Playwriting Contest Open to Everyone

This contest marks its third year in FY 2025. In its first year, FY 2023, we began by collecting short plays from across Japan. Playwriting – the art of writing scripts for the stage – is a form of expression that explores human relationships. Since disability often arises within the context of relationships between individuals and between individuals and society, it is no exaggeration to say that there is no better medium than plays for discussing disabilities. Playwriting is also an accessible form of creative expression for many, regardless of physical limitations or time constraints due to work or other responsibilities. Through a nationwide open call for short plays – either written by people with disabilities or centred on disability – and by recognising outstanding works, we have been seeking to gradually establish a culture of short play creation and performance in Japanese society. By doing so, we have been aiming to convey the thoughts, hopes, challenges, and joys of people with disabilities to the broader society – that is, those without disabilities – and to shift society away from discrimination and exclusion toward a greater recognition of life’s diversity. At the same time, we have been seeking to discover and nurture talented playwrights with disabilities.

In the first year, we received an overwhelming 244 submissions from across Japan, far exceeding our expectations. This revealed just how many hidden voices were seeking to be heard and made us keenly aware of the significance and potential impact of this initiative. We selected six outstanding works for recognition. However, many submissions showed unfamiliarity with the playwriting form intended for stage performance. Although many dealt with excellent themes, they often fell short of being fully realised works.

In response to this, the second year (FY 2024) continued with a nationwide open call, as in the first year, and received 192 submissions. Nine works that passed the initial screening were given mentoring support from professional playwrights. This support helped each piece evolve, and the process was documented through roundtable discussions, then compiled into a printed booklet or made available online. The mentoring led to notable improvements in the quality of the works, clearly demonstrating the value of such support. We made a conscious effort to ensure that the insights and benefits gained were not confined to just the mentors and playwrights, but could be shared more widely.

In the second year, in addition to this, six works selected or awarded in the first year were presented in a reading format at BIRD Theatre, and three works were presented at Queens Theatre (New York City) in the US.

This fiscal year, we will continue to discover, support, and recognise outstanding works through a nationwide open call and mentoring programme, as we did in the second year, while maintaining our collaboration with the theatre in the US. Furthermore, we will hold reading performances at six planned locations across Japan – two in Tottori and one each in Miyazaki, Tokyo, Ibaraki, and Shizuoka – to disseminate the achievements of this initiative more widely, promote playwriting by people with disabilities or on disability-related themes, and expand the circles of artistic inspiration, awareness about disabilities, and short playwriting throughout Japan.