Mailbox

A round-up of the latest news, gossip and other information from members.
Health warning: Anything in this article should not be relied upon as gospel. 

Got something to share? Send it to mailbox@bscw.co.uk

From: BSCW Management Team
ROBERT MCKEE WORKSHOP - FREE!

The nice people at MediaXchange (www.mediaxchange.com) have offered the BSCW a free place on the Robert McKee workshop on Comedy on Thursday 23rd May. Tempting as it is to run off with it and not tell you, we've decided to offer it in a PRIZE DRAW, open to all members and subscribers. Here's more about the workshop.

COMEDY DAY - AN INTENSE ONE-DAY SEMINAR ON COMEDY WRITING (9:30am - 7:30pm)

The course will cover:
* The Structure of Jokes
* Comic Timing
* Comedy: The Angry Art
* Comic Character Analysis
* Comic Devices
* Comic Turning Point
* Comic Dialogue
* Comic Exposition
* The Comedy Genre
* The Comic Vision of Life
* The Comedy Genre - Three Grand Conventions
* Complete analysis and breakdown of a comedy film + clips including "A Fish Called Wanda," "Frasier," and more!

This normally costs £125 + VAT (£21.88) = £146.88 but we can give one member / subscriber a FREE place. To enter the draw, send an e-mail to gill@bscw.co.uk, and we'll enter you into the prize draw. You have until 1st May to send in your entry. The draw will be made on 2nd May, and I will e-mail the winner that day. It sounds obvious, but please only enter the draw if you are able to attend the workshop!

If you want to register for the workshop anyway, at the price above, please contact MediaXchange, 10-11 Moor Street, London W1D 5NF. Tel: +44 (0)20 7734 2310 Fax: +44 20 (0)20 7287 0096. E-mail: info@mediaxchange.com. There are also still places available for the Thriller seminar on 16th May 2002.



From: Michelle at Hollywood's Next Success
COMPETITION

Dear Screenwriter,

We hope that your writing or your plans for getting your scripts read has been going well.

Just a friendly reminder that the deadline for entry into this year's Hollywood's Next Success Screenwriting Contest on APRIL 28th.

Your entries must be postmarked by your local post office before or on APRIL 28 (not necessarily received by us by the 28th) so you want to enter your scripts now.

The entry form is there for you at www.hollywoodsnextsuccess.com

There will be a Winner in each of the following categories:

FILM:
Best Drama
Best Comedy
Best Horror/Sci Fi
Most Commercial Concept

TELEVISON
Best Drama Series
Best Comedy Series
Best Movie of the Week (MOW)
Best Pilot

Winners in each of the categories are still each guaranteed a minimum of 5 requests for their winning script directly from interested studios, agents, producers, managers, distributors, etc.

All the best,

Michelle Miller
Contest Coordinator

www.hollywoodsnextsuccess.com


From: Vince Powell
COMEDY WORKSHOP

Vince Powell & Dennis Kirkland are hosting a Creative Writing Seminar on Comedy on Sunday May 12 in the Admin Theatre at Teddington Studios, Broom Road, Teddington Lock, Middlesex TW11 9NT.

Vince is an award winning writer of many successful TV situation comedies including 'NEVER MIND THE QUALITY,FEEL THE WIDTH', 'NEAREST AND DEAREST', 'LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR', 'BLESS THIS HOUSE', 'MIND YOUR LANGUAGE' and 'NEVER THE TWAIN.' Vince was also Head of Comedy for Thames Television for eight years.

Dennis is an award winning Director/Producer of many highly successful comedy series including 'THE KEN DODD SHOW', 'TOMMY COOPER', 'ERIC SYKES', 'JIM DAVIDSON', 'BENNY HILL', 'FREDDIE STARR', and 'MORECAMBE AND WISE'.

Teddington Studios is the largest Independent TV Studios in the UK. Formerly Thames Television, the studios still produce high quality programmes such as 'DES O'CONNOR', 'THE BILL', 'THIS IS YOUR LIFE', 'LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE', 'HARRY HILL' and many others.

Tea/coffee and biscuits, notebooks and pencils will be provided.

In order to devote as much of our personal attention to each member of the Seminar, places will be limited to a maximum of 25 so please apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

AGENDA:

10:00 - Registration

10:30 - Introduction and welcome from Vince and Dennis. What comedy is all about. How to find the right ideas by using their unique system "THE IDEA FINDER". How to lay out and present your script. The Writer's Ten Commandments. Market research. The pro's and con's of getting an agent. Any questions.

11:00 - Writing for Radio. The importance of sound effects to create the right mental picture for the listener. How to construct a comedy sketch or a sitcom. Stand up comedy examined. Any questions.

11:30 - Coffee and biscuits

12:00 - Television comedy. Alternative comedy and political correctness examined. Sketch comedy on television. The success of Benny Hill and Tommy Cooper. Why Ken Dodd didn't succeed on TV. Morecambe and Wise and how their writer's contributed to their success. Other double acts examined. Any questions.

13:00 - Lunch. (Not included. You may bring sandwiches or there are two pubs next door which serve food)

14:00 - Tour of the studios.

14:30 - The television sitcom in all it's various forms. Domestic comedy, broad comedy, team shows. Character led or star led. The importance of conflict and pathos in comedy. A video of a sitcom analysed scene by scene. Any questions.

15:30 - Tea and biscuits

16:00 - Writing for the Cinema and the Theatre. The telemovie. Linking your screenplay to a major star. Raising finance. The art of writing a stage play in one set. Importance of entrances and exits. Any questions

16:30 - Practical information. Who to send your script to, Fees and format rights. Protecting your ideas and scripts. The laws of copyright. Other outlets for your work other than radio or TV. Short stories, articles and fillers for magazines.

17:00 - Final summary and questions followed by a complimentary glass or two (or more) of wine and informal discussion.

The fee for attending the Seminar is Ninety Five Pounds, which you can pay either by sending a cheque for the full amount made out to Vince Powell at 39 Tormead Road, Guildford, Surrey GU1 2BJ, or a deposit of Fifty Pounds with the balance payable on or before May 12 2002.



From: Anne at the Writers' Guild
WRITERS' GUILD EVENTS

ANYTHING FOR A LAUGH

A Writers' Guild/BAFTA event

At the Princess Anne Theatre, BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, on Wednesday 22 May 2002 at 7.00 pm

It's not a bad time for comedy - 'My Family' has brought large audiences back to sitcom'; 'The Office' and 'Black Books' have proved that there's no shortage of new ideas.

And yet - an air of desperation hangs over TV's corridors of mirth.

Financial crisis, fixation on the youth market, obsession with star names and executive indecision - frankly it's incredible that anything decent gets made at all.

The Guild's Television & Film Committee has organised an event at BAFTA to look behind the scenes of television comedy.

Here's your first chance to meet the latest intake entrusted with planning the future of TV comedy. Sophie Clarke-Jervoise is new Head of Comedy at the BBC, and Danielle Lux has just become Head of Entertainment at Channel 4. This will be their first public appearance in their new posts, so we'll be hanging on their every word.

Joining them are the best of the present and future of comedy - Fred Barron, writer and creator of 'My Family'; Henry Normal, writer, producer and co-creator with Steve Coogan of 'Baby Cow' Production Company; Rhys Thomas, writer of BBC Choice's 'Fun At The Funeral Parlour' and Sanjeev Bhaskar, writer, performer and co-creator of 'Goodness Gracious Me' and 'The Kumars'. Keeping order and posing awkward questions from the chair will be Jo Brand.

To reserve a place please email: admin@writersguild.org.uk. There is no charge for Guild members, non-members £10.


CROSSING BOUNDARIES:

Is it a play? Is it a book? Is it a film - or is it all three?

Are you tempted to branch out into writing for TV or radio, to broaden your horizons by writing or adapting a novel or play? Are you wondering which is the best medium in which to pitch your latest idea?

The Guild's Books Committee is hosting an event on writing for different media. Andrew Davies, Bonnie Greer and Alan Plater, chaired by David Nobbs, all experienced in writing for more than one medium, will discuss the pros and cons of each.

Join us at 7pm on Monday 29 April at The Freemasons Arms, 81-82 Long Acre, Covent Garden, London WC2.

Cost for Writers' Guild members is £5, non-members £10. Food and a free drink are included in the price. To order your ticket please fill in and return the slip below. Pre-booking is essential. We expect this to be a popular event and numbers are limited so early booking is advised. Priority will be given to Guild members.

THE PANEL

* ANDREW DAVIES - credits include, The Way We Live Now, Bridget Jones's Diary, Middlemarch, Pride and Prejudice, Circle of Friends, House of Cards, Take a Girl Like You. Currently re-adapting Dr. Zhivago
* ALAN PLATER - Last of the Blonde Bombshells, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, A Very British Coup, A Murder is Announced, The Barchester Chronicles, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes etc.
* BONNIE GREER - playwright, critic and broadcaster. The Little Prince, Jitterbug, Riding The 903 etc.
* DAVID NOBBS - The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, Gentlemen's Relish, Love on a Branch Line, A Bit of a Do, Reggie, Rich Tea and Sympathy, The Hello Goodbye Man, The Life and Times of Henry Pratt, Fairly Secret Army etc.

To book, please e-mail admin@writersguild.org.uk.


THE WORLD IS YOUR STAGE

Around the globe, new British theatre writing has a high profile and is - like Brit Art - very, very hot. Producers actively seek new British talent and plays.

Many British producing companies are actively co-ordinating productions with theatres abroad, including Asia, the US and South America, as well as touring their own productions. There are also commissions being given by British companies to translate and give a British viewpoint to foreign plays, often working with the original playwright.

The Theatre Committee of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain will present a forum to discuss this exciting new frontier for British playwrights.

The event will be on Thursday, 30 May 2002 starting at 7pm until 9pm at the Club for Acts and Actors (incorporating Concert Artistes Association), 20 Bedford Street, London WC2.

Cost for Writers' Guild members is £5, non-members £10. Food and a free drink are included.

Pre-booking is essential. To book your ticket please fill in and return the slip below.

THE PANEL

* Bill Morrison Guild Chair and playwright with many foreign productions, will chair the event.
* Sally Cowling Head of Dance and Drama, British Council
* Elyse Dodgson Associate Director, Royal Court Theatre (if available)
* Philippe Lemoine International Projects Consultant, Royal National Theatre Studio
* Sarah MacNair agent, Alan Brodie Associates
* Mark Ravenhill playwright, Mother Clap's Molly House
* Richard Shannon Director of New Writing, Polka Theatre for Children

To book, please e-mail admin@writersguild.org.uk.

Note: The Writers' Guild has a NEW WEBSITE ADDRESS: www.writersguild.org.uk



From: MultiSensory Technology Corporation
SOFTWARE

Dear Writer,

MultiSensory Technology Corporation is developing a software engine that can automatically extract and rank over 130 unique emotions from plain text! - Improve your writing - Determine if your work expresses what you intended - Get new ideas and stimulate your creativity.

Try it out for FREE! (for a limited time only...)
http://www.mstcorporation.com Please tell us what you think too!

We would love to hear from you. MultiSensory Technology Corporation
31841 Via Coyote Trabuco Canyon, CA 92679 (949) 713-2869
info@mstcorporation.com

(A REMINDER: Inclusion in this newsletter is NOT an endorsement from the BSCW. Unfortunately, we cannot check all information sent to us.)



From: Kez Richmond
'bloc' MAGAZINE

Calling all writers or people interested in the art and technique of writing.

Students of the Postgraduate Professional Writing course at Falmouth College of Arts are launching an innovative, Cornwall-based, online magazine aimed at writers and people interested in writing.

The magazine is called - bloc: about writing - and was launched at the end of March 2002.

We are looking for contributions to the following sections:

* News: up to date information about writers and writing

* Writers and writing: informative and inspirational feature articles, author interviews and business and technical advice for aspiring writers - from those in the know

* Features and fiction: articles and creative writing centred around a given theme, max length 1000 words. This month, we're looking at The Dark Side

Please send to superkezy@hotmail.com

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any queries you may have. My mobile number is: 0787 9692238

Yours sincerely, Kezia Richmond, News Editor.



From: Gill
FUN FACTS...

A recent article from the Sun:

Brookside so deadly

Characters in telly soap Brookside have an average life expectancy of just 24.That is 14 years shorter than the world's deadliest country Sierra Leone.

Those in Emmerdale live to be 40 while EastEnders characters make it to 45 on average, says a Reader's Digest survey. But the average lifespan in Britain is 77.

Report author Simon Hemelryk said: "If scriptwriters realised they would feel pretty stupid."

(I think scriptwriters should feel pleased to have created that level of drama!)