Newsletter - January 2007


	SCRIPT is the West Midlands agency for dramatic writers.

SCRIPT NEWS - JANUARY 2007

SPECIAL FEATURES

Kate Wyvill talks about writing and producing her first play whilst coping with three boys under the age of six.

Click here or go to our Special Features

WRITE LIVE 2007 - GET ATTACHED TO THE REP AND SEE YOUR WORDS ON STAGE!

Script and Birmingham Repertory Theatre are working together to offer a variety of exciting opportunities for West Midlands based playwrights...

You could:

Be selcted for the Birmingham Repertory Theatre's Attachment Scheme for Playwrights

Have your work developed by Script through mentoring and showcasing

Deadling for applications: 11th May 2007

Click here for full details.

WRITERS - WE WANT YOUR VIEWS

We've got lots of ideas for writing courses that we'd like to run throughout the West Midlands. But before we start putting our plans into action we're keen to know what you, the writers, think!

Please download the questionnaire

Email your responses to: info@scriptonline.net

or post it to: Script, Unit 107, The Greenhouse, The Custard Factory, Gibb Street, Birmingham B9 4AA.

Download the questionnaire here

A NEW MEMBER OF THE TEAM

Welcome to Kerry Murdock who has recently joined Script as our Administrator.

OPPORTUNITIES, TRAINING AND COMPETITIONS...

STAGE...

THE MEYER-WHITWORTH AWARD

The Playwright's Studio Scotland is delighted to announce details of the 2007 award. Supported by the National Theatre Foundation and with a prize fund of £10,000 this award is intended to help further the careers of UK playwrights who are not yet established.

Plays nominated must be in English and have been produced professionally in the UK for the first time between August 2006 and 30 November 2007. Candidates must be nominated by directors of professional theatre companies and not have had more than two of their plays professionally produced.

Full details: www.playwrightsstudio.co.uk

Closing Date: 31 January 2007

DRAMA ASSOCIATION OF WALES

One Act playwriting Competition 2007

The competition aims to encourage the writing of plays for amateur theatre in English and Welsh.

Plays should be sent to: Drama Association of Wales, The Old Library, Singleton Road, Splott, Cardiff, CF24 2ET

Scripts should be anonymous and a minimum cast of two. Entry fee £10.

Enquires please contact: aled.daw@virgin.net or Teresa on 029 2045 2200

Closing Date: 31 January 2007

NEW WRITING EVENING IN STOKE ON TRENT: UNDER WRAPS

Reveal Theatre Company are establishing a scratch night of new writing at the

Queens Theatre, Stoke on Trent

22 February 2007

They are currently looking for submissions for this informal sharing of new work . Visit www.revealtheatre.co.uk for details or call Robert Marsden on 01785 286 603.

WANTED: WRITER OF MONOLOGUES/ DUOLOGUES

to write 4/5 original duologues/monologues for new acting/writing showcase to be staged in February/March 2007 in central London.

For more info, email: mary_brooksbank@hotmail.co.uk

YOUTH MUSIC THEATRE

Jan-Feb 2007 National Auditions

Open to any young person aged 11-21, auditions will be a 2-hour workshop at a venue near you.

Successful candidates will attend a residential project in full-board accommodation.

Potential for being in one of four productions.

Get all details from: www.youth-music-theatre.org.uk

KING'S CROSS NEW WRITING AWARD 2007

Playwrights can send up to two unpublished and unperformed scripts. Entry fee £5 per play. Winning entry will be contracted to the Courtyard Theatre. Visit www.thecourtyard.org.uk

Deadline: 2 April 2007

BOX OF TRICKS THEATRE COMPANY

are looking for new scripts for their season of play readings at the White Bear Theatre, London. If you have a finished play to submit send an email with your script synopsis, an extract and your CV to boxoftrickstheatre@yahoo.co.uk

or visit www.boxoftrickstheatre.co.uk for more info.

MAYA SEEKS NEW PLAYWRIGHT

Maya Productions is looking for a 90-minute 2-3 hander suitable for touring to village halls and small-scale venues in England. Drama or Comedy accepted but scripts should bring the experience of a Black, Asian or minority group to a rural audience.

Visit: www.mayaproductions.co.uk for details, or phone: 0207 923 0635 or email: mayachris@aol.com

THEATRE IN THE POUND

The Cockpit Theatre run a monthly scratch night to enable new plays to be seen and developed. Theatre in the Pound is principally a not-for-profit night. The audience pay only £1 for their tickets!

For more information visit: www.cockpittheatre.org.uk/pound

or email:pound@cockpittheatre.co.uk

NEW WRITING NORTH

New Writing North is looking for four writers from the North East of England to participate in the innovative, yearlong development programme, Emerge. This exciting opportunity is provided for writers who are working script-based fields and who have achieved some success but are not yet working professionally.

For more information visit: www.newwritingnorth.com

Deadline: 22nd January

24:7 THEATRE FESTIVAL

Writers from across the region are invited to submit scripts for possible inclusion in the fourth annual 24:7 Theatre Festival. Running from 23-29th July 2007 the festival will present a variety of non-theatre venues in Central Manchester. Submission should be original play scripts with a 60 minute time limit. The play must be original, unpublished and not been performed in the main house of a theatre at commercial rates.

Deadline for script submission: 31st January

For more information visit: www.247theatrefestival.co.uk

SIX MINUTE THEATRE
You become a mother. The world ends. You miss the bus. You change your mind. A lot can happen in six minutes.
Total Beast's Six Minute Theatre is a competition looking for original new dramatic works no more than six minutes in length. These can be complete plays or self contained scenes from longer plays.
The winner will receive a prize of £200, and the best entries will be performed at a special event in London in 2007.

Entry fee £5

For more information visit: www.totalbeast.co.uk

Deadline: 10th February 2007

COMPOSER SEEKS PLAYWRIGHT

Composer seeks a playwright to write the book for a musical being developed as part of the MA Musical Theatre at Goldsmiths with a a view to production on London Fringe. A writer with a comic/idiosyncratic bent who can produce pithy and accessible dialogue required.

For more details contact: Tim Saward.

MCLAREN MEMORIAL PLAYWRIGHTING COMPETITION

The 2007 McLaren Memorial Playwriting Competition is accepting submissions. These must be comedies for adults, teens or children. Work must not have been produced professionally or published. Winners received $400 for full length plays and $200 for one-act plays.

Deadline: 31st January 2007

For more information visit: www.mctmidland.org/mclaren

RADIO...

WATSON'S WIND UP

a topical weekly radio show broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland, is inviting submission of topical sketches drawn from the week's news.

Rules: Sketches must relate to that week's news.

Ideally sketches should have Scottish slant but not essential for bigger news stories

Deadline: midday on Thursdays (for recording Fridays and airing Saturdays)

Duration of sketches: 20 seconds to 2 minutes

Send to: philipdiffer@comedyunit.co.uk (put your name on every page of material)

BBC WORLD SERVICE INTERNATIONAL PLAYWRIGHTING COMPETITION

The BBC World Service has launched the tenth biennial International Competition, run in conjunction with the British Council. Two prizes are awarded: Best play by a writer with English as their first language and best play by a writer with English as their second language.

You are asked to write a radio play of about sixty minutes on any subject of your choice. The play must be the original unpublished work of the person submitting it.

For full details visit: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1521_int_play_comp/

Deadline: April 30th

SCREEN...

SCREENWRITERS - SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT DIABETES

Balance is an opportunity for up-and-coming screenwriters in the West Midlands to receive UK-wide distribution in return for helping to spread the word about diabetes. The challenge is to shoot seven films of seven different genres in seven days. Five films of 5 minutes or less will be developed from now until the week of production at the end of March. All proceeds go to charity. We are still seeking writers in the following genres: rom-com, drama and thriller.

If you are interested send a brief covering letter stating your genre along with a CV to: writers.balance@yahoo.co.uk.

There will be a development meeting on Tuesday 16 January at 12:30 at the MAC.

ARMENIAN DRAMATIC ARTS & SCREENWRITING PRIZE

The Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance (ADAA) announces the inauguration of its annual contest for a play or screenplay based on Armenian themes. The winning writer will be honoured with a $10,000 award in the Fall of 2007. The contest will be administered by the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance, which will establish a panel of noted film and theatre professionals to select the winning script. Scripts must have an Armenian theme, but writers are not required to be of Armenian descent.

For information about the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance and how to contribute to its important mission, please visit the website: www.armeniandrama.org

or call: 001 617-871-6764

Deadline: 15 May 2007

EURO SCREEN STORY COMPETITION 2007

Now in its 11th year, the Euroscript Screen Story Competition 2007 is an opportunity for screenwriters to develop their scripts in a rigorous script development programme. They are looking for writers with powerful story ideas and original voices. To enter you need to submit a two page prose outline of the story plus ten pages of a sample script (which must include a mixture of action and dialogue).

For further information log onto :www.euroscript.co.uk

Deadline: 31 March 2007

PAWS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS 2006/7

£5000 is available for leading writers. The PAWS (Public Awareness of Science and Engineering) organisation has made some fundamental chances to its approach to supporting writers and producers with new TV drama ideas that feature science and technology.

Applications for research and development grants are invited until May 2007

For more information visit: www.pawsdrama.com

NEW MEDIA ...

FREELANCE ARTISTS IN THE WEST MIDLANDS

B Arts is looking to widen its base of freelance artists with an interest in new media, carnival music, carnival making, to work on various projects across the West Midlands.

More info on: www.pandaemonium.biz

or email: angelatawn@pandaemonium.biz

EVENTS...

THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION

The Hungarian Cultural Association and Light House present the timely exhibition 1956: The Hope of Freedom. Consisting of tableaux of archive images and written commentaries, the exhibition explains the political background to the momentous events of October 1956.

22 January - 22 February

Light House, The Chubb Buildings, Fryer Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1HT

www.light-house.co.uk

Adminission Free

SCREEN FORUM: BUMMIEWOOD 3

Screen forum is a regular meeting of practitioners and agencies who are involved in screen based creative industries within the region.

This evening the forum is presenting Brummiewood 3 features 3rd year acting students working with professional local writers and directors to create short films which are shot and edited in day. There will be a Q&A with the filmmakers following the screening which will be chaired by Peggy Paterson from Script.

18th January 2007: 7-9pm

Light House, The Chubb Buildings, Fryer Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1HT

For more information contact: angela@light-house.co.uk

Admission Free (pre-booking advisable)

(You may be interested to note that seven of the eight writers have had work developed through Script and the eighth is now on one of our courses!)

JOB ADVERTISEMENT ...

MAVERICK THEATRE COMPANY

are looking for a Star-up General/Administrator/Fundraiser

After a sabbatical, Artistic Director, Nic Hennegan is re-launching the award winning Maverick Theatre Company in Birmingham. The new company will involve an ambitious programme of national touring, building-based and community theatre and multi-media production. To facilitate this Maverick is keen to take on a self start to help. For a snapshot of the old company visit: www.mavericktheatre.co.uk.

For further information, please send a CV and a few details about how you could benefit the company to nick@mavericktheatre.co.uk

NEWS & CONGRATULATIONS ...

Arts Council England (ACE) - Shropshire

is offering Grant application advice and guidance in Shropshire

17 January 2007, between 2-8pm

SpArC, Bishops Castle

21 February 2007, between 2-8m

Stone House, Corve Street, Ludlow

Each session will last between 30-45 minutes and is an opportunity to discuss your ideas and proposals for applications to ACE, Awards for All, local authorities or trusts and foundations. Bring along your draft proposal or project idea and a draft budget if possible.

Contact Jenny Henrywood to book a session

01584 813 190 or email: jenny.henrywood@southshropshire.gov.uk

Alan Pollock's play The Death of Cool has a new production at the Tristran Bates Theatre. Alan led our Introduction to Playwriting Workshops in 2006.

15 January 2007 - February 2007

Tristan Bates Theatre

Box Office: 0207 240 6283

LOOKING FOR ACTORS?

Equity are keen to help publicise work which can be done through their Equity meetings which occur once a month. Also through the monthly newsletter (deadline is usually 20th). They can also send a direct request to those members that have email and this can be sent anytime - which can be handy for short notice. Equity will only promote work that is paid at the correct rate and on a contract.

Contact Equity secretary: Su Hallcroft on email: birminghamequity@blueyonder.co.uk.

DO YOU HAVE SOME NEWS YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE SCRIPT MEMBERSHIP? If so, then e-mail info@scriptonline.net by the end of the month and it will go into the following month's Newsletter. Next Newsletter will be February 2007.

DISCLAIMER

Script asks you to note: These listings are drawn from varying sources, all current at time of publishing.

Script endeavours to investigate and validate all information and opportunities listed here. We advise you to make contact with companies before submitting scripts.

ARCHIVE

To view previous editions of Script News, please click on the links below

April 2005

May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005