See your play on the stage (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

See your play on the stage

Ashley Heath, co-ordinator of PlayWrite ASPIRING playwrights should be sharpening up their pencils for the chance to have their play performed in next year's One Act Play Theatre Festival.

Extracts from the PlayWrite project's top three plays will be printed in the Swindon Advertiser and broadcast on BBC Swindon radio.

The town's local newspaper and radio station are teaming up to search for a budding Harold Pinter, pictured right, Tom Stoppard, pictured below, or Alan Ayckbourn.

Editor of the Swindon Advertiser Mark Waldron said: "We are eager to encourage new writers and delighted to promote the arts and drama in our town through this competition.

"There is a lot of artistic ability in Swindon and this is a chance for people to showcase their skills in the PlayWrite project."

Amateur dramatic group the Old Town Theatre Company have volunteered to perform the winning play at the Harold Jolliffe One Act Play Festival, held in the Arts Centre in Devizes Road, Old Town from February 23 to 25, 2006.

A selected panel of three judges from the Advertiser, the BBC and OTTC will whittle down the plays to three finalists and scenes from all three will be published in the Swindon Advertiser and performed on BBC Wiltshire during Christmas week.

Readers and listeners will then vote for their favourite play.

The winning play will be taken up by the OTTC for entry into the regional heat of The All England Theatre Festival which organises the only country-wide eliminating contest for one-act plays in performance.

The PlayWrite plays must be between 30 and 50 minutes long and have minimum of two and maximum of six actors.

The competition is open to all unpublished writers. Entries must be typewritten and include a summary sheet, summarising plot, scene development and character description attached to the entry form.

The subject of the play is open and it can be a tragedy, a court room drama, comedy, period piece, romance, whodunnit or a mix of styles.

PlayWrite is the brainchild of BBC Swindon presenter and member of the OTTC Ashley Heath.

He said: "What we are doing with PlayWrite is giving Swindon people the chance to flaunt their talent and to see it performed live on stage.''

Writers must give permission for the theatre company to adapt or change the play to suit the performance at the one act play festival but the playwrights will be welcome to attend rehearsals and see the project through from first draft to production.

For full details and an entry form go to www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/competitions.