Here’s our final programme before the July/August summer break when the theatre is closed. All meetings take place in the Cooper’s Loft at the Theatre Royal, King Street, Bristol 1. Ask at the bar on the first floor for directions. Everyone attending pays £1 to help cover costs.
Tuesday, 20 May at 7.30pm: Open Workshop
Tuesday, 27 May at 7.30pm: Baby Sharks by Toby Farrow
A rehearsed reading of Toby’s black comedy about a man who gets picked up by a married woman in a bar.
Tuesday, 3 June at 7.30pm: Open Workshop
Tuesday, 10 June at 7.30pm: Open Workshop
Tuesday, 17 June at 7.30pm: Manic Defence by Andy Graham
A rehearsed reading of Andy’s play about the enmity between two women crime writers.
Tuesday, 24 June at 7.30pm: The History of Theatre with Gordon Ellis
In the last of four talks, Gordon will cover the 19th and 20th centuries and take a look at where theatre is going.
Tuesday, 1 July at 7.30pm: Hot Spots by Lori Hill
A rehearsed reading of Lori’s play about the conflict between a street beggar in the real world and an advertising agency in the unreal world, during an environmental crisis.
Raising Patrick Hegarty on Radio 4
Remember to tune in to Jessica Townsend’s radio play Raising Patrick Hegarty on Radio 4 on 1 July at 2pm!
Stairway to Heaven at the QEH
Steve Hennessy’s stage play Stairway to Heaven is now going to be given its rehearsed reading at the QEH Theatre, Bristol on Saturday, 19 July at 7.30pm.
Steve’s radio play, The Lighthouse Keeper — which was first heard at a Southwest Scriptwriters’ meeting — is being entered into the commissioning process by a BBC producer.
Shaker Productions seeks plays for Briefs ’97
Here’s a great opportunity to make your mark as a writer without having to write a full-length script. Shaker Productions is inviting entries to Briefs ’97 — a showcase for plays that last just 8 minutes (NB not sketches or extracts). Closing date is 1 July 1997.
PAWS invites science drama ideas
The PAWS (Public Awareness of Science) Drama Script Fund is again inviting submissions of ideas for high quality television drama scripts set in a contemporary science or engineering context. Grants of £2000 are available to develop the scripts — last year one of these was awarded to a local writer who attended our Tony McHale talk in April.
Turning to TAPS…
TAPS (Television Arts Performance Showcase) is another excellent outlet for your theatre, TV or radio scripts. This organisation has a high success rate in getting shortlisted scripts to production. They are looking for originality, good dialogue and good structure. There is no closing date and they give very careful consideration to all scripts — so it may be a long time before you get a reply.
New work for the Playhouse re-opening
The Playhouse Theatre in London is re-opening this summer and is looking for new work for both its main house theatre and studio theatre. For the main house, they want topical, well-crafted full-length plays suitable for West End audiences. For the studio, they will consider more experimental work.