How not to get stuck in development hell.
- Convenor:
- Jenny Stephens
- Attendees:
- Gillian Twaite Liz John Suzan Cricentia Spence Michele Bazey Debbie Sutton Charmaine Russell Frank Branwell Vanessa Oakes Thomasina Coyle
- Description:
Feeling that routes through different levels of development were needed and that they needed connecting from very basic reading and response to getting actors doing unprepared readings, to performed rehearsed readings and engagement with producing companies/
Script in hand performed reading – maybe go along with copies of your play and get it read.
Theatres could provide space for free??? Sometimes audiences are not needed at this very early stage of development.
Funding form Grants for the Arts can provide development money for more elaborate pieces of development such as rehearsed/staged readings. Gillian gave an example of leafleting in costume at arts fest and three well attended performances at the library theatre funded through g4a.
Bit of discussion about relationship between development and production – should ace be putting money into development at the expense of full blown commissions and productions. In terms of access we felt that development was needed and audiences appreciated rehearsed readings and felt connected with the creative process through attending.
Developing a writer is different from just putting them on a scheme – and where do you go after that?
Routes through and connections to potential producers stops it being development for its own sake.
We thought it might be useful to:
• Get new writing policies from theatre cos and disseminate.
• To encourage them to read unsolicited scripts – even if only the first few pages and to feel free NOT to have to write a report on it. Reading & reporting can be a huge chore – bbc, the writers’room read 10 pages and keep reading if relevant/good. Pentabus seem to do similar. (This recognizes that theatres are rarely after scripts but are after developing relationships with writers)
SCRIPT used to broker relationships between writers and producers, who might do this now?Also, need to explore possibilities of non-traditional theatre spaces and community theatre initiatives.
Is there a pool of directors/actors who might like to work with writers – perhaps develop on from Emerge (the script/Writers Guild/Equity initiative). Developing these partnerships would be useful.
Some theatre’s don’t have new writing policies so getting work on there is haphazard, maybe others are too restrictive in the ‘schemes’ so not responsive to writers and their passions.
Thought that mentoring might be a good step on the development ladder. Or maybe ‘surgeries’ and workshops.
Bush theatre – directors read unsolicited scripts and this was an example of connections being made that might lead to production. Pilot Nights are good for non-script based companies – could we explore a similar model for written work?
Awareness that we are all finding out about companies and activities that we didn’t know about – dissemination of information about stuff going on seems to be a priority. Could we build a database? It would need to be kept fresh and active – not a dead address book. It would need funding to keep it live.