Welcome to our March e-bulletin. We’ve got three upcoming events this month including our second Scratch Nights session on Wednesday, 13 March — read on for full details…

Update your diary

Please keep tabs on our What’s on page to stay posted on upcoming meeting dates — we’ve been meeting more often since January but on different weekdays, so you need to concentrate to be sure of catching a meeting!

Our March meetings are all in the Rehearsal Room at Bristol Old Vic in King Street, BS1 4ED. Sign in at reception next to the bar and gather near the disabled toilet on Level 0 (Dress Circle) by 8pm to go to the Rehearsal Room with others attending the meeting. If you arrive late, sign in and ask BOV staff to direct you to the Rehearsal Room on Level 3. Everyone at a meeting pays £2.

Wednesday, 6 March at 8pm: Fred and Ginger by Matt Sanders

Tonight we’re reading Matt’s 60-minute TV pilot developed from the story of his short film script Them and Us featured at our first Scratch Nights event last October. Matt is also interested in developing the story as a stage play and welcomes your thoughts on its potential for this adaptation.

Wednesday, 13 March at 7.30pm at Lightship Theatre: Scratch Nights II

Join us aboard the John Sebastian in Bathurst Basin, BS1 6SG, for our second Scratch Nights showcase. Book your tickets (£7/£6) here.

Tuesday, 19 March at 8pm: Open Workshop

Use the ‘Book a workshop slot’ form on our Contact us page to reserve some upcoming workshop time.

 

Scratch Nights II sets sail on 13 March

Scratch Nights home page header

We’re all set for Scratch Nights II aboard Lightship Theatre in Bathurst Basin, BS1 6SG, on Wednesday, 13 March, and are pleased to announce the following line-up for our second round of script-in-hand performances:

  • Lunch by Brian Weaving
    A short sketch — vegan meets canivore.
  • #MeNeither by Matt Sanders
    Duologue. #MeToo’s high-profile stars have been bringing their abusers to account. But — what about all the unknown victims? Yes, what about all the Heathers?
  • Small Talk by Steve Lambert
    ‘You’re an addict, I could give up tomorrow’ — a fag-break fable of loneliness, redemption and the smoke rings of Saturn.
  • The Senseless Counterfeit by Richard Craven
    A ten-minute extract from a full-length modern Jacobean revenge play that highlights some of the seamier aspects of our city.
  • Daisy’s Brexit by Carole Boyer
    Daisy goes to market wrapped in red tape.
  • Crisis by Bruce Fellows
    A ten-minute monologue for stage or radio.
  • Checkpoint by Saito Hawkins
    A full-length play script destined for this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
  • Friends by Brian Weaving
    A short sketch — social media can be fun.

Our online box office is open now for you to book your Scratch Nights II tickets (£7/£6) using your credit or debit card through PayPal.

 

Clock Ticking on Bruntwood Prize

The countdown is on for your biennial opportunity to enter the UK’s biggest playwriting contest.

The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is accepting entries via its website until 6pm on Wednesday, 5 June.

The competition has a top prize of £16000, an £8000 Judges’ Award and an Original New Voice Award, also £8000, for writers who have not had a full-length play professionally produced with more than 12 performances. Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre — where the Bruntwood Prize is based — will seek to build relationships with the prize winners with the potential for staging their work, but there are no guaranteed productions for the successful scripts.

Southwest Scriptwriters alumnus Tim X Atack scooped the top prize in 2017 with his play Heartworm, so we’re hoping for similar success this year!

Learn more

 

Short Film School Holiday Workshop at Bath College

Director and Producer Keith Wilhelm Kopp, who led a session on the relationship between writer and director at a group meeting last January, has teamed up with local screenwriter Laurence Guy for a Short Film School Holiday Workshop at Bath College from 9 to 12 April.

The course promises:

‘…a four-day film development workshop, aimed at helping you develop a compelling and marketable short film. You will be mentored through the process of script development, pre-production, directing prep and distribution. The goal for the end of the course is for you to have a clear plan of how to write, shoot and get your work seen.’

The course costs £150 and places are limited to ten.

Learn more