Yes, just as the iPhone turns 10 years old, here at Studio Salford WriteForTheStage we're also celebrating our entry into double-figures. Who'd have thought? This will be our 10th Development Week.
The first Development Week was back in 2012, sharing the work of the very first WriteForTheStage courses. It's been quite a journey. Writers from that first alumni have gone on to some truly great things.
This year has seen the careers of many WriteForTheStage alumni take a meteoric turn -
Tony Walsh was already an established and well-known poet when he joined WFTS Intro in 2012, but this year has seen him truly go global after his appearance at the vigil in memory of the Manchester Arena bombing.
Jackie Hagan's new work, Cosmic Scallies, enjoyed a month-long run at Edinburgh Fringe, produced by Graeae Theatre and Royal Exchange. Jackie completed the WFTS Intro and Advanced courses in 2012 / 2013.
Richard Douglas has had a very productive year. His second full-length stage show, Marina and the Clone, was performed to much critical acclaim, with support from Arts Council England and performed by a glittering cast of hilarious maniacs. He then went on to write Margaret, dark monologue performed by Joan McGee at the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Richard completed the both the Intro and Advanced courses, as well as the WFTS Producing course. He's since jacked in the job and become a full time producer, helping create work with Aqueous Humour at Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.
Sarah Cassidy's Bleeding With Mother, developed through WFTS Advanced, enjoyed a sell-out run at 53Two during the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Sarah completed the WFTS Producing course and this was her first shot at producing her own work.
Phil Charles won first place in the Bread and Roses Playwriting Award with his piece, The Black Eye Club which was developed through the WFTS Intro and Advanced courses. The piece will receive a full run in London and a run at Edinburgh Fringe 2018.
So, all in all, people are getting out and finding new audiences which is really exciting for WriteForTheStage. For more details about our courses, click here. The new term of Intro, Advanced and Producing start in October and are open for bookings. We also run a weekly WritersLAB.
Development Week 10 and Manchester ADP
To help us celebrate Studio Salford Development Week 10, we're joining forces with the mighty Manchester ADP. They're going to be producing the rehearsed readings for the Advanced course writers and presenting them at their showcase on Monday 25th September.
We're really excited to be forging this association because it's a great way into the industry for our writers at WriteForTheStage. Manchester ADP had their hand in the development of loads of great shows at this year's Greater Manchester Fringe Festival, so we're very excited to be involved with a collective of such great theatre-makers.
The Dates
The full schedule will be announced on Friday 8th September.
In the meantime, there are some available slots if you have a piece of work that you've been writing and would like to try out in front of an audience. It's completely free to be a part of and you'll get feedback from the audience. Everyone gets a slot of 50minutes. Click here for the full terms and conditions.
If you have a piece of work you'd like to try out, let us know before Friday.
The Development Week 10 programme will run from Mon 25th to Fri 29th September.
For more info about Development Week, click here.
