NSW Philip Parsons Fellowship for Emerging Playwrights

"Philip Parsons Award" redirects here. For the academic prize for Performance as Research, see Philip Parsons Prize.

The NSW Philip Parsons Fellowship for Emerging Playwrights, formerly the Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award, is an Australian annual award for early-career playwrights in New South Wales, offered by Belvoir St Theatre and Arts NSW from 1995. It was last awarded in 2018.

History

The award was established in 1995, named in honour of Philip Parsons AM (1926–1993), who was a co-founder of the performing arts publishing company Currency Press, and "an influential teacher and mentor to many of the students, scholars, actors, directors and playwrights who created the new wave of Australian theatre in the 1970s".^[1][2]

Hilary Bell won the inaugural award with her play Wolf Lullaby in 1995.^[3]

In 2010 Caleb Lewis turned down the award in protest against the lack of gender diversity in the company's 2010 season.^[4]

From 2013 the award was renamed the Philip Parsons Fellowship for Emerging Playwrights.^[5][6]

In 2019 (for 2020), the Fellowship evolved into the NSW Philip Parsons Early-Career Playwrights' Lab, whereby Belvoir would take on four new writers (or teams) along with one story developer or dramaturgical/ directorial participant. Successful applicants would work with Belvoir for a year (2020) on developing a new work.^[7][8] However, this did not appear to extend beyond 2020.^[a][9]

Description

Recipients of the original award had to be under the age of 35 years and a resident of New South Wales;^[10] but the fellowship, by 2016, was open to a playwright of any age, within the first eight years of their professional practice.^[11] This requirement continued when the fellowship became the playwrights' lab in the 2020 edition, which dropped the requirement to be a NSW resident.^[8]

The fellowship is presented as part of the Philip Parsons Memorial Lecture, given annually at the Belvoir St Theatre.^[12] The winner is selected on the basis of a completed and produced script and an outline for another work. The winner received a full commission from Belvoir to develop their outline into a full play.^[11]

Winners of the award

NSW Philip Parsons Fellowship for Emerging Playwrights

• 2018 – Kendall Feaver – Almighty Sometimes^[12]
• 2017 – Emme Hoy – Exctinction^[13]
• 2016 – Holly Austin, Adriano Cappelletta and Jo Turner – Ruby's Wish
• 2015 – Nakkiah Lui – Kill the Messenger and S. Shakthidharan – A Counting and Cracking of Heads (two fellowships were awarded)^[6]
• 2014 – Julia-Rose Lewis – Samson
• 2013 – Ian Meadows – Between Two Waves^[14]

Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award

• 2012 – Kit Brookman – Heaven
• 2011 – Zoe Coombs Marr – And That Was the Summer That Changed My Life
• 2010 – Matthew Whittet -Old Man ^[15]
• 2009 – Tahli Corin – Blush
• 2008 – Khoa Do – To 100 Years of Happiness
• 2007 – Tommy Murphy – Holding the Man^[16]
• 2006 – Patrick Brammall and John Leary – Vital Organs
• 2005 – Brendan Cowell^[17] – Walk Don't Run (2001)
• 2004 – Kate Mulvany – The Seed (2008)
• 2003 – Jonathan Gavin – A Moment on the Lips
• 2002 – (to be identified)
• 2001 – (to be identified)
• 2000 – Emma Vuletic – Imago
• 1999 – Adam Grossetti – Lost Lagoon^[18]
• 1998 – (to be identified)
• 1997 – (to be identified)
• 1996 – Suneeta Peres Da Costa^[19]
• 1995 – Hilary Bell – Wolf Lullaby^[3]

See also

• List of Australian literary awards

Footnotes

1. Possibly because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia?

References

1. "Tommy Murphy receives Philip Parsons Young Playwrights Award 2007". Australian Stage. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
2. "Philip Parsons Young Playwrights' Award". AustLit. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
3. "Hilary Bell". RGM. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
4. Fulton, Adam (15 March 2010). "Playwright opts for credibility over cash". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
5. "NSW Philip Parsons Fellowship for Emerging Playwrights". AustLit. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
6. "2016 Philip Parsons Fellowship for Emerging Playwrights". Theatre Network NSW. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
7. Belvoir St Theatre. "The Philip Parsons Fellowship has evolved into a Playwrights' Lab for a group of early career playwrights and story tellers". Facebook. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
8. "2019 NSW Philip Parsons Early-Career Playwrights' Lab" (PDF). Belvoir Theatre and Arts NSW. 2019.
9. "Awards". Belvoir St Theatre. 24 September 2019. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
10. "The Philip Parsons Young Playwright's Award guidelines for 2012" (PDF). Belvoir Theatre and Arts NSW. 2012.
11. "2016 NSW Philip Parsons Fellowship for Emerging Playwrights Guidelines" (PDF). Belvoir Theatre and Arts NSW.
12. Wild, Stephi (4 December 2018). "Belvoir Announce Winner Of 2018 Philip Parsons Fellowship For Emerging Playwrights - Kendall Feaver". Broadway World.
13. "A NIDA Graduate has picked up the Fellowship Award for Emerging Playwrights". The AU Review. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
14. Shihab, Zainab Hussain (11 December 2013). "Belvoir announces $20,000 fellowship winner". ArtsHub Australia. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
15. Old Man
16. "Holding the Man". Australian Plays Transform. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
17. "Brendan Cowell wins Young Playwright's Award". Arts News. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
18. "Plays by Adam Grossetti". The Playwrights database. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
19. "Three plays by Suneeta Peres Da Costa". ABC Classic FM. Retrieved 11 March 2008.