I have done two WriteForTheStage Advanced courses. Why, you might ask? Am I some sort of masochist? Well, the answer is no.
Due to an accident, I dislocated my right shoulder and couldn’t attend the taught sessions and was out of writing action for three months, but I still completed a one hour play, Quantum. It was a thrill to hear it in front of an audience, read by proper actors and getting feedback as part of the Development Week.
I had another play, Bricks, included as a reading as part of another Development Week in October 2015 which I re-wrote after receiving written feedback from the audience. It was subsequently selected as part of the Page To Stage Festival in Liverpool in April 2016, so without WriteForTheStage it would not have been such a success.
As I hadn’t technically completed the first course I decided to have another go - this time writing comedy and I came up with Crunch.
My favourite part of the course (apart from hearing the end product) was an exercise where you create a picture diary in words relating to the theme and the world of your play. Sounds complicated? Not really, but the only way to find out what fun it is, is to sign up for a course.
I’m now on the WriteForTheStage Producers course - something I wish I’d done before having Bricks on in Liverpool. There is more to producing a play than just writing it and, thanks to expert tuition, I’m no longer such a techno hermit. My proudest moment so far it to make a Vlog and put it on Youtube. If I can do it anyone can.
I’ve also joined the on-line WFTS WritersLab, where writers join via Zoom video link to discuss and give feedback on each other’s work. Running weekly, you can dip in and out as you wish but the best thing of all is that it makes you sit down and write. After all, you need something new for next time.
