Momentum 2008

On Friday evening, Radio 4 presented a Front Row special about the supposed gender bias in new writing for theatre. It reminded me of a few of the conversations some of this years Momentum writers were involved in during the first lot of read-throughs at Nottingham Playhouse. It’s only a half hour programme, so check it out and see what you think.

So, I’ve been in an absolute frenzy over my script these last couple of weeks, and I think I may have finally reached a point where I can say “I know where I want to take it!” (*hallelujah!*). There was so much in the old script that I was just not happy about.. plus, I wasn’t too sure about my characters and who they really were, and I think this definitely came through in the writing.

Now I’ve taken the time to get to know my characters, and they’ve become a lot more 3-Dimensional to me.. and hopefully this will now also reflect in the new scenes I’m putting in, and the changes I’m making to original scenes.

I think I came to the decision of cutting Luke on Saturday already as I realised he really was just quite pointless! But I may well introduce a different character. We’ll see. :S I did consider cutting Gina and Rich as well, but I’ll see what happens with the new material and then reconsider whether or not they’re still crucial to the story.

So… I’m HEAVILY redrafting, and just hope it’s going to be done on time (and that it doesn’t wander too far from the original script). Perhaps I should get off here, and actually get writing…

Firstly, we’re very happy to be a part of Mini-Momentum 2008! It was lovely meeting the team and fellow writers – and we wish them all the best with their development!

Yesterday was definitely stressful. Most of the time was spent on re-structuring specific scenes and material. As some of you may know, we write together. So, we’re sure that you can imagine that there was plenty of discussion and disagreement!

We’re trodding along, however, and want to try and do the play justice.

Catch you soon folks! Ciao!

S&R. :O)

…I’m really looking forward to Momentum ‘08 and starting to look over the play. A few things need to be added/changed but I’m hoping not fully from ’scratch’ (which is a relief!!)-but I do find re-drafting and editing THE most difficult process. Having heard the play read out loud for the first time with the other writers (at the get together) I’m thinking more about my characters and how to make them seem more ‘real’…it’s sometimes the little details that make a huge difference. Although, saying that, I’m still trying to develop my skills in ‘fleshing out’ characters and narrative-(I know I always like to see characters on stage I believe in) so this whole process is a learning curve for me…which I like, as I still feel there’s A LOT to learn!

DANCE LIKE THE BUTTERFLY:
kidnapping stories in the news really stuck in my head over the past year and I was discussing them in school with my students. They automatically jumped to the conclusion that the kidnapper was ‘bad’ or ’sick’ and it didn’t matter how I tried to make them consider ‘his’ point of view or childhood/background, they found it very dfficult. Maybe they related more to the teenager and just saw the whole thing as a ‘crime’ and inexcusable.
I was interested in the kidnapper’s motives and how it is that some ‘victims’ actually come to respect and even ‘love’ their captors. I found this really hard to understand at first but then read up on some recent stories and accepted that if they see/know no one else and have no other choice but to trust this ONE person then what else is there? Maybe a human need is ‘to love’ and ‘be loved’ and maybe, in some circumstances, it doesn’t really matter who that person is, as long as they’re there.
Also, I thought about the fact that someone like Cassie, the girl in the play, has lost out on her adolesence and emotional ‘growing up’-so what is she? A child? A woman? She doesn’t know how to be or who to be-she only knows what the kidanpper has made her and let her know. And he, himself, acts as if he is an innocent child-so is he really ‘evil’? Cassie doesn’t think so.
That’s why I tried to write something about how she felt when she finally came home and how she deals with adapting to the real world and being a supposed ‘adult’! She can’t let go of ‘him’ and the childish lifestyle they led, but she can’t understand WHY she won’t let go. The play is about the struggle in Cassie’s mind and her fear of saying good bye to all she has known for a huge part of her life.

So I started today by sitting down and figuring out how many (sleepless…?) sleeps there are left until the lovely audiences get to see all our plays at the festival.

Sixty more sleeps to go…

Now that sounds quite a long time and up until our first script meeting on Saturday I felt quite well prepared. Here was me thinking I’d be twiddling my thumbs for the next two months. How wrong, foolish and naive I was to be so complacent!

For those who have read the script and for those who haven’t: in a nutshell (which, to be fair, is a weird place to put something!) THE METEOROID IS NOW OUT OF THE SCRIPT!!! That’s right: no mysterious talk of “why have you shut the curtains?”, no power cuts and no Ben Affleck!!! Was that a cheer I just heard from TWP? This time I can’t hide behind dodgy sci-fi situations.

So with that concept gone I’m having to find a more realistic situation and OK yes, I should be writing now with only sixty sleeps left to go, an even closer deadline looming and a major re-write to do but this writer needs to let the idea ‘Stu’ for a few days. Find out how the hell the mechanics of this script is going to work. How it can still feel real and packed full of emotion.

ONLY SIXTY SLEEPS LEFT!!!!

In the immortal words of that OK-ish band Europe: It’s the Final Countdown (do-do-do-doooo! do-do-do-do-dooooo! …. )

I joined the Momentum group in my 1^st year of University. I’d always had a real interest in Theatre and during my A-levels I’d begun to read a lot of new plays by young writers and new theatre companies. I’d thought about writing before but it wasn’t something I’d seriously considered until I saw an advert for the new and free writing classes that were happening at Nottingham Playhouse. The classes were part of a midlands new writing initiative set up by Theatre Writing Partnership with groups also taking place in Leicester, Northampton and Derby. Nick Wood was running the workshops at that point there were a lot of young writers from really different backgrounds involved. Despite joining a bit later than the others, the group was really inviting and it was an exciting environment to start writing in. At the end of the course we were asked to submit some work and an idea for a short play. 5 writers from each city were selected to take part in a 10 week mentoring scheme to write the play. I was fortunate enough to have my play selected as one of the headliners for the first Momentum Young Writers’ Festival in 2005. The play, A Background Noise, was directed by Giles Croft and the experience of working with a professional director and skilled actors was an incredibly exciting and illuminating one. The Festival was a real success and a very special and inspiring event that everyone felt privileged to be involved in.

After the festival I was commissioned by Theatre Writing Partnership to translate a Norwegian Play The Woods that was staged as a rehearsed reading at Nottingham Playhouse and subsequently long listed for the Gate Translation Award in 2006. I was also commissioned by New Perspectives Theatre Company and Theatre writing Partnership to write my first full-length play. In 2006, I was selected to take part in ‘the50’ a BBC writersroom and Royal Court Theatre initiative in celebration of The Royal Court’s 50^th anniversary. Through ‘the50’ I came into contact with a number of innovative and inspiring writers and directors which led me to apply for an MPhil in Playwrighting at the University of Birmingham, which I’m due to finish in September. Wasteland, the play written for the New Perspectives and Theatre Writing Partnership commission is due to tour next Spring and I’ve recently been selected for the 24 Degrees project, another BBC and Royal Court Initiative to support 24 new writers from across Britain.

It’s been nearly 3 years since Theatre Writing Partnership produced the first Momentum Young Writers’ Festival, throughout that time many new writers have come to prominence form across the region; Julius Ayodeji, Leah Chillery and Declan Keen to name a few. I would advise anyone who is interested in writing to go along to one of the groups and get involved in the festival, which continues to be an important platform for new writing from across the midlands.

Momentum 2008 is a festival with a tradition of promoting new writing for theatre. This year, we’ve selected eight plays to be developed into productions to be showcased at Momentum on 12 and 13 September at Lakeside Arts Centre. You’ll be able to track the progress of our nine writers here, as they start to develop their original scripts. With only seven weeks to go, the pressure is on…

Check out last year’s Momentum festival.