StageWrite

StageWrite is a hot house for the development of new writing for theatre, designed to grow plays from page to performance, and 2024 is its eleventh year.  We’re delighted to partner with The Place Theatre, the home of StageWrite since 2013

Having received over 50 scripts for StageWrite Spring 2024, we finally managed to select just two! They were ‘Tins’ by Pauline Watts and ‘Extrapolation’ by Richard Ely, two very different scripts that were tremendous fun to work on and very well received by our audience. Our next StageWrite happens on Sunday 15th September 2024.  Info re: submitting work is below.

Running since 2013, StageWrite is part of the spring and autumn artistic seasons at The Place Theatre in Bedford, and regularly brings you brand new plays as double bills over one evening.  All the plays are works-in-progress and allow for a more developed experience than a rehearsed reading (where actors simply read the play out loud).  Each is followed by a short Q&A session with the writer, director and actors – audience members have the chance to ask questions and give their opinion on what they’ve seen.

Previous StageWrite plays that we have subsequently staged as fully developed productions are: ‘Confetti’ by Tim Foley; ‘Philadelphia’ by Jonathan Bousted; ‘Intercourse’ by Jonathan Skinner;  ‘The Interview Stage’ by Chris Loft; ‘Failing At Failing’ by Serafina Cusack; ‘Forty-Two Times Around The Sun’ by Chris Pike and ‘Little Shining Eyes’ by Poppy Hollman.

 

Who is StageWrite?

StageWrite is a collaboration between Cally, Phil and Harri, who run two Bedford-based theatre companies LifeBox Theatre Company and No Loss Productions They got together over a beer and decided that it would be a marvellous idea to add to the theatrical landscape of Bedford by supporting the production of new writing and working in partnership with local professionals.

 

 

What is StageWrite for?

StageWrite is designed as a platform for emerging and published writers to see their work up on its feet, in front of an audience and performed semi-staged (script-in-hand) by professional actors.  This allows the writer to gain multiple perspectives about their work so that they can develop it further based on the feedback of the actors, director and audience members.  It’s also for audiences, giving them the experience of brand new material and the chance to say what they think about it.

 

SUBMITTING TO STAGEWRITE

StageWrite is a feature of the spring and autumn artistic seasons at The Place Theatre, Bedford.  Our next StageWrite event takes place on 15th September 2024.

The submissions window is currently closed, and will reopen towards the end of summer 2024 ahead of our autumn event. There is no charge for submitting.

If you have work you would like to submit, please read the brief below and follow us on Instagram for updates @lifeboxtheatre

We typically get a lot of submissions for StageWrite!  Please read the brief carefully and be aware that if your script doesn’t match the stated requirements, we won’t be able to consider it.

NB: we do not have the resources to feature musical theatre at StageWrite.

What we need from you:

  • Commitment to come to The Place Bedford MK40 3DE to attend the performance of your piece, if selected
  • Agreement that if your piece is selected, directors and actors may make tweaks to dialogue, stage directions etc according to what they feel works best during the rehearsal process.  This is a natural part of the development of work for theatre and we need writers to be willing to allow this.  Writers are very welcome to come to watch rehearsals, which also happen at The Place.
  • Scripts that follow industry standard in terms of font size, layout, page numbering etc.  For example formats check out BBC Writer’s Room.
  • Scripts of between 30 and 60 minutes in length, either a complete piece, or part of a longer piece that is able to stand alone and be coherent for an audience.
  • A maximum of 6 actors required – if there are more than 6 roles, it should be feasible for the actors to play multiple roles. Please make it clear in the script how this can be done.
  • Stage directions kept to a minimum unless detail is essential.
  • Send your script to phil@lifeboxtheatre.com 
  • Please note that, at present, this is only open to UK residents as you will need to make yourself available for the performance of your piece if selected.

Please follow the brief carefully for your submission to be accepted for consideration.