We already know who the 3 finalists of the 5th edition are
photo credits: Ema Fonseca by ©Filipe Ferreira; Marta Prieto by @Mário Borges; Sabrina Marthendal self-portrait
Between January 1st and March 31st, we received an impressive total of 133 entries for the 5th edition of the New Female Drama Award. Our panel of judges had the difficult task of selecting the 3 finalists who will now move on to the mentoring phase:
Ema Fonseca , with Immigrants
Marta Prieto , with On Board
Sabrina Marthendal , with Pedral
The three finalists will now begin a mentoring process and eventual improvement of their texts, with the support of each of the jury members, which will continue until the end of August.
In October we will announce the winner, who will be awarded a cash prize of €1000 and included in the programme of the 9th season of the Theatre Text Reading Festival - Esta noite grito-se, which will take place from October to December 2025, in addition to being published in book form, through a partnership with the publisher Douda Correria.
Meet our Jury
In this 5th edition of the New Female Drama Award, we once again have an excellent panel of judges, made up of leading professionals in the field of drama. Find out more about each of them by exploring their biographies!
Some relevant data
The New Dramaturgy Award for Female Authorship aims to promote, recognize and publicize female-authored dramaturgy in Portuguese and is aimed at all natural persons, of legal age, who identify with the female gender, whether cisgender or transgender.
This award aims to promote, recognize and disseminate drama written by women in Portuguese. The competition is open to all natural persons, of legal age, who identify as female, whether cisgender or transgender, and who want to propose a Unpublished and never performed dramaturgical work.
According to the International Center for Women Playwrights, an NGO dedicated to encouraging the work of women playwrights, 70% of the plays produced annually in the world are by men. When it comes to publishing works, the number drops even further - in Portugal we estimate that less than 15% of the texts edited are by women. This panorama in no way favors the diversity and richness of artistic production, hindering the innovation brought by the female gaze of female creators who, without adequate stimulus, continue to be far from the circuits necessary for the dissemination of their works. In the artistic direction of Esta Noite Scream, we have had difficulty balancing the authorial genre because the choice options are very limited when it comes to female playwrights. Only by encouraging creation will it be possible to change this reality and ensure that more women artists take risks and publish their work.
Here are some useful links for those who want to delve a little deeper into this topic:
https://www.womenarts.org/not-even/not-even-impact-of-playwrights-gender/
https://lafpi.com/the-facts/#10
https://www.womenplaywrights.org/The-Challenge
Consulting the Frequently Asked Questions does not replace careful reading of the Regulations.
Companhia Cepa Torta and the Festival of interpreted readings of theater texts - Esta noite grita-se are supported by the Portuguese Republic – Culture / Directorate-General for the Arts