Perfect Pitch and Theatre Royal Stratford East have launched the 2015/16 Perfect Pitch Award for Musical Theatre Writing.

Both companies, known for developing new musical theatre, are collaborating on the project, which will see a new, British writing team awarded with £12,000 and the opportunity to collaborate on a new musical.

The £12,000 award will be given to a British writing team who will be tasked with writing a full draft of an original musical in a 12-month period, supported and mentored throughout by Perfect Pitch and Theatre Royal Stratford East. After the 12 months the show will be presented in a professional staged reading and / or production.

The award is open to all writers – playwrights, screenwriters, composers and songwriters – and no previous experience of writing a musical is necessary.

Writers can apply as book writers, lyricists and/or composers. They will be asked to apply as individuals and finalist candidates will be paired up with a collaborator to begin working on a 10-15 minute ‘pitch’ of a new musical. The pitches will be presented to a panel of experienced judges from the musical theatre world at the Finalist Pitching Day attended by an invited industry audience, where the winners will be chosen. Perfect Pitch and Theatre Royal Stratford East will provide cast, MD, director, rehearsal space and mentorship for the pitches.

Eligibility: To be eligible each writer must be:
· Over the age of 18
· A permanent British resident.
· Able to demonstrate commitment to a writing career.
· Able to provide 2-3 different extracts of their work in accordance with the criteria stated on the application form.
· Available for both the Shortlist Event (29th September, London) and the Finalist Pitching Day (5th February 2016, London).
· Have flexible availability for workshops / readings / meetings for the 12 month commissioned writing period.

(NB: Previous writing does not have to have been performed or published professionally).

Deadlines: It is free to enter the award if your application reaches us by July 10th. There is a late application fee of £25 for those that arrive after this date. The final deadline for all applications is July 20th.

For further details and how to apply visit the Perfect Pitch website:
http://www.perfectpitchmusicals.com/DRAFTawardinfo.html