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Playwriting Opportunities



Tinderbox's Young Writers Programme FIREWORKS  - application deadline 5th May
If you are an aspiring stage writer between 16 and 25 and interested in writing for the stage Fireworks might be something for you.
Fireworks is a 5 months long specialised program to take you through the process of writing a play from idea through redrafting and into the rehearsal room.
For full information visit the website www.tinderbox.org.uk/dramaturgy/fireworks-young-writers-programme/



 International Radio Play Competition
This BBC radio competition is for anyone resident outside Britain. You must submit a 60-minute radio drama for up to six characters.
The two winners will come to London and see their play made into a full radio production, which will then be broadcast on the BBC World Service. They will also each receive a £2,500 prize and there are also prizes for the runners-up. To find out more visit http://bbc.in/eYAhFs.


 
BBC Writers Academy 2011 
Applications for the 2011 BBC Drama Writers Academy will be open on 7th April until 5th May 2011.  Please see the BBC Jobs website for an online application form.

Now in its seventh year, the Writers Academy is a major initiative aimed at discovering and training the next generation of writers for BBC One’s flagship shows: EastEnders, Casualty, Holby City, and Doctors.
The scheme works as an apprenticeship for writers.  The first part involves a three-month course taught by John Yorke, Controller of Drama.  Writers then complete a broadcast episode of Doctors, and if this is accepted they then complete commissions on Casualty, Holby and EastEnders.
Eight writers are selected out of hundreds of applicants to undergo the intensive 15-month programme designed to equip them with all the skills necessary to write successfully for BBC Drama. The course entails classroom training, lectures from the country's best writers, instruction in all aspects of television production, and direct writing experience on the four Continuing Drama shows.

For full details go to  http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/writing/writers_academy.shtml



 Call for Scriptwriters - Fishamble Thatre Company
Fishamble: The New Play Company and Blue Teapot Theatre Company are offering professional playwrights/screenwriters a unique opportunity to create a new work to be performed by an ensemble group of eight actors with intellectual disabilities. Ultimately the work will be developed for the screen (subject to future funding) but as a first stage, the premiere of the piece will be presented as a live performance reading in September & October 2011. More details on www.fishamble.com/blueteapot Deadline for applications is 15th April 2011


  SHORT FILM SCRIPT WRITING  Queens University, Belfast
Lecturer: Carol Murphy,BA, MA
Course Number: OLE1271
5 weekly sessions on Tuesdays 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm, starting 10 May
 The aim of the course is to learn, through collective workshops, screenings and homework, how to write a short film in terms of crafting story, character and structure; to learn about writing and using synopsis, treatments, log and tag lines; and to learn how to format a screenplay with the same tools as can be applied to feature film writing.
The fee for the course is £30.00 (concession rate £19.00)      
For further details on enrolment you can visit our website and enrol on line on www.qub.ac.uk/edu/ol or contact the Open Learning Office on 9097 3323


Young Writers Festival 2012 submissions open soon - Royal Court Theatre London
The Royal Court Young Writers Festival
has an unrivalled reputation for discovering new voices and for showcasing the best plays by the most exciting young talent. Over the years it has launched the careers of many now established and admired UK playwrights.

If you are under 26 and have a story to tell, write it for us and send it into the Young Writers Festival competition by 31 May 2011. Your play can be about absolutely anything and take any style. The winning plays will have full professional productions at the Royal Court Theatre from January to March 2012.

Arty Side?
We are looking for a new illustrator for our 2012 Festival. Are you an exciting young designer and can you create a unique image to use on all our Festival publicity? Win your image printed on flyers, posters, and adverts, plus portfolio mentoring session with top illustration agent Illustration Ltd. 

How to apply?
The Deadline to submit your play and illustrations for the 2012 Young Writers Festival is May 31 2011.


For more details and submission guidelines on how to enter your play, or apply for the Illustration competition please visit the Young Writers Festival section of our website and download the relevant documents.



 Enrique Pardo in collaboration with Sarmen Almond - Belfast
A special demonstration workshop open to all - 8th of May 
 
The workshop is free and will take place in SARC (Sonic Arts Research Centre) from 12 - 15Hrs
 
Sarmen is a Mexican musician, singer and performer. She met Enrique Pardo in 2007 and
starts to work under his direction and teaching in the PANTHEATRE Company. In 2010 she
completed her MA in Sonic Arts leading her to found St’art moveS art project, looking for
interdisciplinarity in performance: new media, voice and choreographic theatre.
Enrique Pardo directs PANTHEATRE with Linda Wise - a company based in Paris and at the
RoyHart Centre (Southern France). Theatre director, actor, writer, painter, one of the world’s
main practitioners and theoreticians of choreographic theatre – an image-based approach to
performance that includes voice and music, texts and movement.
His work brings together very different and rich traditions:
• Voice performance
• Physical theatre and dance training
• Music
• Myth
This demonstration workshop is an introduction to Enrique Pardo’s approach
to choreographic theatre, including extended-registers voice techniques and text
interpretation. The work addresses itself to participants first of all as artist, confronting,
questioning and enhacing each participant’s creativity (including non-professionals.)
To book a place on the workshop or to find out more e-mail startmoves@gmail.com
www.pantheatre.com
www.wix.com/sarmenfemme/sarmen


The Bruntswood Prize for Playwriting  - deadline 6th of June  The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting is the search for great new plays and great writers. It is Britain’s biggest playwriting competition and has so far awarded £80,000 in prize money.
The Bruntwood is open to anyone aged 16 or over living in the UK or Ireland. Scripts are submitted anonymously so we can judge them equally. Don’t worry if you are new to writing, this website has all kinds of ideas and support to help you write.
Entries are accepted between 31 January 2011 and 6 June 2011. Plays are entered through the website:  http://www.writeaplay.co.uk/



 Tim Crouch - Theatre for Young People
Location: Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
Date: 21 May 2011 (Deadline for applications: 29 April 2011)

Multi-award-winning playwright and performer Tim Crouch leads a practical writers' workshop on exploring the creating of work for young audiences and asks what freedoms and what restrictions are presented when considering work for and with young people?  And are there different processes involved in structuring and scripting? A practical day of writing, thinking and doing.
Places are limited and by application only. To apply please submit a one-page sample of your writing plus a short CV to Jennifer Williams in the Traverse Literary Department jennifer.williams@traverse.co.uk or to Jennifer Williams, Traverse Theatre, 10 Cambridge Street, Edinburgh EH1 2ED, by 29th April - all applicants will be notified as to whether or not they have a place by 6th May.
The workshop cost is £16 (£8).



 Pint-sized Plays Writing Competition
Location: UK-wide
Deadline: 31 May 2011

2011 Pint-sized Plays writing competition is now open.

It can be funny, it can be poignant... if it can be performed in a pub, with two or three characters, you could be one of the ten winners of Pint-sized Plays 2011.

As in previous years, the very experienced Theatre Director Phil Clark - who champions new writing - is the judge. And the ten winning plays he selects will be performed in pubs throughout Pembrokeshire, starting 19th and 20th September during Tenby Festival week. All ten plays will then be performed at the Script Slam in Theatr Gwaun, Fishguard, where the audience get to vote for their favourite script - and the winner gets to walk away with the coveted 'Pint-Pot' award - with a 'Half-Pint' award for the runner up.

On top of which, selected plays will be considered for possible performance in the Brighton and Edinburgh Fringe festivals and be recorded and broadcast as radio plays on an internet radio station: audiobookradio.net.

To find out more, go to
 www.pintsizedplays.org.uk



 Off Cut 2011
In Company Theatre
Location: UK-wide
Deadline: 1 June 2011

In Company Theatre have launched Off Cut 2011 and is accepting short play submissions from new and undiscovered playwrights.

Following the sell-out successes of previous years, In Company Theatre will be moving the festival to the renowned Riverside Studios in Hammersmith this coming autumn.

Writers may submit plays of no more than 15 minutes in length. There are no restrictions on style, topic or genre.

28 plays will be selected to show in rep at the Riverside Studios over the first two weeks of the festival. During this time, the audience will be voting for their favourite plays. The top eight plays will run for the whole of the third week, with the audience still voting for the ultimate winner. This winner will have a full play produced by In Company at The Riverside Studios.
For more information on how to apply, please visit www.theoffcutfestival.com



The Ted Walters International Short Story, Poetry and Playwriting Competition 2011
The University of Liverpool Creative Writing Society for Lifelong Learning
Location: UK-wide
Deadline: 30 June 2011

This is the 5th annual competition and in each category the 1st prize winner receives £200, the 2nd prize winner £50 and the 3rd prize winner a £15 Book Token.
One Act Plays may be on any subject or theme and must be type written, double spaced and on one side of the page only, including a cast of no more than four characters. Good presentation and a list of characters and any other relevant information must be included. Submissions must be 20 minutes maximum.
Open One Act Playwriting Category: £6 for the first play and then £5.50 for each and every other play after that.
Please send all of your competition entries to:

Tommy McBride (Group Secretary)
The University of Liverpool Creative Writing Society for Lifelong Learning
50 Onslow Road
Elm Park
Liverpool
Merseyside
L6 3BB
United Kingdom

E-mail: thomas.mcbride2@sky.com

Telephone Enquiries: 0151 2916942  


 Next Best Page Submissions
Collaborative Theatre Company
Location: UK-wide
Deadline: 31 December 2011

The aim of Next Best Page is to produce a highly collaborative and innovative piece of theatre by uniting 52 voices to tell one story over 2011.

The award winning playwright James Graham has written the opening to the play 'Power Lines'. Each week throughout 2011, you can send in your Next Best Page. At the end of each week, the team will read all the pages they receive and decide which page will join The Script. Then the process will begin again, and again and again until the end of 2011.

Each writer will take their inspiration from the previous pages and be the inspiration for the next page. The Play will then be staged in 2012 at venues to be confirmed.
To find out more, visit http://www.nextbestpage.co.uk/home



 New Online Playwriting Course
Live Theatre Newcastle
Location: UK-wide
Dates: Rolling

Live Theatre Newcastle has launched a unique new online script writing course.

Learn the art of playwriting from two leading theatre practitioners, watch exclusive video of award-winning writers including Lee Hall (Billy Elliot, Cooking With Elvis & The Pitmen Painters) and be part of a community of aspiring
playwrights.
For further details, visit http://www.beaplaywright.com/
 

Comments

  1. Going to take a neb at the international one - thanks muchly for the links.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're more than welcome Rachel. Good luck with it. Hope you're keeping well, too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Jaki,

    Here's another opportunity for scriptwriters:

    The biggest and most exciting gathering of screenwriters, film makers, producers, directors and actors in Europe is about to begin. The 2nd London Screenwriters’ Festival (http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com) kicks off on October 28th for a three day festival like no other.

    Top speakers include consultant Christopher Vogler (Hero’s Journey), writer Linda Aronson ( 21st Century Screenplay), scriptwriter Ashley Pharaoh ('Life On Mars', 'Ashes To Ashes') , producer Duncan Kenworthy (‘Four Weddings..’, 'Love Actually'), script editor Kate Leys ('The Full Monty', 'Trainspotting' and 'Four Weddings and a Funeral’), ITV commissioner Elaine Bedell (X-Factor), film editor Eddie Hamilton (‘Kick Ass’, ‘X-Men: First Class’), BBC Writersroom Paul Ashton, BAFTA-nominated scriptwriter Tim Clague, BBC commissioner Ben Stephenson and many more, including one big name - a surprise that will only be announced in October!

    Top 10 reasons to attend The London Screenwriters Festival 2011

    Over 100 speakers - Top screenwriters, producers, executives and educators share their passion and insight.
    Nearly 100 events – World class screenwriting workshops, seminars and panels.
    Networking – Delegates will meet over 400 professional writers and network with producers and agents at the festival’s social events.
    Speed Pitching – Delegates can get their project in front of producers and agents in the Speed Pitching sessions.
    Script Chat – Face time with speakers in post-session round table script chats.
    Never miss a session - Most sessions will be filmed, so participants can watch them after the festival.
    Online network – The online network will allow participants to connect with other delegates.
    It’s what we love - Three days immersed in the thing we all love: screenwriting.
    Feedback - Read what both the festival’s delegates AND speakers said about last years’ festival.
    iPhone App – The festival will have an iPhone / Smartphone app so delegates can keep up to date on added sessions, speakers and other delegates.

    Get £30 off the ticket price by using the code MONICASOLON.

    Best wishes,

    Monica Solon
    Screenwriter

    London Screenwriters’ Festival 2011 (http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com)
    Palavras no Papel blog (Words on Paper blog) (http://palavrasnopapel.wordpress.com)
    Literary agent Julian Friedmann’s blog (Blake Friedmann Film, Television and Literary Agency) (http://julianfriedmann.squarespace.com)

    ReplyDelete

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