Playwriting success in 2011

I've not been keeping this blog up to date like I wanted and so I now I find myself retrospectively dealing with my playwriting success stories of 2011 (nice to have the plural in there)!

In November I won an award. It's the second award I've won for my playwriting, which is interesting because I've always thought of myself as a novel writer. The first award I won in 2007 and so going at this rate, by the time I am 70, I will have won three more! It seems as though ordering that display cabinet from Argos was a bit premature.

But I digress...

The award was for best new writing and was given for my play 'Man with a Plan' (a seven minute monologue). You can find the script for this play on my web site and you can find photos of me excepting the award on the Ovation Theatre Award website. My play won not only Judges favourite but was also placed as second favourite by the audience voters and Alex Babic, the actor who kindly agrees to take on the play, won an honourable mention as Best Actor. My personal thanks to Alex for bringing that award home for me with a performance that was simply stella.



Also in November I had the privilege of working with Rio Fanning, who has been in everything over the years from Dixon of Dock Green to Father Ted (not to mention playing a baddie in Blakes 7!!!!), and who kindly agreed to take a part in a short ten minute play of mine called Being Dead. This was part of the Haunted production set-up by the Oxford Playwrights. The script for this play is also available on my website. Performing along side him were the equally brilliant Richard Ward and Hester Lott. The play received a very good reception with a number of people congratulating my after the event.

But that wasn't all November had to offer. In Port Mahon, two of my plays - T4-2 and Holding On - were produced and directed by the power house that is Laura Boon of Fairy Dust Arts, an Oxford based production company focused on bringing local artists to the stage. It was here that I met Liz Bishop (playing an android in T4-2) and who has since agreed to be in a much longer play of mine.... More on that subject in a separate post.

And yet there was more. Also in that month, Holding On (yes again) was produced by the Steeple Aston players, or at least two of them in the shape of Carl Tomlinson and Alan Wight. This was the 'comedy interlude' at a local Black Tie event to raise money for a new church bell.

So, like London buses, my plays turned up all at once. Not that I'm complaining. However, 2012 I am hoping to start the ball rolling a little quicker. More of that in a future post.



So long 2011. You were fun and you won me an award. Enough said.