Bruce Mason Playwriting Award

Bruce Mason Playwriting Award
GenreLiterary awards
Begins1983
FrequencyAnnual
CountryNew Zealand
Inaugurated1983

The Bruce Mason Playwriting Award is an annual award that recognises the work of an outstanding emerging New Zealand playwright. The winner is decided by the votes of a panel of leading New Zealand artistic directors and script advisors.

The award is named after New Zealand's playwright Bruce Mason CBE (1921–1982). Mason's best known plays are The End of the Golden Weather and the Pohutukawa Tree.[1][2][3]

The award was established by Independent Newspapers in 1983, the year after Mason's death, with assistance from Playmarket, for an amount of $2,000.[4] It is currently a $10,000 award managed by Playmarket and has been funded over the years by the FAME Trust (Fund for Acting and Musical Endeavours), Downstage Theatre Society, Bruce Mason Trust and Rachel and David Underwood.[1][5][6]

  1. ^ a b Edmond, Murray (22 October 2014). "Bruce Mason Playwriting Award". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Bruce Mason". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  3. ^ "The Plays of Bruce Mason". Victoria University Press. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  4. ^ Atkinson, Laurie; O'Donnell, David, eds. (2013). Playmarket 40 : 40 years of playwriting in New Zealand. [Wellington] New Zealand: Playmarket. ISBN 978-0-908607-45-7. OCLC 864712401.
  5. ^ "Whiti Hereaka Awarded 2012 Bruce Mason Award | Scoop News". Scoop. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Ahilan Karunaharan wins the 2018 Bruce Mason Playwriting Award". The Big Idea. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2020.