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Started by Camille Naylor. Last reply by sean donovan Dec 1, 2015.
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@meredydd Completely agree with you. In the same boat; I always send and don't write for cash. But I can see the other side and have some sympathy with it. Equity kicks up such a fuss re actor payments, even on the fringe, and writers seem to just be grateful to get things on that I sometimes think we get steamrollered a bit. It's not so much the money as a kind of principle/respect thing. Bit surprised the way bushgreen went so quickly to non-payment without trying something like the library model - where authorities pay a certain amount and that amount gets shared between authors. I think maybe people paying a fiver for an annual subscription or something would work. Also, I'd be surprised if copyright hasn't been broken by now with someone just putting a short play on somewhere and the writer not being told. This happened with one of mine once and it wasn't a nice feeling. I only found out on the grapevine. Bit horrid.
@lisaparry. See what you mean about, as you say, but it also embeds the principle of working/writing for nothing being the norm a little more strongly.
On the other hand if someone e-mails me and asks if they can read a play I nearly always send it. I don't write plays because I've been commissioned and there's the promise of moolah. I write to express what I feel needs expressing. In other words I do the work for nothing anyway because the worth is there in the work. I don't look at it in the same way a bricklayer looks at building a wall. If a website can promote my work and pique the interest of a producing theatre then great. It'll mean money.
bushgreen.org is a brilliant idea and if it works there what reason could there be for it not to work here? I was at a discount bookshop in Liverpool recently and in the drama section there some brilliant plays from the last four years that had been remaindered. For a novel that's death. For a play it just means they've stopped printing and promoting the book. It has nothing to do with the relevancy or the quality of the play. Surely the copyright issue is fairly easy to surmount? A quick chat with the legal dept at an agency? Of course I would say all of this. One of my plays was on the shelf...
Sneaky attempt to have the last word before going to bed number 2: Has been great to catch up on today's developments in this discussion. Loads to think about. Two quick comments. In response to Kit - if I've read you right Kit, you are asking about that step between being the hot emerging young thing, and the trusted mature writer and wondering how that step can be better supported by the companies. I think your idea of mentored scripts/productions is a good one - it would take a lot of trust on both sides but is something I would certainly like to look into more. And talking of trust - I know there is always a place for turning the pages on Roger's comfy sofas, but is there a place for an online library of scripts? Many of you will be aware of bushgreen.org which is a kind of online open-door literary department where anyone who joins can download and read new plays. Could there be the equivalent for the (recent?) canon of plays. It would certainly be easier to access for the kid in mid-Powys starting to write in her bedroom... But I mention trust because issues of copyright etc would undoubtedly be an issue....
Ok, I'm not sure if I'm making sense... to bed...
@Tim - I think a Writers' Library is a great idea. They have something like that in Edinburgh. The Scottish Society of Playwrights does it. They don't have everything but they have all the Traverse stuff, tables and chairs etc. Also, I think Soho has something similar in London - an archive of Soho productions that can be accessed.
Yes Stapes! Last year I proposed to Amy a Writers' Library at the Sherman, a space where writers can go, not borrow, but sit and read plays. I'd love to go somewhere, where there was a Greg Cullen shelf, or a Charles Way section. If we can't stage the plays, we should be able to read them? And there's no reason why it can't stock unpublished or unperformed plays.
Amy thought it was a great idea, but one that they didn't have the money for. I proposed doing a Dirty Protest night to kick the ball rolling. Hundred people, fiver each, £500 buys a lot of plays? And it could stock everything the Court and National and whoever are producing so if we can't get to see the shows, we can at least read them. Of course I'd demand the Library be called the Dirty Books corner or something...
I echo your second point too Stapes.
Although I have to say there's lots of creative thoughts and ideas about what the Sherman should do...but I can't really see any suggestions about how this should be paid for. Other than, 'we should have more money'. How about we consider the possibility, that the Sherman isn't going to get an increased settlement anytime soon? Then what?
Thing is...What i'd like to see at the Sherman when it finally re-opens it's doors is a go to venue, somewhere writers can meet sit and chat about their ongoing works. Maybe even creating a writers centre where we can read each other's work. We all know how much it hurts to have our work pulled apart and dissed by people who haven't written a word, so feedback from people in the know would be easier, (in theory!!)
Also picking up on Rebecca's point about the frequency of plays. I would like to see the 2nd venue at the new place being used weekly to show lunchtime productions and/or readings. Whilst there's a new play coming soon to the main stage. Also they should encourage the other new writing venues in the UK to show their work at the Sherman, I'd love to see more Court/Soho/Traverse or even an Irish play from the Abbey on what is arguably the main stage in Cardiff, this would also be reciprocal of course. Then we could really see where we're at in relation to other work in the UK.
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