New Voices: New Writing

New Voices: New Writing is a new project that nurtures new partnerships and dialogues to encourage young people around the UK to get involved with writing for performance.

Pictured above: Ola Animashawun, Associate Director Royal Court and students on the Writing for Performance Pathway, BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education.

Led by Dr Amanda Stuart Fisher, Reader in Contemporary Theatre and Performance and Pathway Leader for Writing for Performance (part of BA Drama, Applied Theatre and Education) and developed in collaboration with Dr Sylvan Baker, Dr Sarah Grochala Course Leader MA/MFA Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media and Martin Wylde Programme Leader MA Acting.

New Voices: New Writing builds on the expertise in new writing at Central. As well as Amanda’s pathway in Writing for Performance at undergraduate level, Central runs an MA/ MFA in Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media which enables people to develop as dramatists and scriptwriters and to appreciate the specific media contexts within which professional writers work. Students also engage in practice-based enquiry into techniques and processes for writing for stage and screen, a series of scriptwriting projects to engage with different styles and formats of production and associated study of writing techniques and issues of performance in relation to theatre, cinema, television and other relevant contexts. In addition to this, Central also commissions new writing as part of the MA Acting programme to give those students the opportunity to work with a writer as they rehearse and perform a fully-supported production. Dramaturgy also forms part of the curriculum in other degrees across the school.

Central’s teaching and research staff are committed to  bringing together students, actors, directors, new writing venues and other producing companies to celebrate and enhance Central’s role in the commissioning, development and performance of new writing.

The New Voices: New Writing project is one example of innovative practice in this area.

Aims

New Voices: New Writing aims to foster a broader engagement in the creation of new writing both at Central and beyond, developing collaborations with writers and new writing venues and reaching out to young people who live in areas with low levels of participation in higher education.

Working across a wide range of courses and teaching and research specialisms, New Voices: New Writing aims to nurture new writing initiatives, forge productive partnerships with schools, youth theatres and new writing venues and producing companies around the UK, establishing new dialogues between young people, writers, directors and teachers and researchers in Higher Education.

Write Yourself In

Write Yourself In is the inaugural project of New Voices: New Writing and aims to encourage young people from around the UK to engage with new writing. The project offers schools, colleges and youth theatres in London, Leicester, Oldham and Stoke free writing workshops, delivered by second year students on the BA Drama, Applied Theatre and Education degree and the new Writing for Performance pathway in collaboration with Central tutors. 

By teaching others and sharing their own expertise in new writing, the student-facilitators will acquire new skills in community engagement, while the workshops will encourage young people to write their own plays, working alongside undergraduate students.

Playwriting Competition

All schools, colleges and youth theatres who have booked a workshop are automatically invited to enter the Write Yourself In playwriting competition.

The competition has three categories:

Key stage 2

Key stage 3

Key stage 4+

Free to enter, the playwriting competition invites participants to write to a series of stimuli specially designed for each category of entrants. The winning writers will receive a rehearsed reading at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, The Curve and/or Oldham Theatre Workshop.

The competition judges are:

Ola Animashawun, Associate Director Diversity, Royal Court Theatre

Emteaz Hussain, Playwright (Sweet Cider Arcola Theatre 2008, Blood Tamasha Theatre and The Gate 2010)

Key partners

Oldham Theatre Workshop and The Curve Theatre Leicester.

Follow the project on Twitter @YourselfWrite