New here - looking for advice

Well Jay, Wecome aboard... you have found a great site...
Ladies and gentlemen... If you ever want to experiance a wonderful playwrite,,, Then introduce yourself to this writer...
Jay, stick around... someone will answer you... as much as I know you can teach others...
Biotales

Welcome to the boards. Wish I could help you with your questions but I know nothing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/bruntwood.shtml

some interesting info on these sites. you may have already seen them.


http://www.painesplough.com/index_auto.php?page=Literary

Paines Plough will identify and bring together the 6 most talented and thrilling young UK writers between the ages of 18 and 30.

Click to expand...

Markets for Playwrights, British Theatre Guide
http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/articles/211199.htm



Stateside info on playwriting as a career. Might be of some help.
http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/artweb/playwriting/resources.html

blog for Writers Guild of Great Britain (their main site is down, it seems)
http://writersguild.blogspot.com/

more WGGB info
http://www.answers.com/topic/writers-guild-of-great-britain

Recent examples (2004-2005) were a seminar on writing sitcoms, a networking evening for TV soap writers, a panel discussion on marketing theatre plays, a celebrity event at the Edinburgh Book Festival and a series of lectures on forensic science aimed at TV series writers

Click to expand...

Play-screen writing

I've found night school (continuing education) classes usually provide more information than just about anything. I know classes I've taken at the University of South Florida have been a blessing. Regardless of how much I write (or have written as a newspaper reporter and feature writer for books and magazines) , I always enjoy writing classes.

Check oot "Screenplay" by Syde Field (Dell Trade Paperback) and "Good Scripts Bad Scripts, by Thomas Pope (Three Rivers Press).

Good luck and happy writing.
Patricia Shipp Lieb

Hi Jay

I have had a few professional productions for stage though I am certainly no expert! I didn't use an agent for any of them and continue to work (for theatre) without involving my agent, not having one will not hold you back.

My route in was a first play which won a national competition and was produced as part of the deal. This meant other theatres were more willing to read and produce my work and I went on to have some shorter plays commissioned through new writing theatres as part of wider projects etc before getting my next full length play commissioned.

Look for theatres which have a new writing department. I also strongly believe in getting paid and most have a good prize/development fund, they want to support writers not use you for free material I would not enter anything which required a reading fee. You also need to send work to theatres which offer a FREE script reading service. Many do, mainly because of arts funding in the UK. There are lots of opportunities out there, I am currently involved in a project which will mentor five unperformed playwrights for a year. I hope you are in the UK as almost all theatres here have some funding for new writing. The BBC also puts money into theatres finding new writers through joint projects as do some TV companies.

If looking for UK projects then the Writers Handbook is a good place to start. Check out the theatres' websites which specialise in and are funded to support new writers through script reading services, mentoring, festivals, commissions and competitions.

Let me know a little about your work and where you are and I will dig through some contact info and send it on.

All the best. (sorry for typos I always make LOADS of mistakes)

whoops - should have read your contact info - sorry!