Johnny Hansler is back! Not that he's ever been away, but the hardest working man in showbiz is playing once again at the Leicester Square Theatre from August 4 till August 29 Wednesday to Sat at 8.45pm. If you're going, do check with the theatre, as the listings aren't quite clear about start times.
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Angela Unbound
Johnny Hansler is back! Not that he's ever been away, but the hardest working man in showbiz is playing once again at the Leicester Square Theatre from August 4 till August 29 Wednesday to Sat at 8.45pm. If you're going, do check with the theatre, as the listings aren't quite clear about start times.
Donegal Wake
Fresh from her glorious triumph in the summer competition, Lynne O'Sullivan puts on her acting clothes and treads the boards in Donegal Wake. It's at the London Irish Centre, Camden Square NW1 9XB from August 3rd to the 12th, is written by Ria Higgins directed by Owen Nolan."In a ramshackle house off the west coat of Ireland a sudden death brings a family together for the first time in years".
Monday, 26 July 2010
Show Me The Money
Summer term may be over, but the hits keep on coming. We may have technically ended our year long lease at the Green Man, but there is still one more show there. This coming Sunday, August 1st, our esteemed treasurer Tony Diggle has got a reading of a play that originally surfaced three years ago, but which has since been reworked.
It's at two o'clock, downstairs in the Porters Bar.
“David has just turned forty. He’s determined to start making big money, find the girl of his dreams and get married. Jenny is …. less than forty. She’s determined never to do any work at all if she can possibly help it, marry a millionaire and spend all the money. Will they get what they want, and if they do, will it turn out to be what they expect? Come and find out in this dark, “city” comedy about the corrosive power of money.”
It features Pete Picton, Fiona McGee, Phil Philmar, Chris Prior, Richard Evans, and Daniel Dresner. Matthew Dexter is reading the stage directions.
Be there, for one last hurrah!
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
The Annual Showcase
It's that time again.Summer is here and it's the annual showcase. It's the usual format: three short one-act plays. These are:
TWENTY NINE by Peter Vincent, directed by Mark Fitzgerald: “A sick woman lives alone with her handicapped son. A serial killer arrives at the house….”
TANGO IN THE DARK by David Carr, directed by Lexy Howe: “A man, a woman, a dog, a car and the night. What could possibly go wrong?”
INTERVAL
BOOK LOVERS by Kevin Mandry, directed by Dimitri Devdariani: “A library…or a life? Which is better? And which would you pay most for?”
Tickets are £2 a head for members and their guests. If you are in the Industry you may get in free. Otherwise you pay at the door.
If you are bringing guests please email Peter Thompson their names.
The place is, once again, the King’s Head Theatre, at 115 Upper Street Islington N1 1QN.
It starts at 7.30, and is on this Sunday 18th July 2010.
Friday, 9 July 2010
Competition - Behind the Mask
Monday 12th July is competition time. The title came from organiser Lynne O'Sullivan and has proved a popular one. So what do you think we'll be getting? Ten plays about demented fencers? Psychotic surgeons? Understudies in Phantom of the Opera?Who knows. Come along on Monday and find out.
7.45, at the Green Man.
Friday, 2 July 2010
Peter Cox's Guide to Re-Writing
A few weeks ago Peter Cox came to gave us a talk. Quite frankly, and with no disrespect to any of our previous speakers, the feedback I got from that talk surpassed anything I have ever heard before. It was quite unanimously enthusiastic.
Prepare to be further excited, as Peter has sent me the notes he had for the night, which have since themselves been re-written. Makes sense, doesn't it? I won't say any more, other than that anyone interested in writing really ought to read, digest and think about the following. Really you ought bookmark this post, and go to it every time you write something. Before, during and after.
With no further ado:
Re-Writing: a non-judgemental, non-sentimental, non-subjective craft skill.
by Peter Cox
Introduction:
Clarify - the job of a dramatist is to act like a ‘Crazy Traffic Policeman’ – to make characters and their stories crash into each other. To reveal character and story through action.
Talk about the way humans / babies learn through ‘what happens next’? (ie suspense / story structure.)
Exercise / Ice breaker: All write down different ways of saying / expressing ‘The War is Over’ – can be images or gesture as well as words. Share them aloud. Instant rewriting – this creates an amazing range of choices taken – rewriting pure and simple
Move onto reasons for re-writing from different points of view in a creative team – this is not an exhaustive list. Some mainly apply to tv or film – most apply across all forms of drama.
Think of these things a writer’s Toolkit – not a personal attack
Producer Initiated:
Length – needs to be tighter / shorter to fit ‘the slot’
Cost (economic / location / character numbers / re-budget etc)
Story not strong enough or 'right' enough for demographic / medium
Believability / truth
Legal (defamation / good taste & decency / easily imitated behaviour eg showing how to tie a noose is not allowed)
‘Shite’ (Brookside producer’s favourite ‘note’ in first draft meetings – said regarding page after page of script.)
The F*ck Fairy (OFCOM Broadcasting Code) (the fairy who comes in the night and sprinkles a script with words that can’t be broadcast.)
Actor being sacked / ill / accident / pregnant / walking out
Changes required as a result of Casting
Director led:
Not getting under the skin of character enough
Cutting exposition
Saying too much
Needing to signpost more / or less
Learn the skill of ‘listening to the meaning’ of what they're saying – often director’s struggle to express their thoughts – because it’s not easy – listen for the deeper meaning of what they say – don’t expect an instant quick fix alternative.
Too much Research on the page
Don't yet care enough about a character
'They're not talking to each other'
Actor led:
Something missing - a scene between certain characters
Can be said with a look
Democracy / Devising processing
Poor punctuation / actors need to be able to breathe – think like a composer where the human voices are the instruments / orchestra
Punctuation affecting meaning – punctuation is your armoury of amazing weapons – deploy them well
Taking the curse off
Subtext unclear
Writer Initiated:
Pre- writing – first draft as improvisation / find a seed – germinate it – grow it
Active re-imagining – walk around script – different points of view
Structural – what happens when – story architecture – story arc
Functional – is each character doing their job for you – could two characters become one
Emotional architecture – individual arcs / contrast – complement
Create a new sub-plot to shine a light on or complement or contrast with main plot
Red pen, stopwatch and scissors – use them – don’t get carried away with your own cleverness / eloquence
Knowing when to come into a scene / get out of a scene
At dialogue level – rhythm / difference / unique voices
Balancing – humour / emotion / action / formal inventiveness
Refining the poetic unity of the whole play
Not enough........ suspense / what happens next / this is how humans learn
Not enough Dramatic Tension
Misplaced Relaxation of Tension
Opposed Forces not fully realised
Shutting yourself up
Timing / placing of entrances / exits
Moving one character's words to another – what is said, not just who says it
Research and revised / extended research
Negative checks – legal clearabce
Accuracy
Tying up loose ends
Turning a Closed Ending into an Open Ending / vice versa
Not yet found 'the pattern' of the play
Something needs foreshadowing
Not yet got the Cast Design right
Characters sounding to alike – work on Speech patterns / lexicon / vocabulary
Too 'on the nose'
Create a variety of ‘fellow writer’ voices in story development / the writing team in your head… let the offer points of view and opinion and alternative ways of writing something
Don't ask 'How good is my script?'
Instead ask, 'How can it be improved? / How can I make it better?'
Prepare to be further excited, as Peter has sent me the notes he had for the night, which have since themselves been re-written. Makes sense, doesn't it? I won't say any more, other than that anyone interested in writing really ought to read, digest and think about the following. Really you ought bookmark this post, and go to it every time you write something. Before, during and after.
With no further ado:
Re-Writing: a non-judgemental, non-sentimental, non-subjective craft skill.
by Peter Cox
Introduction:
Clarify - the job of a dramatist is to act like a ‘Crazy Traffic Policeman’ – to make characters and their stories crash into each other. To reveal character and story through action.
Talk about the way humans / babies learn through ‘what happens next’? (ie suspense / story structure.)
Exercise / Ice breaker: All write down different ways of saying / expressing ‘The War is Over’ – can be images or gesture as well as words. Share them aloud. Instant rewriting – this creates an amazing range of choices taken – rewriting pure and simple
Move onto reasons for re-writing from different points of view in a creative team – this is not an exhaustive list. Some mainly apply to tv or film – most apply across all forms of drama.
Think of these things a writer’s Toolkit – not a personal attack
Producer Initiated:
Length – needs to be tighter / shorter to fit ‘the slot’
Cost (economic / location / character numbers / re-budget etc)
Story not strong enough or 'right' enough for demographic / medium
Believability / truth
Legal (defamation / good taste & decency / easily imitated behaviour eg showing how to tie a noose is not allowed)
‘Shite’ (Brookside producer’s favourite ‘note’ in first draft meetings – said regarding page after page of script.)
The F*ck Fairy (OFCOM Broadcasting Code) (the fairy who comes in the night and sprinkles a script with words that can’t be broadcast.)
Actor being sacked / ill / accident / pregnant / walking out
Changes required as a result of Casting
Director led:
Not getting under the skin of character enough
Cutting exposition
Saying too much
Needing to signpost more / or less
Learn the skill of ‘listening to the meaning’ of what they're saying – often director’s struggle to express their thoughts – because it’s not easy – listen for the deeper meaning of what they say – don’t expect an instant quick fix alternative.
Too much Research on the page
Don't yet care enough about a character
'They're not talking to each other'
Actor led:
Something missing - a scene between certain characters
Can be said with a look
Democracy / Devising processing
Poor punctuation / actors need to be able to breathe – think like a composer where the human voices are the instruments / orchestra
Punctuation affecting meaning – punctuation is your armoury of amazing weapons – deploy them well
Taking the curse off
Subtext unclear
Writer Initiated:
Pre- writing – first draft as improvisation / find a seed – germinate it – grow it
Active re-imagining – walk around script – different points of view
Structural – what happens when – story architecture – story arc
Functional – is each character doing their job for you – could two characters become one
Emotional architecture – individual arcs / contrast – complement
Create a new sub-plot to shine a light on or complement or contrast with main plot
Red pen, stopwatch and scissors – use them – don’t get carried away with your own cleverness / eloquence
Knowing when to come into a scene / get out of a scene
At dialogue level – rhythm / difference / unique voices
Balancing – humour / emotion / action / formal inventiveness
Refining the poetic unity of the whole play
Not enough........ suspense / what happens next / this is how humans learn
Not enough Dramatic Tension
Misplaced Relaxation of Tension
Opposed Forces not fully realised
Shutting yourself up
Timing / placing of entrances / exits
Moving one character's words to another – what is said, not just who says it
Research and revised / extended research
Negative checks – legal clearabce
Accuracy
Tying up loose ends
Turning a Closed Ending into an Open Ending / vice versa
Not yet found 'the pattern' of the play
Something needs foreshadowing
Not yet got the Cast Design right
Characters sounding to alike – work on Speech patterns / lexicon / vocabulary
Too 'on the nose'
Create a variety of ‘fellow writer’ voices in story development / the writing team in your head… let the offer points of view and opinion and alternative ways of writing something
Don't ask 'How good is my script?'
Instead ask, 'How can it be improved? / How can I make it better?'
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