Members’ and visitors’ news included:

Sophie Methuen-Turner and Sascha Cooper discussed Cyclone, the onstage audio drama at the Old Dojo, Chichester

Philippa Hammond, Sophie and Sascha are also appearing in the One Fell Swoop Shakespeare drama festival – we only learn what play and characters we’re doing close to the date of performance! Discussing the practicalities of script-in-hand performance.

Discussion around the business and craft of creating murder mystery and roleplay scripts.

Members’ and visitors’ news included:

Brighton Theatre of the Air’s latest audio drama project.

Phil and Nick’s new play Sheep Love to Die coming up at the Eastbourne Printers’ Playhouse.

John Lawrenson’s new film project on a pensioners’ fight club.

Wayne Liversedge’s film Edge of Insanity is winning film festival awards.

We discussed the plays Sussex Playwrights Reviews had reviewed at the Brighton Fringe, including Who Is Number One and The Dreams of Salvador Dali.

And a discussion around the Seven Plots and the Hero’s Journey as writer’s tools.

Philippa and John Dutton read Unfriend Me, You Fiend, a comedy of modern manners by Callum Murray, followed by discussion with Callum on his full length and short plays plus the business of applying for funding, paying Equity rates and approaching venues.

Amanda discussed how finding Sussex Playwrights and the First Five Pages help her progress her film script, The Shadows We Cast – we read and discussed the first ten pages.

Louise with latest news of her BBC radio sitcom.

Thomas discussed the use and effect of diagetic music in film / theatre (ie music that is actually present within the scene such as a guitarist on stage, v mood music played over the action etc).

And conversation about the Inciting Incident as a tool for writers.

Members’ and visitors’ news:

Brighton Theatre of the Air’s latest upcoming audio drama projects.

Neil Noon discussed the New Views playwriting event organised by the National Theatre.

Thomas and Philippa preparing to present another season of their Acting From the Script workshop programme at the New Venture Theatre.

We read an extract from Elysa’s new work in progress, The Riddle – an intriguing mystery featuring nuns, a medium, a stolen painting, possibly steampunk, timeslips … Potentially a BBC radio drama series?

And Phil Tong presented an extract from his full length play. The Furrow, inspired by a Paula Rego painting Paula’s Children, was a runner up for the Mercury Prize. A modern Greek-style tragedy in very short, punchy one liners with scope for a great soundscape as a massive unseen household prepares for a big wedding.

We hosted an evening of Brighton Fringe production previews, with extracts and discussions with the visiting companies:

The Dreams of Salvador Dali by Tim Coakley, directed by Murray Hecht

The Last by Sam Chittenden, directed by Jeanette Eddisford

Who is Number One? by Brian Mitchell and Joseph Nixon, directed by Brian Mitchell

Sussex Playwrights Reviews appear on this site

We marked the death of Brighton actress Shirley Jaffe, an Equity stalwart and friend of Sussex Playwrights, who with her husband Tony ran the Old Courtroom Brighton venue.

A veteran of Emergency Ward 10, Hammer’s Taste The Blood of Dracula and Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, Shirley will be sadly missed.

Sussex Playwrights have been left a legacy of £1000 in the will of the late Ken Lucas.

An extract from Revenge Porn by Thomas Everchild read by Sophie Methuen-Turner and Philippa Hammond, with round table discussion and feedback.

The award-winning screenwriter and Brighton & Hove resident James Payne was our special guest for a set of two First Five Pages events over the autumn meetings.

Members and visitors were invited to bring the first five pages of their scripts for a round table reading, group discussion then industry insights and guidance from James on their scripts’ impact and possible development.

Scripts included:

Love’s Poison by Elyse, adapted from the book chronicling Wayne Liversedge’s personal experience.

Steven’s Art of Revenge, an animated tale of a Maine Coon Cat.

Phil Tong’s Nails and Me.

Amanda Horlington’s The Shadows We Cast.

Discussing character, plot, dialogue, flow, whether the script captures and keeps attention – and crucially, whether the reader will be sparked into reading on.

Because if you haven’t captured them by then, they’re unlikely to continue reading … and will move on to the next one on the pile.

Discussion around the BBC Writers’ Room.

Our thanks to James for being our guest, making space for new, developing and established writers and sharing valuable insights, support and encouragement.