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HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCRIPT!
It's now
two years since the official launch of Script
took place at Birmingham Repertory Theatre. In
January 2003 a large gathering of writers and
arts professionals celebrated a new beginning
of the organisation for dramatic writers in the
West Midlands.
But becoming
Script wasn't just about changing our name and
throwing a party. We announced the expansion of
our remit to include screenwriting as well as
stage and radio. There were plans for running
more extensive development programmes for writers
as well as launching a website. In short, Script
would be working with and providing services to
writers in much more varied and dynamic ways.
Our 2nd
birthday provides a timely opportunity to reflect
on what we've been doing and how our ambitious
plans have been put into effect.
We kicked
off with an extensive programme of training that
ran throughout the spring. Workshops and guest
speakers covered subjects including radio drama-documentary,
the short screenplay, television drama and creating
text for performance.
Our first
major writer development scheme, Write
Live , saw us linking-up with Birmingham
Rep to provide opportunities for theatre
writers. As a result two writers were taken on
attachment to the Rep and a further three writers
were offered mentoring by Script. Write
Live 2005 was even bigger with over 160
entries received. Birmingham Rep took three writers
on attachment and Script offered mentoring to
four writers.
Write
in Sound was designed to offer similar
development to radio writers. Three were selected
for mentoring. Two of the writers also got to
showcase their plays in a hugely successful event
at The Orange Birmingham Book Festival.
The Script
website went live in the summer of 2004 and included
our first online newsletter. This monthly newsletter
continues to provide details of our current news
and writer opportunities as well as those from
other organisations nationally. If you don't receive
it, go to the Mailing
List section and sign-up now!
Script
linked-up with Foursight Theatre for
the Page to Stage scheme. A call
went out to all female playwrights in the region.
Penni Gillis and Christine Watkins' plays were
selected and ran for four performances in March
2005.
In association
with the Orange Birmingham Book Festival
2004/2005 we have offered open access
workshops on screenwriting, theatre writing and
one-to-one script surgeries with a script doctor.
A free workshop on screenwriting was held as part
of ArtsFest 2004 . Script have
also linked-up with Artworcs
to run radio and screen writing workshops and
a ScriptSlam in Worcester.
Small
Screen Visions was specifically tailored
to give experienced writers from other fields
a complete course in writing for the screen. Following
an initial workshop weekend with thirteen writers,
five were selected to undergo nine months of workshops
and mentoring. The programme ended in the summer
of 2005 with an event that included industry speakers.
All five writers have now completed their screenplays
and are approaching producers. Two have also been
selected to write short films for Brummiewood.
Leap
off the Page was designed to attract
writers from culturally diverse backgrounds. Again,
following initial workshop sessions and applications,
three writers were selected to have their screenplays
made into digital shorts. These films, made with
Light House Media Centre in Wolverhampton, have
since been shown around the region and beyond,
with one of them winning a Royal Television Society
Award.
Radio
Online was a link-up with BBC
Radio Drama Birmingham and Transmissions
at Birmingham Rep. This was the first
time Script had specifically targeted young writers.
There were workshops led by a BBC Producer and
stimulus sounds for plays provided on the Script
website. Eventually, three plays were selected
to be recorded and put on the Script website and
showcased at the 2005 Transmissions Festival at
the Rep. Visit the RADIO
section to hear them.
In 2005
we launched an extensive workshop programme which
took the form of the region-wide delivery of the
Introduction to Screenwriting
course. This in-depth course offers the definitive
introduction to writing the short screenplay and
has already run at four venues the following locations:
Birmingham, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Warwick and
Shropshire. It's also running in Hereford in February
2006 and Warwick Arts Centre in April and May
(see the DIARY for
details).
Script
continues to offer a Script Reading Service
and we have received submissions from
as far away as Spain and the USA. The feedback
we get suggests that most writers find this service
incredibly useful in developing their work - some
have even gone on to get productions following
re-drafts based on the advice they received from
our expert readers.
As well
as running workshops and writer training, Script
is now also viewed as a centre for advice. Writers
frequently call or email with questions on a variety
of issues from starting points to finding a script
editor. If you have a question please visit the
FAQ section of this
website.
What
next...?
We expect
2006 to be another busy and productive year at
Script. A number of projects are already underway
such as the Script/Raw Edge Monologue
Competition, TV Drama Shorts and the
Writers' Groups Training Programme .
Write Live 2006 will launch
later in the year and there are a number of other
projects in the pipeline (funding pending).
Over the
last two years Script has worked with a number
of arts organisations (funders, partners), individuals
(workshops leaders, readers) and writers. We'd
like to thank all of them for helping to make
Script a success.
Peggy Paterson
(Managing Director)
Deborah
Rees (Programmes Director 2003-2005)
Sibyl Ruth
(Programmes Director - present)
Rachel
Taylor (Administrator)
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