1. The Promoter and the Judges
The organisation running this project is The Royal Shakespeare Company ("RSC"). We are a registered charity in England and Wales and our registered charity number is 212481. We are running this project in collaboration with our regional partners: The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, The Grand Theatre, Blackpool, Hall for Cornwall, Hull Truck Theatre, Intermission Youth, The Marlowe Theatre Canterbury, The New Vic Theatre, Northern Stage, Norwich Theatre Royal, The Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall Nottingham, York Theatre Royal, Silhouette Youth Theatre, together the "Regional Partners".
The people who will read and assess all entries which are submitted in accordance with these rules will be nominated by the Regional Partners. A final Judging Panel will also be nominated by the Regional Partners.
2. How to Enter
Submissions will be accepted from 12 midday on 3 January 2023 (the "Opening Date") to 12 midday on 31 January 2023 (the "Closing Date").
You must make sure that you submit your entry to us before 12 midday on the Closing Date. We will not accept any entries which are received after this time.
To participate in the project we are asking you to:
- Write an original play of a maximum of 100 A4 pages (average font size to be 10) and a minimum of one full A4 page (average font size to be 10) to be written either on your own or jointly with one or more people
- Upload your play in digital format to 37plays.co.uk anonymously ensuring that all personal details have been removed including your name, address and any other identifying details
- You must complete the submission form as part of the submission process, which will include details such as your name, your age, as well as your address details, email address and phone number so that we can contact you if you are a winner; do not put these details onto your script
- If you are under 16 years old, please make sure that your parent or guardian provides their address, email and phone number so that we can contact them on your behalf if you are a winner. For joint entries, a lead contact person must be nominated and their details must be provided so that we can contact them on behalf of the whole group if your submission wins, please state the average age of the group
- For joint entries, a lead contact person must be nominated and their details must be provided so that we can contact them on behalf of the whole group if your submission wins. Please state the average age of the group. The lead contact can be a nominated teacher, practitioner or project leader
You do not need to buy anything or pay an entry fee to participate in this project. Only written submissions are acceptable, we will not accept submissions in any other format, except for BSL submissions which can be in video format. By uploading a submission to the website above you acknowledge that you have complied with the applicable guidelines at 37plays.co.uk/about.
You are able to register your interest in the project on the website above, and if you do this you will receive updates, resources and invites to workshops which we hope will help you create your submission.
It is not our fault if your entry is lost or cannot be submitted for any reason. We will not accept screenshots of the website as proof of submission and we will not be responsible for any technical failure or for any event that may cause the project to be disrupted or corrupted.
Please be aware that the prizes described below are subject to change if any event or problem occurs which means that the project or the awarding of the prize is not possible. If something happens which is outside of our control, we may need to change the project entry requirements and/or the prizes available and we will not be responsible for any issues or costs in such circumstances. If a winner of the project is unable to take up a prize for any reason, we reserve the right to award that prize to an alternative winner, in which case the first winner chosen will not be eligible for any share of the prize.
3. Eligibility
The project is open to those aged three and above who are residents of the UK. This project is not open to employees of the RSC. For the avoidance of doubt, this entry restriction does not apply to the Regional Partners, their employees or members of their immediate families.
You can only submit one entry to the project, either individually or as part of a joint entry.
The project is open to both professional and amateur participants.
By participating in the project you agree that the RSC will have the right to publish, broadcast, stream and otherwise share the winning entries through different formats and mediums. We acknowledge that copyright of the writing remains with the entrant but you agree to grant us appropriate rights in respect of publishing your submission. We will not be able to return copies of submissions to participants, so please ensure you keep your own copy if you wish to retain one.
The play must not have had a professional production or be under commission at the time of submission. For the avoidance of doubt, in this instance. a ‘professional production’ equates to a professional run of the play of six of more performances.
4. Data Protection
We will ask for some details from you at the point of submission but we will not share the personal details you give to us as part of participating in this project with anyone else and we will only use those personal details to provide updates, resources and invites to workshops and relevant marketing communication in connection with the creation of your submission (where you have elected to receive such communication on the website above) and to contact the project winners. If you would like more information about how we look after your personal information please read our privacy policy which can be found here: rsc.org.uk/about-us/policies/privacy-policy.
We will ask the winners to participate in some media activity relating to the project, but we will ask your permission before publishing your personal details.
5. Winners
We will not be responsible for any costs or fees associated with the prize and you cannot ask us to repay any fees you must pay in order to benefit from the prize (eg., travel costs).
When you submit an entry as described above, you agree to these rules and you accept that the judges' decision is final. We will notify everyone who has won in April 2023 (exact date to be announced) using your contact information (or your parent/guardian's information if you are under 16 years old) provided with the entry.
6. Prizes
A total of 37 plays will be selected by the judges for publishing during 2023.
Each winner will receive a payment in return for granting the RSC permission to perform, publish and/or stream their play during 2023 (such payment sum to be determined at the sole discretion of the RSC in consultation with the Regional Partners).
Any production of the winning plays will be subject to the terms and conditions set by the Writers' Guild.
7. General
These terms and conditions which govern the project are subject to English law and the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction in any dispute which arises.