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SCRIPT
NEWS - March 2009
Congratulations
to Paul Brodrick and Campbell Perry, who have
both been awarded funding from Screen WM to write
a feature-length screen adaptation. Their
ideas were initially developed on Script's Adaptation
Scheme in June 2008.
Script
Reading
As part of our general review, from
March 2009, we will increase the charges for our
Script Reading Service. This will be the
first price increase since the Reading Service
came into being five years ago and reflects rising
admin costs. For full details, please visit
the Resource page.
CURRENT
PROJECTS
Poised
for Flight, Script's screenwriting course for
writers with disabilities, is drawing to a close
this week. The course was fully booked and
12 writers hope to have completed a ten-minute
screenplay by the end of Day 4. Four of
these scripts will be performed as a rehearsed
reading at the Disability Film Festival 23-25
April 2009.
FUTURE
PROJECTS
10acity
Forging
a career as a writer requires drive, determination
and a certain degree of staying power. 10acity
is a targeted workshop programme designed to support
writers along that path, to challenge pre-conceptions
of the industry and to identify talented writers
in the West Midlands who would benefit from further
development.
Delivered
in collaboration with ten venues across the region,
10acity will draw on the experience of
professional playwrights, screenwriters, producers
and theatre practitioners, to offer a unique focus
on the creative process. Where possible
tying into local productions of new work, Script
will give writers the chance to learn new skills
and ways of working in a practical, dynamic environment.
Full
details will be available shortly.nd
to: Script, Unit 107 The Greenhouse, The Custard
Factory, Gibb Street, Birmingham, B9 4AA
OPPORTUNITIES
AND COMPETITIONS...
STAGE...
Meyer-Whitworth
Award
With
a prize fund of £10,000, the Meyer-Whitworth
Award is one of the largest annual monetary prizes
for playwriting in the UK. It is intended to help
further the careers of UK playwrights who are
not yet established. The 18th Meyer-Whitworth
Award is funded by the Royal National Theatre
Foundation and managed by the Playwrights' Studio,
Scotland in association with the UK Playwrights
Network. Candidates will have had no more than
two of their plays professionally produced, including
the play submitted, which must be an original
work.
Further
information: http://www.playwrightsstudio.co.uk/Meyer-Whitworth.htm
Deadline:
31st March 2009
The
Kings Cross Award for New Writing 2009
The
Courtyard is delighted to announce the launch
of the 5th King's Cross Award for New Writing.
The Award, which is open to writers of all levels
of experience resident in the UK or Republic of
Ireland, seeks imaginative, original work which
explores the unique possibilities of writing for
the stage.
The
winning playwright will be awarded with a full
professional production by leading directors and
designers at our New Courtyard Theatre in Hoxton.
Full
details may be found on the Courtyard's website:
www.thecourtyard.org.uk
Deadline:
1 May 2009
The
TippingPoint Commissions: Invitation to Submit
a Proposal
The
TippingPoint Commissions are a new initiative
for professional artists who wish to create new
performance work in the context of climate change.
Artists are invited to submit projects that stimulate
audiences towards the radical and imaginative
thinking necessary to comprehend a world dominated
by climate change. We are not looking for a didactic
exposition of the subject, but a creative reflection
upon it. The maximum award will be for £30k.
Further
information and application forms: www.tippingpoint.co.uk
Deadline:
4th May 2009
Playwright's
Studio, Scotland's Writer's Projects
The
Playwright's Studio, Scotland, is expanding our
engagement with professional writers. Applications
are now open for Writer's Projects. You, the professional
playwright can apply for up to £3, 250 to
support any aspect of your writing development.
You can apply if you have had two or more professional
productions and are living in, or from, Scotland.
Projects which already have funding will not be
considered.
Further
information: www.playwrightsstudio.co.uk,
or email info@playwrightsstudio.co.uk
Deadlines:
there are three deadlines for submissions
-
30th
April 2009 (for projects commencing between May-Aug
2009), 30th August 2009 (for projects commencing
between Sept-Dec 2009), 30th November 2009 (for
projects commencing between Jan-March 2010)
STAGE
International Script Competition
STAGE
(Scientists, Technologist, and Artists Generating
Exploration) is a collaboration between The Professional
Artists Lab and the California NanoSystems Institute
at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
They are offering a prize of $10,000 for the best
play exploring themes surrounding science and/or
technology. The prize will be awarded at a public
event with distinguished professionals from the
worlds of theatre, film, science, and technology,
in conjunction with a staged reading/performance/demonstration
with a cast of professional actors. Authors are
strongly urged to avoid the stereotypes often
assigned to science, technology, and those who
engage in these disciplines, and the competition
is not open to plays written in the genre of science
fiction.
Further
information: http://www.cnsi.ucsb.edu/stage/guidelines/guidelines.html
Deadline:
15th December 2009
National
Theatre Of Scotland: Call for Submissions
National
Theatre of Scotland takes theatre all over the
country and beyond, working with existing and
new venues, artists and companies to create and
tour world class theatre. We are looking for new
plays by writers who are inventive and fearless.
We want to be stimulated, challenged and excited
by writers with a strong theatrical imagination
and a nose for complex and urgent subject matter.
Further
information: www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/newwork
The
Group: Call for Submissions
The
Group consists of Equity members, whose monthly
meetings at Theatre Royal, Stratford East in London
focuses on reading & giving feedback on new
plays, both theatre, television & radio scripts
with the playwright present at the reading - followed
by an indepth discussion from all attendees, both
cast members & other members of The Group,
both actors & writers.
We
welcome submissions of new plays.
Further
information: www.thegroup-scriptreaders.com,
& contact Shenagh Govan at shenagh.govan@thegroup-scriptreaders.com
RADIO
International
Playwriting Competition
The
biennial International Playwriting Competition
is run by the BBC World Service and the British
Council and is now in its eleventh year. It is
a competition for anyone resident outside Britain
to write a 60 minute radio drama for up to six
characters.
There
are two categories: one for writers with English
as their first language and one for writers with
English as their second language. The two winners
will come to London and see their play made into
a full radio production, which will then be broadcast
on the BBC World Service. They will also each
receive a £2,500 prize, and there are also
prizes for the runners up.
The
play must be in English, unpublished, and must
not have been previously produced in any medium.
Further
information: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/radioplay_what_it_is.shtml
Deadline:
31st March 2009
RADIO
4 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...
Euroscript
Screen Story Competition
Now
in its 15th year, the Euroscript Screen Story
Competition 2009 is an opportunity for screenwriters
to develop their scripts to a high, marketable
standard through an intensive, creative and focused
script development programme.
Further
details: www.euroscript.co.uk/about_competition.html
Contact:
su.kent@euroscript.co.uk
Deadline:
31st March 3009
Primitive
Productions: Call for Screenplay Submissions
Primitive
Productions is a newly formed production company
specialising in short films. Consisting
of established theatre and film practitioners
and an experienced professional crew, we produce
short of the highest quality. We are looking
for screenplays between 5 and 10 minutes long.
They should be plot-driven with strong characterisation.
We are looking to stablish strong bonds with writers
passionate about producing quality work and eventually
work on longer and more involved projects.
Submissions
and further details: primitiveproductions@live.co.uk
Deadline:
31st March 2009
Coming
Up
Channel
4 and Touchpaper TV are making up to eight eye-catching,
innovative, and challenging films from the best
fresh talent in the UK for a guaranteed broadcast.
Each film will be for a half-hour slot on Channel
4. They are particularly looking for bold ideas,
strong voices and wit. Films that can be shot
in four days on a limited budget are ideal. This
is not an entry level scheme - it is for writers
and directors building a track record and a career
in film and television drama. Submissions from
multi-cultural and regionally-based filmmakers
are encouraged.
This
scheme is open to all writers who have not had
an original single, series or serial broadcast
on UK television. Writers who have contributed
episodes to series and serials (e.g. a long-running
soap) are now eligible to apply.
Further
details: http://4talent.channel4.com/4talent-extra/coming-up/index.shtml
Deadline:
17th April 2009
Scriptmarket
2009
The
scheme will allow 30 delegates with completed
un-commissioned scripts, known as ‘spec scripts',
industry access to help advance their project.
As well an interview with an established industry
enabler at the Festival in October they will receive
a free and invaluable five page report on their
script, written by a qualified script reader and
a free one day "Market Ready" training workshop
in June in London to prep them for their meeting
and help maximise their opportunity.
Further
information: http://www.screenwritersfestival.com/scriptmarket2009.php
Deadline:
30th April 2009
UK Film
Council
The
UK Film Council has a fund available to broaden
the quality, range, and ambition of film projects
being developed in the UK and to build a talent
driven home for writers, directors, and producers.
The First Feature Film Development Programme aims
to identify and support emerging filmmakers: screenwriters,
writer/directors, and writer-director-producer
teams who have not yet had a feature film released
theatrically or broadcast on UK television. Generally,
awards of up to £25,000 will be offered
to screenwriters or writer-directors to write
and develop a feature film.
Further
information: http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/development
BBC
Film Network
Film
Network is the BBC's short film showcase, screening
short films from new British Filmmakers, with
four new shorts every week. The site also provides
filmmakers with tools to create online profiles
and exchange tips, advice and ideas and allows
audiences to comment on and rate the films. It
also provides links to all the great online resources
that already exist through the Filmmakers Guide.
The site is currently trialing but will launch
fully in October.
Further information: http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/
TRAINING
AND EVENTS...
The
estate presents:
Touching
Jane by Vanessa Oakes
8pm
Thursday 26th March
A large
wrecked armchair, broken swing, scorched grass,
burnt fox and litter bin. An Autumn evening.
Cars can be heard on the bypass.
A performed
reading with post-show talk and complimentary
drink.
Ellen
Terry Studio Theatre, Coventry University, Jordan
Well, Coventry, CV1 5RW
Tickets:
02476 887496 £5 (£3 concessions)
Writing
for Radio: Movies in the Mind (Euroscript), Saturday
28th March 2009, London
This
course covers nearly every aspect of writing for
radio: comedy gags, sketches and shows, radio
sitcoms and series, short drama, full-length drama,
radio-ads - and more, to explore all the possibilities
of work in the medium.
Further
information: www.euroscript.co.uk/radio,
or email: :paul.bassettdavies@euroscript.co.uk
Selling your First Script
(Euroscript), April 4th 2009, Birkbeck College,
London, WC1E 7HX, 10:30-5:30pm
On this
intensive one-day workshop for a small group,
writers will be given practical exercises and
personal feedback to help you prepare your script
for the market, and then make sure you know how
to track down the right cinema and TV producers
and how to make the best possible deal.
Cost:
£85 (concessions £75)
Further
information and to book: telephone 020
7435 1330 or email: charles.harris@euroscript.co.uk
So What's Your Pitch: A Headlines
Workshop by Paul Gallagher, 18th April 2009, 11
- 5pm, Birkbeck College, London, WC1E 7HX
How
do you sell your story? To apply for funding and
get a project off the ground, to write your script,
to make and market your film, you need a publicity
page as well as a verbal pitch. This covering
page is crucial in selling your project. This
is a practical workshop, with limited participants,
where we work on delivering the essence of your
project in the most perfect prose.
Cost:
£85 (£75 concessions)
Further
information: telephone 020 7609 3067,
or email: su.kent@euroscript.co.uk
Making Genre Work for You,
April 28th - June 2nd, London Welsh Centre, 157
/ 163 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8UE
This
popular series of six evenings will help you clarify
your ideas about genre and deliver your story
in surprising and satisfying ways. You can book
selected evenings or the whole course, for a thorough
fine-tuning of your skills. Individual workshops
will discuss: thriller, romcom, horror & noir,
social drama & coming of age, gangster &
detective, and true story. Maximum 12 per class.
Cost:
All six sessions - special all-inclusive
price £225 (concessions £205). Individual
genre sessions - £45 each (concessions £41)
Further
information: http://www.euroscript.co.uk/genrecourse.html,
or email: enquiries@euroscript.co.uk,
or telephone 020 7435 1330
Write
a Ten-Minute Short (Euroscript), Saturday 10th
May, 10:30 - 4:30pm, Walkabout, 136 Shaftesbury
Avenue, London, W1D 5EZ
This
one-day course focuses on narrative storytelling,
not experimental flim-making. Intensively hands-on,
by the end of the day you'll have completed a
rough first draft of a ten-minute script. You'll
also have improved your basic scriptwriting skills
in order to give you greater confidence when writing
longer lengths.
Cost:
£85 (£75 concessions)
Further
information: www.euroscript.co.uk/ten_minute_short.html,
telephone Fenella Greenfield on 07515381586, email:
fenella.greenfield@euroscript.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.
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.
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