For the last week I’ve been busily occupied with an event I’ve been part of for a long time… the National Student Drama Festival. I’ve been the head of lighting for the festival since 2006 but first got involved back in 2002 as a member of the general technical team. The festival aims to give young student theatre practitioners a real insight into the professional world and that first festival all those years ago was one of the most inspiring weeks of my life. It was there that I decided that I would pursue theatre as my professional career and each year I go back to try to give others the same kind of inspiration that I myself experienced at this amazing celebration of Student Drama.
Although I’m now one of the people charged with teaching and influencing others the festival has never ceased to inspire me year on year. For anyone who suggests that young people lack motivation or initiative then I challenge you to maintain that belief after a week at NSDF. This year though the festival has inspired me in a different way – it’s inspired me to return to a writing project that I started before we published our very first Bride Vs Groom blog post – writing a play.
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Image by Martyn Andrew
Playwriting is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I’ve been working on other people’s shows since I was 15 and have had the privilege of working under two of the foremost playwrights of the century in Sir Alan Ayckbourn and John Godber over many years. Alongside NSDF these were two of the people who most inspired me in my career path and although I’ve always been on the technical side of theatre I think it has given me the experience to understand what makes a good show and how best to go about writing one. I’ve written quite a few intros to plays and never really taken it much further, and I think that’s because I started with an idea that wasn’t fully formed – writing about an area I wasn’t particularly well versed in. But after a year of writing this blog I think I’ve found my muse – this will be a play about weddings!
Since entering the crazy wedding world I’ve seen all sorts of stuff and heard all kinds of strange wedding stories and for the last year I’ve been attempting to gather enough material to form a full story. The storyline is definitely getting there and writing has begun in earnest, but it has one fatal flaw – it’s based solely on my own thoughts and experiences. For this show to work it has to be something that people will connect with and recognise themselves in, so I’m looking for a fresh perspective on the wedding world and some new stories that might just make it into the play.
Image by Martyn Andrew
And that’s where you guys come in. If you’ve got any funny stories, or personal anecdotes about your experience with weddings and wedding planning, whether your own or someone else’s I’d love to hear them! Any great stories we’ll share on the blog and hopefully somewhere down the line I’ll be able to share a few scenes with you all. So if you have something you’d like to share you can either email me on bridevgroom@gmail.com or just leave a comment below to share with everyone. You don’t have to share your name or the names of the people involved, just let me know if you’d like to remain anonymous!
We’re looking forward to hearing all of your stories, but right now I’ve got to get back to it!
Act 1 Scene 1
Dom enters… she puts the kettle on and makes a brew for her hard working husband
I think I’m going to like this play writing lark!
