News and Events
8 September 2010

Fresh-laid Comedy - Join us for our Second Stand-up Event

Support the brave souls who signed up for WRiTEON's two day Stand Up Comedy workshop under the leadership of Comedy Tutor, Writer, Performer and Director, Chris Head. Having benefitted from their two days of tuition, carefully prepared their routines, and practised them in front of their fellow students, they'll be ready to entertain you this Sunday evening in the plush surrounds of B Bar, Cambridge (an over 21 venue). Our first event like this was an hilarious, standing room only success and this workshop's stars promise to be equally entertaining. Don't Miss!

When: Sunday, September 12, 2010, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Where, B Bar, 6 Market Passage, CB2 3PF, Cambridge
Entry by gold coin donation

Naked Stage Submissions Update

Thanks to all the writers who have already submitted to Naked Stage Autumn 2010. You should receive an acknowledgement by Friday the 10th - if you have not received one by then please contact us to make sure we've got your script!

For those still planning to submit, you have until this Sunday at midnight. Writers will be notified by Thursday, 23rd September if their piece has been selected . Selected writers are very welcome to attend the casting session on 26 September if they choose.

Naked Stage is open to submissions of plays or excerpts of up to 50 minutes in length. All genres, including monologues and 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.

Members of WRiTEON can submit for free. Membership is only £15 and entitles you to submit to all our projects over the membership year as well as other benefits. See the website  for details.

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: Midnight, Sunday, 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

Acting for WRiTEON is a great opportunity to:

And all of this comes with a minimal time commitment. Rehearsals for a Naked Stage reading take place in the evenings, the week before the performance (and sometimes on the Saturday) plus on the afternoon of the performance. Performances are script in hand - no line learning required.

Interested? Sign up for the Naked Stage Casting Session on 26 September. This is a casual and relaxed open casting for actors who have not performed for us before (though others are  very welcome to attend!)

At the casting, actors will have a go at a variety of excerpts from some of the plays accepted. No need to prepare an audition piece. Do bring your diaries and availability for the performance period, 10 October - 7 November.

When: Sunday, 26 September, 6.15-10 pm
Where: Ross Street Community Centre Hall
Ross Street (off Mill Road), Cambridge
Naked Stage Performance Dates: Sunday evenings from 10 October - 7 November 2010, 7 pm
To sign up, write to: michelle@writeon.org.uk. CV's and headshots helpful.

Writing Opportunities

Drama Opportunities at CAM FM
    
This October, Cambridge gets a brand new student radio station, CAM FM. The station's producers are now looking for writers, directors and actors to produce exciting drama programmes for the station. There are two ways to get involved. The first is to pitch an idea for a 'one-off' radio drama, to be broadcast as no more than 2 episodes, each episode no more than an hour long. The station will provide the studio time, basic recording equipment and production assistance. You and your company will be responsible for writing, directing, casting and performing. The second is to pitch your idea for a regular radio soap. From January 2011, the station hopes to broadcast weekly instalments to continue indefinitely.

If you have any questions, or wish to submit a pitch for a show, email Ben Weisz, Acting Head of Comedy and Drama CAM FM at brtw2@cam.ac.uk. 

BBC Sitcom Opportunity - All Mixed Up

The BBC College of Comedy is running a sitcom writing competition with a multi-cultural theme. Called All Mixed Up, the competition is looking for proposals which reflect diverse Britain.

Writers who can demonstrate some professional achievement are asked to submit the first ten pages of a script to the college, with a limit of six characters and three settings.

Entries will be judged on whether the script demonstrates the following criteria:

    * An interesting representation of multi-cultural Britain
    * An original voice
    * Strong characters
    * Engaging stories
    * A comedy style that will speak to a broad audience.

The best six scripts will be workshopped in preparation for a showcase with a professional cast at the Soho Theatre on 4 December, where a celebrity panel will choose the best two for further development by BBC Comedy. Both scripts will be optioned, with the winner's option worth £1000, and the runner-up's £500.

Writers of the next best six scripts will be invited to attend workshops on 4 December 2010, and to join the showcase audience.

To enter, email the first ten pages of a thirty-minute comedy script meeting the requirements to collegeofcomedy@bbc.co.uk.
Deadline: Midnight, 20 September 2010.

Acting Opportunities

Actor/Actress Wanted: The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)

The Cambridge University Marlowe Society is seeking one actor/actress for its production of this popular box office smash, to be performed at the ADC Theatre as its Week 1 Lateshow (13th-16th October, 11pm). The world-famous Marlowe Society has been the training ground of some of the titans of British theatre, from Sir Trevor Nunn and Sir Ian McKellen to Sam Mendes and Tom Hollander. They are looking for someone with energy and comic ability for this romp through all of the
Bard's 37 plays in just 57 minutes. Applicants must be available from 26 September for a Cambridge based rehearsal period.

Unpaid
Audition Date: 25th September 2010
To apply: Contact Director Ben Kavanagh (bek26@cam.ac.uk) and Producer Will Wadsworth (ww267@cam.ac.uk) as soon as possible with performance CV and headshot

Workshops

Advanced Stand-up Comedy Workshop

There are still a few places available in this follow-up to Chris Head's introductory standup workshop which finishes this Sunday. The follow-up will primarily be geared to those who have attended one of Chris's introductory workshops 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.

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.

When: Sunday, 14th November 11.00am - 5.30pm
Friends and Family Performance in the evening at 7.30pm
Where: B Bar, top floor, 6 Market Passage, Cambridge, CB2 3PF
Cost:  £25 for members of WRITEON and £30 for non-members
Booking: Contact Julia Bolden (julia@writeon.org.uk) 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).

Film as Inspiration: Writing Workshops with Cambridge Film Festival's Writer in Residence

This year’s Cambridge Film Festival, with funding from Cambridge County Council, boasts its first writer-in-residence, published poet Dr. Jane Monson. As part of the festival, Jane will lead two creative writing workshops after selected screenings of short films at the Arts Picturehouse. All welcome, no experience of creative writing is necessary; just a passion for film and an interest in developing and learning how to use cinematic themes, images, and sounds as the focus and material for poems, short stories, scripts and other forms of writing. The format of each workshop is as follows: half an hour of shorts followed by an hour's discussion and writing. Each workshop will feature different short films and writers are very welcome to attend both if they wish. The project will be documented and presented online once the festival is over and participants will be invited back for an informal launch event at the Picturehouse, where they will have the opportunity to read and celebrate their work.

Dates, Times and Venues:
Workshop 1: Sunday 19th Sept. 5-7 pm, Harrods Room, Emmanuel College
Workshop 2: Sunday 26th Sept, 11 am - 12.30 pm, Screen 3, Arts Picturehouse

Tickets: £20 per workshop
Book through Box Office, Arts Picturehouse: 0871 902 5720
Any questions, contact Jane at jemonson@eircom.net

Community Notices

The Terrapin at Corpus Playroom

WRiTEON actors star in this new stage adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s short story about an eccentric mother and her learning disabled son. Set in New York in the 1960s, the pair's stressed relationship finally snaps due to the presence of a terrapin. This dark comedy is directed by Francesca Brown and stars Rob Wells, who has received numerous awards in the performing arts industry, and Sarah Kenyon, who has appeared on TV and stage, including The Royal Court and the New Vic Theatres. Other actors include Erica Dupuy and Andrew Bailey. This play has been adapted for stage by Paola Trimarco, whose play Virginia Woolf Gets a Makeover recently appeared at The Kings Head Theatre.

Saturday, 25th September 2010
Matinee, 2.30, Evening 8 pm
Corpus Playrooms, St Edmunds Passage, Cambridge (behind Arts Theatre)
Tickets £7 (£5 concess)
Box office: 01223 503333
www.cambridgeartstheatre.com

More London Acceptances for WRiTEON Writers!

Two WRiTEON writers, Julia Bolden and Trevor Suthers, have had their pieces accepted for performance in a London show. Their comedy sketches were accepted for Made From Scratch Theatre Company's production, Last Night, a sketch show about student life. Julia's sketch, "A Good Kisser", was  performed by WRiTEON as a rehearsed reading in November 2008.  Described as an evening of one night stands, drunken antics, Star Wars toys, student politics and one big cyst, the show may go on tour following its introduction this month. Congratulations to both writers!

Made From Scratch Theatre Company Presents Last Night
Thursday, 23rd September, 5pm, Entry free
University of East London @ The Underground Bar
Docklands Campus, University Way E16 2RD
London

Can't Handle It at the Cambridge Film Festival

WRiTEON writer Michelle Golder wrote the screenplay for a short film, Can't Handle It, which will feature at the Cambridge Film Festival this month. The film, which stars Juliette Burton and Martin Ruddock and was co-directed by Malcolm Greenville and Robert Jezek, will be shown as one of a collection of shorts made by the Cambridge Independent Filmmakers Association (CIFA). Filmed on location in Haslingfield at and at the wedding venue The Manor Barn, Harlton, the microshort film is a plaited love story. The script on which it was based featured as a One Page Play at the Menagerie Theatre Company's Hotbed Festival in 2009.

CIFA Film Showcase
Thursday, 23 September 2010, 11 am - 1 pm
Book through Arts Picturehouse Box Office: 0871 902 5720