ups and downs.

My friend, Aimee Hansen has written a short story called The Longbranch. I think she writes beautifully. Just look!

After you've enjoyed it, please vote for her to win the people's choice. Or just vote anyway!

p.s. have been eagerly awaiting email from artistic director of youth theatre telling me when I would be starting working with him on writing workshops etc. The email came the other day. It was an ecstatic one, informing us that he will be moving on to pastures new. Happy for him. Gutted for me. But as the saying goes, when a door closes...

Have a nice weekend. Think I want to see the Wrestler at the cinema.

Results in from Cambridge

Back from a 5 hour meeting with the Artistic Director of Menagerie in Cambridge. They really like Egusi Soup and have mentioned lots of good things and possibilities and scenarios but I can't really be too excited about them until things are concrete. In the meantime, they will continue to work with me on the play and a more developed Egusi Soup will be part of their Hotbed 2009 festival in June as a script in hand performance over 2/3 days. The next draft is due in end of Feb for another workshop.

So I've now got a deadline.

Am feeling a little swamped with my three projects:

Egusi Soup
Dusseldorf
The Critical Mass play

and then my new part-time job starts on Wednesday....

I really have to stop faffing about.

What a weekend!

Saturday
Wake up around 10 am to my sister turning up on the way to the hairdressers with her youngest. She doesn't like it if I don't come down to socialise, so I did for a bit. She trundles off and so I spend about an hour trying to work before my other sister turns up with her boys. The six year old comes up to my room and shows me this mini trivial pursuit board game he got in a McDonald's happy meal (it was such a good game naturally we had to play it). Then I have to socialise with my sister and of course hold and smother with kisses her 2 month old for a couple of hours. She deosn't leave until her hubby picks her up. More socialising.

I must admit I had the evening to work and I managed to do a couple of pages of the play and half a redraft of an outline of Dusseldorf ( the Bacardis weren't as helpful as I'd hoped. Scrummy though). Then I watch Doctors on iplayer and then chat on the phone to some guy I kindof met the other day. Strangest conversation but I agree to meet him for a quick coffee next week. Why? He's funny and is physically interesting. Then he sends me a text along the lines of "sweet dreams". Then another abridged "sweet dreams" text ten minutes later. I text back that I did not think I was meant to reply and that we should talk in the week. Gut feeling tells me do not do coffee.

Sunday

Woken up by a text from the aforementioned guy welcoming me to the day and enquiring whether I like to write in the morning and such. Definitely will not be doing coffee.

My turn to take my mum to church - managed to fit in an hours swimming whilst she was in church. Feel good. Tidied up for a bit. Then we had a family meeting at my sister's house. Lots of issues to be aired so it went on for about 3 hours. One issue on the agenda was my not spending enough time helping out with my nieces and nephews!!

Go home, finish the Dusseldorf outline - relatively pleased with that. Phone rings. I recognise the number as the one belonging to the aforementioned guy so I don't answer. He has left a voicemail. Do not listen to it.

Then watch a Samuel L Jackson pacific-heights-style-next-door-neighbour- thriller directed by Neil Labute. So average. Then listen to Theatre Voice/Theatre 503 short plays. I would recommend Sudbury Town out of all the ones I've listened to so far. I found it funny.

Check my email. Receive ecstatic email from friend who says he so pleased that I nagged him to finish re-writing his one act play for a competition this weekend and has attached it for me to review. He then asks me how my whole "write a play in the weekend" went.

I'll let him read this post.

I love Richard Bean

Because he hit the big time (in playwriting circles) when he was over 40. This is it. So for all of you out there, age doesn't matter. It's the play.

I haven't seen any of his plays but have heard that they are really funny and, as someone who is attempting comedy in her first play, I want to see if I can indeed dream of matching this skill/be inspired/learn something. So I have booked some cheap tickets to see England People Very Nice at the National. Travelex are offering tickets for a tenner.

Have to write the first draft of my second play this weekend so that when we hand in our first drafts on the playwriting course I'm not going to hand in a load of rubbish. Aiming for 60 pages. I know this isn't much but I tend to write about 3 pages/day max if I'm lucky. I was meant to write it over Christmas but have been putting it off because I wasn't sure what I was going to talk about. I know this draft is going to be crap but at least I'll feel a sense of achievement. So it's rum and cokes all weekend to free up the creative side of my brain (it used to be red wine but I kept falling asleep).

Friday's Eastenders

Just saw eastenders on iplayer. That was the best episode in a long time for me. Funny - Mrs Masood and Denise and the whole abstinence from sex with the hot husband was hilarious!!! The comedy was spot on not to mention the steamy kiss-twin-bed scene...

And then Jean and Stacey... I actually cried at the end.

The acting was amazing! I can't believe all the emotions I experienced in half an hour! Fab!!!

Carey Andrews is my favourite Eastenders writer by far.

Hope to See you There!

COMING UP IN JANUARY...

Menagerie, the East of England’s leading independent new writing theatre company, brings you SPARKS, four diverse and daring new plays, in rehearsed readings at The Junction in Cambridge.

SPARKS is your chance to see brand new plays for the very first time and offer your views direct to the writers - all of whom are new to Menagerie – but watch out, they may just steal your ideas and go on to international fame!

January is cold. Come and get warm. Come to see SPARKS fly!

The Writers and the Plays:

This is a Family by Effie Woods Thursday 15th Jan at 7pm
Intense and effervescent, three stories interweave. From hospital to attic, cradle to rooftop, fresh new writing can illuminate even the darkest of places.

Teenage Love in Twisted Dreamland by Ben Craib Friday 16th Jan at 7pm
It’s Joe’s birthday. He’s at a goth night. He’s got fifty quid, a desperate crush, and nothing to lose. Except his virginity. And his dignity.

Prosperity 3 by Alison Falconer Saturday 17th Jan at 7pm
There are no heroes in this gripping hostage drama, as three oil rig workers, all running out of time, struggle to keep their own interests afloat.

Egusi Soup by Janice Okoh Sunday 18th Jan at 7pm
Getting to the airport with your family is never the simplest task. But when the planned trip is to commemorate a dead father, what started out as nuclear quickly becomes explosive.


Venue: The Junction, Clifton Way, Cambridge, CB1 7GX
Tickets: Pay What You Want
(but spaces are limited so reserve your place now by calling 01223 511 511)

Forward Planner

This year, I'm taking my writing goals 6 months at a time and then I'm having a celebration whatever the outcome.

Last year, was the year of the SHORT FILM but it was not to be. Not too sad about this as I wasn't really feeling filmy. So this year is: THE YEAR OF THE TELEVISION COMMISSION. I am not under any illusions as it takes years to get anywhere in t.v. but hope to make inroads.

PROFESSIONAL

Send Dusseldorf adaptation out into the world
Send First Theatre Play out into the world
Get a radio and/or t.v. Commission
Complete Second Theatre play to professional standard
Enter five writing competitions
Attend at least one networking event/festival

PERSONAL

Get a part-time job
Go on holiday.
Consciously perform one good deed a day (I love this one, I feel so good when I do it)
Be at least 30% raw.

2008 Review

Time for this little nut.

In red are the professional and personal goals I set for 2008. What I liked was having a variety of goals so that I knew at least I'd succeed in something. Looking over it, I'm quite happy with my year especially since I also fitted in an MA, a radio play and wrote a short play for Theatre Voice/Theatre 503 Urban Scrawl Project.

1) Pitch for both the Radio 4 Spring and Autumn Commissioning Rounds. Pitched for Spring and was rejected... Had no ideas for Autumn. Unsuccessful.

2) Complete 2 short films. Unsuccessful. However, enjoyed 2 day final cut pro editing course I took.

3) Apply to Digital Shorts Scheme. Applied to Blank Slate. No joy but applied, so I'm counting it as a success.

4) Enter 4 writing competitions.
Entered a first draft of my dissertation play into the Angles competition. Got wonderful feedback but ultimately no joy. Entered dissertation play into the Menagerie Sparks thing and got accepted. Entered Dusseldorf into Son of a Pitch - No joy.

Despite only doing 3/4 competitions I am pleased with the Menagerie thing so feel quite successful.

5) Attend at least one networking event/festival.

Attended a channel 4 job thing in which hundreds of us went for a handful of jobs, I got in contact with a script developer and met her for a chat but contact fizzled out.

Got invited to BBC Writers Room networking event.

Went to see a play by Dipo Agboluage who then invited me to a Talawa Networking event which was loads of fun.

Successful. This was the goal I was dreading the most but I am pleased with this one as the Dipo networking was quite organic.

6) Complete full length theatre play to professional standard. Still working on this see 4. but still unsuccssful.

7) Complete adaptation of A Short Ride To Düsseldorf to professional standard. Unsuccessful

8) Spend Christmas and New Year Abroad. No joy as too skint but it was really good spending it with family so I'm calling this a success.

9) Socialise once a week out of the house when in Norwich. Did this but socialising died down when I left Norwich so only part successful.

10) Ride the bike that I’m bringing up to Norwich at least once a week. I did when I was in Norwich so successful.

11) Get a temporary job (or find a way to sort out my dire finances other than more loans) Have found a part-time job but have yet to be given a start date. Terrified in this economic climate it will be taken away. So am saying this is part successful for now...

12) Be 30% raw. Unsuccessful. I think this is appalling !