APT’s National Playwriting Groups embed a national playwriting group model within the Australian theatre ecosystem. Connecting playwrights nation-wide, this online program forms a supportive peer community that actively engages in honing their skills, fosters robust dialogue and puts artists in dialogue across the country.
With industry leaders at the helm, this groups will meet fortnightly for six months to work on a new play.
“As a national program, it’s a game-changer.“ — Mary Anne Butler, Mid-Career Playwright Group Participant
Apply for the 2026 Program
PROGRAM DATES: July – December, 2026
ELIGIBILITY: Playwrights nationally
APPLICATIONS OPEN: 11 May
APPLICATIONS CLOSE: 11:59pm AWST, Thursday June 4
ONLINE INFO SESSION: 6pm AEST, Monday May 25.
Applications for the National Playwriting Group: Playwrights Living with Disability are now open.
In 2026 the groups will be Playwrights Living with Disability and Mid-Career Playwrights. Applications for the Mid-Career playwriting group will open at a later date.
Playwrights who would like to be considered for both groups are encouraged to apply for this round and will be asked whether they would like to be considered for the mid-career group. We’ll use this application for the Mid-Career Group as well. No need to apply twice.
Playwrights are encouraged to apply for the group or groups they feel most comfortable in or identify with.
Group leader:
Playwrights Living with Disability – Anthea Williams
What to bring to the program:
- A burning idea or play that you want to work on. This could be; the play idea that won’t leave you alone, the play that you need peers to motivate you to push it further, the play that is pushing you in a different direction (form or content) and you want test it in a safe space.
- A sense of collaboration, openness and willingness to share your work and to support the work of others.
- Respect for different ways of working and willingness to share your process with others.
Engaging in this Program:
- The intention is to create a safe and robust peer group environment in which you, with the guidance of your Group Leader progress a play you are working on for a 6 month period.
- Consider your availability over the period of the program. You will be paid for the group sessions every two weeks. We do not however have the capacity to pay you outside of these hours. So, we ask you to consider whether you will have time to work on your play outside of these hours.
- This is not a “learn to write” program. This is a group of peers who have an existing playwriting practice.
What group should I nominate for?
Good question! We know it is a tricky thing sometimes to fit into the different categories that we use in the arts. We acknowledge that identities are intersectional and shift in different contexts. We have provided some guidelines and definitions below, if you still have questions after reading them please reach out to us to discuss.
- You could identify as a “Mid-Career playwright with disability” and be asking which group should I nominate for? The answer is: this is up to you. We would like you to nominate whichever group you feel most suits your practice at this time and makes you feel most comfortable. You can nominate for both “Mid-Career” and “Playwrights Living with disability” and we can contact you to discuss this as the groups are formed.
- Definition of Mid-Career: playwrights with a body of at least two professionally produced full length works and industry recognition.
- Definition of professionally produced work: the work has been staged by a theatre company that operates on a professional basis, meaning it pays its artists and staff, has a formal organisational structure, and is recognised within the industry.
Want to know more?
In this interview award winning playwright Mary Anne Butler shares some insights from her time in the Mid-Career Playwriting group and how the experience connected her back to theatre.