News and Events
25 August 2010

Naked Stage Autumn 2010 - Submissions Now Open

Naked Stage is WRiTEON's oldest and most ambitious series of staged readings of new plays. This year we celebrate our tenth season, and the first to be performed in the ADC Theatre Bar.  Naked Stage is open to submissions of plays or excerpts of up to 50 minutes in length. All genres, including sketches, are considered. The only limitation is that the piece must be playable by a maximum of four actors (roles may be doubled or even tripled). Accepted pieces will be rehearsed with an experienced director and performed by our talented troupe in front of a knowledgeable and interested audience of theatre buffs and professionals on the Bar Stage of the ADC Theatre, Cambridge. They provide verbal and written feedback on each piece performed. All submissions must be accompanied by a submission form and meet our submission guidelines. There is a £10 submission fee for writers who are not members of WRiTEON. For full, detailed submission guidelines and instructions and to access the submission form, please click HERE .

Deadline for submissions: 12 September
Performance Dates: Sunday evenings from 10 October - 7 November 2010
Questions? Write to submissions@writeon.org.uk

Naked Stage Autumn 2010 Casting Session

Actors and directors interested in taking part in this season of staged readings of new work are invited to attend the Naked Stage Casting Session on 26 September. This is a casual and relaxed open casting at which excerpts from some of the plays accepted will be read. We are looking for actors at a variety of levels of experience who are able to work with script in hand after a short rehearsal period. Actors are not required to be available for all performance dates but should bring their rehearsal and performance availability dates to the casting session. Rehearsals are usually in the evening during the week before the performance.

Those new to WRiTEON are particularly encouraged to attend - come along to  meet the organisers and show us what you can do.

Sunday, 26 September, 6.15-10 pm
Ross Street Community Centre Hall
Ross Street (off Mill Road), Cambridge
Performance Dates: Sunday evenings from 10 October - 7 November 2010
Questions or registration of interest to: michelle@writeon.org.uk

Stand-up Comedy Workshops with Chris Head

If you've ever fancied having a go at the precipitous challenge of stand-up comedy, come along to one or both of these WRiTEON subsidised workshops with comedian and teacher Chris Head (www.chris-head.com/home.html). Each course provides stimulating exercises to develop your comedy writing and performance, plus each ends with a public performance at B Bar to test your skill. Places are filling up fast - book now to avoid disappointment. Note: these courses are subsidised by WRiTEON to keep the cost as low as possible - and there's an additional discount for members of WRiTEON.

1) Two-day Introduction to Stand-Up
Over two Sundays, you will create a complete short stand-up routine. Session 1 will be about generating material. You'll  develop your ideas on your own during the week and return in Session 2 for microphone time in front of the group. You'll receive feedback and work on audience interaction. In the evening, you'll have the chance to put what you've  learned into practice in a stand-up show for a friends and family audience.

Sundays,  5th & 12th September 11.00am - 5.30pm
Friends and Family Performance in the evening of 12th at 7.30pm
B Bar, top floor, 6 Market Passage, Cambridge, CB2 3PF
Cost = £45 for members of WRITEON and £50 for non-members

2) One Day Stand-Up Follow-Up
This Follow-Up will primarily be geared to those who have attended one of Chris's Two-day introductory workshops (i.e. in May or September), but others with some experience of stand-up may also attend. You will be required to bring along some prepared material which you will develop and refine during the session and try out in front of a friends and family audience in the evening.

Sunday, 14th November 11.00am - 5.30pm
Friends and Family Performance in the evening at 7.30pm
B Bar, top floor, 6 Market Passage, Cambridge, CB2 3PF
Cost = £25 for members of WRITEON and £30 for non-members

About Chris Head
Instructor Chris Head is a writer and performer and teaches comedy writing and performance at City Lit in Central London. He has run workshops for the BBC and Channel 4 and articles about his teaching and comedy work have appeared in Time Out, The Guardian, The Times Education Supplement, The Scotsman and more. He has directed twelve shows for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, co-writing five of them, directed many shows in London, including at Soho Theatre, is a regular contributor to The Fix comedy magazine and is the editor of the forthcoming "Make It" section on the British Comedy Guide website.
 
To Book
To book your place on either or both of these workshops, please contact Julia Bolden (julia@writeon.org.uk) You can book both in advance or reserve judgement until after the first session. If you did not/are not attending the Beginners sessions but have already had some experience of stand up and would like to attend the Follow-Up session, please e-mail to enquire.

If you are booking as a member, you will need to quote your membership number. See the Contact us page of the WRiTEON website www.writeon.org.uk for information about membership (note that subscription to the newsletter is not the same as membership).

WRiTEON Casual Script Reading/Feedback Group

Join the casual Script Reading book for informal, constructive and low-pressure feedback on scripts in process. New writers attend regularly and the group is welcoming and supportive.

Next Meeting: Tuesday 31st August at 7.15pm
Where: 36a The Limes, Harston, CB22 7QT
All welcome - please contact julia@writeon.org.uk if you wish to attend.

Workshops

Writing Weekend@ The Old Vicarage Isleham - 9th/10th October 2010
PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE- STILL 1 DISCOUNTED PLACE AVAILABLE

A weekend of Creative Workshops to enthuse, aid and inspire! Scriptwriter Laura Watson (EastEnders, Casualty and Radio 4) and novelist Alison Bruce (published works include Cambridge Blue, Cambridgeshire Murders and Billington: Victorian Executioner) are running this workshop for writers in both genres.

The first session will start with whole group discussions and creative exercises on Story, Structure and Character.
Course members will then have the opportunity for a session with Laura specifically geared to Scriptwriting (dialogue, editing, pitching).

Participants are encouraged to submit scripts to Laura at least two weeks prior to the Writing Weekend in order to receive a script report and individual tutorial on the Sunday.

To finish off the weekend there will be a final creative exercise and a group discussion on writing opportunities.

Dates and Times:
Saturday, 9th October, 2-6pm and Sunday 10th October 10am-4pm.
Venue:
The Old Vicarage, 7 Church Street, Isleham, Cambs CB7 5RX www.old-vicarage-isleham.com
Cost:
Special offer: 1/3 off for 2 members of WRiTEON! So £80 instead of £120 for the full weekend including lunch both days (1 pm Saturday)
Contact:
Laura1978watson@mac.com, 07974409228

Acting Opportunities

Actors wanted for 5 Minute Play in London Festival (18th September)
Rehearsals in Cambridge - Unpaid
 
Life Experience Productions require 4 actors (m/f 20-65) for a very short play which has been selected for the Lost Theatre Company 5 Minute Festival 2010, taking place in London in September. The play, To Be Honest by Julia Bolden, was originally written as a monologue and performed in WRiTEON's recent MAD Festival on 11th July. It has since been reworked as an ensemble performance piece for 4 actors.
 
Applicants must be available all day on Saturday 18th September for Dress and Tech, followed by one evening performance (along with the 13 other selected 5 minute plays) at Lost Theatre Company's new purpose-built 180 seat theatre in Stockwell, London. Rehearsals will be in the preceding two weeks, dates and times negotiable subject to cast availability.
 
The characters are all generic salespeople and can be played by either gender and pretty much any age. The four roles are of equal size. The aim is to use workshop techniques to turn the script into a high energy fast moving performance piece.
 
E-mail juliabolden_seascribe@hotmail.com if interested.

Actors/Director Wanted for Audio Play
Unpaid

Writer Bryn Taylor is producing a CD of his play, Emma Holliday, a shortened version of which was performed as part of WRiTEON's MAD festival 2009. He intends to send copies of it to local radio stations in South Wales in the hope that they will broadcast it. He will bear the cost of hiring a rehearsal room and the sound studio but can’t afford to pay anybody. Everybody involved will get a copy of the CD.

The play is set in Cardiff in the 1850’s and is about his great great grandmother and how she survived in Tiger Bay.

Roles Available:

One female and two male actors for the main roles and one male and one female actor for the minor roles. Apart from the two male main actors, all must be able to do a good Welsh accent. The two men have west country accents.

A director and sound engineer are also sought.

Rehearsals to take place in Cambridge in the second half of October, with recording in early November. Exact dates will be agreed with the participants nearer the time.

Contact:
Bryn Taylor
Telephone  01438820787
e-mail  bryn@btaltd.demon.co.uk

Actors, Dancers, Storytellers and Musicians Wanted, Tamarind Theatre Company
London, Paid 
   
Tamarind Theatre Company, funded by Awards For All, are looking to train artists to take part in a storytelling production in November 2010.   Artists will be paid a bursary to attend training and rehearsals as well as perform.

We are looking for storytellers/actors who are, ideally, multi-disciplined artists e.g.:

Storyteller/singer
Storyteller/musician (drummer/percussion)
Storyteller/dancer

Essential requirements:

• Attend open auditions/specially invited auditions/ and casting calls, interviews

• Attend ALL training sessions and accompanying workshops, possible visits to schools, including current study of the National Curriculum (KS1/2). Performing in schools, theatres & community venues.

• Be prepared to learn, develop and train Tamarind Theatre Company's work in schools, theatres and community venues. Working with artists, actors and members/professionals of other organisations.

• Have an up to date enhanced CRB check or be prepared to take one.

• Have some basic awareness/knowledge of the skills required in performing in public, to families and other diverse audiences. This will include interacting with audience members during specific parts of the show.

Desirable traits:

• Be able to speak one or more community language from the Indian Sub-continent.

• Have the ability to assist in other areas of production if called to do so and to take on other responsibilities: administrative, research, evaluation, assessments.

• Demonstrate an interest in learning about other languages, cultures, traditions and the history of Indian sub-continent.

• Have an understanding of the uses of storytelling to primary school children/family audiences and the benefits of this type of performance.

To Apply:
Send an up to date CV and a supporting statement to: tamarindtheatre@hotmail.co.uk by 31 August 2010. 
Short listing on 3 September 2010
Interviews 7 September 2010
For further information please call Rokshana Khan on 020 7364 7906