Bleurgh
Wednesday 20th March 2013 5:20pm
58 posts
I entered this competition last year and received feedback from both Simon and Declan (think it cost £40 or thereabouts).
I found both pieces detailed, concise and above all, useful. If I were to have used a professional script reading service this could easily have cost double what they're asking. In everything I've written since then I've used the advice I was given in that piece of feedback. The result: my work has improved. So in my view the investment has really paid off.
I know it's difficult to commit up to £60 to something like this. I scrimped and saved over the course of a couple of months so I could afford to enter last year, but it was absolutely worth it.
By charging to enter, they're cutting out the time wasters who think 'it's free so I'll make them read my 15 pages of drivel', which allows Simon and Declan to give each script more time and attention. And it's not like all of the money they earn is profit: they have to pay for actors to do the read throughs, venue hire, marketing costs etc. And then I'm sure they have families to feed too.
Bottom line: if you don't like it, don't enter. But if you're serious about your career and if you've got a piece of work that you're proud of and meets the competition criteria then there are much worse places to put your money.