The McLellan  Award  for Play Writing 2009
Robert McLellan was born on the 28th January 1907, at his grandparents’ farm, Linmill, in Kirkfieldbank, Lanarkshire and it was boyhood holidays here which inspired his “Linmill Stories” and exerted a lifelong influence on all his work.
After an education at Bearsden Academy and Glasgow University, McLellan dedicated himself to writing in Scots, the living language of the communities he grew up in. His first play – the one act “Jeddart Justice” - was produced in 1933, followed swiftly by a full length play “Toom Byres” in 1936 and his best known masterpiece, “Jamie the Saxt” in 1937.
Few dramatists have matched Robert McLellan’s skill at deploying the vigorous vocabulary of Scotland and his language is a beautifully lyrical, witty and intelligent Scots of his own time. The McLellan Festival 2007 marked the centenary of this influential and seminal Scottish playwright's birth and the first Mclellan Award for Play Writing. We will continue to celebrate the work and legacy of Robert McLellan by inviting contemporary Scottish playwrights to enter for The McLellan Award 2009

The winning playwright will receive prize money of £1000 as well as the McLellan Award 2009 created by sculptor Marvin Elliot .

The Judges,.

Fiona Connor achieved a BA (hons) in theatre from the University of Hull. In 2005 she was short listed for the Orange playwright prize. As a result her play received a rehearsed reading in the Citizen’s theatre Glasgow. With her second play ’Wasteland@ she won the McLellan play award and she is currently working 0n several new pieces.

Julie Ellen was appointed as the first Creative Director of the Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland in February 2004. She was formerly the producer for Glasgow’s Suspect Culture and prior to that was at Theatre Centre , London. Julie originally trained as an actor at QMUC, Edinburgh and worked as an actor and director in Scotland and London.

Kate Nelson is currently the Artistic Director of Nutshell, a theatre company based in Edinburgh which specialises in touring productions of contemporary international work. She has worked widely in England, Scotland and elsewhere as well as having staged productions at The Traverse in Edinburgh, The Citizen's in Glasgow and Pitlochry Festival Theatre amongst other venues. Kate Nelson will direct the wining play in this year's McLellan Award.

Edwin Stiven is a playwright, scriptwriter and lecturer, based for the last twenty years in Glenelg in the Scottish West Highlands.  He melds the language of his native South Ayrshire Lowland Scots with Scotland's cultural heritage of Balladry, Myth and Legend to create his unique and atmospheric plays including the admired and frequently revived "Tamlane" and the acclaimed "The Play of the Wather". Edwin Stiven also runs courses and workshops for Colleges and Universities in the United States, France and Scotland.

1. Your play should be written in Living Scots .
It may be set in any period
It may be written in any form of Scots or Scots dialect urban or rural.
2. Running time should be a minimum of 40 to a maximum of 60 minutes.
3. The play should be for up to 3 actors with a maximum of three settings.
4. Your finished play script should be submitted as an email attachment in double spaced type script to gough.carlo@virgin.net. before the 15th of Auguat 2009
5. We regret we cannot offer feedback. Your play should not have had a previous production though need not be new. Submissions from previous competitions will not be excluded.
6. The winning playwright will receive prize money of £1000 as well as the McLellan Award 2009 created by sculptor Marvin Elliot . Funding permitted the winning playwright will have the opportunity to workshop their play with Nutshell Theatre Company culminating in a performance reading at the Arran Arts Festival in September 2009 and a further performance in Glasgow in 2010.
7. Please pay the entry fee of £5 for each play online ( see below) or post along with the entry form to Heather Gough* Carlo, Corrie Shore Road, Isle of Arran KA27 8JA. ( cheques made payable to Arran Theatre & Arts trust. ) Please do not send your play by post.
8. Please contact Heather Gough on 01770302670 or email gough.carlo@virgin.net for more information

Results  The winner will be notified by the beginning of September 2009.

Copyright  The copyright of the play remains with the author.  The author of the winning play will grant  Arran Theatre and Arts Trust the right to perform the winning play during the Arran Arts  festival 2008

Please note The organisers reserve the right to change the judges without notice and not to award the prize if, in the opinion of the judges, such action is justified.  Submission of entry will be deemed to imply unqualified acceptance of the competitions rules and conditions.  The judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Contact email: info@mclellanawards.co.uk

Payment Pay securely online with Pay Pal or any Debit or Credit card. See button to right. Please remember to put in the number of entries in the Quantity Field