| SCRIPT
NEWS - December 2007
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INTRODUCTION
TO SCREENWRITING COURSE
An in-depth,
well-resourced course that offers the definitive
introduction to the art of writing the short screenplay.
The course at the Herbert Media Centre,
Coventry is now fully booked.
Further
dates and venues in Spring 2008 to be announced
shortly.
WRITER'S
SUCCESS
Local
writer Stephen Jackson was one of six playwrights
chosen for the 2007 International Playwriting
Festival from over 600 entries received from around
the world. The shortlist was announced at
a Press Reception at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
and extracts from the plays were performed at
the Warehouse Theatre at the end of November.
Stephen
was also shortlisted for our own SCRIPT/ Raw Edge
Monologue competition last year and the shortlisted
monologues can still be heard on this website.
OPPORTUNITIES,
TRAINING AND COMPETITIONS...
STAGE...
NEW PLAYWRITING PRIZE
The
"Stuckemarkt", or "play market",
part of the Berliner Festspiele, is a marketplace
for writers, agents, theatremakers, critics, and
audiences. First and foremost, it is a springboard
for young, as yet unknown dramatists from across
Europe. The Stuckmarkt are inviting dramatists
and theatre publishers from all over Europe to
submit new plays in any European language.
The only requirement is that the plays must not
have been performed in Germany before.
The
New Playwriting Prize is worth 5000 Euro (£3500)
and will be awarded to one of the Stuckmarkt authors
whose play is presented as a staged reading. To
find out more, including how to enter your work,
visit the Berliner
Festival Website
Deadline:
15th December 2007
INSPIRING
YOURSELF THROUGH WRITING
Creative
Writing Workshop
Saturday
15th December, 2-4pm
Everyone
has creative ability, but we often feel stagnated
and unable to access it. Writing can be
a fun and easy way to tap into this creative source.
This introductory workshop gives you practical
exercises to help you to connect to your creativity.
We'll be using spontaneous writing exercises to
access right brained creative activity.
It's a useful way to relieve stress and stimulate
creativity - writing prowess is definitely not
necessary! It's about encouraging the creative
ability rather than a conventional writing workshop.
The
workshop will be led by Rachel Sambrooks, Creative
Scriptwriting Tutor at the mac
Cost:
£25
Booking:
Contact Rachel on 07749 929064 or email
cosmicjokewriter@yahoo.co.uk
ZEITGEIST
THEATRE SUBMISSIONS
Zeitgeist
Theatre seeks script submissions for the next
Theatre Grand Slam event in South London.
Plays must be under ten minutes long, require
three actors or fewer and have only simple stage/lighting
directions.
Scripts
must be witty, entertaining and brilliant enough
to impress an audience who will vote for their
favourite play at the end of the night.
The winner will develop a play for production
next year at one of London's most prestigious
fringe venues.
Please
submit your play and a brief writer biog/CV to:
info@zeitgeisttheatre.com
Deadline:
20th December 2007
BASS
2008 COMMISSIONS
The
BASS Festival (British Art and Street Sounds)
was initiated by Punch Records in 2006.
Intrinsically we sought to bring a national focus
to the wealth of talent present in the West Midlands
region, as well as develop and showcase the unsung
excellence of our black and urban music and art
communities. BASS welcomes applications from any
art form, but will favour those that have a bias
towards urban or black forms of expression or
content. We are looking for exciting, challenging
and innovative work that hits one or more of the
festival drivers and in some way ties in with
the theme of this year's festival. It might be
a completely new project or an exciting extension
of your current practice. We want you to
use the commissions as an opportunity to explore
those ideas you wouldn't normally see as viable.
We would like you to submit a simple outline proposal
of 200-400 words max, describing what you would
like to do.
Call
Josie on 0121 224 7444 for more info, or visit
the website
Deadline:
21st December 2007
THEATRE
TRAIL COMPETITION 2008
Drip
Action Theatre is launching its eighth Theatre
Trail competition for 2008. The competition
is looking for one-act plays to be performed as
part of next year's Arundel Festival. The
event is held during the last week in August and
consists of eight short plays performed every
day, throughout the day at eight different locations
all over Arundel.
Drip
Action Theatre is calling on writers of all abilities
and experience to submit new entries for next
year. Plays will be selected for performance
by a panel of three judges, with one overall winner
receiving the Joy Goun Award of £100.
The theme can be any genre so long as it has a
realistic cast number and can be staged simply
with minimum scenery and props. Your play
should be 30-40 minutes in length and suitable
for a daytime performance.
Address
for yor submission and the terms of entry should
be obtained initially from Bill Brennan on 01903
885250 or dripactioninfo@btinternet.com
Website:
www.dripaction.co.uk
Deadline:
31st December 2007
UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
3RD
INTERNATIONAL SCRIPT COMPETITION
$10,000
prize for plays about science and technology.
Submitted plays must explore scientific and/or
technological stories, themes, issues and events.
For
further info, visit: www.cnsi.ucsb.edu/stage
Deadline:
31st December 2007
dumbFUNDED
COMEDY SHOWCASE
dumbFUNDED
theatre is launching a sketch writing competition,
to be judged by James Henry, a writer for the
Green Wing, Smack the Pony and ManStrokeWoman.
Winning
sketches will be performed as part of the dumbFUNDED
Comedy Showcase in the Falmouth area in early
March 2008. Winners will also have the chance
to direct and workshop their scripts with actors,
and receive a free DVD of the show.
The
competition for original sketches is themed around
"Town and Country", though the organisers
are keen to root sketches in Cornwall where possible.
To find out more and submit your sketches, visit
the dumbFUNDED website: http://dumbfunded.co.uk
Deadline:
4th January 2008
HIGHTIDE
2008: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
HighTide
is now looking for new full-length scripts from
emerging writers for the 2008 Festival, which
takes place between 2-5 May
- Scripts
in performance should be no longer than 1hr
30 mins
- Selected
writers will receive £3000 in respect
of a one-year exclusive option
- Applicants
must be resident in the UK or Ireland
- Writers
may submit one unproduced, unpublished full-length
play. There is no restriction on subject
matter.
- Scripts
must have a title page with author's name, address
and telephone number. Scripts will not be returned.
- Please
send all submissions to: HighTide Festival,
Adam House, 7 Adam Street, The Strand, London,
WC2N 6AA
- If
possible, the play should also be emailed to:
scripts@hightidefestival.org.
Please enter your name and title of script in
the subject line.
Further
info: www.hightidefestival.org/pages/playwrights.php
Deadline:
4 January 2008
CALL
FOR SUBMISSIONS: THE SCENE POOL
The
Scene Pool is a new initiative from PI Network
that has been developed to give theatre makers
and writers the space and opportunity to try out
work, experiment with a new idea, get feedback
or introduce your company to potential producers
or venue managers. This one week event will
offer each company taking part a twenty minute
programme slot to show their work and get it seen.
PI is
an established theatre development organisation
that also runs eVolve, a national showcase of
theatre graduate performance, and GroundWork,
a programme for companies and productions ready
for touring and booking opportunities. For more
information, visit http://www.perform.tv
Deadline:
11th January 2008
CRACKED
ACTOR PRODUCTIONS SEEK SHORT PLAYS
Brighton-based
Cracked Actor Productions are looking for writers
(preferably based in South East, but not essential)
to submit 10-minute plays for the Komedia Theatrical
Performance at the 2008 Brighton Fringe.
The plays need to be able to be performed with
just two actors, no effects, and in a "bar
setting" (the actors will be sitting at the
tables with the audience amongst them).
For further details, please contact Marcus at
crackedactorco@aol.com
24:7
2008: CALL FOR SCRIPTS
Manchester's
award-winning, critically acclaimed theatre festival
- is now accepting applications for the fifth
Festival, running from 21-28 July 2008.
Plays must be under 60 minutes, suitable for a
non-theatre space (i.e. simple sets and limited
"special effects") and must not have
already been part of an advertised tour or theatre
season. We attract funding from The Arts
Council, Manchester City Council, and Manchester
Airport and have an outstanding reputation for
the best new writing and acting talent.
Application
information and forms are available at www.247theatrefestival.co.uk
Deadline:
31st January 2008
Drama
Association of Wales Presents:
ONE
ACT PLAYWRITING COMPETITION 2008
The
competition aims to encourage the writing of plays
for amateur theatre in English and Welsh.
In addition to cash awards, prize-winning plays
will be considered for publication.
Playing
time: 20-50 minutes
Minimum
cast of 2
For
application forms, please contact Teresa at the
Drama Association of Wales (DAW) on 029 2045 2200
or email aled.daw@virgin.net
Deadline:
31st January 2008
Website:
www.amdram.co.uk/daw/index.html#NewWriting
POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN WRITING
FOR PERFORMANCE
City
College, Manchester
At the
heart of each script is a writer. The focus
of the course is to enable you the writer to produce
your own work with a heightened sense of what
the writing process actually involves. Recent
graduates have found commissions with BBC North,
as well as having their work showcased at leading
theatres and festivals.
This
intensive one-year programme starts in January
2008. Essentially the time commitment is
one day per week (Mondays) plus one fortnightly
evening session (Tuesdays)
To learn
more about the course and to discuss your applications
please contact: Charlotte Goodwin at cgoodwin@ccm.ac.uk
or Angela
Murray on 0161 279 7257
SUBMISSIONS
WANTED FOR MENAGERIE THEATRE COMPANY
East
Anglia's premiere new writing company is searching
for the best new talent in the region.
If you
have a script that you would like us to consider
for a rehearsed reading or even for the Hotbed
Festival 2008 then please send the following:
- a
covering letter
- a
one-page plot synopsis, including character
outline
- a
10-15 page extract from your script
- a
self-addressed stamped envelope
Menagerie
is also holding several workshops with award-winning
playwright Fraser Grace (currently under commission
to the National Theatre). All writers, however
experienced, are welcome to attend, and the course
is a good opportunity to get to know Menagerie
in advance of commissioning opportunities for
Hotbed. For further details, please visit the
website:
www.menagerie.uk.com
RADIO
RADIO4
COMMISSIONING GUIDELINES
If you've
ever thought about writing for Radio 4, take a
look at the BBC's Commissioning Guidelines:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/commissioning.shtml
SCREEN...
CD TRILOGY
In 2005,
Flight 5065 filled the London Eye with theatre,
comedy and music for one spectacular evening,
featuring artists such as Damon Albarn, Arthur
Smith and the National Theatre alongside 14 specially
commissioned new plays inspired by Africa.
Our
latest project is much bigger and more ambitious.
We are looking for a collaboration of writers
and creative artists to take part in The Trilogy:
three films to change the world. The
project is totally unique and will launch in December.
We are inviting artists and supporters to visit
www.thetrilogy.org
to register their interest. Please click
here
for further information
Saturday
8th-Sunday 9th December
EUROSCRIPT
PRESENTS: THE COMEDY WRITING WEEKEND
in
collaboration with Bristol University Department
of Drama
Lectures
about writing are like poems about swimming: they
may be inspiring but they don't improve your technique.
The only way to learn how to write is by writing.
Over
the weekend you'll participate in intensive, practical
exercises that are designed to develop the basic
skills you need to make your material funny in
any format or medium you're writing for: film,
television, radio, theatre, stand-up, or print.
Time:
10.15am-5pm
Price:
£150 (£130 concessions)
Venue:
Department of Drama: Theatre, Film and
Television, University of Bristol, Cantocks Close,
Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1UP
Contact:
Isabel Pierce on 0117 954 5471
drama-lifelearn@bristol.ac.uk
EVENTS...
TRIANGLE
"A
Servant's Christmas"
Charlecote
Park, Warwickshire
8&9,
15&16 December 2007, 12-4pm
Triangle,
the Coventry-based museum theatre specialists,
have been commissioned to create performances
for this year's Victorian Christmas at Charlecote
Park, a National Trust property. Charlecote
Park in Warwickshire is a stunning Tudor building
with one of the country's finest examples of Elizabethan
revival design. Triangle will bring together
the servants of the house as they get ready for
Christmas, including preparations for a nativity
performance. Triangle is an award-winning
company, internationally respected for their playful
and high quality historical interpretations.
For
more information, call Charlecote Park on 01789
470277 or visit www.triangletheatre.co.uk
Sunday
9th December
THE
BIG CHRISTMAS SCRIPT
Hexagon
Theatre, MAC, 7.30pm
Come
and join Big Script at the mac and take
part in a festive celebration for all the family
of original work with a Christmas theme as well
as joining in with some well known carols.
Price:
£5
Further
info: Doreen Gray on 0121 449 2569
EUROSCRIPT
DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP
Monday
10th December, 6.15-9.30pm
Diorama Arts Centre, 3-7 Euston Centre, NW1 3JG
Put
theory into practice, and work with experienced
industry professionals to take your individual
project to treatment, first draft, or further.
You can start with an initial idea, or with work
in progress. Whatever stage you're at, the
Euroscript script consultant will work with you
to help you create a strong, marketable script.
Cost:
£40 (concessions £36)
Contact:
020 7435 1330 or email charles.harris@euroscript.co.uk
Kindle
Theatre in association with China Plate presents:
PILOT
Wednesday
12th December, 7.30pm
Six
new theatre shorts, unleashed and onstage for
one night only. PILOT features new performances
from Hamfisted, The Other Way Works, Frenzic,
Lost Spectacles, Half Wit and Livestock.
PILOT is an experimental playing field where theatre
makers put their work to the test in front of
a lively, critical crowd. A band plays in
the breaks, the bar is open all night and the
performers stick around at the end to find out
exactly what you made of it.
For
further info email pilot@kindletheatre.co.uk
The
Theatre, The Custard Factory, Birmingham
Doors
open 7pm
First
act 7.30pm
Tickets
on door £5 (£4)
"ASK
SANTA"
EUROSCRIPT:
Free Networking Event
Thursday
13th December, 7.30pm
How
can I get my script read by the right people?
How
do I know if the contract I've been offered is
any good?
Is my
sitcom funny enough?
Santa's
Little Media Helpers are on hand at this event
in the shape of the Europscript panel of professional
writers, directors, producers and editors.
The
Green Man, 383 Euston Road, London, NW1 3AU
Email:
enquiries@euroscript.co.uk
Tel:
07958 244656
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.
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
2003-2006
January
2007
February
2007
March
2007
April 2007
May
2007
June
2007
August 2007
September
2007
October
2007
November
2007
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