About the Competition

"I entered the competition in 1978 for the most practical of reasons -- I needed a new clutch on my Volkswagen bug. I was a $40/week Apprentice at a Resident theatre in Texas. I walked the halls like a spectre, speaking dialogue to myself, while the other apprentices played "Botticelli," ate popcorn, and drank. I will never forget the day I learned I had won. "Maybe... maybe... I can actually do this," I thought.

I moved to NYC, continued to write plays, and continued to win awards and productions. When Hollywood called, I answered (who doesn't?), and wrote a movie script that was later nominated for an Oscar. The right word of encouragement, at the right time, can be like the hand of Destiny. Sometimes, no matter how talented we are, we have to be told what we can do.

I will always be grateful to this very first of many, many writing competitions I have entered in my career. It said, "Yes! You can do this!" It ranks up there with my NEA [US National Endowment for the Arts] grant, the Oscar ceremony, and fan emails from current high school students who found my work through an anthology of monologues now out of print. I will always, always be grateful."

Terri Wagener, ISPC winner 1978
Writer, Fried Green Tomatoes

The annual International Student Playscript Competition (ISPC), now in its 35th year, is a small, but important, part of the 54-year-old (British) National Student Drama Festival (NSDF). The ISPC has been particularly blessed with the support of Sir Alan Ayckbourn, England's most prolific playwright, who judged the final round from the start in 1976 and is now the ISPC Patron. The competition is presented by the World Student Drama Trust under the aegis of the NSDF.

The free-to-enter ISPC is unique in several respects, being genuinely worldwide, having no restrictions on form, content, length, number of characters or locations and - above all - giving every entry a helpful, encouraging but honest appraisal. There is no limit to how many scripts any student can enter. The annual closing date for entries is 30 November. The winner receives a cash prize - currently £1,000 - and a highly rated, rehearsed reading at the next NSDF (9-15 April 2011).

Currently in development are plans to extend the rehearsed reading to other theatre festivals and professional venues, with the possibility of a full production. For more details please see, "Get Involved" below.

The winner of the 2010 International Student Playscript Competition was Pack Mentality by Richard Watson (University of Hull). A rehearsed reading of the play took place in the Stephen Joseph Theatre on Friday 2nd April 2010 as part of NSDF10

To enter the competition please click, "How to Enter" at the bottom of the page.


Get Involved

You can help the ISPC by getting involved in our publicity or fundraising efforts. The simplest way to help is to download, print and display the ISPC poster by clicking on the following link:

The ISPC Poster
ISPC Poster

You can also join us or talk about us on many social networks, we provide links to the following services:

For information about other ways you can help, please contact the ISPC producer Phil Mann -phil@isplayscript.org