Guest

Writers’ Night for Encounters

2012-05-02T15:32:46Z

Join the Bush’s Associate Director Omar Elerian, Leverhulme Trust Associate Playwright Sabrina Mahfouz and Associate Artist Caroline Horton for a post-show panel discussion and Q and A on Friday 11th May.

Along with guest speaker Sam Hall from 17%, they will discuss how new and innovative approaches to new writing can inform your work as well as looking at the challenges facing solo performers in the new writing landscape.

They will also examine how more women, in particular, can make the transition from emerging talent to career playwright / performer.

This event is free to all Encounters Ticket holders. Tickets are available for the performances on Friday 11th May at a special writers' rate of £15 (usually £24). To reserve your place call 020 8743 5050, or book online, using code ENCWRITERS

Papercut Theatre - XY Opportunity

2012-05-02T11:25:47Z

Papercut Theatre is offering two writers an exciting opportunity to have their work performed as part of the short play event ‘XY’ Theatre 503, June 10-11th.

The remit is simple, write a short play no more than fifteen minutes in length on any subject, any genre. The only limitation is that you cannot specify a gender for any of your characters.

Two of the best entries will be selected. These writers will have their work mentored and developed by Papercut Theatre’s experienced dramaturgical team and have their work staged at the award-winning Theatre 503. Please note – winning entries will have their work staged twice at the event by two different directors in potentially contrasting styles.

The short plays will be read anonymously. To help facilitate this please include all your personal details in your cover email, and take your name off the play itself.

The deadline is 5pm on the 25th May.

To submit please email a copy of your script to literary@papercuttheatre.co.uk

For more information about the company

www.papercuttheatre.co.uk
www.twitter.com/papercuttheatre
www.facebook.com/papercuttheatreuk

GREYSCALE PLAY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME IN ASSOCIATION WITH TRIFORCE PROMOTIONS

2012-05-02T11:10:01Z

A six month play development programme for theatre writers run by Selma Dimitrijevic, Co-Artistic Director of Greyscale and freelance writer and director.

The 2012 programme will run from 28 May 2012 to 3 December 2012.

Working in a small group and individually, each participant will develop a new play through a series of workshops, meetings, conversations and rehearsal room visits.

The programme will include:
•    2 group meetings per month
•    1 one-on-one meeting per month (at the Bush Theatre café in Shepherd’s Bush)
•    Script notes, advice and support between the meetings
•    Access to rehearsal rooms of 4 different Greyscale shows
•    End-of-course session with both Artistic Directors of Greyscale on practical advice for getting the script noticed, developed and produced

Programme will focus on:
•    Approaches to finding the most suitable form and structure
•    Finding ways to allow the subconscious to generate material and then sharpening technical ability to edit that material
•    Finding and establishing participants’ individual process and practice
•    Advice and introduction to collaboration with other theatre makers

Programme Fee: £360 + VAT

Deadline for applications Monday 21st of May 2012.

More details on the programme and how to apply:   http://www.greyscale.org.uk/workshops/

Chalet Lines Post-Show Discussion for Playwrights

2012-04-13T12:19:11Z

The Writers Experience: A Dramaturgical Story

From page, to rehearsal to stage.

Join Bush Artistic Director Madani Younis, Chalet Lines playwright Lee Mattinson, dramaturg for Chalet Lines Che Walker and Associate Artist Selma Dimitrijevic as they discuss the collective creative process of play shaping after the initial draft has been delivered.

Giving insight into how new submission policies shape plays, we will discuss how writers can reject the notion of an insular practice and embrace their role in a collaborative process.

This event is free to all Chalet Lines ticket holders.

Tickets are available for the performances on 20 April at a special writers' rate of £15 (usually £24) and include entry to the post show discussion.

To reserve your place, call 020 8743 5050 or book online using code WRITERCHALET

The Nick Darke Award

2012-03-09T12:00:32Z

Following Nick Darke’s death the Nick Darke Award was conceived by his wife, the artist and film maker Jane Darke, with the support of his family.

Writers are asked to submit work on an environmental theme in recognition of Nick’s lifelong commitment to this issue. The word environmental may however be broadly interpreted.

The award is presented each year to a writer for work that pursues an environmental theme within one of the following four disciplines:

— Stage play
— Screenplay
— Radio play
— Documentary film

Nick Darke wrote in many forms but earned his living in the world of theatre, screen and radio. As this award is intended to contribute financially to the life of a writer, the award is in one of these disciplines.

With the opportunity to win £6,000 and open to all writers, this competition provides the time to write that financial support facilitates.

In the first instance submissions are invited for an outline and 20 sample script pages of work that will be considered by a selection of readers.

The eight shortlisted writers will then be judged by a panel before the winner is announced in October.

For more information about eligibility and how to apply, please click here.

Little Pieces Of Gold

2012-03-09T10:13:50Z

A showcase for new drama

Little Pieces of Gold is delighted to announce its next showcase for new writing at the
Southwark Playhouse on Sunday, June 3rd, 2012.

Established in 2010, LPG has gone from strength to strength, with sell out shows, industry
interest for our writers, and the forging of creative collaborations. Following on from our
highly successful, sell-out performance in February , we shall be producing eight, new,
fifteen minute plays at the Southwark Playhouse on Sunday, 3rd June.

We are looking for engaging new work that has something to say about the way we live now.
All work will be read and if short-listed passed to our directors who will then select the final 8
plays. Each piece will then be cast and rehearsed to performance standard.

We are very pleased to have on board amongst our readers Julie Press, Literary Division,
MacFarlane Chard Associates, Laura Jessop, National Theatre’s Script Readers’ Panel and
Sarah Barton, Development Producer, BBC Drama

Writers’ deadline: 27th April, 2012

For more information about submissions visit: www.littlepiecesofgold.com

Hightide's Spring Writers' Retreat

2012-02-15T10:40:38Z

Friday, March 30, 2012 - Sunday, April 1, 2012

This spring, HighTide Festival Theatre is hosting a unique writers’ retreat at Ivy Grange Farm in Suffolk with writers being hosted in one of three beautiful yurts. For three days, a group of writers will be encouraged and lead by HighTide Literary Manager, Rob Drummer to explore their writing, through discovery, play, dramaturgical support and the starting of new work. This three day retreat is intended for playwrights of all experience who have completed at least one full play, are committed to seeing their work through to full professional production and who are keen to truly retreat from their own situations, joining us and fellow writers around a campfire!

Ivy Grange Farm sits in the middle of unspoilt, gently rolling Suffolk countryside on the edge of the village of Westhall, a few miles in from the wonderful seaside towns of Southwold and Walberswick on either side of the Blythe estuary. The farmhouse, barn and stables date back to the early 17th century and the area has strong historical associations.

The three days of work will evolve with the needs of the group and on the final day there will be an opportunity to present work to each other in a supportive environment. For full details of the schedule of activities please click here.

Booking Your Place

The cost of the HighTide Spring Writers’ Retreat is £350.00 which includes accommodation in one of the yurts (in your own bed but sharing with other writers and including breakfast) and lunch and dinner on the Friday. Please note that travel is to be booked by the writer separately. HighTide will also provide resources for writing during the three days.

A deposit of £150 will be required to secure your place (full payment due by Monday 26 March).

To book your place online please scroll down the bottom of this page. For telephone bookings please call Philippa on 0207 566 9765.

For more information please contact Philippa, Projects Producer philippa@hightide.org.uk

New Writing Talent Search: Laugh Track

2012-02-03T16:33:09Z

BBC Comedy Commissioning and BBC Writersroom join forces for a second nationwide talent search to find new comedy gold. If you can tell original stories, invent characters and catchphrases that make us laugh out loud and tease the audience to come back for more, then we want to read your script. We want the next big Studio Sitcom - the hardest thing to get right, but brilliant when it works.

Write it, rewrite it, send it in - and you could be in line not just for a comedy masterclass on how to write studio sitcom, but also an intensive week away developing your idea hand in hand with BBC comedy producers and established comedy writing talent. This is an opportunity not to be missed - and you may get the chance of your work performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and at our Sitcom Showcase at the Studio in MediaCity, Salford.

The challenge is to write an original comedy studio script with series potential. We’re looking for writers that reflect modern Britain, comedy voices that have not yet been heard, and talent that’s just bursting to get out. So no matter who you are, or where you’re from or what you’re sitcom is about – if you think you can make a live studio audience laugh, then we want to see your script.

You will need to send us a half hour sitcom script with a one page outline of how your series would develop and our application form. The work must not have been previously commissioned, optioned or produced and this opportunity is for writers who have not yet had a network commission.

We're really excited to announce that Laugh Track will be judged by the amazing Dawn French, along with the BBC's Cheryl Taylor (Controller, Comedy Commissioning) and Kate Rowland (Creative Director, New Writing at the BBC).

Click here for more information

People’s Play Award 2012 open for submissions

2012-02-03T15:01:30Z

The People’s Theatre and New Writing North are pleased to announce the return of the People’s Play Award.

This biennial competition is run to find an exciting new play that will be produced for one week in the studio theatre at the People's Theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne, in November 2012. The winning writer will receive an award of £2,000.

The competition aims to discover and develop new writers for theatre and is only open to writers who have not yet received a full professional production of their work on the stage. Winning the People's Play Award is a great first step to establishing a career as a professional writer. Former winners who have gone on to write professionally include Alison Carr, Peter Straughan (who recently wrote the screenplay for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy as well as The Men Who Stare at Goats) and Carina Rodney.

The deadline for receipt of scripts is 31 May 2012. The winner will be announced in July and the play will be produced from 20-24 November.

The Adrienne Benham Award

2012-01-20T16:06:18Z

Theatre Centre is offering the Adrienne Benham Award, a £2000 seed commission, to spotlight a promising playwright who is interested in writing exceptional live theatre for young people, but has little experience in this field.

The award is aimed at a writer who satisfies the following criteria:

· an interest and enthusiasm for young people’s theatre

· a professional commitment to playwriting

· imagination, skill, personality and adventure in his/her writing

· new to the young people’s theatre genre

How to Apply

Applicants must be resident in the UK. The following materials should be sent by post to: Theatre Centre, Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, London, EC1V 9LT.

· Application form (click here to download)

· Covering Letter outlining why the writer is interested in the award, what they would like to achieve if successful, why they should be selected and how the judging criteria is met

· 10 pages of script (3 copies) that is considered to be the writers best work (for any audience)

· CV

Deadline for submissions is 17th February 2012 at 12noon.

Applications may come from the writer or the writer’s representative. Please do not submit a project or an idea. Entries from established YPT writers will not be considered.

The Windsor Fringe Kenneth Branagh Award 2012

2012-01-12T17:09:10Z

The Windsor Fringe is now accepting unpublished one-act plays from amateur playwrights for its ninth Award. Three winning scripts will be selected for performance in October during the 2012 Windsor Fringe Festival. The winner writer will receive a £500 cash prize and The Windsor Fringe will underwrite the staging of the winner and the two runners -up with selected directors.

Criteria: Amateur playwrights only, one script per entrant. Plays must not have been previously performed, be the original work of the entrant and be suitable for staging in a studio theatre with no more than six actors. Plays must be no more than 30 minutes long.

Guidelines:
- Submit two copies of each script, printed on loose sheets of A4 paper, no binding or stapling.
- Pages must be numbered.
- No submissions by email, no scripts returned. Judging is on a blind-submission basis – author’s name must not appear in the script.
- Cover page must include name of the play, author’s name, contact details and signature.
- BBC writersroom applicants will be granted a waiver of the £5 reading fee if the words “Writers Room” appear in the top right- hand corner of the cover page.

The three short-listed author’s works will be performed on the last 3 nights of The Windsor Fringe Festival during October, and the announcement made in mid-June 2012. Rehearsals start at the beginning of August. The winner will be announced after the last performance.

Deadline: 5th March 2011

Scripts should be sent to:
Windsor Fringe Drama Writing Award
Suite 640, 24-28 St Leonard’s Road
Windsor, Berks. SL4 3BB

For more information, visit the Windsor Fringe website.

The Arundel Festival Theatre Trail

2012-01-12T17:03:49Z

The Arundel Festival Theatre Trail, conceived and presented by Drip Action Theatre Company, is now in its twelfth year. It performs at the end of August, on each of the Festival’s eight days, eight short plays at eight different venues all over Arundel – last year, for example, in a living room, a kitchen, an art gallery and a pub.

Writers are invited to submit plays for the 2012 Theatre Trail.

Plays should be between 30 and 40 minutes long, suitable for day-time performance, with practicable casting and props. All entries should be submitted to:

Drip Action Theatre Trail 2012
c/o SGIS Ltd.
65a High Street
Arundel
West Sussex
BN18 9AJ

Deadline: 31st January 2012.

One play only per entrant, in hard copy (not e-mail). Please enclose SAE if you’d like your play returned. There is no reading fee.

A reading committee will select the plays that will be performed, with the best submitted script receiving the Joy Goun award of £250 at the Theatre Trail launch in May 2012.

Each successful playwright will receive a £150 writer’s fee.

For further information call 01903 885250 or e-mail dripactioninfo@btinternet.com

Hightide Resident Assistant Director 2012

2011-12-23T14:14:59Z

HighTide are passionate about providing opportunities for emerging directors and through the annual Resident Assistant Director posts offer a bespoke training and development programme for talented UK-based directors. Learning from directors of HighTide Festival productions and being fully integrated at HighTide throughout the course of the year will provide valuable training for directors at an early stage of their career.

Suitable For:

Directors with previous directing experience, a passion for new writing and an understanding of HighTide’s position in the industry. Assistant Directors must be over 18 and eligible to work in the UK.

Fee:

£2,500 in total; paid in quarterly instalments throughout the year, plus rehearsal travel expenses in London in April. Also travel and accommodation in Suffolk for HighTide Festival 2012.

Dates:

Part-time: Literary 30th January 2012 – 31st January 2013
Commitment to attend one script meeting every fortnight.

Full-time: Assistant Directing
Rehearsals begin: March and April 2012
Festival runs: May 3rd – 13th 2012
Transfer: TBC

Full-time: Personal Development

One week Genesis Laboratory: TBC

How To Apply:

Application deadline: 31st December 2011.

Please send an email detailing experiences, suitability and why you want to join HighTide, together with a current CV to Rob Drummer, Literary Manager at recruitment@hightide.org.uk

All applicants must be available for interview on either the 18th or 19th January 2012.

SCRIPT SPACE 2012: Call for submission

2011-12-16T10:06:49Z

Developing writers and their work

Back for a fifth year running, Tobacco Factory Theatre’s Script Space is an open competition that invites submissions of new, unperformed one-act plays from UK-based writers for tailor-made development opportunities.

It’s very simple, really: we’re looking for exciting writing from exciting writers whom we’d like to work with further. We will select up to three plays to take forward for development. What form that development takes will depend on the plays themselves; it’ll be bespoke, to ensure maximum benefit to the writing and the writer. Previous development work has included: dramaturgical advice, R&D time with actors and a director, a rehearsed reading or small-scale production.

Submission guidelines

We’d much rather receive your play by email. Please send a single Word or PDF attachment (no CVs or synopses, please) to scriptspace@tobaccofactory.com, putting the play title in the subject box and including your full name, address and contact details in the email.

Entries will be judged anonymously so please don’t include your name on the script itself.

Do note that we are anticipating a high volume of submissions, so please bear with us. Deadline: 31 January 2012

The Genesis Future Directors Award at the Young Vic 2012

2011-12-16T09:28:10Z

The Genesis Future Directors Award enables the Young Vic to identify, support and nurture a director to explore their craft and stage a production in the Clare Theatre. The Award is aimed at young and /or emerging directors who have demonstrated a talent for and commitment to directing but have had limited opportunity to make work.

THE AWARD

The director will have the opportunity to work for four weeks on a play of their choice. The director can work with up to three actors and a full creative team. The production will be part of the Young Vic’s autumn programme and will be fully supported by the Young Vic’s creative, administrative and production teams. The project will conclude with 10 performances to a paying audience in the Clare Theatre in summer 2012.

The proposed production should meet the following criteria:

• Need no more than three actors. The play may contain more than three characters.

• Respond to the challenge of a limited production budget

• Suit a four week rehearsal process.

• Be an existing play or adaptation.

The play should have been produced previously and the Award is not intended to enable dramaturgical work on a new play.

We are looking for directors who:

• Have already demonstrated a talent for and a commitment to directing

• Have directed at least one or two professional productions*

• Demonstrated a commitment to originality and a desire to expand their understanding of theatre practice

• Are fascinated by the actor’s process and the director’s role in it

• Are resident in the UK

*A professional production is defined as a show which involves professional actors (paid or unpaid), and runs for more than two weeks. It does not include shows at university or drama school.

The Award will provide a budget for a four week rehearsal period and 10 performances. The director will receive a fee and will be supported by a full stage management team, creative team including designer, lighting designer and sound designer as well as a casting director. The actors will be paid a Young Vic company wage.

HOW TO APPLY

The application will require the following information:

• Brief synopsis and description of the play you would like to work on (200 words or less)

• Brief outline of why you want to direct the play and your concept (500 words or less)

• Your creative team. If you could pick any practitioners to collaborate with on this production, who would your dream creative team be?

• A CV (one page A4)

Please submit no more that 2 A4 pages for your application and one A4 page CV.

The deadline for applications is noon on Monday 6 February 2012.

Please send your application for the attention of Sue Emmas at directorsprogramme@youngvic.org with THE GENESIS FUTURE DIRECTORS AWARD in the subject box.

The Class: Laurence Marks Writing Television Comedy

2011-12-15T21:56:53Z

Do you want to write for television? Do you want to make a living by making people laugh? Do you have a brilliant idea but nowhere to take it?

We are offering you the ultimate TV comedy masterclass with one of Britain’s most successful comedy screenwriters; the legendary Laurence Marks.

The man behind comedy smash hits such as Goodnight Sweetheart and Birds of a Feather, who has written for Cheers and M*A*S*H, will be giving us the benefit of his insider knowledge on breaking into the industry, how to write a successful script and, most importantly of all, what’s funny.

The masterclass costs just £50 and will take place at the IdeasTap office in London on 18-19 February 2012.

Ideastap are offering 20 places for the best, most ambitious writers.

To enter go to www.ideastap.com.

Entrants must be between 18 and 30 years old on Friday 6 January, 2012.

Little Pieces of Gold Valentine Special

2011-12-01T16:37:29Z

To coincide with Valentine's Day, we're asking writers for their personal take on cupid's little concoction - the romantic, the not so romantic, the fantasy and the reality. Be funny, profound, absurd or sad but give us a fifteen minute piece of drama that tackles the theme of Valentine's Day, love and romance.

Every play submitted will be read by Little Pieces of Gold's producer and two readers. A short-list is then made and circulated amongst our eight directors who will then make their selection. If your play is selected it is then assigned a director who will cast, rehearse and direct your piece to performance standard. We would be hugely grateful if you could stick to the following guidelines. Thank you.

Guidelines

1. Your play must be no longer than 15 mins duration.

2. We cannot accept extracts, adaptations or monologues.

3. We can only accommodate very basic sound/lighting. No sets or 'effects'. Our time will be extremely limited in regard to technical rehearsals so writers, please really adhere to this.

4. Your piece must not have been staged in the UK ( if it's had a reading that's fine).

5. U.K. writers only.

6. Attach your work in a PDF or Word document.

7. Please include a very short synopsis of the play and a brief writer's bio.

8. Cast should be limited to 6 actors.

9. Please mention where you heard about the showcase.

Unfortunately, due to lack of people power it is impossible to give feedback unless your play has been short-listed. We hope you will understand. Also, this is a non-profit, voluntary initiative and so again, unfortunately, there is no payment or reimbursement of expenses.

Many thanks indeed to all the writers who have taken the time to submit their work to us.

Writers' deadline: December 20th, 2011

Please send your work to Suzette Coon, producer, Little Pieces of Gold at mail@littlepiecesofgold.com

Diaspora Drama Workshop Opportunity

2011-11-24T16:00:36Z

Exploring cultural memory through drama.

This one day workshop will explore how first and second generation diaspora writers can draw on both their lived experience of Britain and their cultural memory of elsewhere in creating unique stories.

What kinds of stories, characters and themes recur as we present on stage lives lived both here and ‘there’? How do writers combine influences from two (or more) worlds to create one cohesive work? Is there such a thing as a diaspora story, with common features, across playwriting? And does a fractured cultural experience help or hinder creativity?

11am - 4pm

Saturday 3 December @ Lyric Hammersmith Lyric Square

£45/ £30 (concessions)

HAMLET Script Writing Competition

2011-11-24T15:25:00Z

For any teenagers around the UK (some of which may be shifting through Shakespeare for the new year exams), the Spinebreakers Hamlet Script Writing Competition is your time to showcase your own play-writing skills for a chance to experience Hamlet at the Young Vic Theatre in London full on – with the amazing Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon, Underworld, Twilight, Tron: Legacy) in the lead role!

The ask?

Write one scene of a play based around the themes of ‘Madness' and 'Revenge’. Email your entry on a Word document to hello@spinebreakers.co.uk with the subject title ‘Hamlet competition’

The grand prize?
2 winners will receive a pair of tickets each to watch HAMLET at the Young Vic Theatre on the closing night of the show on January 21, plus signed posters and programmes!

13 runners up will also receive Spinebreakers special editions of HAMLET.

Step into Shakespeare’s shoes and inspire David Lan (Young Vic Artistic Director) and Anca Chung (Younc Vic Marketing Manager) who are our exclusive competition judges

www.youngvic.org/whats-on/hamlet

Closing date is midnight on January 9th.
This competition is open to UK residents aged 14-19 years only.

Write for EastEnders: E20

2011-11-18T16:57:08Z

Write for EastEnders: E20

EastEnders: E20 is written by a team of young writers, all under the age of 23. All of the writers complete awhere they are taught how to write for television by EastEnders Script Writers and Producers. They are then commissioned to write an episode each.

If you are a UK resident, aged 16-22 and would like to take part in the next EastEnders: E20 Writers School, the details of how to apply are listed below.

You must be between the ages of 16-22 on November 30th 2011 to be eligible.

What do I need to do?

If you are a UK resident aged 16-22 and would like to write for EastEnders: E20, you should submit a piece of fictional writing for a character that you have made up.

You should write either a blog, diary extract or monologue for that character, no longer than 400 words and send it in by Wednesday 30th November 2011.

Where do I send it?

Please send your submissions to:

EastEnders: E20 - Script Development
BBC Elstree Centre,
Clarendon Road,
Borehamwood,
Herts,
WD6 1JF

Please remember to include your name, your age (including date of birth) and your contact details (including a telephone number and an email address) on your submission.

All submissions must be received by Wednesday 30th November 2011.

For more information, visit the EastEnders: E20 website.

Read EastEnders: E20 writer, Corey Montague-Sholay's blog for BBC writersroom.