Page To Stage
Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta’s inaugural playwriting mentorship program, Page to Stage, took place in 2016-2017 and in 2021. Our next program will run in 2024 with applications opening at the end of 2023
Our program is aimed at nurturing and developing committed writers who live and/or work in Western Sydney to embed their work into the Australian theatre culture. This high level training program provides a unique opportunity for writers to see their plays come to life over a twelve month period.
Ten playwrights will be selected to undertake an intensive playwriting course that includes mentorship and script development opportunities over a twelve month period with playwright Donna Abela.
The Page to Stage revamped course is rigorous and expansive with a focus on writer development (developing and sustaining a practice), not just script writing and story development.
Writer development will include being a student of other people’s plays – a critical reader of plays. We have expanded the course to include tasks that foster play reading and play critique that specifically develops dramaturgical literacy – how did this writer make this play?
Our aim in the Page to Stage course is to foster an environment in which the participants can support each other to become agile and informed writers. A commitment equal to a university level creative writing course would be required.
Expressions of interest for our next round will open in 2024.
Page to Stage 2021 tutor – Donna Abela
Donna Abela’s body of work includes plays which have won the Griffin Playwriting Prize and the AWGIE award for Stage (Jump for Jordan), AWGIE awards for radio (Spirit, Aurora’s Lament, Mrs Macquarie’s Cello), the Human Rights Award for Drama (Highest Mountain Fastest River), and been nominated for NSW Premiers Literary Awards and the AWGIE Award for Children’s Theatre (Tales From the Arabian Night). For Kim Carpenter’s Theatre of Image, she wrote two large scale adaptations: Monkey … Journey to the West (2014 Brisbane Festival, 2015 Melbourne Festival, 2015 Sydney Opera House program) and Tales from the Arabian Nights, a widely produced play on refugee themes which was published by Currency Press in 2019. Donna completed her doctorate at the University of Wollongong where she teaches in the creative writing program. She also teaches scriptwriting at Excelsia College, works extensively as a dramaturge, mentor and teaching artist, and is a proud founding member of PYT Fairfield and 7ON Playwrights.
Previous Page to Stage participants included:
James Elazzi (Lady Tabouli), Nik Atkins (BOOM), Monikka Eliah (Garage Sale)