The quest for a future classic radio script has begun with Insight Presents’ radio script competition opening entries this month. From a Goons-style comedy to the panic-inducing War of the Worlds, the South Australian non-profit group is encouraging Australian writers to pen the next great radio classic.

Submission are now being sought by Australian playwrights, who are being given the chance to have their script performed and recorded in front of a live audience and potentially broadcast nationally.

Adelaide-based non-profit radio theatre company, Insight Presents, is seeking new half-hour radio play scripts, with entries open between 1 January to 30 March 2007. Two winning entries will be selected to make up the company’s July season, with a cash prize also awarded to the successful playwright(s).

Insight Presents is a unique theatrical troupe that returns its audiences to the heyday of radio entertainment. With sound effects and music created live on stage, the company records its plays in front of an audience for later broadcast, often using the audience itself for crowd scenes or small roles.

The recordings are then offered free to non-profit radio stations around the country, with broadcasting rights obtained by the troupe as part of the overall performance package.
The competition was first announced in early November 2006, sparking wide interest from writers willing to challenge themselves and try something new.

Company founder and Artistic Director Rod Lewis says he is hoping the competition will encourage both experienced and novice playwrights:

“Writing for radio is a lost art form for most playwrights and even more so when writing for a live radio show. In that respect, new writers are going to be on an equal footing with most of their more experienced peers.”

The competition will be judged by three panellists, with two winning entries primarily chosen for the writer’s ability to tell an entertaining and imaginative story through dialogue and sound effects.

“Audiences come to watch a radio play being recorded because of the fun and inventive ways that sound effects are created before their eyes. The experience has to be as enjoyable for them to watch as it is
for an audience listening to it on the radio down the track,” says Lewis.

Rod will be joined in the judging by Arts critic and radio announcer Myk Mykyta, and South Australian personality Loriel Smart, who was recently nominated for a Lifetime Achievement Award in the auspicious 2006 Adelaide Critics’ Circle awards.

Full details of the competition, along with a range of online resources to help entrants, can be found on
the Insight Presents website below or by phoning Rod Lewis on 0402 027 891.