The next six Tuesday evenings see a packed programme to get our 2008/2009 series of meetings off to a flying start. As usual, the venue is 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. Don’t forget that you can find an up-to-date list of the dates, times and locations of upcoming group events on the Diary page of our website.
Tuesday, 9 September 2008 at 7.30pm: Hope by Virginia Bergin
Virginia’s 90-minute TV comedy-drama features a large female cast, needing at least eight women to read, so we’re putting a special call out for female acting talent tonight.
Tuesday, 16 September 2008 at 7.30pm: Open Workshop
Your first chance to get feedback on your script extracts after the summer break.
Tuesday, 23 September 2008 at 7.30pm: ‘Studying the Form’ with Andy Graham
Writing is more than the simple act of putting your own ideas down on paper. It’s also about looking at scripts you admire, seeing what works and, more importantly, why. During this workshop, Scriptwriters chair Andy Graham will be looking at some great examples of plays and films and analysing some of the underlying reasons for their success. As always, bring pen and paper as the session will be practical from the start.
Tuesday, 30 September 2008 at 7.30pm: Fine by Michelle Preston
Under the roof of a library beats the heart of knowledge, romance, intellect, escapism and dictionaries. The hearts of its inhabitants beat frantically too as they ask, ’Where are the Mills and Boons?’ Michelle’s rom-com mystery for the stage wonders, ‘Is it always the quiet ones..?’
Tuesday, 7 October 2008 at 7.30pm: Untitled Play 2008 by Gill Kirk
It’s the tail-end of the next Tory Government’s second term. An election looms when the Home Secretary suddenly dies laughing. He leaves behind some terrified political colleagues, a bitter tabloid-editor wife, a sister-in-law about to star in a Channel 4 exposé of the government’s human rights abuses, and Little Trevor, his screaming baby. More than you expect hangs on the whispered, booze-fuelled, end-of-the-wake question, ‘But was he really happy?’
Tuesday, 14 October 2008 at 7.30pm: Open Workshop
Scripts @ Starbucks
Following the success of our series of script readings at the Broadmead Arcade branch of Starbucks in July, we’re hoping to present a similar seasonal event in the run-up to Christmas. This is still to be confirmed with Starbucks, but the plan is to present a comedy revue featuring sketches on a festive theme. If the show goes ahead, we’ll be looking for radio sketches suitable for performance as a seated reading. Further details to follow, but something to mull over in the meantime…
Theatre West’s Writing in the Margins autumn season 2008
Southwest Scriptwriters has a strong showing in Theatre West’s season at the Alma Tavern Theatre this autumn. The company presents Writing in the Margins, a ten-week programme of new plays, at the pub theatre in Clifton between 16 September and 22 November.
Bond Girls, Tim Massey’s surreal comedy-drama inspired by the life and work of Ian Fleming is the season’s opener with a two-week run from 16 to 27 September. Tim brought extracts from Bond Girls to group workshop meetings earlier this year and developed his one-act play building on feedback from these sessions.
Group member Shiona Morton’s Shut Up is next in the season. Shiona’s play, which centres on a reunion between Beth and her father 17 years after she left the Exclusive Brethren, is at the Alma from 30 September until 11 October.
Helen Bradbury and Elaine Eveleigh make their Theatre West debuts in the company’s next Writing in the Margins show which features four 15-minute plays. Helen’s Loose Connections and Elaine’s Bittern End — also developed at Southwest Scriptwriters workshop sessions earlier this year — are presented with Karaoke for One by Jimmy Whiteaker and One More Trick by Alex Boyt. The quartet of short dramas runs at the Alma between 14 and 25 October.
The two remaining hour-long new plays in the Writing in the Margins season are Cave by Steve Hennessy and Metal Remains by Natalie McGrath, running between 28 October and 8 November and from 11 to 22 November respectively.
For details of all the plays in Theatre West’s 2008 autumn season, visit the company’s website.