Sorry if these have come up already i'm just to lazy to read through all the posts. Ok so my questions are

1. Do you have to order the information pack to enter?
2. What do you mean by obscene, is swearing and even some violent descriptions ok? (sounds bad but has a purpose)
3. Do we loose rights to the play when on the shortlist, so we don't own our work even if it is not the eventual one that is staged.
4. (this is just out of curiousity) if we make it into the shortlist do we get paid at all?

Hi,

Since no experts are jumping up to give their answers Ill give you my opinion for what its worth.

quote:

1. Do you have to order the information pack to enter?

I haven’t seen mention of an information pack but its clear from the site that ordering one is not a requirement for entry.

quote:

2. What do you mean by obscene, is swearing and even some violent descriptions ok? (sounds bad but has a purpose)

I would assume that anything that legally could not be used on the television or on stage would be a good start, and then remove what might make producers nervous.

Most modern plays and television include a degree of swearing and/or violence and I’d say most writers have a feel for what is acceptable and what is clearly not. If you want to write something highly controversial that pushes the bounds of decency and moral outrage - Id suggest this competition might not be the best route.

But I could be wrong, maybe it will make your entry stand out.

quote:

3. Do we loose rights to the play when on the shortlist, so we don't own our work even if it is not the eventual one that is staged.

No rights are lost as far as I can tell - you grant the company non-exclusive rights to anything used in the programme (i.e. they don’t need your permission to broadcast or repeat the programme) and if successful you enter into a standard contract with the west end producers.

If the company don’t decide to produce your entry then my understanding is you can do what you like with it after that.

You can’t submit something to this competition and then submit it to other places as well but that is standard for competitions.

quote:

4. (this is just out of curiosity) if we make it into the shortlist do we get paid at all?

I doubt it for the shortlist but you should get expenses at least to cover any filming etc.

Hope that helps.

Yes, phoning for the information pack at 25p is optional, all the info is online anyway. But for people without internet, it gives them a way to take part. [But how will theyu know about it and the number? 0901 11 11 504 according to T&C4.]

FROM THE PLAY'S THE THING PRODUCTION TEAM:

3. Do we loose rights to the play when on the shortlist, so we don't own our work even if it is not the eventual one that is staged.

Copyright issues can be a bit confusing, but basically the case with this competition is that your participation in the competition is taken as consent for the eventual production if your play wins. You do not loose rights to the play at any time, including if your work is not eventually staged, you will always walk away with the rights to your own work.