The Erin Thomas Playwrights Fund honours the enduring legacy of playwright Erin Thomas.
The program empowers emerging playwrights from regional areas, providing enriching opportunities for playwrights to develop their skills in dialogue with experienced industry professionals. The fund also includes a travel grant, enhancing connection across communities.
The Erin Thomas Playwrights Fund is made possible through the ongoing support from the Thomas family and friends, and embodies Erin’s spirit of optimism and generosity.
It stands as a beacon for the next generation of playwrights, supporting them as they write from the regions.
“This was such a wonderful opportunity. Feeling supported as a writer makes such a difference and especially when you are building a career in a remote or regional area – it makes a huge difference to feel connected to the wider industry.” – Alex Edmondson, Erin Thomas Fund 2024 Participant
Meet the 2025 Cohort
Ciella Williams
Ciella is a playwright and mother of two, living on Larrakia Country. Her writing is embedded in the NT and concerned with the stories of women and girls.
Her play Hush won the 2024 NT Chief Minister’s Book Award for fiction. Hush premiered in 2022 at Flight Path Theatre, Sydney, and Brown’s Mart Theatre, Darwin, and was shortlisted for the 2023 Glenda Adams Award for New Writing and the 2023 NT Literary Awards.
Earlier works have been performed at Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP), Brown’s Mart Theatre, Darwin Fringe Festival and Short + Sweet Sydney.
Michael Sams
Townsville-based Michael Sams holds a Masters in Creative Writing from Macquarie University and a Bachelor of Arts (Drama) from QUT. His short plays have been performed internationally including in New York and Dubai and been adapted into podcasts and radio plays.
He is known for his work with Townsville-based TheatreiNQ’s PlayGround program and spent several years as a member of the literary management team at Short + Sweet International. His full-length play “Together” is available through Australian Plays Transform and the ten-minute version via Amazon. In 2022 he completed Playlab’s flagship program (Incubator).
With the support of the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF), in 2025 Michael is progressing one of his latest works “Hunters” through creative development with Cairns-based JUTE theatre.
Ryanna Clayton
Ryanna Clayton is a performing arts educator and artist living in Nhulunbuy, North-East Arnhem Land. She is passionate about writing women and girls with honesty, humour and heart. Her writing emphasises the importance of making difficult conversations palatable, even a bit funny. She is an emerging playwright, chasing the balance between career, motherhood and creativity.
This year, she was longlisted for the Griffin Award for her new work LURE. In 2024, Ryanna was a participant in new-work development program, BUILD UP with Brown’s Mart Theatre. It culminated in a playreading of her play She Swallowed a Fly developed with Peter Matheson, Kathryn Marquet and Maxine Mellor. In 2022, Ryanna was a participant in Playlab’s regional playwriting program, Transmission and in 2021, Ryanna was selected for La Boite’s Assembly program for emerging artists.
Apply for the 2025 Program
APPLICATION PERIOD: February 21 – March 16, 2025
PROGRAM DATES: April – October, 2025
INFORMATION SESSION: 6pm AEDT, Wednesday March 5, 2025
ELIGIBILITY: Open to emerging playwrights residing in regional and remote areas across Australia
In its 12th year, the 2025 Fund will support regional playwrights to pursue a deep creative connection over a period of time with a mentor dramaturg as they develop a new play, as well as connect with the broader Australian theatre industry with the assistance of a travel bursary.