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Writers

An official National Theatre Wales group

Writers who want to be part of National Theatre Wales, share ideas, get feedback from each other, and hear about opportunities

Members: 481
Latest Activity: Jan 30, 2023

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Discussion Forum

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Looking for a writer to collaborate on an idea. 2 Replies

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NTW Dramaturgy Project - Beginnings

Started by Richard Hurford Oct 20, 2014.

ONiiiT: The Power of Words

Started by Sophie Chei Hickson Aug 21, 2014.

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Comment by Tim Price on December 9, 2011 at 1:22

Hi Lis - you're exactly right, 

How many actors do you know that aren't members of Equity? How many writers do you know that aren't members of the WGGB? There is your problem with the Guild. There is a correlation. Be the change you want to see in others Lisa!

Only writers would want an organisation to represent them but not be a member.

If you want an organisation to represent you, the onus is on you to get your feelings heard in that organisation. And it's easily done by joining.

I know the feeling being an Antelope myself etc...but I do feel writers are guilty of standing outside a theatre, and complaining that their work isn't being put on, when the first thing you should do is buy a ticket and be a paying audience member before trying to get your work on.

The same with the Guild. I don't know why freelancers assume organisations should have a nuanced complex understanding of what the issues are if people don't pay their dues and then say, 'right now I'm in, help me with this'.

The Guild represents it's members, not the industry. If there are no theatre writers as members, it's not going to engage with theatre. If the Guild was full to the brim of graphic novelists, it will be very noisey advocate of graphic novel rights. The Guild isn't a mysterious self-fulfilling organisation, it's run by writers, voluntarily most of the time. And we're lucky enough in Wales to have Deputy Chair of the UK organisation in Wales, and a theatre writer - hello Rog!

WGGB have a lot of fiction writers, poets, novelists all kinds of writing and the only way theatre issues are going to become more of a focus for WGGB is for more theatre writers to join.

We're a solitary lot and not naturally joiners, like our fear-gripped friends in the acting community, but I do feel complaints about the Guild can largely be boiled down to lack of clout...and a union gets it's clout from it's members. If the Sherman, NTW and Clwyd couldn't find a writer in Wales that wasn't a member of the Guild, then we might go some way to being like Scotland or Equity.

Join up - then give it a bashing from the inside.

Comment by Lisa Parry on December 9, 2011 at 0:49

Hi Tim, I do agree with you, but I think there's also a feeling of 'what's the point' at the moment too. I think this is because whereas Equity's been really engaged in pushing for all work to be paid, WGGB hasn't been anywhere near as vocal. And I think a vacuum's opened up where people feel exploited and that WGGB isn't there for playwrights anymore - hence The Antelopes forming. But I do think you're right, that the only way to make it better is to join it. Case in point being Scotland where the union is much more vocal on all these issues as more playwrights are in it and vocal (hence the larger pay scales). 

Comment by Tim Price on December 9, 2011 at 0:42

I'd urge all writers to join the Writers' Guild. The WGGB has all the expertise and mechanisms in place to support and resolve any complaints you have with theatre in Wales. But the WGGB will only be as loud and trouble-making as it's membership, the more theatre writers signed up, the more waves the WGGB can legitimately make on our behalf.

Comment by meredydd barker on December 9, 2011 at 0:40
@Kate. Re Parry. £30 for fifteen minutes.
Comment by Lisa Parry on December 9, 2011 at 0:24

Hi Roger, 

It's not that I need to know how much to pay them, it's that I think £30 is ridiculously low for a project like this when an actor gets about £390 and doesn't put in as many hours. But I'll message you.

Comment by Roger Williams on December 9, 2011 at 0:20
Sounds as though you should be paying the writers more then. A full length play fee split 14 ways should be the best way to do it. £30 for a project this size. I am Deputy Chair of the WGGB. Message me and I'll get you the right information
Comment by Lisa Parry on December 9, 2011 at 0:12

Grants from the Arts from ACE and an Arts Grant for Organisations from ACW. We also have an application in with Creative Scotland. The show's going on in Cardiff, London and Glasgow so had needed three separate applications. The commissioning money's been split between the three applications. 

Comment by Roger Williams on December 9, 2011 at 0:10
Meredydd. Radio drama rates are also on the link offered below. About £3,000 an hour off the top of my head.
Comment by Roger Williams on December 9, 2011 at 0:08
Are you working with a project grant Lisa?
Comment by Kaite O'Reilly on December 8, 2011 at 23:57

Have no idea where you got the £2 per minute from! I copy from the document I sent a link to, earlier:

The new rates which took effect from 1 August 2011, bring the key rate for writing original radio drama to £89.05 per minute, or £5,343 for a one-hour play (two transmissions), and £892.50 per episode for The Archers. Our agreement with the BBC provides a sliding scale for other types of drama: pre-existing format 90% (£80.15 per minute); dramatisations 85%, 75% or 65% (£75.69, £66.79 or £57.88 per minute) depending on extent of work required; semi-dramatised narrations 55% (£48.98 per minute).

 

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