APPLICATIONS are now due from local playwrights for “First Seen”.

That’s The Street Theatre’s season of new works on the journey from conception to full production, which offers three playwrights/theatre-makers the opportunity to collaborate with a creative team for up to seven days to further develop their writing or work through intensive practical investigation.

Street Theatre director Caroline Stacey describes it as “a vital part of our planning for future years as we seek to bring original and diverse Canberra stories to the stage”.

“[The venture promotes] the creation of high quality original performance work contributing towards a body of stage work encouraging debate on the social, economic, cultural and political relationships central to the reality of lives of Canberrans,” she says.

Writers will be asked to share the development of their work with audiences and are provided with a weekly wage, but there is no compulsion to produce a performance-ready draft, but in applying, they’ll need to outline in their application what they hope to achieve using the time and resources available at the theatre.

After each performance, audiences are invited into a discussion with the writer/composer/performance makers, dramaturg and director. This helps the creative teams and The Street progress the works to production stage.

Shows of note which enjoyed a “First Seen” airing include the bushfire opera, “From a Black Sky”, the song cycle “The Weight of Light” and the next show to be seen at the Street, “Icarus”.

Applications are due to thestreet.org.au [where all details may be found] by close of business, Monday, February 18.