Blogzene

Writers’ Block members are about to embark on the worldwide ‘Script Frenzy’ to take us through April – where we’ll be setting up camp in various locations around the region – from galleries, to club basements, theatre spaces and empty buildings – to try our hand at writing a feature film script in a month. Only three and a third pages a day…are you game?

Meeting spots so far include Blu Bar in Middlesbrough, ArtsBank in Saltburn, and the Cleveland Theatre School in Billingham, and we’ll be equipped with props, projectors, music, books, written challenges and provisions to keep competitors inspired and on track. Go to www.facebook.com/writersblockne for further information about times, locations, and how to get involved – and to http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/scriptfrenzy for more info about the scheme as a whole.

 There’ll be a performance event in a local gallery space in April, where attendees will also participate in a collaborative story – again, keep a look out on Facebook for further details. The theme of the story is ‘Can you see in the dark?’ and – ‘Consequences’ style – contributors will only be able to see what the person before them has written when adding their line. So, effectively, we’ll be building a story as a region.

 The story will then be transferred on to a paper-based sculpture being constructed in the window of Writers’ Block by local Artist Peter Heselton – in a pen only visible in the dark – and a projector will shine on to the sculpture, tracking the transition between day and night. 

 The performance event will be accompanied by a book swap. Attendees will be asked to come with a book they’ve finished with, and leave with a new one. And the first Writers’ Block ‘zine – containing a diverse range of brilliant pieces from Writers’ Block members – will be distributed for the first time.

This week will also see the release of 3 competitions – the first for 2 short plays created around the theme, ‘Can you see in the Dark?’ – to compliment the art work; the second for parodies of a book, film or television programme, where winners will work with a local puppeteer to create the characters and a local film maker will shoot and edit the piece; and finally a short film competition where entrants will be asked to generate ideas based on a Sherlock Holmes-type character solving mysteries in Teesside. The winning script will be shot across one weekend and screened as part of the ‘Discover Middlesbrough’ festival in September. The plays and puppet shows will be screened at the Writers’ Block launch event in June. 

We’re still on the look out for cast, crew and interested parties for all of these pieces – sign up to the Facebook group and get involved!