Ashley Heath, co-ordinator of PlayWrite

See Your Play on the Stage

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The competition is open to all unpublished writers.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.

Write a Play for Us to Perform!

The Swindon radio station and newspaper have teamed up to run a competition called, “PlayWrite!”

Listeners and readers are being encouraged to submit short plays for judging, and the winning play will be performed by OTTC!

The play chosen by listeners and readers as being the best one will be performed by OTTC at the Harold Jolliffe One Act Play Festival in February 2006.

The competition has been launched and writers have until 1 November 2005 to enter.

OTTC Chairman, Dave Howell (pictured) says, “We’re delighted to be involved! It gives us a chance to try something new and encourages new writing talent as well.

It’s a departure for OTTC but that’s nothing new as we’re always looking for different ways to do things.

We’re hoping that this competition will bring us new, innovative writing which is really very relevant to life today!

We’re looking forward to it!”

So, if you’re an aspiring, unpublished playwright, just go to either of these websites for more details and a registration form...

BBC Radio Swindon website

This Is Wiltshire/Swindon Advertiser website

and look out for OTTC with the winning play, in February at the Arts Centre!