Translation Prize
Maarten Nauw
Every year, we award the Translation Prize to a Dutch-language play with significant international potential. The play must have premiered during the previous calendar year. Plays for children’s and youth theatre are also eligible. The prize is presented during the DramatikerInnenfestival in Graz (Austria). The Translation Prize is organised in collaboration with Literatuur Vlaanderen.
About the Translation Prize
Through the Translation Prize, we bring a Dutch-language play to the attention of professionals in the international theatre world, particularly in German-speaking regions. This includes dramaturgs, directors, programmers and translators. By having a strong text translated and presenting it to producers and organisations there, we increase the chances of it being staged abroad.
The Translation Prize is awarded for a specific work and not for an author’s entire body of work. This means that a writer can win the prize multiple times, each time with a different text.
We organise the Translation Prize in collaboration with Literatuur Vlaanderen.
Selection
You cannot apply directly for the Translation Prize. The selection process takes place via the Playwriting Prize.
From the entries for the Playwriting Prize, the jury selects up to ten plays which they believe have international potential, particularly within the German-speaking world. These plays form the nominations for the Translation Prize.
In making this selection, the jury considers, among other things:
- Autonomy or universality of the text – The text is independent of a specific production and can, in principle, be staged by producers or directors from another country.
- Limited local specificity – The text contains few local elements, or these can be adapted so that the text also works in a different context.
- Relevance to the German-speaking theatre scene – The jury assesses whether the text could be of interest to the German-speaking performing arts scene in terms of content, theme or dramaturgy.
Jury
An independent jury selects the winner of the Translation Prize. The jury consists of three professionals working in the German-language theatre sector, for example as translators, dramaturgs or directors.
The jury members are well acquainted with the German-language performing arts scene and have experience with Dutch-language texts. They read all the nominated texts and select the one with the greatest international potential.
The prize
The winning play will be translated into German by a professional translator.
In addition, we will present the play, or an excerpt from it, at the DramatikerInnenfestival in Graz. This will take the form of a staged reading, attended by the author and the translator. In this way, the play will be introduced to the German-speaking theatre world.