TalkFest at the Tron 2015

Monday 20 to Saturday 25 April 2015
Tron Theatre, Glasgow

TalkFest at the Tron was a week of workshops, rehearsed readings, script surgeries and masterclasses expertly led by Scotland's leading playwrights and theatre-makers.

Ecclesiastical Supplies by John Paul Hurley Directed by Joe Douglas Tue 21 April, 7.30pm. Main House. Tickets £3 A rehearsed reading of a brand new play with an ensemble of professional actors. A black comedy set in Cork City. It's the story of three souls spat out by a society that can find no use for them. Iconography, hard drugs, and a love triangle all enshrouded in lashings of Catholic guilt. Oh, and they've committed a crime which means the whole world is looking for them. What could go wrong? John Paul Hurley is an actor and writer based in Scotland. (Running time approx. 1 hour)	The Back Room by Anita Vettesse Directed by Joe Douglas Wed 22 April, 7.30pm. Main House. Tickets £3 A rehearsed reading of a brand new play with an ensemble of professional actors. Kay and Tom agree to meet in the back room of a pub to scatter their dad's ashes with their mother Anne. Kay wants to hurry it along and Tom's just jetlagged. But Anne's having none of it. She wants to slow things way down; focus in on the real reason they're here. The money. Anita Vettesse is a Scottish actor and writer. (Running time approx. 50 minutes)	Close Encounters - Closing Time by Kevin P.Gilday and Pirlie Wee Horses! by JL Williams Wed 22 April, 7.45pm. Changing House. FREE but ticketed. Rehearsed readings of two brand new plays with an ensemble of professional actors. In a live experiment, Peter Arnott and a team of actors will encounter two new plays by two emerging playwrights. During the day, the director and actors' immediate response to the unseen texts as they unfold will be used to find each play's strengths and weaknesses. Peter will then select extracts from both plays to be presented on the same night, bringing the audience into this close encounter with new writing. (Running time approx. 2 hours) Book tickets
Rehearsing La Ronde and Other Infidelities by Liz Lochhead Directed by Becky Hope-Palmer Thu 23 April, 7.30pm. Main House Tickets £3 A rehearsed reading of a brand new play with an ensemble of professional actors. A sophisticated, new, sex-comedy taking as its model Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde. End of day one of rehearsals of that play which shocked the Vienna of 1900. One older, married actor, one young, single actress. He's just missed his train... Cue a daisy-chain succession of paired sexual partners -- next: actor-and-his wife, wife-and-builder, builder-and-ex etc. Liz Lochhead is a playwright and Scotland's Makar. (Running time approx. 1.5 hours)	Broken Dreams by Cathy Forde Directed by Joe Douglas Sat 25 April, 7.30pm. Main House. Tickets £3 A rehearsed reading of a brand new play with an ensemble of professional actors. Broken Dreams is about long-lost love, loss, the road not taken... and line-dancing. Carla, an ex-Coal Miner's Daughter leaves Ayrshire and her boyfriend Kenny behind for America. She is discovered in Nashville and becomes a one-hit wonder and minor star before disappearing into obscurity. Thirty years later Kenny tracks her down and brings her home. Cathy Forde is a playwright and novelist based in Glasgow. (Running time approx. 1.5 hours)

The Workshops

Stage to Page Mon 20 April, 6.30 - 10pm Main House, Changing House and Vic Bar. Tickets £3 A lively, monthly, exploration of new writing. This month's guest is award-winning playwright and director David Greig. Find out more about Stage to Page, including how to submit.	Grappling with Drama with Rob Drummond Fri 24 April, 5 - 7pm. Changing House. Tickets £3 Playwright (and onetime wrestler) Rob Drummond leads a workshop on the dramaturgy of professional wrestling. Drawing upon his experiences in training for his show, Rob Drummond: Wrestling, Rob will explore how his love of 'Sports Entertainment' has informed his writing and understanding of character, story and dramatic structure. A workshop for open-minded playwrights interested in seeking solutions from unusual sources. Rob Drummond is currently an Associate Playwright for Playwrights' Studio, Scotland (Maximum of 30 participants for this workshop)	Script Surgeries Sat 25 April, 11am - 4pm. Meeting Room and Vic Bar. Free. Places are available through prior application only. Written a play and looking for some advice on how to take it to the next draft? Script surgeries will be 50 minute, one-to-one sessions with professional playwrights Kathy McKean, Alan McKendrick and Frances Poet. How do I apply? Please send a 30 page extract of the script you would like to discuss, a short synopsis of the play plus a short paragraph (no more than 100 words) detailing why you would like to be considered for a script surgery to info@playwrightsstudio.co.uk Also, please specify if you would like to meet with a particular playwright.
Writing: A Survival Guide with Rona Munro Sat 25 April, 12pm. Main House Tickets £3 Award winning playwright Rona Munro (Scuttlers, The James Plays) shares her process in developing the mental and emotional stamina you need to make it as a writer.	In Your Own Words with Catriona Lexy Campbell and Morna Young Sat 25 April, 2.30pm. Changing House. Tickets £3 Does writing in your native language always make your work more authentic? What are the challenges of bringing stories to the stage which are rooted in very particular worlds, or told in languages that many audiences are unfamiliar with? As contemporary playwrights writing predominantly in Gaelic and Doric, Catriona Lexy Campbell and Morna Young explore their own writing processes and the universality of stories. Catriona Lexy Campbell is a writer, actor, poet, performer and theatre maker, working mainly in Gaelic. Morna Young is an Elgin-born writer, actress, musician, singer and composer. (Maximum of 30 participants for the workshop)	Facts, fictions and everything in between with Lewis Hetherington Sat 25 April, 4.30pm. Changing House. Tickets £3 Join playwright Lewis Hetherington (Leaving Planet Earth, The Secret Life of Suitcases) to explore how to fuse real life content, whether from autobiography or archive, with fictional material and to explore the tension and richness, which comes out of that. (Maximum of 30 participants for the workshop)

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