hi I have wrote a play and I have seen a few good contests that will stage your play if you win. would you say this was the best route to stage your play? or any other options. very new to this so would appreciate all comments. thanks
Trying to get a play in a theatre
Sounds like the way to go. Or stage it yourself.
There are also amateur dramatics societies all round the country which you could approach.
Quote: James Cotter @ February 12 2011, 12:01 PM GMTThere are also amateur dramatics societies all round the country which you could approach.
Hello James.
I don't know if you've ever tried this, but most amdram groups tend to just want to stage old plays (preferably plays in the 1950s). Youth theatres maybe, but then you have to be young...
Agree with Griff- Newcastle's Peoples' Theatre seems to stage new plays all the time.
Ditto to both the above. There are a number of us in my club who write both pantos and one-acts which we then stage and I know there are lots of other clubs throughout Scotland who stage new work. If it's a one-act, best to have it between 20 - 50 minutes long as this is the time limit for performance in drama festivals.
Quite a few theatres and theatre companies are funded on condition that they allow new material to be submitted. The Traverse in Edinburgh is obliged to do this for instance.
It might be worth googling new writing theatre or something along those lines.
You should try the fringe theatres. The Lion and Unicorn may be interested, but there are loads of others. The Stage newspaper always has a list of them
thanks guys. I've never read the stage I assumed it was for actors is it worth a read for writers?
The Edinburgh Fringe is possibly the most popular and likely place to get your play staged. edfringe.com used to have a message forum where, at this time of year, you'd find companies looking for scripts, and writers could put up a notice saying they had a script.
But sadly, since last year: http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewnews.aspx?id=1347
So have a search online to find where theatre companies are talking about Edinburgh, and you'll find someone looking for scripts. Wish I knew where the traffic for the edfringe.com forums has gone, cos they also used to be the best place to find accommodation.
Kev F
Would a Black Country Amateur Dramatics Society be a Yam Dram?
Quote: blahblah @ February 15 2011, 1:46 PM GMTthanks guys. I've never read the stage I assumed it was for actors is it worth a read for writers?
scroll down to London
Although I've been fortunate to have had a couple of comedies produced off, off West End the downside, however, even if successful, is actually getting anyone of worth in the business off their backsides and into the audience.
Depending on how involved the structure is, give some thought to filming it yourself and putting it on tinternet. It could just lead to something.
Quote: Baumski @ February 15 2011, 7:06 PM GMTAlthough I've been fortunate to have had a couple of comedies produced off, off West End the downside, however, even if successful, is actually getting anyone of worth in the business off their backsides and into the audience.
Depending on how involved the structure is, give some thought to filming it yourself and putting it on tinternet. It could just lead to something.
The BBC came to watch mine!!
I had a mate in Brighton who funded his own 'variety show' at the CONCORDE 2 along the seafront a bit. He planned the show meticulously, obsessing over details [decent props, original artwork for advertising flyers, etc]. He never revealed what he actually spent, but it must have been a fair bit, and a real gamble.
However, his selection of material was a bit of a mish-mash of regurgitated ideas, with no cohesive identity.
Only about 30 people or so had 'paid' tickets, and about half of these were his family members. [including a rock act fronted by his sister at the end of the show] . Under the impression that 'sex sells', he hired the services of a 'professional erotic dancer'' who briefly bared a breast onstage to less-than-erotic effect [apparantly she was a bit tipsy and less than youthful, eliciting unintentional guffaws from the small audience].
Overall, the material went down like a Lead Zeppelin, however one sketch involving Parker out of Thunderbirds getting oral relief from Lady Penelope ['yus, M'Lady.....YUS, M'Lady!!'] went down pretty well, and remains as the only real highlight of the presentation.
The chronic lack of ticket sales resulted in my mate desperately trying to flog tickets out in the street just before the show opened.....he also had rented props stolen from a store-room, whch he had to pay for.
This show was heavily advertised with many flyers in central Brighton, but still failed to attract any sizable interest.The show presentation was never repeated, however, my mate lives in hope that the show will be discovered as a 'lost gem' in 80 years or so by a future historian.
After the show's lack of commercial success, he returned to the unemployment ranks, where he has resided for the best part of 35 years....and he is still there today, and he reflects that he at least tried to make a go of success in life; maybe he has a point: how many people actually have the guts to put on a stand-up show?
In order to achieve success, perhaps it is the overall concept of a show that has to be properly thought out first, in order to draw in paying punters.