The Bruntwood Playwriting Competition for The Royal Exchange

TRANSCRIPT OF THE LIVE WEBCHAT WITH AMANDA DALTON, WEDNESDAY 14TH 12.30 - 2PM.

Q?	I'm a new writer and I've never really studied playwriting. Do I really have a chance?
Amanda	Yes! You absolutely do have a chance. The competition is really hoping to find new writers - go for it. I'd advise you to have a look at the website and read some of the tips and ideas you'll find there. I think you'll find them helpful.
Q?	All the winners last time were young men. Does that mean an older woman like myself doesn't stand a chance?
Amanda	Absolutely not! Last time round the competition was also anonymous so no-one knew until the results were announced that the winners were all male (and all young!) It's obviously important that the competition IS genuinely anonymous, so we cannot guarantee that this won't happen again, but we really really hope it doesn't. I think the important thing is that we need more women to enter, and, speaking as a 50 year old, I'm VERY keen that older people enter. The compeition genuinely wants to find the best plays - so please, please DO enter. And good luck.
Q?	Do you recommend securing the services of an agent, particulary if one's play is greenlighted for production?
Amanda	I think an agent is a good idea for a write who is looking to get a play or plays placed with a theatre for production. Also, for more established writers, an agent can be very useful and helpful go-between, particulary dealing with a lot of the administration of being a writer. If a writer is lucky and gets a really good agent they may sometimes become a really important reader and advisor to their writers. Its is worth remembering, though, that agents are not free(!) and that getting your play written is very much the fist step - an agent can come later: there's no rush
Q?	What is the most important thing to remember when writing a play?
Amanda	I guess I'd say it's important that you're writing a play you want to write - ie that genuinely connects with you, but that you also stay aware of the fact that you're writing for an audience - you're writing to communicate. I sometimes read plays that seem, at worst, contemptuous of their audience. I think when you're writing a first draft you need to get the play down - ie write quite freely, but at the stages of later drafts it's really important to consider the bigger picture. Hope this helps!
Q?	I dont' really have a "big" story to tell but it's really important to me. Is that ok?
Amanda	It's absolutely ok. I think writers who are just starting out often make the mistake of thinking they need a "big idea"; in fact, plays that are led by big ideas are really hard to write well - they often lack a human engagement and writers sometimes don't manage to create characters and story - forward movement in their plays - that are engaging and feel real. Ideas plays can seem more like lectures! I'm not saying that "big ideas" can't work in plays - they can. But it's certainly not the case tghat you need a big idea to write a successful drama. I'd say start with your characters; everybody's lives and desires and frustrations are interesting and important. Real life is the stuff of drama. Do write it.
Q?	My name is in my email address - what should I do?
Amanda	Don't worry. your email address will be separated from your entry. No need to change or hide it.
Q?	I've written a play for children. Is there any point submitting it or is it just for adult shows?
Amanda	Do submit it. It isn't just for adult plays.
Q?	In the April archive of the Bruntwood blog there is an entry entitled 'Creating a World'. Whilst any theatrical world must be created primarily through dialogue, (and thus reveal the inner world of the characters), traditional theatre also uses conventional set devices.. My play uses traditional set devices such as a Cyclorama and Trap Door; some characters event hang form the Flys, suspended on wires. It also users more modern devices such as back projection. Consequently, the action is intended to be viewed from 'the front' and not from 360 degrees. Whilst the drama does not implicity rely on these means, nor follow conventions of any particular period, I feel some of the dramatic impact might be lost without them. I note that the Royal Exchange is a 'glass box' with all round seating. Which begs me to ask, is there any point in submitting my play! Living in the south, I have yet to visit your theatre, so I'm unaware of any technical restrictions - or even possibilities. And as a writer of radio plays, how important do you think the set is in theatrical drama?
Amanda	It's certainly worth submitting your play. It's probably true to say that if your play totally depends on a proscenium arch production, it may not be staged in the Theatre at the Exchange (but we also have a Studio with flexible staging). This would not mean it couldn't be a winner. As a more general note I'd suggest that, if you're beginning playwright, writing without a particular space in mind, you might want to be aware that the more specifics your play demands (e.g. flying, trap doors in the floor) the more restrictions you might be placing on yourself in terms of possibilities of the play being staged. This isn't to say you should rein in your ambition - but pragmatically, it is worth being aware that many theatres have quite limited resources. As for set in general - I think the world of the play is very important - how it is realised and communicated may be about a set or the absence of a set. I think design can be a vital element of realising a play, but in the end "the play's the thing."
Q?	I love writing stories but have never tried a play. How different is it?
Amanda	In some ways, it's very different - in other ways not different at all! To be a bit more specific, I 'd say that both forms require a sense of tension and conflict (whether this conflict is internal or between characters) and the overall structure / shape of a play and a novel are usually not unalike. Also, both forms are perhaps most likely to engage their audience if they are led by strongly developed, three dimensional characters. I guess where the forms are very different is in the use of point of view and the function of dialogue.In a novel, the author can be "present" through narration etc - the author can, either directly or through their characters, "comment" . A play doesn't have this - a good play won't judge any of its characters, and the "drama" comes through the interaction and juxtaposition of different perspectives/viewpoints/desires etc .Also, a play script is a kind of blueprint - the play only comes to full realisation when it's staged, and that's very much a team effort, shaped by the vision and ideas of a number of people - including, of course, each of the actors. I hope this is helpful rather than baffling! I could go on all day. I'd certainly say that you should have a go at a play, and explore the differences through the process of writing. Good luck with it.
Q?	Where do you get your inspiration?
Amanda	Everywhere and anywhere. I think I'm a fairly nosey person - I'm very interested in almost everything, listen to people's conversations on the train and at the bus stop, watch people.. I don't start with "big ideas", I usually start with people, or a person, and some kind of juxtaposition, worlds or desires colliding, a fish out of water etc...
Q?	There is some nudity in my play, but its essential. Will this be a problem?
Amanda	No. If its essential, it's fine. If it's NOT essential it may be a problem in that anyone reading or watching or being invited to act in the play may see that it's there for its own sake and not essentially serving the drama; this would then be a weakness in the play.
Q?	I'm focusing a lot on my characters and how they react to a certain situation, but there isn't a lot of action in my script since it's character driven. Is this ok?
Amanda	Character and action are not exclusives in drama - many brilliant plays are entirely character-led; all good plays work through action.Action in drama is not to be confused with "action" in,say, Action Movies - people rushing around with guns and jumping off buildings and robbing banks etc...Action is really about what "drives" the drama - what is going on under the surface, moving things forward. It's about the obstacles that characters come up against, in themselves and out in the world, and how they meet these obstacles; its about things shifting, changing. I would argue that much of the best drama is, in many ways,character led - and is also full of action. The thing to try to remember when you're writing is that each scene must move the drama forward in some way, however subtle or internal this is, the audience must feel that the the journey of the characters is moving forward, that something has changed or shifted by the end of a scene, and that all the dialogue is serving this - ie people are not just talking to each other, but that the dialogue is always being used to drive the play forward in terms of the underlying action. Check your dialogue after you've written a scene, and ask yourself what is REALLY happening here, under the surface. If your answer is "nothing - they're just talking" then you do need to address this.
Amanda	Dear everybody, just interested to know how close you are to submitting a play to the competition? I'm a bit of a last minute writer myself, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend that! Do leave enough time for re-drafting... Best, Amanda
Q?	I saw on the website that all winners of the last competition were men. Does that mean a woman doesn't have a chance?
Amanda	Hiya - I've just answered an almost identical question - have a look at previous replies. Click the ACTION button and select ROOM HISTORY! Please be reassured, it was pure chance they were all men . DO ENTER!!
Q?	I've been re-drafting mine for 15 bloomin' years.
Amanda	Time to stop! Seriously, try writing a new play. Sometimes, all the things you couldn't fix with the old one either stop mattering or suddenly almost solve themselves...
Q?	I was wondering how you got into the field you are in now: working in a theatre, particulary doing education stuff within a theatre. Did you have much experience of drama education or work experience in a theatre beforehand?
Amanda	I was a teacher for ages - even a deputy headteacher (!), taught English and Drama and ran a youth theatre. Then I ran a writing centre for an organization called the Arvon Foundation (I was publishing as a poet by then) then I got a job at the Royal Exchange Theatre heading up the education department.
Q?	What do you think of including dream like and/or historical characters? I'm trying tow write something on william blake and his angels?
Amanda	I think you can write about anything. There's certainly no problem with historical figures. It's all down to HOW you write about them. As for dream figures, I guess it depends what you mean. Just be a bit careful that the idea of a dream figure doesn't become a reason to write a vague character that will be hard for an audience to engage with. It's all about how carefully and convincingly you set up a convention in the play, I think. The best angels I've ever seen in drama have seemed, in many ways, like very real, down to earth (pardon the pun), people.
Q?	Hope this isn't a silly question but I'm writing a book and the more I think about it, it could better as a stage play. Its got 3 strong characters and a setting that would make the most of the Royal Exchange - the only thing is I've never written a play and not sure want I want to write a stage play! Do you think I should try?
Amanda	Yes I do - as long as you really want to. The fact that you've not done it before isn't an issue at all. The fact that you say you're "not sure you want to" might be!
Q?	Hi there, I have always had a title in mind for my play, but now I'm well into writing it another title seems to be coming through too, but I really can't decide! What would you go for in terms of choosing the right title for a play?
Amanda	I'm terrible at titles myself. I think you will just have to go for what feels right at the end of your play. Sometimes you can end up holding onto an idea, or line of dialogue, or even a character, because you've always liked the "idea" of it, despite the fact that it may not be working. Writers sometimes call the need to make these cuts "murdering your darlings". Maybe you need to murder your darling title....but only you will know this. Just to add - a bad title for a great play can win the Bruntwood - a great title for a terrible play can't.
Q?	Hi, I see from your CV that you have taken adaptations of books and turned them into plays. I have a favourite book that I could see as a play. Will it have a chance or are you looking for new stories?
Amanda	For the Bruntwood, I'm afraid you can only submit an adaptation of your own work ie no to favourite stories by other people. Adaptation is great fun, though. And hard. And quite different in some ways from writing an original play. ... Good luck with whatever you do.
Q?	Can I ask if the judging panel/readers get to know anything at all about the writer, I know we are kept anonymous but what about the other details asked for such as if it is our first full length play?
Amanda	They no nothing at all until after the choices of winners has been made. They just get the script.
Q?	One of my characters has a dog that is always with her on stage. Is this ok?
Amanda	It all depends on whether it's essential to your play that this is a real, living dog. If not, then you need to think about how this non-bnaturlaistic element will sit with the style and tone of your play. If you are after having a real dog, then give this very careful thought. Live animals on stage are notoriously tricky. Even the best trained dog may be a little unpredicatable and animals will usually pull focus and upstage the humans on stage. They also cost as much if not more than an actor(!) Most important of all, ask yourself if you're thinking in terms of THEATRE. We're very used to seeing animals on tv and in film. Think how different theatre is from the screen - it's very very different - and, I would suggest, not such a great place for our four legged friends.
Q?	What's the most important thing for a writer not to forget?
Amanda	To collect the children from school.
Q?	What is the most common thing new writers get wrong?
Amanda	2 things probably - either to have loads going on on the surface (really complicated plots) but nothing that the audience can care about ie no 3 dimensional, developing, changing characters Or to have people sitting in a room talking and talking and talking but with nothing really going on under the surface, and nothing ever revealed ie a play with no dramatic action or subtext.
Q?	How important are technical skills to the playwriting process? Are there examples of successful playwrights who have not had formal/disciplined training?. Everyone has a story in them, so they say...Go Rangers....
Amanda	Yes, there are a few examples of playwrights writing great plays when they have no technical knowledge or experience. I'd say it's always worth reading a bit on technique etc(there's stuff on the Bruntwood website that would help) and, importantly, to try to watch - or if not then at least read - contemporary plays. With a competition deadline looming, though, I'd say just write it. Have a go. You never know.
Q?	Are you optimistic for the future of Drama in the UK in the light of the recent Arts Council funding fiasco? Accountants always want a guaranteed return on their investment; but if theatres were given more money, they could stage more lavish productions and pull in greater audiences. It seems a bit like a chicken and egg situation.
Amanda	I'm cautiously optimistic. Drama is an ancient and, I believe, essential element of society. I do believe it will survive - not only issues around funding but also around changes in the way people use their leisure time etc - the place of theatre is society. I'm not going to get into a discussion here about funding - as the line is about to close and I think it's a long and complex discussion - but I do think that lavish productions are not necessarily linked to good drama.
Admin	The web chat has finished, thank you very much to Amanda for being such a sport in giving up her lunchtime and thanks to you for your questions. Look out for the next web chat and please sign up on the Write a Play website so we can let you know what's happening.

Amanda Dalton