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Comment by National Theatre Wales on December 17, 2014 at 6:36

Huge Congrats to Kelly Jones Winner of the 2014 Wales Drama Award.  It was a fantastic final list of scripts and the judges had to compare TV with theatre, Emerging with Established.  But Kelly's voice and boldness stood out and made her a worthy winner.  A bit more here. 

Comment by Heledd Bianchi on December 14, 2014 at 7:54

Hello,

I'm an Actor/Writer who is already a member of the actor's group but not of the writer's group. I look forward to reading and sharing both comments and ideas.

 

Best wishes everybody,

Heledd Bianchi

 

xx

Comment by carmen medway-stephens on December 13, 2014 at 23:09

Continuing from my point yesterday, over the years I have taught students from all walks of life, all abilities from 16yrs to 83 !!, some with learning and social needs such as Aspergers, sight and disability support required, others who are not of the technological age and only partially embrace it. Perhaps these have something important to say? Something we need to hear?  But how do we capture these if they feel daunted by entering the fringe or commercial scene in Wales? We need to be inclusive of all in the new PSW venture which hopefully we will. The remit should try and reach out rather than get writers to reach to them...as some won't because of confidence levels, 

Comment by carmen medway-stephens on December 13, 2014 at 0:09

And Merry Christmas everyone x

Comment by carmen medway-stephens on December 13, 2014 at 0:08

Many writers have indicated that what they fear is that the designated team or company that takes on this work doesn't become 'city centric to city writers' and 'exclusive' to those writers that are perceived as 'trendy' 'fashionable' 'have that buzz around them' 'the most facebook followers' 'twitter active' 'webpage holders' who manage to get 'reviewers down from London' that have created a hype around them as a person and their work....many new writers work alone, don't know how to access the necessary information or people to get their work out there, the company needs to be inclusive, representation from four corners of Wales, be about Wales, and transparent, no closed doors and meetings where the wider are not invited, lets hope we can achieve this 

Comment by Tim Price on December 12, 2014 at 14:15

HI Ellie, 

Thanks for your comments, we've had lots of great feedback. We'd really like to keep the conversation going for as long as possible, so although there are a number of deadlines we're trying to hit, we would love the conversation around PSW to be on-going. We have written 7 drafts of the plan since the original one was posted due to the great feedback we received and are continuing to work on it.

I'm a bit confused by a couple of your points - just to be clear, Dirty Protest and PSW are two entirely separate companies. Writers, companies, and artists wanting dramaturgical support currently have no-where to turn.

I think it would be unfair of me to burden Nick or Olivia, with not only my funding problems but my endless struggles to write a decent act 2!

As the plan says PSW is aiming to fill a strategic gap in the provision for dramaturgical and development support for playwrights.

Wales is now faced with a situation where despite the Welsh Government funding ACW to develop and stage new writing, there is no single professional employed to do that. And that is what PSW is trying to rectify. 

If PSW is funded, it would need to be funded by multiple organisations, such as the Lottery and trusts like Esme Fairbairn so your concerns about the diminishing pot is worth raising and talking about, but the amount needed from ACW is probably far less than you may think. 

Following the closing of the literary department at Sherman Cymru and the closed new writing director position at Clwyd. The writing community has a chance to imagine what it wants in terms of activity and services. If we don't ask, these services that were once provided will vanish. 

If you seem to be advocating for the status quo in terms of provision for playwriting then I think we are going to struggle to find common ground.

You may feel that new writers don't need dramaturgical support, or that new writing isn't a specialist activity and all writers need is relationships with arts council officers.

Having looked into how other new writing communities thrive in the UK and Ireland, all of them have professional approach to dramaturgy. And all of them (bar England now The Theatre Writing Partnership has closed) have a development body separate from a theatre. (The Joint Dramaturgy Fund in NI is administered by Tinderbox, but funded entirely separately). 

Having started my career through submitting a play to an unsolicited script reading service run by Sgript Cymru, I fear if some organisation doesn't take this work on, the next generation of writers with no grasp of the industry, no experience and no contacts will be frozen out. 

I totally agree with you that ACW needs to do more promoting of Welsh work internationally, that's why it's such a big part of the PSW plan. But if we haven't got anyone reading any plays...what are we going to promote?

I take your point about the campervans - as the plan says - all activities will be created and delivered by the creative director so no commitment to anything! 

I don't think PSW and a joined up approach to Edinburgh are mutually exclusive. I don't see why we can't have both. ACW and Wales would get so much out of a curated venue at Edinburgh for a whole breadth of art forms. But part of me fears it's only until we've got someone paid to think strategically about the sector - will ideas like this come to fruition. ADs are so time-poor and under so much pressure, they just don't have the opportunities to think strategically for anyone other than their own organisations. 

 

Comment by Jaye L Swift on December 12, 2014 at 7:02

A short film I wrote in conjunction with It's My Shout/Made in Wales was screened on BBC2 Wales this week and can now be viewed on BBCiPlayer for the next four weeks

Moving On

Comment by Ellie Tennant on December 10, 2014 at 3:33

I realise that the date has passed for public consultation on the proposals regarding Playwrights’ Studio Wales but, anyway, here is my response:

First, I am concerned that there is only a finite amount of resources for new writing in Wales and these proposals will have a direct impact on the funding of the companies that exist and those the report so rightly points out have developed (a small proportion of these have been name-checked). If the proposals for a Playwrights’ Studio go ahead is this a case, in effect, of the arts council handing over provision for new writing to PSW? I believe this money would be better distributed by professional arts council officers who have to weigh up the needs of the whole of the arts in Wales. I take exception to the egotistical line in the document that Dirty Protest is the only new company that “puts new writing and playwrights at its centre” – this sadly shows the blinkered nature of the report’s authors. I believe many writers and artists would rather deal with the arts council than an organisation that feels it is the only company who is championing new writing in Wales (though many may not choose to give their feelings due to the familial nature of new writing and the arts in Wales).

Second, I don’t believe this is a great use of resources – both in promoting new writing from Wales and with regard to spending Welsh taxpayers’ money. It’s easy to criticize the report as empire building by a few individuals for the benefit of a limited number of writers in Wales but the funds earmarked for the PSW could be better spent by the arts council in properly promoting the arts nationally and internationally. One of the great problems we have in this country is expanding the horizons of the arts and getting work recognized and performed in other parts of the UK. The money would be more effectively spent by accessing and exploiting networks that already exist – for example, the Edinburgh Festivals. There already exists a fund for individual companies to take work to Edinburgh but what if this money was used to really push the work of Welsh companies at this festival and others? Maybe new pieces of work could be specially commissioned for Edinburgh and a Welsh venue that really promotes the country’s artists. The new writing connections and opportunities already exist at the festival – so why not exploit them with a coordinated, joined-up approach (this, I believe, is better value for money and more effective than a group of individuals deciding on what new writing and writers should be developed and driving around festivals in a camper van all summer. Salaries are already being spent – on arts council officers).

So, I believe PSW is not great value and the benefits it could attain could be better achieved elsewhere with the funds distributed by the body that was set up to do that in the first place – the arts council.

Comment by Guy O'Donnell on December 9, 2014 at 22:17

Hi Carmen did you see the recent production of 1984 by Headlong that had a great scene change.

Comment by carmen medway-stephens on December 9, 2014 at 9:15

Continuing from last post - looking for theatre that has 'magic', what plays have people seen lately that they feel has that something special, Mametz  has one scene where the curtains revealed the outside and audience members gasped.

Also has anyone seen 2071?

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