First up, a reminder that Showing the Monster by Steve Lambert, produced by Theatre West in association with Southwest Scriptwriters, is running at the Alma Tavern Theatre until Saturday, 24 October. The production scored a five star review from Steve Wright in the current edition of Venue magazine, which enthuses that the play is ‘beautifully paced, with moments of quiet reflection and vulnerability amongst its more frequent bursts of Wildean wit. Brilliant.’
Check the Diary page of our website for an up-to-date list of our forthcoming events and see the panel at the bottom right of the site’s home page for a quick look at the date and time of our next meeting.
All of the following meetings take place in the function room upstairs at the Famous Royal Naval Volunteer pub, 17-18 King Street, BS1 4EE. Ask at the bar when buying a drink if you need directions to the meeting. Everyone attending pays £1.
Tuesday, 27 October at 7.30pm: Wednesday by Brian Jennings
It’s breakfast at Dr Ruth’s house and she’s having the usual unpleasantness with her soon-to-be-gone husband, who is moving out today. Then the post arrives and she discovers that he has an appointment at the local Cancer Unit. Will this affect her divorce? Dr Ruth goes to work… and it’s a hard day at the office.
Tuesday, 3 November at 7.30pm: I’m a Believer! by Jon Preece
Jon’s one-hour stage play tells the story of a man who gets tempted into a cult religion by a beautiful young woman. The play looks at what ‘belief’ means to each of the four characters, and the devastating consequences of not believing in anything — and believing too much.
Tuesday, 10 November at 7.30pm: Episode One of a TV series by Alison Tomlin
What happens when you die? Angela and Beatrice are about to find out, and, boy, are they in for a surprise. Without a fluffy cloud or a pitchfork in sight, these two young suicides are about to embark on the adventure of their lives… or should that be their deaths..?
Tuesday, 17 November at 7.30pm: The Queen and I by Paul Wiggins
Part one of Paul’s two-part TV comedy-drama in which Viv struggles to succeed after investing his redundancy money in an ex-Russian diplomat’s limo. He is homophobic but develops an uneasy friendship with Bruce, a gay magician, who hires Viv to drive him to shows. Neither of the two men wants to know too much about the other’s personal
life, but one of them has a secret from the past that is following him — in more ways than one…
Tuesday, 24 November at 7.30pm: Open Workshop
Tuesday, 1 December at 7.30pm: Open Workshop
The last chance of 2009 to get feedback from the group on your script or script extract.
Tuesday, 8 December from 8.00pm: Festive drinks in the Volly
Join us in the bar downstairs at the Naval Volunteer for our customary Yuletide gathering to ring out our 2009 meetings.
Galit seeks actors
Southwest Scriptwriter Galit Bernard is directing a romantic comedy she wrote for broadcast on Bristol-based community volunteer radio station Salaam-Shalom.
Galit is seeking volunteers to record her play’s three main roles (two female, one male) and 11 smaller parts (eight female, three male). Previous acting experience is an advantage, but not essential.
South West Screen and BBC Films launch iFeatures
South West Screen in partnership with BBC Films, Bristol City Council, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), and Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for creative media, has launched iFeatures, an initiative to help Britain’s brightest filmmaking talent make the leap to feature films.
The digital film project will produce three full-length theatrical features in Bristol over the next 18 months. It is open to writers, directors and producers from across the UK committed to exploring the creative opportunities of low-budget filmmaking to the highest standard.
South West Screen is inviting filmmaking teams nationwide to submit ideas by 8 December. The project’s organisers will then select a shortlist of 12 submissions for intensive creative and commercial development before deciding on the three to be produced next summer. The completed films are scheduled for release early in 2011.
iFeatures is headed-up by Christopher Moll (husband of Southwest Scriptwriter Anna Farthing), whose producing credits include the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit animation The Wrong Trousers, and the upcoming John Lennon biopic, Nowhere Boy.
Saturday Shorts scriptwriting competition
Bristol Folk House is expanding its live programme and plans to give writers the chance to try out new work with a professional director and actors at a script-in-hand performance event next spring. The organisers are seeking 15-minute stage, screen or radio scripts, which should be suitable for performance by four actors or fewer and make a big impact in a short time.
Bristol Old Vic Writers’ Room: The Writers’ Lounge
Bristol Old Vic Writers’ Room is holding the second of its biannual social and networking events for writers in the region in early December.
This time, the Writers’ Lounge is taking place in Renato’s, 33 King Street, Bristol, BS1 4DZ (opposite the Volly), from 6.30pm on Thursday, 3 December.
TAPS searches for writers in Devon and Cornwall
The Training And Performance Showcase (TAPS) in association with the BBC is holding a WriterSearch UK workshop for experienced, aspiring or potential writers aged 16 and upwards living in Devon and Cornwall.
TAPS is running the three-day workshop at University College, Falmouth, on 20, 21 and 22 November. It costs £150 and writers need initially to submit an idea for a ten-minute film. The idea should be only one A4 page and does not need to be in script form at this stage.
Southwest Scriptwriters committee
Following our constitutional annual reappointment of group committee members, Gill Kirk has decided to step down from Southwest Scriptwriters’ organising team because of other commitments. Many thanks to Gill for her work in helping to manage the group since August last year and we look forward to seeing her at the occasional meeting in the future!
The committee is otherwise unchanged, comprising John Colborn (secretary/treasurer), Andy Graham (chair), Adrian Harris, William House and Tim Massey (artistic director).
Elaine’s Notes published
Written in Elaine’s sharply witty style, the moving autobiographical story is available directly from the publisher here — where you can also read an extract from the book — and from Amazon here
Congratulations, Elaine!