Seed Commissions - Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Theatres

Seed Commissions give writers the chance to pitch a new play in response to prompts and provocations from the Artistic team, with £1,000 on offer to three playwrights to develop their idea.

As a team, we are always asking questions about our world and our community, and we want to work with artists who are too – so we’re offering three seed commissions to writers who want to start those big conversations with us and our audiences.

With two of our Associate Companies, we’re giving prompts based on questions and ideas that are animating us at the moment – and are inviting writers to propose a new play in response.

We’ll then pick three of the most exhilarating and expansive ideas, and give the writers £1,000 to develop them.

WHAT WE’RE OFFERING

For the Seed Commission, you’ll get:
• £1,000
• Dramaturgical support from Tommo Fowler (New Works Associate)
• Meetings with the Artistic team, including Nathan Powell (Creative Director) and Ashlie Nelson (Head of Producing and Programming).

We’ll also offer:
• A pair of guest night tickets to all in-house shows (alternative dates can be arranged if required).
• Time in the Writers’ Room. If you need to spread out with post-its and lists on big paper, the Writers’ Room is available as a bookable creative space.
• Introductions to local artists. Where appropriate, we’ll do our best to connect you and your script to directors and producers in our community.
• Other in-kind support as needed. If you want to use this as the basis for a funding application, or need a room to read it through with friends, we can support there too.

If we decide to take the idea forward, we’ll then work with you to develop a new scheme of work to support those next creative steps (e.g. an R&D, full commission, etc).

WHAT WE EXPECT

For this seed commission, we’re asking you to create:
• a minimum of 30mins stage time, and
• an outline of the full play.

HOW TO APPLY

Eligibility

We have some basic eligibility criteria:
• You must currently be living in Liverpool City Region.
• Your proposal must be for an original new work. We won’t accept adaptations or translations, or reworkings of your own previous productions.
• You must have written a full-length play before. We’ll ask you to submit one as part of the application process.

Process

Applications will be via an online form, with the option to upload video or audio files for questions needing longer responses.

We’ll ask you to tell us about the following:
• You. Who you are, your interests and artistic style, and your experience to date.
• Your idea. At this point, what do you know about the story, characters, setting, themes or form?
• Your response to the prompt. How does the play you’re proposing speak to your chosen prompt?
We’ll also ask you to submit a full-length play (i.e. 60mins or above) that you’ve already written, as a supporting document to give us a sense of your writing.

KEY DATES

Application process

Creative prompts. Available through August.
Applications. Open Mon 1 September, close 9am Mon 29 September.
Invitations to interview. w/b 20 October.
Interviews and decisions. w/b 27 October.

Writing

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

Together with our Associate Companies, we’ve come up three prompts which we hope might spark your imagination for a new play:

Ailin Conant (New Earth)

In our media landscape of polarised echo-chambers, empathy has become selective – distorted and manipulated to justify cruelty and entrench people in their existing worldviews. At best, selective empathy supports wilful ignorance; at worst, dehumanisation.

So is “empathy”, as a tool, hurting us more than it is helping?

And, if theatre is an engine for empathy, what can we (as empathy-driven storytellers) meaningfully contribute through our art?

Chris Sonnex (Cardboard Citizens)

1 in 4 people in the UK are in poverty, and the general consensus is that the most important things to serve communities are the basic survival needs: shelter, clothes, food.

But how important is art? How important is it to live, not just survive?

Nathan Powell (Everyman & Playhouse)

Liverpool is a city with a million stories that are passed down like local lore. Some feel closer to reality than others, but all equally compelling – from the Bold Street time slips to the hidden labyrinth beneath Rodney Street.

We would love to be surprised by something that responds to the theme of local legends and myths – in whatever way that feels right for you – and feels like it could have a home at the Everyman.

GUIDELINES

We have two new writing slots in the Everyman’s annual programme, with different parameters that you may want to consider:

We want to wrestle with difficult questions without losing sight of hope.

We want to engage with the world in a complex way.

DECISION-MAKING

When we decide which projects to take forward, we’ll be considering:

• How your idea responds to our prompts in a way that’s incisive, nuanced, thrilling, surprising, humane, theatrical and/or entertaining.
• The potential of character, story and/or thematic exploration discussed in your proposal.
• The extent to which the application demonstrates an appropriate craft level to deliver your proposed idea.

We’ll read approximately 10-20 pages at the shortlisting stage, and the full play when making our final selections.
If deciding between multiple applications of equal merit, we may prioritise writers who haven’t recently collaborated with us.

FAQs

Do I need a particular experience level as a writer?

What counts as a full-length play?

How long should my submitted script be?

Please submit scripts at their full length. We’ll read approx. 10-20 pages at the shortlisting stage, and the full play when making our final selections.

Can I apply with a writing partner?

What counts as Liverpool City Region?

Can I apply if I live somewhere else?

As part of our support for the local creative ecology, Seed Commissions are only for artists currently living and making work in Liverpool City Region.

Banner image: Ngunan Adamu, Shaun Mason, Joe Ward-Munrow at Liverpool Everyman Open House 2024 (Photographer Olivia Carroll)