A leading Scholar in Playwriting, Dance, Choreography and Directing, Dr. (Mrs.) Oluwatosin Kooshima Tume, has sponsored a playwriting contest to promote and encourage creative teenage Nigerian girls. Dr. Tume, who is currently the Acting Head of Department of Theatre and Media Arts, Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) began the sponsorship of the playwriting contest last year and extended the Maiden edition to all Nigerian teenage girls.
The maiden contest saw Miss. Paula Onah from Rivers State, Nigeria, clinching the golden position with a N100,000 prize proudly attached to it.
This year, the competition is open to only applicants living in Ekiti state. Dr. Tume, whose flourishing playwriting career has earned her admirable global recognition, culminating into her emergence as the current Lead, African Women Playwrights Network (AWPN), said the playwriting contest is being organized under the aegis of her NGO, named TCube Art Foundation. The NGO solely supports creative efforts of young Nigerian talents.
Tagged, “StarGirl Playwriting Prize, Ekiti Edition 2025”, Dr. Tume added that the prize is conceived, “to discover and support teenage female playwrights in Nigeria.”. She explained further on the steps towards prospective participants should take:
“To enter for the 2025 StarGirl Playwriting Prize, applicants are to submit storylines of no more than 500 words on or before 3rd August, 2025. Each entry must be saved as the full name of the applicant, and submitted as a PDF attachment. Each entry must be accompanied with the following information:
- Name of the author.
- Title of the play.
- Cellphone number on which the author can be contacted.
- Email on which the author can be contacted.
- Author’s birth certificate.
- Author’s state of origin.
- Author’s current class/educational status.
- A signed letter of consent by the author’s parents or guardian.
Submissions and enquiries should be emailed to, startgirlplaywritingprize@gmail.com or sent to 09074618016. Deadline for submission is 3rd August, 2025. Any play submitted after this deadline will not be considered. Shortlisted applicants will be announced by mid August 2025.”
Participants who are shortlisted would have exciting benefits as Dr. Tume assures that: ” The successful candidates will be invited to a five-day residency where they will be mentored to develop their storylines into full-fledged plays, after which the plays will be assessed. The best playwright will receive a prize of N50,000. The first runner-up. will receive a prize of N30,000. The second runner-up will receive a prize of N20,000. Other participants will receive consolation prizes.”
Speaking on the criteria for participation, the playwright and dance scholar, added further that : “Playwrights MUST be female Nigerians living in Ekiti State. Playwrights must be between 13 and 17 years old, Full plays are NOT welcome. We only require well-written storylines at this stage. Storylines must be written in English Language. Storylines must not exceed 500 words.”
