be…and the creative energy wasted whinging about it may make you feel better, but it doesn’t do the slightest bit of good…

    by Domnhall - October 6, 2011 at 3:08 pm

93. For heaven’s sake! Anyone who thinks they can draw any conclusions at all purely from the information so far published by the prize organisers (other than the information itself) needs a lesson in logic and rational thought.
    For some it seems to be sour grapes, for others it’s prejudice. For others, well, I’m not sure what it is. So well done to those who have managed to be gracious and reasonable.
    Where is there any indication of class? How can you decide the quality of a play from its title or a 3 or 4 line synopsis? If the synopsis sounds boring, have you thought of the possibilty that it’s a crap synopsis of a cracking good play?
    And Marcia – you may know the business; your view of it may be correct (I don’t know) but you can’t assume that what you say you have experienced elsewhere (assuming that wasn’t all just assumption too) is therefore definitely happening here. You need knowledge not assumption and that you appear not to have in this case. Anyway – if that’s your experience and your assumption, why did you bother to enter in the first place if you knew what was going to happen? Was it just to give you the chance to have a shout here?
    The whingers are possibly spoiling the whole thing for those who have made the lists. You’re certainly spoiling it for me, who have anjoyed the whole experience – even missing out – up to reading some of the tripe from the irrational.

    by John - October 6, 2011 at 3:16 pm

94. oh – and someone talked about access and audiences – well, yes, true – but where are you going to find 2188 audiences? Some have to miss out. Most have to miss out. Many of those will be excellent. It’s life. A real bugger, ain’t it? No-one’s fault.

    by John - October 6, 2011 at 3:19 pm

95. audiences are inportant it is why we write isnt it not to win competitions…the point I think people are missing is that writers should not have to enter them for a chance of financial support and mentoring there should be more new writers schemes for writers and more community theatres it is this that is a problem for artists theatres and ultimately audiences think the person was just trying to open up the discussion…

    by caroline - October 6, 2011 at 3:41 pm

96. So much bitchin and moaning going on. Some people are so deluded when it comes to self criticism.

    This comp was about as far is it could have been. It’s pointless (and a little bit sad) contesting the terms now, just because you didn’t win. If you didn’t like the way it was run you shouldn’t have entered. The end.

    The amount of people bemoaning the lack of minority representation on here is staggering. Perhaps, at the end of the day, the Bruntwood peeps tried to pick 108 of their preferred plays. Just because you’re black, a woman or working class (or all three), doesn’t mean that your play was judged differently or that larger issues concerning representation come into play. Have a little faith and trust that the good people who took time to read your play are not as discriminatory as you have been by suggesting that they have allowed external factors affect their judgement.

    There are issues regarding minority representation that need to be tackled. There aren’t enough women playwrights. There isn’t proportionate representation of ethnic minorities on the stage. But is the forum board of an anonymous playwriting comp, where such factors have not been taken into consideration really the place to air your concerns?!

    Maybe your play just didn’t cut the mustard. Maybe the wrong reader read it and thats why it didn’t make the next stage. Maybe you are a misunderstood genius (like me). But to start banging on about the integrity of the competition just because you didn’t get the result you want is incredibly disrespectful to the organisers, the finalists, the long listers and the other 2000 writers who come to this sort of thing with a positive mentality and have had to bow out gracefully because this time they didn’t get the nod.

    As for me; I’m very disappointed and a little bit disillusioned, but I’ll survive. It’s not the first no, and it’s not going to be the last. I like my play and I’ll find somewhere for it to live.

    I’d like to wish the finalists all the best with the rest of the competition and I’d like to thank the organisers for giving us all a chance to compete for what is an incredible prize. My only concern is there isn’t enough of these type of competitions; if only there were more organisations generous enough to support the theatre in the way that Bruntwood is.

    by mr creosote - October 6, 2011 at 4:50 pm

97. Marcia’s right, of course. The in-yer-face nepotism of some new writing theatres and companies is quite remarkable. Check the comments on this Guardian blog post:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2011/oct/04/tony-kushner-writing-plays

    The Bruntwood should be congratulated, though, for its policy of anonymous reading that avoids this kind of problem. More theatres should do the same!

    by francis - October 6, 2011 at 9:05 pm

98. I’d like to thank Barbara, Violet et al – I’ve just spent a very entertaining 10 minutes reading your comments.

    I’d also like to thank the Bruntwood – well done on administering such a beast of a competition. I look forward to the next one. The excitement and pull of the competition motivated me to (eventually) finish a play I’d been writing for over 2 yrs. For the satisfaction contained therein, I thank you.

    As Woody Allen said – Eighty percent of success is showing up.

    He also said – I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work, I want to achieve it through not dying.

    :0)

    by Uriah Heep - October 7, 2011 at 6:34 am

99. I didn’t get on either list and yes I am disappointed but I also know I now have a full length play which I can send out to other theatres for feedback. As for the competition itself, it’s really hard working on something only for it not to get anywhere but that’s the nature of competitions. Some people win, others don’t. That’s the chance you take in entering. Ages ago I asked an established writer how he coped with rejection and he told me that it made him think ‘that it hadn’t landed on the right desk yet’. There are several theatres out there who welcome scripts from new writers as well as more established ones. You might not always get the feedback you either want or like though. Once I sent the same play to two different theatres, one really liked it and the other one absolutely hated it. Same play, different opinions. There are also other organisations who work with new writing such as North West Playwrights where, for a small fee, you get two readers reports on your play. If entering the competition meant you wrote your first play ever, congratulations, that’s a massive achievement. If, like me, you’ve been writing for a while, hoping that one day someone will like your work enough to want to stage it, then please don’t give up. Sometimes it’s not the most talented who ‘make it’ it’s the ones who never give up. I’ve met a lot of people who’ve written a play, or a book or a film and because they didn’t get positive feedback gave up writing. Everything you write helps you when you come to write your next piece. It’s all learning. And, when you don’t get the reaction to your work then, like me, try not to eat/sulk/cry/moan for too long, otherwise it’s time wasted when you could be writing.

    by Aretha - October 7, 2011 at 8:34 am

100. Well, I made the Longlist, but I didn’t last time, and remember feeling disappointed and disheartened. I guess at least it proves perserverance, determination and bloody-mindedness – and presumably a better play! – are steps in the right direction! Or something. I’m looking forward to the feedback.

     Anyway, my question to the Bruntwood team – who wrote the synopses of the shortlisted plays? The writers or the readers who chose them? Ta lots. :)

     by Ian - October 7, 2011 at 9:33 am

101. Hello, Bruntwood.
     Would it be worth us Knocking on the doors of other companies with our unlisted plays?
     Should we assume that maybe, just maybe, our plays were still good and strong, even worthy despite the result?
     Your Knocking Friend,
     E.L. Kent

     by E.L.K - October 7, 2011 at 12:20 pm

102. Hello,

     I have read these comments with interest and thought I’d give my perspective on it.

     First of all, a bit of background, because what I’m about to say may not be to everyone’s liking.

     Like many people who have commented, I’m a writer who has had a bit of chequered career – a few plays professionally produced, many rejected, a couple published, but nothing that would ever constitute a hit. I stopped writing completely about 7 years ago – but the reason was not because I’d become disillusioned by companies, but that I had come to realise that I wasn’t particularly good and that I was largely kidding myself and I went got a real job instead. I have subsequently begun to write again and did consider entering this competition but didn’t have a workable draft ready by the deadline, so I didn’t submit.

     Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is this: the idea that there are thousands of talented writers out there is a myth. There aren’t. And even good writers can’t necessarily write good plays. The idea that judges of these kinds of competitions are somehow spoilt for choice or make preferential decisions based on class, ethnicity, subject matter, etc, again, is a myth – they aren’t spoilt for choice at all. They are desperately seeking to find a few good plays amongst mostly dross. This is the sad reality. Obviously the PR people at Bruntwood aren’t going to say that, because they don’t want to hurt people’s feelings, but it’s true. Quality writers are generally under commission. They don’t have the time or the resources to be tossing off scripts on spec.

     As well as writing, I worked as a script reader for about 10 years. I would say I read about 100 plays a year, if not more. I would say amongst the 1000 or so plays I read over that period, I read about 5 that were actually produceable.

     If you look at the 2000 odd plays that were submitted to this competition, I would speculate that:

     1) At least 300 of them were by people who are actually insane in one way or the other. For example, I used to see people submitting “full length” plays that were less than 10 pages long, people who would submit short stories, diaries, all kinds of things that actually weren’t even plays in the first place.

     2) Then there would be another 500 people who would just be chancing their arm, tossing off a play in a few days for the laugh. These plays generally fall into the “I’ll write a play about how difficult it is to write a play” category. Again, any reader would pass on them in five minutes.

     Then there would be another few hundred plays (the bulk of them, I imagine) that might have had some potential, but simply weren’t at an adequate stage of development – poor characterisation, no second act, no ending, NOT ACTUALLY ABOUT anything, etc.

     When you weed it all down, you’re probably left with maybe 20 or 30 scripts that would be remotely worth considering.

     How can I conclude that, you are surely saying? Well, look at this way: out of the 10 shortlisted scripts, there is one about a former Soviet Republic, the script dates back to 2009. (You can easily find the first 30 pages of the play online if you bother). Now, while I’m sure it’s a cracking script, why on earth would the Royal Exchange even consider staging something like that? There’s also a play set in Michigan. Neither are going to necessarily chime with contemporary British audiences. THREE of the other plays (One Look, Shadow Play, Three Birds) appear to have children as protagonists. Plays with children in lead roles are generally considered unstageable because directors have an almost an impossible choice to make – cast a kid (never a good idea), or cast an adult in the role of a kid (rarely works).

     So, there’s 5 undoubtedly good plays, but they are hardly ideal for productions. So why have they been picked? Because they are obviously the best the judges could find. They would have hardly picked them if they could have chosen cracking State of the Nation scripts instead.

     One final thought: I actually won one of these kinds of competitions many years ago (not the Bruntwood admittedly). I never even entered the competition in the first place. I had submitted a script independently to a theatre, unaware that the competition was happening. I then got a phone call to tell me that they liked it and had put it in for consideration. Two days after that, I got two different phone calls from two entirely different theatres (one from the Royal Exchange actually) asking me if they could read a certain play that I hadn’t even submitted to them. The reason? Because theatres are DESPERATE for good scripts.

     But, unfortunately, for writers, writing them is the hard part.

     by Cohen - October 7, 2011 at 12:29 pm

103. Fellow writers, picture this. My friend presents me with 5 of my all time favourite films. Now, he KNOWS that these 5 are my all time faves. He then says I must shorten the list to a Top 3, and lose the other 2 forever and ever. Then he tells me I must lose 2 more and have just 1.
     You know what would happen? I would be in agony over this choice. But I’d have to decide SOMETHING, or lose them all. An outside observer might say, ‘Look, he obviously thinks The Usual Suspects is better than The Godfather 2, because he got rid of Godfather 2 and kept The Usual Suspects.’
     I would say, ‘Not so. The only reason one has gone and the other remains is because I HAD to make a choice.’
     Ask me to repeat this exersize next week and guess what? We might get a different result.
     Now, there’s no guarantee that this happened with our plays in this comp, but… it MIGHT have. Maybe it didn’t, maybe it did. It’s possible. It’s something to think about.
     Also, it’s all subjective. As someone else said, if the right reader was in the right mood, on the right day, and had her coffee as usual that morning, instead of missing it, things might be different. Truth is, we don’t know. And that is hard, to just not know.
     But hey.
     We’re all feeling it. Some of us did have high hopes for our plays. But don’t worry and don’t take it personally, or as an attack on your play.
     Good luck to all. Send it elsewhere and write something new.
     Doctor GeeZoo

     by Dr GZ - October 7, 2011 at 12:36 pm

104. Pingback: Playwrights' Competition Calendar

105. @Cohen

     Interesting points, but I think you may be being too optimistic about the judges. My experience, at least, is that the majority of the people who put themselves forward as readers of plays aren’t in fact competent.

     There’s a substantial difference between a script that reads well, and a script that plays well. Almost all great scripts, in the end, are made great by the way they structure choices, actions and consequences into a narrative, not by the way they present an original perspective or world, or comment on a question. The former is much harder to do, and to judge well, than the latter.

     You’re right that there are very few really good scripts around. It’s also, true, though, that, despite the theatres’ hunger for good work, they can remain unproduced, especially if they aren’t commissions, so no-one has any investment in reading them carefully. Bad commissions, on the other hand, seem to make it on stage on a regular basis…

     by francis - October 7, 2011 at 3:10 pm

106. Cohen, what a great post.

     It reminds me of something Seamus Heaney said – “Keep your eye on the page.” Head down, concentrate on the work and as Beckett said “Fail better.”

     by Ada - October 7, 2011 at 5:36 pm

107. :( I didn’t make it to the long or shortlist but I am only sixteen. Was looking forward to it.

     by Sophie Harding - October 7, 2011 at 9:20 pm

108. Can’t believe some of the negative comments on here! Violet in particular – put your dummy back in luvvie.

     Thank you Bruntwood for giving me the motivation to finish my first play. It didn’t make either list but I still believe in it and will keep at it.

     Jaye

     by Jaye Griffiths - October 8, 2011 at 10:05 am

109. It was my first play, too, and I am proud of it. The experience of writing it, redrafting it – everything, the whole thing – is nothing but good and positive. How can it not be?
     And I’ll tell you this – there is nothing in the world as motivational as a freakin deadline approaching! Really. Having a real deadline with real consequences was something I liked. It produced real results.
     I cannot remember who it was, exactly, but I once heard a writer say, ‘Most people fail not because of a lack of talent, but because of a lack of a deadline.’
     See ya’ll on the other side!

     by Dr GZ - October 8, 2011 at 10:56 am

110. Casting children in lead roles seemed to work with Billy Elliot and Oliver!

     Maybe Bruntwood could create a link for all 2,188 plays, or maybe we could post them up ourselves, if Bruntwood could create an associated host site. There’s so much interest and so much drama in all these posts and the attached plays- come on, let’s read them all!

     If possible.

     by Ann - October 8, 2011 at 4:20 pm

111. @Cohen,

     Also – I think you’re right that that theatres are desperate for great plays. I don’t think they look for them in the unsolicited script pile, though – or at least, not carefully. They overcommission and hope that one of these commissions will come out good. Commissioned plays have an enormous de facto advantage when they’re being assessed for production, in that someone has already invested in them…. so they’ll at least be read carefully… and maybe with more generous eyes…

     Another good reason to have competitions like the Bruntwood, where nothing is commissioned in advance.

     by francis - October 8, 2011 at 4:28 pm

112. Just to say well done to everyone who made the shorlist and longlist!

     As commentators have said, those who didn’t make the list (including myself) have to look onwards and upwards!!

     @ Cohen 102, much of what you say is quite possibly true but I think you are being a little ungenerous. Obviously my script had some holes but who is to say that there weren’t hundreds of scripts entered into this competition that the judging panel saw a great deal of potential in? I feel there are some sweeping statements being made here and just because you (as ONE subjective reader) were dissatisfied with the quality of writing you were seeing seven or more years ago, that doesn’t mean that the thousands of unlisted writers in this competition have all produced poor work. There’s really no need to kick all the disappointed writers while they’re down, so to speak.

     Well done to everyone who entered I say, and best of luck with developing your work and getting it produced elsewhere.

     by Carol - October 8, 2011 at 5:12 pm

113. One person out of all these comments gets my name right, and you’re sat there trying to tell me it isn’t all seen through the white man’s eyes. You’re a bunch of frigging jokers, the whole is corrupt and it isn’t ever change.

     by Barabra - October 10, 2011 at 1:08 pm

114. *system

     by Barabra - October 10, 2011 at 1:12 pm

115. Judging by the quality of writing in your posts Barabra, I’m hardly surprised you haven’t got any further. Try proof-reading?

     by J Hawkins - October 10, 2011 at 2:11 pm

116. I would like to hear from the scriptwriter of the ‘other Cuckoo’ …it that is appropriate and possible. Jean

     by Jean - October 10, 2011 at 4:39 pm

117. Barabra.

     I absolutely knew you were putting all of this down to race. If this competition is anonymous and you don’t know what colour the readers are, then you are being racist without any grounds or basis. You are just gutted that your play didn’t get through and you probably spend your life furious about everything and anything.

     How come your disappointment at not being shortlisted is so much more acute than anyone else’s? Lots of people were disappointed, including me. But you have a finished play there, so google other competitions and look on the BBC writers room website and submit it again, then write something new and get over yourself.

     ps I love how you decided to turn on all of the other writers as well as the judges. You must be an absolute hoot at parties.

     by Trixy - October 10, 2011 at 5:55 pm

118. Dear Bruntwood Prize,

     I am so sorry you have to put up with the casual abuse you seem to receive on this feedback forum. I am thankful that an arts prize such as yours exists AT ALL. Though I’m disappointed that my submission didn’t get to the longlist, I am swallowing my pride and following those that did, with interest and keenness to learn what may be learned. If it hadn’t already been written, the play about the ‘empowerment of the anonymous keyboard’ is written large in the paragraphs above…..

     All power to everyone’s pen and imaginations!

     William

     by Will Thingypseudo - October 10, 2011 at 11:04 pm

119. If some of you (‘the bitter contingency’) put as much effort into writing and re-writing your play as you do masquerading tantrums as genuine concern that you’ve somehow been failed by a simple and fair competition you have nothing to worry about.

     Because if you do believe your play is MINDBLOWING, good for you, you should believe in yourself, now go and find someone else who agrees…cos they will be out there somewhere…you’re wasting your time on here picking petty squabbles.

     by Mayor of Sunderland - October 11, 2011 at 10:05 am

120. Barabra, for what it’s worth, I’m not a white man and I still thought your name was “Barbara”. It wasn’t until your complaint that I noticed it was different.

     I think it’s more of a case of people seeing it through “English speakers” eyes since your name is so similar to a very common English-language name. I don’t think anyone meant any harm.

     by NonWhiteGuy - October 11, 2011 at 12:17 pm

121. I’ve been writing plays for over 20 years, and if I’ve learned anything from the experience, it’s that you need a very thick skin to even attempt this sort of thing. The skin of a rhino, probably.

     I’ve had some minor success but out of proportion to all the knock-backs I’ve received. Yes, it’s heartbreaking to put your heart and soul into writing a script and then have it rejected. But that’s the nature of the business. Very few people make a living as a professional playwright; at best, it’s a way to supplement your day job. Sad but true.

     Almost ten years ago, I wrote a play called ‘Mondaying’ which the Royal Exchange shortlisted; to get that far is an achievement in itself. It was never produced but I still believed in the story and characters and kept working on it. The play underwent a title change – to ‘Temp/Casual’ – and was a success at the 24-7 Festival a few years ago. I set up my own company and staged a new, longer version of the play at Contact this year, which was a virtual sell-out. Essentially, the play took ten years to reach the stage.

     The point I’m trying to make is that, if you wait for a professional theatre to put on one of your plays, you might wait a very long time. In fact, years will go by without you even noticing. In these cash-strapped times, theatres need to sell tickets and new plays are always a risk, which is why so few of them get a green light. But the rejection letters you receive as a writer are only one person’s opinion. That person might be wrong. If you genuinely believe in yourself, then mount your own production of your play; there are plenty of fringe venues in Manchester, and lots of actors desperate to work, even if the job is unpaid. It’s hard work to do all this but the buzz of seeing your world come to life is worth the effort.

     The only way to avoid becoming bitter – and I have experienced this myself – is to do something positive. Believe in yourself. You will get there.

     Keep writing.

     by Steve Timms - October 13, 2011 at 2:21 pm

122. I guess there’s one way of finding out if there is a bias- see who has been shortlisted and see who wins. Let’s see if there are any surprises.

     I think before last year’s competition there was concern that there were no female writers who were shortlisted or winners, then we had ‘loads’.

     I’m not sure if in the history of the competition a black writer has won- maybe we’re just not whiting- sorry I mean writing the right plays?

     by Ann - October 15, 2011 at 11:42 am

123. Congratulations to all of you who made the short and long list and to the Royal Exchange/Bruntwood for providing this opportunity during such dark economic times. I’m looking forward to seeing the winning productions.

     I too have not made the short or longlists but then suprisingly made a longlist for Theatre Central in London. Re point 122 by Steve Timms; I have set up my own Theatre Company with absolutely no funds but have had the support of some wonderful actors and directors who were willing to give me a chance and there are a number of venues who do not charge. We made a modest profit on our first production and have kept going. I am also grateful to North West Playwrights which is an incredible organisation for supporting and mentoring new writers. In terms of opportunities, 24:7 and NotPartOf festivals are a fantastic way of getting known within the North West. Future Artists have recently taken over the Black Lion in Salford where artists are encouraged to put on events . By the way Steve, I saw Temp/Casual at 24:7 and well done – it was a great production and wish you all the best with your next projects.

     by Kinder Scout - October 21, 2011 at 12:37 pm

124. It seems to me that the Bruntwood Prize is a great opportunity for writers, for all writers, but including and probably especially for the fledging and ‘new’ writer.

     A competition is a competition is a competition. There can only ever be one, or a limited number of winners.

     The most recent Bruntwood competition had 2188 entries! Only 10 of these were ever going to make the shortlist and only 100 the long-list. It was always likely that there were going to be more entries not on either list than those making it.

     Disappointment, yes, but for some people to be so shocked and outraged not to be short/long-listed seems to me absolutely unbelievable. There’s clearly an assumption that their work without question was always going to be shortlisted and regarded as ‘the best’ by whoever should happen to read them.

     Creative writing is an art form, and yes there is probably something which most could clearly agree is good or clearly agree is bad writing- but ‘judging’ art by its very nature will also always entail an element of subjectivity, otherwise we’d all like and appreciate the same the books, the same plays, films, art etc. wouldn’t we?

     To assume your play was judged ‘not good’ or is not good because it wasn’t shortlisted/long-listed on this occasion, in this competition and as 1 play out of 2188, seems just silly, or arrogant or naive. And who is to say that on another day your work might not have made the list? Sometimes that how competitions work, sometimes something great can be missed. Sometimes.

     To claim that the Bruntwood judges were ‘unfair’ in their procedures even ‘dishonest and ‘worse’, in light of the outcome, without evidence any of this and when the rules of the competition were clear for all to see prior to submission, seems completely disingenuous and indeed absolutely unfair.

     Finally, the negative comments of some of these posts show disappointing contempt of and disregard for those fellow writers who happily did gain a place on one or other of the lists. Well done, I say! Amazing achievement. Enjoy.

     I didn’t enter the competition. Didn’t meet the deadline, but am determined to enter it in the future. Such competitions can be a real incentive to fledging or beginning writers, can help them simply get on with it. Winning doesn’t have to be the thing, as much as one might want fame, fortune, recognition and/or the privileged chance to make a living from writing. The latter is a rarity and will remain so for the majority of writers.

     I am quite new to writing, though I’m not a young person. ( And just to follow up the theme of some of these posts- neither am I white, male or middle-class, -though being university educated and in a professional occupation some might regard me as the latter.)

     Bruntwood, in conjunction with the Royal Exchange, please keep up the good work. I may or may not ever enter your competition but I’m pleased that you’re there for all those who do respond to the opportunity you provide.

     Well done to all those who submitted. I’m impressed! Congratulations to those who did particularly well.

     Best Wishes

     Yvonne-just stating the obvious

     by Yvonne - October 23, 2011 at 12:58 pm

125. PS

     Individual feedback for 2188 scripts-totally unrealistic. Publicly funded doesn’t mean unllmited funds or infinite ‘rights’.
     (I work in the public sector.)

     Yvonne-stating the obvious.

     by Yvonne - October 23, 2011 at 1:09 pm

126. Congratulations to the judges. I have entered competitions before – BBC, NYT, + + This is the first time that a proper feedback listing a shortlist and a long list and answering queries has appeared in response to my entry. Thanks. The past experience has been that only after the event has it been possible – with considerable research – to find out even the name of the actual winner with nil reply to the loosers. So your work is appreciated. I am not on the lists and would have been v. surprised if I was. That’s OK. Toby

     by Toby Hotmail - October 24, 2011 at 11:50 am

127. Yvonne-just stating the obvious,
     Your comment 124 – Well said and hear, hear!!

     by MLC - November 7, 2011 at 1:15 pm

128. Wo Who- A black woman has won the Bruntwoods- Guess its all gone quiet over there!!!!

     by Ann Ablewoman - November 15, 2011 at 5:07 pm

129. Yes…..noticed that too! They’ll say it’s a double-conspiracy!

     by Peter - November 16, 2011 at 7:53 pm