Welcome back to another season! The good news is that we received an Arts 4 Everyone Express Award to put on professional readings of new plays. More about that below. First, please put all the following dates in your diary.
All meetings take place at the Cooper’s Loft, Theatre Royal, King Street, Bristol 1. Everyone attending pays £1.
Tuesday, 9 September at 7,30pm: Open Workshop
At which extracts from members’ work is read out.
Tuesday, 16 September at 7.30pm: Stairway to Heaven by Steve Hennessy,
A rehearsed reading of Steve’s play.
Tuesday, 23 September at 7.30pm: Bristol Film and Video Society
A showing of Bristol Film and Video Society’s film Cabot, followed by a discussion on how they might produce films of scripts written by our members.
Bristol Film and Video Society
Tuesday, 30 September at 7.30pm: Jane and Bill by Pat Dallimore
A rehearsed reading of Pat’s play.
Tuesday, 7 October at 7.30pm: Open Workshop
Tuesday, 14 October at 7.30pm: Open Workshop
Andy takes the Chair
There has been only one nomination for the vacant position of Chair of Southwest Scriptwriters — Andy Graham. So Andy is elected unopposed. Well done that man! There were no nominations for the other positions, so Tim Massey remains as Artistic Director and John Colborn as Secretary/Treasurer.
Arts 4 Everyone Express success
As announced in Tim Massey’s end-of-year report, our application to the Arts 4 Everyone Express fund was successful. We have been given £5000 to put on professional rehearsed readings of new plays written by our members. The New Vic Studio at the Theatre Royal has been provisionally booked for a week next April, and we hope to do four readings at that time. The event will be publicised in the Bristol Old Vic’s spring brochure.
Scripts to be performed as Arts 4 Everyone readings will be chosen from work presented at workshop sessions in the coming months. Those which show promise will be developed through the in-group rehearsed reading scheme, with members invited to rewrite their work based on feedback received at these. Final selection will be made by Tim based on a consensus of the work which has been given the best reception during the year. There will be an opportunity for further rewrites before the professional rehearsed readings in the New Vic Studio.
Radio Bristol broadcasts
John Colborn was interviewed on Radio Bristol by John Turner about the Arts 4 Everyone Express award on Tuesday, 19 August. This gave some useful early publicity to the event. Radio Bristol will make some more announcements about it nearer the time next April.
Don’t Feed the Pigeons in Hotwells
Lori Hill’s play Don’t Feed the Pigeons, which has been re-written following a rehearsed reading at one of our meetings earlier this year, is to be given another airing by Crumbling Walls Theatre Group at the Hope Centre, Hotwells, Bristol on Sunday, 19 October.
Bird’s Nest Theatre seeks scripts
Bird’s Nest Theatre, a London fringe venue, is seeking 60- to 90-minute, one or two act plays. Aiming to produce 10 plays a year; the group is looking for scripts with contemporary themes that do not call for large casts or elaborate sets or costumes. Scripts will be read and returned with a critique in around two weeks.
Ones to watch
Look out for episodes 5 and 6 of Byker Grove this autumn, both written by our president, Catherine Johnson. Apologies for not being able to give you the exact dates. Catherine’s Band of Gold