APT believes in a theatre culture that is responsible and responsive to the world in which we live. Right now, our world is in flux. Massive global shifts are happening, and we are experiencing such a rapid rate of change that it feels difficult to envision the future.
This is why we need our playwrights now more than ever. They use theatre as a testing ground for difficult, urgent, exuberant conversations about how we exist together and what paths we might forge into the future.
They give us the space for reflection – asking us what values we want to live by, what systems we want to dismantle – that is critical to enacting change in meaningful ways. It is because of them that theatre can play a vital role in articulating and shaping the change we are facing for good.
APT believes in a world made more just, curious and enjoyable by Australian plays. Help us make this dream a reality.
Why donate?
Australian theatre faces deep uncertainty. Diminishing funding and cost of living pressures threaten our sector at a time when these conversations have never been more important. It is our responsibility to protect playwriting as a critical tool for future-thinking, and we need your help to do this work now.
What we know for certain is that:
- there is a swelling desire for new work (an existing trend boosted by the pandemic);
- these shifting times require daring Australian stories that are told by a plurality of voices;
- there is a burning need for a national body that extends resources to many, building the sustainability of our theatre companies, championing playwrights, and rejuvenating our cultural landscape.
This is where APT comes in. For the first time, a national organisation will travel with playwrights through the entire life cycle of a work – from the earliest spark of an idea to development, to pathways to production, to publication, licensing and out into the world.
APT has a critical role to play in protecting and championing Australian playwriting. We will be a principal instrument of transformation and better representation, creating space and opportunity for playwrights to be at their best as they imagine our rapidly changing futures.
We want the world to be the stage for Australian playwrights.
Please consider making a tax-deductible donation so we can make this happen. Every dollar makes a difference.
If you are interested in supporting APT through a large gift or bequest or would like to discuss how your donation can contribute to APT’s specific programs, please contact Executive Producer, Erin Taylor, at erin@apt.org.au.
$10-$25 will foster new ideas, including research and feedback sessions for playwrights at the very beginning of their process.
$50-$100 will shape early drafts, providing playwrights with readings and consultations by industry professionals.
$150-$250 will strengthen structure and themes, giving playwrights access to the tailored insights, analysis, and guidance of a dramaturg.
$500-$1,000 will enliven text, allowing playwrights to hear their words come to life with workshops by professional actors.
$1,500-$5,000 will connect with audiences, providing staged readings of new plays for playwrights to gather valuable feedback on the impact of their work.
$5,000+ will nurture meaningful collaboration, putting playwrights in the centre of the creative process by developing their work with a dedicated team of theatre artists.
By supporting APT you can contribute to the vital and unseen work of making a play. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation so we can make this happen. Every dollar makes a difference.
To be working on a new play in a new city could have been an intense proposition but with the help of La Boite and APT, I felt supported and challenged in all the ways. The fully-equipped three-day nature of the workshop enabled me to do the kind of quick, intense work that really makes a play come to life. The script has taken massive leaps forward and I’m much clearer on what it is and how it functions. The opportunity to be in a room with world-class creatives, creatively dismantling and reassembling a very difficult script was a heaven-send and after a few years of COVID-enforced isolation (we playwrights say we're introverts but please put us in more rooms with humans). Seeing it come to life briefly in front of an audience was the perfect end to the week and has started the conversations that will see the work brought to a stage soon
This commission is transformative for my work. It allows me to gather a body of research I’ve been doing and put it into practice. It’s also introduced my work to a leading producer in Performing Lines. This is the kind of company you want your work to be noticed by, but as a solo artist it can be hard to appear on the radar. APT widens the radar and helps make you visible. I’m grateful for the support APT has shown me and wish many more playwrights were able to get this leg up. You don’t have to look far to find great writers that deserve it.
As a regional writer one can feel quite disconnected from the playwriting community, especially during early development of a project. Sometimes it can be hard to keep going. Being the recipient of the Erin Thomas Playwriting Fund and having Mary Anne Butler as a mentor has brought momentum back to a play I have been struggling with. As a playwright this program is both project and career building. At the end of the program I will have learnt skills and writerly wisdoms from one of Australia’s best playwrights. I will also have a draft of a play I can send to theatre companies for their consideration and a sense of connection to the playwriting community in Australia. Without this fund I could still be searching around the wilds of the Northern Rivers trying to find a way forward on my own.
APT has provided me with financial support to create realities I thought were only dreams - to tell stories in a professional capacity but also develop them in order to do it right, and respect culture in a nuanced and thoughtful way. As a company, the support provided to me has allowed for a continuous collegial relationship, and ensured that my voice is prioritised in support. They have also ensured that the right producing partners have come on board to engage with the future of the work.
The Max Afford Prize and the support of APT mean so much to me. The opportunity to have a creative development for my play will allow me to test opportunities for humour and impact that aren’t possible under the pressure of a short rehearsal period. And the money means a lot to my family - I make most of our money and my husband does most of the kid caring but the prize money gives us a little buffer so that we can try to rearrange our lives a little and give me a bit of time to write. I’ve already told my office job that maybe I’d like to cut back a day or two.
"Every book you pick up has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach." A
"All good books have one thing in common - they are truer than if they had really happened." H
"I have always loved reading books for children and young adults, because those books are mysteries. " R
I really like knowledge and reading books and just generally immersing myself in information. A
I have always loved reading books for children, particularly when they are mysteries. R
I was a library rat. I read all the time. I walked to school reading books. I read under my desk. H
I really like knowledge and reading books and just generally immersing myself in information. A
I have always loved reading books for children, particularly when they are mysteries. R
I was a library rat. I read all the time. I walked to school reading books. I read under my desk. H
