March 2010


	SCRIPT is the West Midlands agency for dramatic writers.

SCRIPT NEWS - March 2010

As you may have noticed, the monthly newsletter is being phased out in favour of regular updates on the Script blog and Facebook page. These are updated with news and opportunities for writers and theatre practitioners in the West Midlands. The comments features also allows you to feedback on events and activities, creating a greater sense of community amongst the region's writers.

The latest blog entry sees Claire Ingham talking about opportunities for writers in the digital age.

SCRIPT READING SERVICE

We are pleased to announce a price drop in our script reading service. For £35*, you will receive a detailed report from a professional playwright.

Promising writers identified through the script reading service will be recommended to theatre production companies such as the Birmingham Rep, Pentabus, and Theatre 503, and may be selected for future development schemes at Script.

For further details on how to submit, please visit our resource page

*Up to 120 pages. For longer scripts, see website for details.

COMING UP AT SCRIPT...

SCRIPTING FUTURES

Our new programme of screenwriting activity continues into March and April with sessions on Genre, Sitcom and Animation. The programme is funded by Screen WM and delivered in partnership with Red Room Films, Animation Forum West Midlands and Hello Digital.

Workshops are £50 each.

See www.scriptonline.net/screen.html for further details

GENRE (led by Claire Ingham)

Biopic

Saturday 13th March 2010

BVSC, Digbeth (10am-5pm)

Biopics are crowd pleasers and regular Oscar winners – with bankable actors often attracted to the challenge of playing a real and notable figure. But while the facts of someone's life might offer elements of plot, how can writers prevent biopics becoming episodic documentaries – and how far can or should a screenwriter ‘stretch the truth'? This 1 day course will examine how to find the best story in a ‘life', how to develop gripping character stories and how to approach those legal and copyright issues that might arise. It will also examine the conventions that define the genre and look at some of the ways that filmmakers are stretching and challenging the ‘rules' to push the genre forward. By the end of the course you should have acquired a deeper knowledge of the biopic, along with specific tips and techniques to progress your own scripts and ideas.

Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Saturday 10th April 2010

BVSC, Digbeth (10am-5pm)

Eight of the top ten grossing movies of all time are from the science fiction or fantasy genres. Science fiction transports audiences to worlds light years away, to alternate realities, fantastic technologies and new social orders. Fantasy opens the door to new possibilities, transforms science with myth and magic and re-examines the spiritual. But how can screenwriters take the world and twist it so convincingly that audiences come back to escape again and again? This 1 day course will examine the conventions that define the science fiction and fantasy genres and look at some of the ways that filmmakers are breaking the ‘rules' and splicing genres together to create new and original stories. By the end of the course you should have acquired a deeper knowledge of the science fiction and fantasy genres along with specific tips and techniques to progress your own scripts and ideas.

Crime and Detective Thriller

Saturday 24th April 2010

BVSC, Digbeth (10am-5pm)

Crime is a massively popular and commercially successful genre – and our fascination with it has deep cultural and psychological roots. Crime stories play on our fears, allow us into the dark places of the criminal mind – and permit us to test ourselves against those that hunt and investigate. But within ‘Crime' there are several subgenres each with their own set of principles and conventions. This one day ‘Crime Thrillers' course will look particularly at those stories that combine Detective or criminal protagonists with the action and suspense of the thriller, assess how these films are structured – and look at some of the ways that writers are moving the crime thriller genre on. By the end of the course you should have acquired a deeper knowledge of crime and detective stories, along with specific tips and techniques to further your own thriller scripts and ideas.

ANIM@TE - Scripwriting for Animation (led by Professor Paul Wells)

1-day workshops on devising and developing scripts for animated films. Delivered in partnership with Hello Digital and Animation Forum WM

Writing Animated Narratives for Children

Wednesday 17 th March 2010, 10am-5pm

The Bond, Fazeley Street

Looking at a range of animated material directly produced for children, this workshop will seek to engage with approaches to creating narratives in animation dedicated to a children's audiences. Using various devising exercises, the workshop will look at character building and child-centred storylines.

Creating Animated Documentary

Wednesday 31 st March 2010, 10am-5pm

The Bond, Fazeley Street

Using a variety of ‘real world' materials and ‘live' issues, and deploying a range of devising strategies, this workshop will look at the relationship between animation and documentary, creating a visual treatment for a proposed animated documentary.

Devising Animated Narratives

Wednesday 14 th April 2010, 10am-5pm

The Bond, Fazeley Street

Using a range of devising exercises and development strategies this workshop will seek to create the conditions for the preparation of structuring and pre-visualising an animated narrative.

SITUATION COMEDY AND OTHER C WORDS

(Keith R Lindsay)

Beginners' Workshop

Saturday 20 th March 2010
Woodward Room, Birmingham & Midland Institute

In this hands-on workshop, participants will engage in the process of creating a situation comedy from the initial concept all the way to writing the first and most important page of the script. The conclusion of the workshop will offer instructions on the technical side of putting together a script and suggestions for a professional approach to finding a market for the participants' own work. By the end of the session those attending should have a set of guidelines to help them avoid many of the pitfalls of the newer writer setting out on his or her sit com script.

Advanced Workshop

Saturday 27 th March 2010
Woodward Room, Birmingham & Midland Institute
The Advanced Workshop offers the same hands on approach as the beginners' workshop and covers topics in greater detail, with extended reference to the participants' own efforts at situation comedy. The conclusion of the workshop will include advice on markets for those already armed with scripts and the best type of scripts to write for the current market.

Opportunities and Competitions:

STAGE...

The Nick Darke Award

The Nick Darke Award was conceived in 2006 by Jane Darke and Cornwall County Council with the aim of celebrating and supporting a writer. It aims to achieve this by awarding the writer a sum of money which will allow time to work, and offer some support through the development process. 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, we have decided to make the award in one of these disciplines. The winning entrant will receive £3,000 to allow them to complete their script to industry standards.

We are asking writers to submit work that pursues an environmental theme - to reflect Nick Darke's lifelong commitment to this issue - and within one of the following four disciplines:

-Stage play

-Screenplay

-Radio play

-Documentary film

Deadline: Friday 12th March 2010

Further details: Visit the Nick Darke website

19th Meyer-Whitworth Award - Nominations Now Being Accepted

The Playwrights' Studio Scotland have announced details of the 19th Meyer-Whitworth Award, awarded and funded by the Royal National Theatre Foundation and managed by the Playwright's studio, Scotland in association with the UK Playwrights Network.

It is intended to help further the careers of UK playwrights who are not yet established.

The prize fund is £10,000, one of the largest annual monetary prizes for playwriting in the UK.

Plays must be nominated by directions of professional theatre companies. Plays nominated must be in the English Language and have been professionally produced in the UK for the first time between 1 November 2008 and 30 November 2009. Candidates will have had no more than two of their plays professionally produced, including the play submitted.

The deadline for entries is 31 March 2010.

Contact Email: info@playwrightsstudio.co.uk

Avatars - Live!

Adventures in interactive art and drama at The Public

Could you write a piece of performance using digital artworks at The Public art gallery in West Bromwich? Blossom Theatre Co are looking for short plays of 15 minutes max, with a cast of 4 or less, that use interactive artworks as inspiration and as a performance space. Four pieces will be selected as a promenade script in hand performance at The Public on May 2nd. A small fee of £50 will be provided for each winning entry. The interactive artworks at The Public are a permanent exhibition that you create by interacting with flying avatars, winding paths, digital waterfalls and sound tunnels, amongst others. See the website to find out more.

Entry requirements:

You should live, work or study in the West Midlands and be prepared to attend rehearsal and performance on 1&" May
Approximately 4 pieces will be performed
Max 4 characters
Max 15 minutes
Please make sure it's in standard Word format and double-spaced
Visit the gallery and choose one of the digi-artworks as your site-specific basis

Deadline: 17th April 2010

Workshop: We will be running a free creative writing for performance workshop from 10am-2pm on April 7th, at The Public. Book a place and get more details at info@blossomtheatre.com

Ten Minute Play Competition 2010

Sussex Playwrights' Celebrate 75 Years of Creativity in 2010 with a new One Act Play Competition. Prize: Up to eight scripts will be selected for production in the NVT studio between July 2010 and 17 2010. Plays should last no longer than 10 minutes. Plays should feature no more than 3 characters. Judge's announcement will be announced in early June 2010, and winners will be notified by post or email.

Closing date: 23 April 2010.

Visit www.newventure.org.uk for more information

HighTide - Call for Submissions

HighTide is open for play submissions for HighTide Festival 2011. You can submit online via the HighTide website. We are looking to fully produce and premiere new works by emerging playwrights. We welcome international scripts, written in English. We remain excited by strong stories, political and ambitious narratives, and clear and well-shaped characters. Beyond that, we are open to anything, and look forward to continuing our tradition of producing the work of writers from around the globe. Plays can also be sent to the address below, but online submissions are preferable. Scripts will not be returned.

Deadline: 15th May 2010

Please send all printed submissions to: High Tide, 24a St John Street, London, EC1M 4AY

SCREEN...

The Page International Screenwriting Awards

Entries to the 2010 PAGE International Screenwriting Awards are currently being invited.

This years Grand Prize is $25,000 but perhaps more significantly, the winning scripts stand a good chance of being read by some pretty influential producers, agents, and development execs in the US.

Final deadline for submissions is April 1st.

See www.pageawards.com for details.

Muslim Writers Awards

For the fourth year running the Muslim Writers Awards is calling out for creative, interesting and exciting submissions from writers across the country. All entrants must be Muslim and work should eb submitted in the English language. Submissions do not need to be centred on the topics of Islam or Muslim identity, however this is equally welcome. The screenplay category accepts short films (10-20 pages), feature length scripts (over 60 pages) and TV episodes (30 pages)

Deadline: 14th May 2010

Further information: Visit the website

RADIO...

What's the Story?

What's the Story? is a topical comedy panel show recorded in front of a live studio audience for ten consecutive weeks, starting on 1 April 2010 on BBC Radio Wales. Tidy Productions are putting together a team of writers who are Welsh - or know the Welsh scene - who will provide topical gags for host Justin Waite and for the panellists to chip in during the rounds. They are running a trial week before the programme airs to audition writing talent. If you're successful, you'll be invited to write for the show on a weekly basis and be paid on a per-gag basis. Although the radio show is available nationally via digital radio and BBC iPlayer, the main focus is on Wales and gags relating to local news from a Welsh angle. To give you an idea of the show you can listen to the final episode of the first series, which transmitted last September.

You can submit topical gags via email from Saturday 13th March through to Thursday 18th March at 9am. Please send no more than ten gags in total during this time,

Send your gags in the body of an email with your full name and telephone number clearly stated to: gags@tidyproductionsltd.co.uk

EVENTS...

"On Call"

An invitation to theatre practitioners in Birmingham e West Midlands to meet informally with experienced creative producers, directors and programmers for free impartial advice, support and exchange. Please email orit@c-sense.uk.com to raise a question with a specific person or just turn up on the day.

Tuesday 9th March

11am-1pm Hudson's Coffee House. Colmore Row, Birmingham

Laura McDermott (Creative producer/programmer: artist development, creation of new work, planning and programming festivals and seasons within a venue), Louisa Davies (Producer and programmer: fundraising, touring, artist development and marketing), Steve Ball (Producer and programmer: Work for young people, statutory and charitable fundraising, international brokering; local and regional networks)

Tuesday 9th March

5.30pm-7.30pm Birmingham Rep Cafe Bar

Noel Dunne (Producer specialising in creativity and learning: collaborations between artists, communities and agencies; partnership building; fundraising and project management); Jenny Stephens (Theatre Director, writer and radio producer: new writing and development, board development and actor training); Elizabeth Tomlin (Lecturer in Drama: setting up companies, getting profile, advice on practice based PhDs and university study, playwrights)

Thursday 11th March

5.30pm meet at Birmingham Rep then go for something to eat

Amanda Roberts (Producer and Programmer: artist and company development, making things happen, collaborative approaches, fundraising, programming, project management); Janet Vaughan (Artistic Director and Designer: artist development, creative processes, making connections - Red Teapot), Pippa Frith (Project manager and programmer: getting started and making thengs happen in Birmingham and the region).

The Kindness of Strangers (Warwick Words Xtra Event)
Should you trust in the kindness of strangers? When David's wife dies unexpectedly, he is left clinging to the little routines that help him to make sense of his loss. A chance encounter with a stranger leads to a new friendship. But, how far can David trust his new friend and what will he do to avoid facing his own loneliness?
This touching new play by Vanessa Oakes deals with the vulnerabilities of ageing and grief and explores the distance between intimacy and friendship.
A Warwick Words 2009 Festival Commission directed by Mark Evans and performed by Robert Lister.
Tickets: £8 (£6) 01926 777438
When: Saturday 20th March 2010 3pm (post show talk chair Catherine Edwards - Script), 7.30pm (post show talk chair Peter Leslie Wild BBC Radio Drama)
Where: Friends Meeting House, High Street, Warwick

20/20 Conference - Playwriting/Pedagogy
13-14 March 2010
University of Birmingham, Selly Oak Campus

      20 years of the Birmingham Playwriting MA/MPhil (B)
      20 new plays by graduate playwrights
      20 papers on the pedagogy of playwriting

2009/10 marks the twentieth anniversary of the foundation of what was then the MA in Playwriting in Birmingham, the first course of its kind in Britain. To mark this anniversary, 20/20 will reflect on the impact of the study of playwriting on dramatic writing within the theatre and beyond. The weekend will include the debut of 20 specially commissioned new plays by graduates of the Birmingham course. Panels of speakers will include some of the most active and influential playwrights, academics and critics working in Britain, Europe, and the USA today.
Fees: £130 (£75 concession)
For further information, contact Steve Waters s.waters@bham.ac.uk

Filmrats Event

18 March 2010, 7.30pm

The Sunflower Lounge

Filmrats is a multi-media evening of short films and live music, a hybrid of different creative artistry coming together to showcase their talents, enjoy music, film and to socialise. The night is being held once a month on a Thursday evening at The Sunflower Lounge, in the heart of Birmingham. If you love music and film then Filmrats really is the best place to go! Filmrats will also be screening the short films submitted to the 48-hour film challenge Film Dash (http://filmdash.com)

Flatpack Festival 2010

23-28 March

Back for six days of cinematic adventures in venues across Birmingham, Flatpack 2010 is shaping up quite nicely. As ever, the programme is a lucky dip of the best new features, animation, documentaries, shorts, kids movies and experimental film, along with live scores, bus-tours, workshops, special guests and loads of free screenings. There's also a bit of a 1930s flavour to our archive strand in honour of "patron saint" Oscar Deutsch, who created the Odeon cinema empire from nothing and brought modernist super-cinemas to Britain's high streets.

www.flatpackfestival.org.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.

ARCHIVE

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

October/November 2008

December 2008

January/February 2009