WriteFest and the improved auditorium

Preparations for the 8th annual WriteFest are well underway so I arranged to meet with producer Matt Drury to discuss this year's production. One of the roles that Matt and co-producer Emily Goode  take on is acting as key holders. They people in who need to rehearse and stay on the premises to lock up at the end, so he had plenty of time to chat to me while Three Small Words were rehearsing.

There were about 65 plays submitted to WriteFest this year and this was whittled down to eight by the producers and Play Production Committee (an elected group of Progress members who organise the season of plays). The plays are chosen with the authors name removed and it is not revealed until all the plays for the evening have been picked. Submissions are open to anyone in he UK and Ireland. The geographical limit was introduced a couple of years ago after the call for plays ended up on an American website leading to more entries than we could cope with.

I wanted to sit in for a bit of the Three Small Words rehearsal partly to have a peek at the refurbished auditorium and partly because I'd been told it contained face licking. I didn't get to see any face licking but I did get to try out the new, more evenly spaced seats.

WriteFest co-producer Matt trying out the reinstalled seats.

An important part of the Writefest evening is the compere who introduces each play and entertains the audience during changes between plays. The producers are still looking for a confident person to full this role. It doesn't necessarily need to be someone who can deliver gags but they should be engaging and able to give a polished performance. If you think you fit the bill and would like to have a go then contact Matt and Emily on writefest@progresstheatre.co.uk.

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Auditions for The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Tuesday 24th September 2013 at 7.30pm or Sunday 29th September 2013 at 10am, Progress Theatre

Jazz at Progress, Neal Meets Steele, Friday 27th September 2013 7.30, Progress Theatre

The 8th Annual WriteFest Thursday 17th - Saturday 19th October 2013, Progress Theatre

Auditions for Bold Girls,  Sunday 20th October at 7pm or Tuesday 22nd October at 7.30pm, Progress Theatre. There is also a pre-audition accent workshop Monday 14th October at Park United Reformed Church

 

Details of all our productions and auditions can be found on our website.