ROBERT LORD COTTAGE RESIDENCY
When co-founder of Playmarket, Robert Lord, took up a Burns Fellowship at Otago University in 1987, he bought his first home—a small cottage close to the university and the town centre of Dunedin. His tragically few years in Titan Street were happy and productive ones. Before he died, Robert put in place a plan that the cottage would become a home for other writers who choose to come to Dunedin to write, and a Trust was established to administer the plan.
Today, the cottage (three furnished rooms and a courtyard garden) is run as a rent-free residency for writers.
To date, playwrights who have lived and worked here include Gary Henderson, Renée, Jan Bolwell, Vanessa Rhodes, Vincent O'Sullivan, Branwen Millar, Paul Rothwell, Rochelle Bright, and Kip Chapman.
To apply, please email here with your CV and a statement of the project you propose to work on, your preferred dates for a residency and whether you have flexibility, and why Dunedin is a suitable venue for the project.
Submissions for 2026 residencies will open in November 2025.
WRITING RESIDENCIES AND BURSARIES:
International Institute of Modern Letters Emerging Māori Writer in Residence
International Institute of Modern Letters Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence
International Institute of Modern Letters Writer in Residence
The Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship
Louis Johnson New Writer's Bursary
Michael King Writers Centre Residencies
NZSA Peter & Dianne Beatson Fellowship
University of Canterbury Ursula Bethell Residency
University of Waikato Writer in Residence
Updated 2024
Ten playwrights' projects are selected and matched with a script advisor. Selected playwrights and script advisors are paid sixteen hours each of online contact time to help towards the process of developing a script. The process will take place over a period of time (up to three months) as negotiated between the playwright and script advisor.
Playmarket's annual Brown Ink development programme looks for the best new and original work by Māori and Pasifika writers.
The programme offers two plays a development workshop with a professional script advisor, and actors dedicated to helping develop the play.
Plays selected for development for Brown Ink that have gone to professional productions include The Mooncake and the Kumara by Mei Lin Hansen, Girl on a Corner by Victor Rodger, Officer 27 by Aroha Awarau, I Ain't Mad At Cha by Turene Jones and Au Ko Tuvalu by Tavita Nielsen-Mamea.
Submissions can only be entered into this programme once and you may enter a maximum of three scripts. Plays entered under this programme may have been previously produced but may not be currently receiving other development assistance.
The judges' decisions are final.
Submissions close annually on 1 October
Playmarket's annual Asian Ink development programme looks for the best new and original work by New Zealand Asian writers.
The programme offers a development workshop with a professional script advisor, and actors dedicated to helping develop the play.
Plays selected for development for Asian Ink include Chick Habit by Nuanzhi Zheng, Not Woman Enough by Hweiling Ow, Orientation by Chye-Ling Huang, MoodPorn by Matthew Loveranes and Flesh off the Boat by Nathan Joe.
Submissions can only be entered into this programme once and you may enter a maximum of three scripts each year. Plays entered under this programme may have been previously produced.
The judges' decisions are final.
Submissions close annually on 1 July
Have you made a show for example for a recent fringe festival and want to keep going with it? Built a story from the ground up with mates? Want to road-test some new ideas for the 2.0 version of your newly fabricated devised tour de force?
Getting right to the heart of collaboration, the Theatremakers programme will provide further development for a scripted work that was collectively created. The programme is aimed at artists who have had one successful production of their whakaari and want to take things to the next level.
Scripts entered into this competition must have received a first production. This may be at a professional or community theatre, in a fringe or new work festival, or at a secondary school or tertiary institution.
Eligible scripts:
- Were created through a collaborative process with a group of two or more creators
- Have been created by collaborators with fewer than ten years of theatre practice
- Were created within the last three years
- Have not been entered into this programme before
Your submission must include:
- A script in Word or PDF format, or a link to an externally hosted video recording of the work
- A full list of collaborators
- An articulation of how the play was created
- An articulation of what you see as the next stage of the development, for the work, for example:
- a final draft which could be produced by a different team or:
- a workshop to refine the current draft for further presentation by the same team
As support material, your submission could include:
- A show programme
- Production images
The judges' decisions are final.
Submit here
Submissions close annually on 1 June.