Call For Playwrights

Take your idea for a play from page to stage

WACtheatre, Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland and Aberdeen Performing Arts invite you to submit your work for an exciting development opportunity.

As a writer developing a play, often the most challenging part is the journey from your initial idea through a number of drafts to the first reading by actors. We are looking for a writer who would like to go on this journey with us.

We are offering a supported script development process, with feedback from Julie Ellen, Creative Director of Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland, and Davey Anderson, playwright and director. You will experience the casting and rehearsal processes and hear your work in front of an audience at a public reading.

We are looking for a fresh new play so you may either submit a first draft of an existing play, or the synopsis of a new idea with a completed extract of no less than ten pages. Please note however that if you are selected your first draft must be written by 2 May 2011.

Playwrights must be from the North-East of Scotland. The programme will run from April to July 2011. You must be available on 16 and 17 July in Aberdeen for rehearsals and reading.

Further information and application forms are available from www.playwrightsstudio.co.uk or by calling 0141 3324403. Please return your completed form with a copy of the play you would like to work on by post to Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland, CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD to arrive no later than 16 March 2011.

Playwright Development: WACtheatre, Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland and Aberdeen Performing Arts working in partnership.

We are delighted to announce details of the 20th Meyer-Whitworth Award, awarded and funded by the Royal National Theatre Foundation and managed by the Playwrights' Studio, Scotland in association with the UK Playwrights Network.

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 award is made to the writer whose play, in the Judges’ opinion, most satisfies the following description:

• a play which embodies Geoffrey Whitworth’s dictum that “drama is important in so far as it reveals the truth about the relationships of human beings with each other and the world at large”
• a play which shows promise of a developing new talent
• a play in which the writing is of individual quality

The Judges reserve the right to advise that no script meets the required standards of the award and that therefore the award should not be made.

Nominations must be made by directors of professional theatre companies. Multiple nominations by one professional theatre company are accepted.

Application criteria:

• Plays nominated must be in the English language and have been produced professionally in the UK for the first time between 1st November 2009 and 30th November 2010.
• Candidates will have had no more than two of their plays professionally produced, including the play submitted.
• Nominations are accepted for stage plays only.

How to nominate a Play
Contact Playwrights' Studio, Scotland on info@playwrightsstudio.co.uk or +44 141 3324403 to request an application form.

The deadline for entries is Friday 15th April 2011.

STAGE TO PAGE

New monthly workshops for playwrights

Exciting monthly workshops exploring in-development play scenes with an opportunity for informal networking.

This is a rare opportunity for playwrights at any stage in their career to workshop scenes to further develop their play and to network with other theatre practitioners.

Playwrights are invited to e-mail 5 – 10 minute scenes they have in development plus a one paragraph synopsis with casting breakdown (age/gender of each character) to info@playwrightsstudio.co.uk by the Monday before the workshop.

Alternatively, come along on the night to join in or just observe the process from page to stage!

The first workshop will be on Monday 25th April at 7.30pm in the CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD. The facilitator will be Mark MacNicol.

Visit http://www.playwrightsstudio.co.uk/stagetopage.htm for submission guidelines.

If you are an organisation planning an event/competition/opportunity which would be of interest to playwrights, please send details to the above e-mail address for inclusion in the e-bulletin.

Please note, details must be received before the 15th of each month.

Our Play Library is one of Playwrights’ Studio’s most important assets so it’s crucial that we keep it well stocked and up to date for everyone to access.

Thank You.

• To write in a working environment
• Meetings with other writers, press and producers
• Round the table script development
• Reading Room with access to our well stocked Plays Library

Use of the space is subject to availability. To book a time to use the space, please contact Emma on 0141 332 4403 or emma@playwrightsstudio.co.uk

If you would like to stay in touch via Facebook and remain updated on all our news and upcoming events, please visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Playwrights-Studio-Scotland/31578930993

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Please visit http://twitter.com/Pwrightsstudio to follow all our latest news and find out about future events.

Scenes @ Beanscene
More Theatre
Location: Beanscene, Shawlands, Glasgow
Dates: Every Saturday evening starting 5 March 2011

Scenes @ Beanscene is an hour long show consisting of 4 -5 different stand - alone comedy duet scenes (not sketches). 

Each original scene lasts 10 -15 minutes each and follows a certain theme.  

There will be a new theme each month. To help stick to the theme (and for fun) each author must quote the theme at least once within the dialogue. 

May is LOVE IS IN THE AIR?: Deadline of 1 April 2011

June is THE APPLE DOESN'T FALL FAR FROM THE TREE: Deadline of 6 May 2011

July is RELIGION, POLITICS...RUBBISH: Deadline of 3 June 2011

Send themed scene(s) (limit 2 scenes per author/per month) as pdf. or doc. to seemore@moretheatre.com by the deadline. 

Find out more by visiting www.moretheatre.com

Informal and sociable afternoon play-reading sessions at the Citizens Theatre, for the young at heart and mature in years.

These sessions are all about giving voice to the characters from the comfort of your seat, talking about the story and sharing your opinion of it.

This season the reading will be from John Osborne’s The Entertainer. 

Over four sessions, meeting weekly on Wednesdays from 2-4pm, the group will explore scenes from the play. Cost: £20 for all 4 sessions.

To book, visit http://citz.co.uk/whatson/info/off_the_page/

Curated by Chris Hannan, joined by John Byrne, David Hayman and members of the original cast of The Slab Boys.

Since THE SLAB BOYS electrified the Traverse Theatre on its first appearance 33 years ago, playwright John Byrne and director David Hayman have never met.

Want to be there when they do?

To kick off its STAGING THE NATION series of discussions, NTS is reuniting the cast and creative team behind the original 1978 production of THE SLAB BOYS - one of the most influential and best loved plays in the history of Scottish theatre.

But how did it come to be written? Why did artist and theatre designer Byrne turn to writing? And whose idea was it to cast Robbie Coltrane as plooky Jack Hogg?

This unique one-off event is an opportunity to meet the original slab boys and discover their initial take on the characters of Phil and Spanky - and the playwright’s first reaction to the actors! It’s also a chance to look at the play in a wider context.

What influence has it had on other playwrights? On the history of Scottish theatre? On Scotland?

This evening with some of Scottish theatre’s most charismatic characters will be chaired by Chris Hannan, whose latest play The God of Soho is on at Shakespeare’s Globe this season.

This event is free but ticketed. Book in person at the Traverse Box Office or by calling 0131 228 1404.

A modern Scottish classic read, with musical accompaniment and songs performed, by professional Scotish actors.

Strathoykel, Sutherland. "When the Sheriff and his men arrived, the women were on the road and the men behind the walls. The women shouted 'Better to die here than America or the Cape of Good Hope'. The first blow was struck by a woman with a stick. The gentry leant out of their saddles and beat at the women's heads with their crops." (John McGrath) 

John McGrath was the artistic director of 7:84 Theatre Company in the 1970s. He wrote one of their best known plays 'The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black Black Oil.' This was first performed in 1973. 7:84 toured Scotland with this musical drama which told the story of economic change in the Scottish Highlands, from the Highland Clearances in the early 19th century through to the oil boom of the 1970s. 

This event is free but capacity is limited and so tickets must be booked via Tron Box Office on 0141 552 4267.

Events for the coming months
April - Dissent by Stephen Greenhorn led by Nicola McCartney
May - Brothers of Thunder by Anne Marie Di Mambro led by Chris Dolan
June - A Wholly Healthy Glasgow by Iain Heggie led by Mike Cullen
July - Britannia Rules by Liz Lochhead led by Nicola McCartney
Aug - (no reading)
Sept - The Evildoers by Chris Hannan led by Steven Leach

On 21st June 2011, an entire day filled with five minute pieces of theatre will be broadcast online to the world. 24 hours will be filled with live performance, created by anyone for a worldwide audience of everyone.

To celebrate their first five years, the National Theatre of Scotland wants you to write, devise, direct, perform and produce a piece of theatre, five minutes long.

Visit www.fiveminutetheatre.com to submit your ideas for a five minute piece of theatre.

Fee: £10,500

12 month fixed-term contract, part-time (2 days per week - flexible)

To download a Job Pack visit the National Theatre of Scotland's website

www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/jobs

The closing date for applications is 10am on Monday 28th March.

COM-PÀIRTICHE EALAIN (Gàidhlig)

Tuarastal: £10,500

Cùmhnant stèidhichte 12 mìos, pàirt-ùine (2 latha san t-seachdain – sùbailte)

Gus Pasgan Obrach a luchdachadh sìos, tadhailibh air an làraich-lìn againn –

www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/jobs

Gabhar ri iarrtasan gu 10m air Diluain 28th Màirt a-mhàin.

The Tom McGrath Trust is set up to honour the life and legacy of Tom McGrath, poet, playwright and creative maverick, who died in 2009.

Inspired by Tom's boundless generosity of spirit and his passion for supporting Scottish playwrights, the Trust aims to be a source of inspiration, stimulation and support for artists seeking to develop their craft.

The Tom McGrath Trust will be launched on 29 March 2011 in the Traverse Bar Café in a celebratory evening of writing, poetry and music prior to the opening of Tom's 70s classic The Hard Man.

A rehearsed reading of In Time O’ Strife by Joe Corrie, introduced by Peter Arnott as part of National Theatre of Scotland's Staging the Nation.

This event is free but ticketed. Book in person at the Citizens' Theatre Box Office, online at www.citz.co.uk or by calling 0141 429 0022.

The Writer’s Compass presents an action-packed day of workshops and panel sessions for graduates of Scotland’s Creative Writing Masters and PhD programmes and early career professional writers on Saturday 16 April 2011 at the CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.

Hear from fellow writers about the different kinds of writing lives they lead, and get inspiration and guidance for your own career.

The deadline for bookings is 4 April 2011.

Booking details can be found at http://www.nawe.co.uk/DB/events/turning-the-next-page.html along with further programme and speaker information.

Multi-award-winning playwright and performer Tim Crouch leads a practical writers' workshop on exploring the creating of work for young audiences and asks what freedoms and what restrictions are presented when considering work for and with young people?  And are there different processes involved in structuring and scripting? A practical day of writing, thinking and doing.

Places are limited and by application only. To apply please submit a one-page sample of your writing plus a short CV to Jennifer Williams in the Traverse Literary Department jennifer.williams@traverse.co.uk or to Jennifer Williams, Traverse Theatre, 10 Cambridge Street, Edinburgh EH1 2ED, by 29th April - all applicants will be notified as to whether or not they have a place by 6th May.

The workshop cost is £16 (£8).

To tie in with the Traverse's premiere of her new play Pandas, Rona Munro leads a writers' workshop on locations and the blurring between the real and the imaginary.

Rona Munro is an award-winning Scottish playwright who had written extensively for stage, film, radio and television. Her plays for the Traverse include The Last Witch, Iron (winner of the John Whiting Award) and a version of Evelyne de la Chenelière's Québécois play Strawberries In January.

In 2005 she was the Traverse's first Senior Playwriting Fellow.

Places are limited so to book, visit http://www.traverse.co.uk/workshops.htm

Applications are invited from suitable host organisations to employ writers or storytellers to develop their own work within specific communities. Fellows will work on their own projects and may also interact with specified groups within the host environment.

Level of Grants:
Grants are available to cover 50% of the writer’s fee, which would typically be a minimum of £18,000 per annum or pro rata.

Deadline: 
Applications accepted at any time but must be submitted at least 4 weeks before the project start date.

For further information and to apply, visit http://www.creativescotland.com/investment/investing-in-arts/literature

Why you should join your union:

- It can offer support, advice and advocacy in the case of any industry dispute
- It can help you to keep in touch with the writing community and abreast of industry developments
- Having a strong union betters conditions and pay for all Scottish playwrights
- In the current climate it is important that arts workers stand up and be counted

Membership of the Scottish Society of Playwrights also entitles you to concessionary tickets at numerous theatres including: The Traverse, The Tron, The Arches, The Citizens' Theatre, Dundee Rep, Eden Court, The Lyceum and Pitlochry Theatre.

Membership costs £10 annually.

Membership subscriptions may now be paid via direct bank transfer. Simply fill in a membership form which is available on the website http://www.scottishsocietyofplaywrights.co.uk/becoming-a-member.html and email it to the SSP treasurer alanmckendrick@hotmail.com

Writing for Screen

Opportunities and events for screenwriters can now be found through a direct link to The Writers’ Factory monthly e-bulletin.

The Writers Factory is invested in by Creative Scotland and is coordinated by the Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland. For more information about The Writers' Factory, please visit the website www.writersfactory.co.uk

The monthly bulletins contain information about future Writers' Factory courses as well as information relevant to screen writers across the UK and internationally. The Writers' Factory E-Bulletin is divided into three sections:

Factory News: For upcoming Writers' Factory events

Opportunities: Screen writing competitions and other opportunities

Events: Screen writing events and classes

To view the full e-bulletin, please click here

Somersaults by Iain F Macleod
National Theatre of Scotland @ Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
Thurs 10th - Sat 19th March 2011
Click here

Marilyn by Sue Glover
Citizens Theatre/Royal Lyceum Theatre @ Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Tues 15th March - Sat 2nd April 2011
Click here

Roman Bridge by Martin Travers
National Theatre of Scotland @ Citizens Theatre, Glasgow
Wed 16th and Thurs 17th March 2011
Click here

Wildlife by Pamela Carter
Magnetic North
On tour until 19th March
Click here

One Night In Iran by Oliver Emanuel
A Play, a Pie and a Pint
Mon 21st - Sat 26th March 2011
Click here

Gargarin Way by Gregory Burke
Rapture Theatre @ Tron Theatre, Glasgow and touring
Tues 22nd - Sat 26th March 2011
Click here

Smalltown by DC Jackson, Johnny McKnight and Douglas Maxwell
Random Accomplice @ Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
Thurs 24th - Sat 26th March 2011
Click here

St Catherine's Day by Michael Marra
A Play, a Pie and a Pint
Mon 28th March - Sat 2nd April 2011
Click here

What Love Is by Linda McLean
A Play, a Pie and a Pint
Mon 4th - Sat 9th April 2011
Click here

FALLING FLYING by Stef Smith
Hand on Heart Theatre @ Tron Theatre, Glasgow
Wed 6th - Sat 9th April 2011
Click here

White Rose by Peter Arnott
The Visitors @ Tron Theatre, Glasgow
Fri 6th May 2011
Click here

King of Scotland by Iain Heggie
Glasgow Actors @ Tron Theatre, Glasgow
Tues 10 - Sat 14 May 2011
Click here

Daylong by David Harrower
Tron Theatre Company @ Tron Theatre, Glasgow
Wed 11 - Sat 21 May 2011
Click here

INK:24 HOUR PLAYS by INK
Tron Theatre Company and INK @ Tron Theatre, Glasgow
Fri 20 May 2011
Click here

Page to Stage by Tron Studio
Tron Studio @ Tron Theatre, Glasgow
Thurs 16 - St 18 June 2011
Click here

The Playwrights Network

The Playwrights Network links regional organisations which work to develop playwrights (and sometimes writers working in other media too) across the UK.
Click here to find an organisation in your area.

The Scottish Society of Playwrights (SSP)

A professional members' organisation that represents, develops and promotes the interests and craft of professional Scottish playwrights working within the theatre sector. To become a member or for more information about the Society, please see their website www.scottishsocietyofplaywrights.co.uk
or email scottishsocietyofplaywrights@gmail.com

Note: Could any member who has recently changed address or contact details please send in their most up to date information?  Thank you.