Equity Foundation Diversity Showcase

 

 

Equity Foundation Diversity Showcase

Calling all writers directors and performers! 

Your voice. Your stories.

Join us for Australia’s first Diversity Showcase and help shape Australia’s future on screen.

This July the Australian Writers’ Guild and Scripted Ink are partnering with the Equity Foundation and the Equity Diversity Committee with support from Screen Australia and our colleagues at ADG to run Australia’s first Diversity Showcase.

Built to develop and nurture career paths for writers directors and performers from diverse backgrounds the six-day program will consist of morning workshops discussions and professional development opportunities culminating in a performance showcasing the developed work to an audience of network executives managers and other industry professionals.

A maximum of five writers will be selected to participate in the program with applicants assessed by an industry panel of diverse full members of the Australian Writers’ Guild. Following the program the successful writers will be given the opportunity to be mentored by a leading Australian screenwriter for 12 months and will be included on Australian Writers’ Guild’s prestigious Pathways program. They will also be given a one-year membership of the Australian Writers’ Guild.

PLEASE NOTE: Entry is free and you will not be charged or asked for credit card details when you click 'Enter competition' above. Please ignore the note regarding payment.  

 

WRITERS APPLY HERE

DIRECTORS APPLY HERE

PERFORMERS APPLY HERE

 

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to apply writers must:

• Be an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident and
• Be at least 18 years old and
• Must not have more than 50 minutes of writing credits for produced work and
• Must be available to attend the Diversity Workshop and Showcase in Sydney in late July 2018 and
• Be a member of an underrepresented group according to Screen Australia’s 2016 report “Seeing Ourselves: Reflections on diversity in Australian TV drama.’ This includes people who are culturally and linguistically diverse LQBTQI gender non-binary First Nations Deaf and/or with a disability.

Writers are not required to be members of Australian Writers’ Guild to enter.This is a national program and we welcome applications Australia-wide.Participants will be assisted with flights accommodation and per diems for the duration of the workshop and showcase. 

Entry Requirements

Entrants are asked to provide:

1. 1 x five-minute (4-6 pages) drama or comedy script. The script may be a standalone piece or a scene from a larger script and should have minimal SFX as the entered script will be workshopped for the Showcase and
2. A written expression of interest outlining:
   1. Your reasons for applying to the showcase and what you hope to get out of the workshop and showcase
   2. Your achievements so far as a screenwriter and
3. A one-page CV and
4. If your submitted script is part of a larger piece of work you have the option of submitting a one-page synopsis outlining the complete work.

 Entry Guidelines

1. Entries close midnight 18 May 2018.
2. Entrants must own all the rights to the script being entered.
3. Two entries per writer are permitted.
4. To ensure a fair judging process the writer’s name should not appear on any part of the synopsis/script or as a header or footer within the script. Entries that include the writer’s name will not be eligible to enter.

Applications are to be submitted on the submission page on the AWG website. 

Background 

Screen Australia’s most significant study of diversity on Australian screens since television began – Seeing Ourselves: Reflections on diversity in Australian TV drama–  surveyed the 1196 “main” characters portrayed in 199 Australian dramas broadcast on Australian television between 2011 and 2015.The report confirms that while Australians from non-European backgrounds make up 17% of the wider population only 7% of TV drama roles can be broadly categorized as such.Similarly people with disabilities make up 18% of the population but only 4% of characters. There is also an under-representation of LGBTQI characters (5%) when compared to the Australian population (11%) (Screen Australia 2016).https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/fact-finders/reports-and-key-issues/reports-and-discussion-papers/seeing-ourselves