Things are shaping up nicely for next week's Studio Salford Development Week at The Kings Arms Theatre.
We're excited.
All of the work from the WriteForTheStage courses, along with work from local, emerging and established writers and performers is taking place during the week - Monday to Friday.
We have 15 events between Monday and Friday, including 15 brand new pieces of new writing, and a couple of workshops dotted around for good measure.
The full schedule of events can be found at DevelopmentWeek.eventbrite.co.uk
At the weekend (Sat 6th & Sun 7th Oct) we're running the very first WFTS GMFringe Development Conference.
Inspired by recent discussions about raising standards for fringe productions, we've put together an entire weekend of workshops, seminars, talks, and Q&As to help writers, actors, and producers get prepared for next year's Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.
There will be loads of inspiring workshops for writers to help them start a new piece and develop their existing skills (regardless of experience); plenty of opportunity for producers to develop skills and understanding of the production and marketing process; and opportunities for actors and spoken word artists to nurture confidence in their performance style.
Passes for the entire weekend are £20 in advance (or £30 on the day). Or if you're just interested in a couple of individual workshops, they're £5 each on the day.
We'll be releasing the full schedule of workshops over the next couple of days (we're just crossing the T's and dotting the I's at the moment), so keep a look-out.
Just as a little insight, we have the following workshops confirmed:
WFTS Writing - The 3-Act Structure, and The Functions of Dialogue (from Mike Heath (BBC Alfred Bradley shortlister, MA in playwriting, founder of WFTS)
Guest sessions -
Playing With The Past: Heritage Writing (from Salford Uni lecturer, PhD student and seasoned playwright, Stephen M Hornby from Inkbrew Productions)
A Perfect Ten: A Playwright's Guide To the First 10 Pages (from Naomi Sumner, WFTS Alumni, reader for National Theatre, Papatango, and Royal Exchange, and founder of Brush Stroke Order)
Spoken Work workshops with GM Fringe-award nominated spoken word artist Rosa Wright and writer/publisher Adam Farrer, taking you through the psychology and techniques of spoken word performance. Through exercises and activities, they will help you hone your mic skills, develop your relationship with the audience and become an adaptable spoken word performer
Marketing workshops with Debbie Manley (Salford Uni, journalist, head of marketing for GMFringe). Find out the best ways of getting your message across to get bums on seats.
Talks from Zena Barrie about taking a show to Edinburgh. Zena Barrie has run the Camden Fringe for 13 years and the GMFringe for 7 years. Before that she worked at The Edinburgh Fringe for 10 years in a variety of roles from street performer to producer and venue manager. This will be an open Q & A session, ask anything about applying to festivals and producing your shows.
WFTS Producing - learn all about Budgeting for fringe production, as well as applying for funding with Arts Council England.
Polly Bowles (agent) will be delivering a session for actors entitled "Getting an agent".
Talk from Alice Brockway entitled "Actors and Mental Health". Alice is an experienced actor and a PhD student, researching the rigours of the acting profession on individual mental health. Find out about her initial research findings. She runs @playingsane.
To be confirmed are the following:
Teching a Show - learn about lighting and sound operation
Various acting workshops
Networking events
Performances
You can book your passes here.
Whether you're new to writing, performing and producing, or a seasoned professional, there's going to be loads for you to do, so come along.
