Different Stages: Get Voting

Well, I’m still up to my eyes in the mountain of paper being created for the festival; scripts to consider, contracts to send out, event registration forms, evaluation forms... my desk has just about enough space for me to perch my keyboard on. But the administration all seems to be coming along nicely and with the festival just under two weeks away everything is pretty much taken care of (I hope). So, I can finally start looking forward to all the incredible new writing events we have coming up. Especially the talks and workshops where new writers (like me) can gain insights from some fascinating British playwrights like Tim Crouch and Simon Stephens. I participated in a Simon Stephens workshop on redrafting in Liverpool a couple of years ago which was just brilliant. He’s written some really exciting plays (Motortown, Harper Regan, Punk Rock) so this chance to hear him discuss his approach to the playwriting process is a definite must-see. I’d love to join in with Fiona Evans’ Young Writers’ Workshop but the passing of time has pushed me into the wrong demographic (i.e. I’m not so young anymore) so I’ll immerse myself in Jeremy Herrin’s workshop What Happens to New Plays? – which looks at how new plays make it from first draft to final production (Jeremy used to head up Live’s literary department before leaving us to join The Royal Court as Deputy Artistic Director). There are so many fantastic events to choose from but I’m especially looking forward to Your Favourite Live Theatre Short Play – if the current voting is anything to go by my favourite short play by my favourite writer might just clinch it – I’d love to be more specific but I don’t want to sway anyone else’s decision as there is still time to vote for your favourite.

Degna
New Writing Administrator

Different Stages: If you build it, will they come?

It’s mid-February and the opening of the Different Stages new writing festival is looming. The final bits of the jigsaw are being put into place with the dexterous use of a pair of scissors and a rubber mallet. The publicity is out, the opening event invites are sent and the final e-flyers are ready to go. I’ve found that if you stare at the brochure long enough, tickets go flying out the door.

We’re very excited to have assembled such a stellar cast of theatre practitioners for the three week programme. We’ve got the two emerging artist Bursary Winners already using space in the building, and we’re looking forward to seeing their creative use of sound and text (Sawdust and Stardust by Beccy Owen and Laura Lindow) and the innovative use of the old gallery space, with technological innovation and audience interaction (Office 925 by Match Theatre).

This week we’ll be booking actors for the variety of rehearsed reading events and script-in-hand performances. It’ll be great to welcome back some familiar faces and, as The Pitmen Painters has just finished its national tour, we’re hoping some of the actors in the production can fit us in en route to Broadway. The pieces chosen by Richard Bean in his Desert Island Plays include a few American plays (including work by David Mamet and Sam Shepard) so they’ll be able to acclimatise here beforehand.

Friday is also the deadline for the second draft of scripts from our Writers’ Groups for the festival. Having read and provided feedback on 27 first drafts, members of the Literary Department are bracing themselves for the next wave. The scripts chosen will form part of our two evenings of work by the two groups: (The 2010 Writers’ Group on Wednesday 10th March to be directed by Festival Co-ordinator Tess Denman Cleaver and the Live Writers’ Group on Tuesday 16th March to be directed by Live’s Literary Officer Rosie Kellagher).

We’re all planning to draw breath again after the festival’s final event: Your Favourite Live Theatre Short Play. This event gives you the chance to cast your vote. Please have a look at the candidates and choose which one you’d like to hear again. It’s the first time we’ve tried something like this online so we’re really interested to see how things turn out. Have a go because, as they say on all TV audience phone poll programmes, the voting is incredibly close.

That’s it from me. Next week it’ll be the New Writing Administrator, Degna Stone blogging our weekly Different Stages update. Make sure you check out the other events in the festival programme - we hope there’s something for everyone. I’ll get back to the scissors and mallet.

Gez
Literary Manager

Different Stages: 24 days and counting...

With a month to go until Different Stages begins we're beginning to gather together some exciting acting talent from across the North East and beyond to star in the many readings and illustrated talks taking place during the festival.

Later in the week the Office 925 team will be visiting Live to hold some castings for their unique participatory piece – I look forward to finding out who will be recruited to work in their ‘office’ and aid the development of this exciting new work-in-progress.

Last Thursday saw the first reading of Shelagh Stephenson’s A Northern Odyssey in Live’s Studio Theatre. The play was really well received and the reading process proved to be a useful experience for all involved in the development of Shelagh’s script. To hear more about this process and ask Shelagh your own questions on playwriting, don’t miss her Q&A on Thursday 11 March.

Tonight Gez Casey (Literary Manager), Rosie Kellegher (Literary Officer) and I will be catching up with the Live Writers’ Group who are in the process of redrafting their own scripts for the rehearsed readings featured in New Plays from the 2010 Writers’ Group.

On the favourite play front, Wittgenstein on Tyne is currently in the lead with 41% of the votes. However with three weeks to go anything can happen. Don't forget to cast your vote and book tickets to come along to the festival’s closing event on Sunday 21 March to watch a rehearsed reading of the winning play.

Next week it’s the turn of Gez to update you on all things 'festival-like', but in the meantime find out more by visiting Live’s website.

Tess

Different Stages: Baptism of Fire for Live’s New Literary Officer

Having just joined Live a week ago as Literary Officer I’m finding that being the newbie in the office is a bit like being the new girl in school: making sure you learn everyone’s names and trying not to get lost. Fortunately I’ve found lovely people to sit next to and no-one’s tried to flush my head down the toilet yet.

With just over one month to go till Different Stages kicks off I’ve joined at a really busy time for the New Writing department. I’ve been trying to get up to speed by reading all the scripts for all the various events – everything from Lee Mattinson to King Lear – so a pretty diverse mix! This morning we’ve been looking at casting for Richard Bean’s Desert Island Plays and we’ve been hearing about the progress of Office925, one of the winners of our two emerging artist bursaries. I’m a big fan of site-specific work and without wanting to give too much away; this is shaping up to be a really exciting event where you, the audience, will be a key part of the story.

There have also been heated debates in the office over the last week about which play we’d each like to win the vote for Your Favourite Live Theatre Short Play. However, it’s not about what we want to see: it’s down to you, the voters, so get voting!

Tonight I’m off to a youth theatre rehearsal to get a sneak peak at Whose Art Is It Anyway? I’ve just finished reading some of the scripts for this so it’ll be interesting to watch how the groups are tackling them. The pieces are thought-provoking, often laugh-out-loud funny and just a little surreal in places: I can’t wait to see how they stage the one that involves the disappearing/reappearing chickens!

Make sure you check back next week when I’ll be handing over to Tess, the Different Stages Festival Co-ordinator, for your next Different Stages instalment.

In the meantime find out more and book tickets via Live's website or flick through the festival brochure below.

Bye for now

Rosie