We resume proceedings after the summer break with a slightly disrupted season because there are no rooms for us to meet in on either 4 or 11 October. Meetings on all other dates take place in the Macready Room at Bristol Old Vic. Everyone attending pays £1.
Tuesday, 20 September at 7.30pm: History by Margaret Crump
Taking on board comments made in the group on the first 15 minutes of this TV drama, Margaret’s now written the full 60-minute version. History is the story of a widow who seeks out the stepson she has never met, finds him to be the image of his father, her recently deceased husband, and cannot resist reliving the joy of falling in love.
Tuesday, 27 September at 7.30pm: Open Workshop
Tuesday, 4 October at 9.00pm: Drinks in The Naval Volunteer
Since there’s no room available for us tonight, some of us will be meeting up for a drink in the Naval Volunteer in King Street from 9pm. Please join us.
Tuesday, 11 October at 8.30pm: Panic Play at the Alma Tavern
Again, there’s no room available tonight, but this gives us the opportunity to go and see one of the successful entries in Theatre West’s 2005 Search for a Script — join us for a drink in the bar before and/or after. Panic Play by Catherine Orr asks the question: In an unstable world, what would it be like to listen to fear, choose panic, quit your job and hide out at your parents? Jonny does just this, and finding that terror can have many faces, seals himself a tragically comic fate.
Tuesday, 18 October at 7.30pm: The Actuary by Gareth Manson
In Gareth’s full-length romantic comedy (of which we had a taster last season) mayhem ensues when David, a plodding actuary, helps his flatmate, Susan, solve a problem at the dating agency where she works.
Tuesday, 25 October at 7.30pm: Open Workshop
Southwest Shorts 2006
We’re delighted to announce Southwest Scriptwriters 2006, a new short film competition for group members to replace our New Writing Festival for which funding is no longer available. To enter, all you’ll need to do is write a five-minute film script which will be judged for plot, character, structure and dialogue. The two winning entries will be given a full production, entered into various competitions, and be available for viewing worldwide on our website. To keep production costs down, your script should have as few actors as possible, minimum and low-cost locations, and no expensive special effects. We have obtained some funding for this competition, but are still seeking help with the costs of judging it. However, it WILL go ahead somehow.
BOV and Southwest Scriptwriters to co-produce Air Guitar
We’re also delighted to announce that Simon Reade, Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic, has selected Peter Kesterton’s Air Guitar for production in the Bristol Old Vic Studio — and has invited Southwest Scriptwriters to act as co-producer. This we are able to do thanks to financial help from the Arts Council. After being selected by Simon Reade, Air Guitar went on to win our New Writing competition this year — so it must be good. If you didn’t see it at the Festival, make sure you come along to this full professional production. The play will have a three-week run from 23 January to 11 February. More details to follow later.
Windsor Fringe Festival success
Congratulations to Lesley Bown and Ann Gawthorpe, finalists in our New Writing Festival with Living Doll this year, whose stage play Ashes to Ashes was a runner-up in the Windsor Fringe Festival where it will be given a performance on Saturday, 24 September. The competition was judged by Fay Weldon and Nell Dunn — and Ann and Lesley say their script was extensively re-written after exposure at Southwest Scriptwriters!
The Redcliffe Hermit at the L Shed
ACH Smith, who came to talk to the group a couple of years ago about his hugely successful production of Up The Feeder, Down the ’Mouth and Back Again, has written another great Bristol-based drama, The Redcliffe Hermit, which is going to be produced in the L Shed at the dockside Industrial Museum from Thursday, 29 September until Saturday, 15 October. Set in 1467, The Redcliffe Hermit tells the story of a hermit who was kept in a cave in the shadow of the burgeoning St Mary Redcliffe Church to pray exclusively for the souls of the local baron and his family. The show features original live music, and multi-staging which allows the audience the freedom to explore.
Speeding in Talent Circle Short Film Festival
Tim Massey’s 90-second film, Speeding, directed by Stephen Brown, was screened at the Talent Circle Super Shorts Film Festival in Soho earlier this month.
Watch Speeding online
The more academically minded might be interested to know that the full text of Tim’s PhD thesis in Creative and Critical Writing is available online at www.phdcreativewriting.co.uk.
Tune-in
And last, but certainly not least, you can catch Ray Brooking’s latest episode of Doctors next Tuesday, 20 September on BBC1 at 14.05. It’s a good one, so don’t miss it!