BBC Drama Writers Academy

Applications are now open for this year's BBC Drama Writers Academy.

The Academy will take up to eight writers, and train them over 12 months to write for some of the BBC's most popular series such as Doctors, EastEnders, Holby City, and Casualty - as well as being a springboard to write across all the BBC's drama output.

To be eligible for this scheme, writers must have already had at least one professional drama commission in film or television, or a radio drama script produced, or one theatre piece performed professionally.

The course begins with a three month training course in writing for Continuing Drama Series which will consist of a number of workshops and lectures accompanied by intensive writing exercises and analysis. During this period each writer will be commissioned to write a broadcast episode of Doctors.

The training course will be led by John Yorke, Controller, In-House Drama, and other industry experts from all areas of drama production.

Course participants will be required to attend classes at the BBC premises in Elstree for three days per week, and one day at Television Centre in London, and some expenses will be paid during this training period for writers based out of the London area.

After you have completed the initial training and the Doctors script, your work will be assessed. If you have reached the required standard for production on Continuing Drama Series you will begin the next phase of the training.

Writers will rotate across Casualty, Holby and Eastenders in turn, writing a broadcast episode, spending approximately 12 weeks on each show. At the end of the 12 months, each writer will have written for each of the four shows.

Find out more about the Drama Writers Academy on our website.

To find out more and apply, visit the BBC jobs website.

Deadline: 5 May 2009

White Girl Online

The television drama White Girl recently won a BAFTA for Best Single Drama.

The BBC has made the script available via the BBC Writersroom web site.

Creative Writing Exhibition

The Temple Bar Cultural Trust has announced that the all new Creative Writing Exhibition will take place at the No Grants Gallery from May 1st - 15th at the Temple Bar Cultural Information Centre, 12 East Essex Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.

This celebration, including all forms of writing such as poetry and lyrics, will showcase a range of works from both established and up-coming writers.

Each piece of work will be framed and on exhibition at our recession busting No Grants Gallery right here in Temple Bar, Dublin's Cultural Quarter! Writers will illustrate their writing with imagery guides which will accompany their work.

Lunchtime readings will also take place throughout the 2 weeks so log on to www.templebar.ie for more details soon. The exhibition will officially launch on Tuesday May 5th with an open-mic evening from 6 - 8pm offering everyone an opportunity to discuss the written word.

Speaking about the new Creative Writing Exhibition, Gallery curator Carol Eakins said "This exhibition is a celebration of verbal, visual and performance art and an opportunity to show the written word combined with an artistic eye and the spoken tongue to bring all creative writing to life. As a curator, artist and poet myself the creative writing exhibition is an opportunity for writers both professional and amateur to exhibit their work in an environment that shares their passion and enthusiasm for the arts."

Murphy On Fire

Beyond the Fire, written and directed by Irish filmmaker Maeve Murphy, won Best UK Feature at the London Independent Film Festival last weekend.

Thanks to the award the film will be released in cinemas in the UK on June 17, 2009 by Met Film Distribution.

2008 Stewart Parker Award

The 2008 Stewart Parker Award for new playwrights was awarded to Newry playwright Abbie Spallen last week at an event in the Abbey Theatre attended by President Mary McAleese.

Two further awards - The BBC Northern Ireland Radio Drama Award and The BBC Northern Ireland Irish Language Drama Award - were awarded to Elaine Murphy and Seán Ó Morónaigh respectively.

Set up in honour of the late Belfast playwright, Stewart Parker, the Stewart Parker Trust seeks to encourage new writing for the theatre in Ireland.

This year marks the 21st anniversary of Parker's death and the 20th year of the Awards.

Abbey Finances Healthy

An article on the Irish Times today summarises the latest report on the state of the Abbey Theatre's finances from 2006-2008, which was launched yesterday.

During that three-year period the Abbey Theatre received a record investment of €25.7 million from the Arts Council through the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism to alleviate a fiscal crisis. The national theatre is expected to move to its new home in George's Dock by 2016, according to the Minister of State Martin Mansergh.

The report, which makes a strong case for reorganisation and State investment, points to the radical restructuring of the company under director Fiach Mac Conghail, an increase in attendance of 19 per cent between 2006 and 2008, and the redesign and improvement of its main auditorium in 2007. It also cites the theatre’s re-engagement and collaboration with Irish and international writers such as Marina Carr, Roddy Doyle, Brian Friel, Séamus Heaney, Conor McPherson, Paul Mercier, Tom Murphy, Mark O’Rowe and Sam Shepard.

The review includes a recent economic impact study commissioned by the Abbey, where Prof Dominic Shellard, of the University of Sheffield, and Derrick Elliss found the theatre generated €3.60 for every €1 of funding over the three years, contributing €118 million to the Irish economy.

Over the period, 32 productions were staged. They were seen by 375,000 people and employed 309 actors (and nearly 800 actors had work in productions, readings and workshops). Seven shows were world premieres and four were Irish premieres, including Conor McPherson's The Seafarer and John Patrick Shanley's Doubt.

Mr Mac Conghail said the theatre was in a healthy and successful position. "We promised our artists, audiences and the taxpayer that we would commit to change and provide great theatre to our citizens and I believe we have achieved this. I believe strongly there is a need for the Abbey to provide leadership and support to our writers, theatre makers and our audiences . . . and we are in a position to deliver on this promise."

The report notes that the Abbey recorded a surplus of €3,361,868 at the end of the period, because of factors including prudent budgeting, tighter cost-control, later-than-expected rollout of some plans and an increase in box office income. The surplus will offset the 16.5 per cent reduction in the National Theatre's Arts Council grant for 2009.

From 50 to 70 in 2 Years

Bill Jones, writing on the Copyright and Technology Blog, has a useful summary of the recent decision by the EU parliament to extend the copyright term for music recordings from 50 years to 70 years.

To ensure that performers benefit fully from the additional royalties thanks to the copyright extension, MEPs amended the original text to prevent the use of previous contractual agreements to deduct money from the additional royalties.

Also included in the legislation is a dedicated fund for session musicians. This fund will be financed by contributions from producers, who will be obliged to set aside at least 20% of the revenues gained from the proposed extension of copyright term. The fund will reward session musicians who gave up their rights when signing the contract for their performance. Collecting societies, which represent performers' and producers' interests, will retain the right to administer the annual supplementary remuneration.

Member States will have two years to incorporate the new legislation in their respective countries.

The Parliament also asked the Commission to launch an impact assessment of the situation in the European audiovisual sector by January 2010, with a view to deciding whether a similar copyright extension would benefit the audiovisual world.

Irish at eQuinoxe

IFTN reports that Irish screenwriters Abbie Spallen and James Phelan will be part of the group of ten writers chosen to attend the éQuinoxe screenwriting workshop in Balestrand in Norway.

Award winning playwright and screenwriter Abbie Spallen brings the project 'The Courtship Gift', an adaptation of a novel by Julie Parsons. This year's recipient of the Stewart Parker Award, Abbie recently adapted her very successful play 'Pumpgirl' into a feature film with funding from NI Screen and BBC NI. 'Pumpgirl' was screened at the Belfast Film Festival in April 2009. In 2007 she won the Tony Doyle Award for her screenplay 'Seven Drunken Knights'.

James Phelan's feature screenplay 'Banshee' was also selected for the workshop. The supernatural period thriller is set in Donegal and Waterford in 1898. It follows the unraveling of a mystery by an inquisitive doctor when an affluent family is besieged by a vengeful supernatural spirit.

James recently wrote the seven part comedy drama 'Rasai na Gaillimhe/The Galway Races' for TG4. Starring Don Wycherley (Bachelors Walk), Owen Roe (Cromwell in Ireland) and Ruth Bradley (Alarm), it will be broadcast this autumn on TG4. The series was directed by Robert Quinn and produced by Great Western Films.

Google Deal Opt-Out Extended

Yahoo News reports that a federal court overseeing the Google Book Settlement extended the Opt-Out Deadline in the case from May 5, 2009 to September 4, 2009 (the "Extended Opt-Out Deadline").

The Extended Opt-Out Deadline is the new date by which class members must decide whether to remain in the Settlement Class and receive the benefits of the Settlement, object to the Settlement, or opt out of the Settlement.

The change in the Opt-Out Deadline has caused the Final Fairness Hearing date to be rescheduled, from June 11, 2009 to October 7, 2009. This is the new date of the hearing for the court to consider whether to grant final approval of the settlement. All other deadlines and key dates in the case remain the same, including May 5, 2009 as the date on or before which a book must have been scanned in order to be entitled to a Cash Payment.

For further information on the Google Settlement Deal consult my previous summary of the subject, and also a recent article by American literary agent Ashley Grayson.

Input for Theatre Project

Dublin-based playwright Michelle Read is working on a new theatre project, and would like to meet and interview people in connection with it.

Have you made a significant work change recently or at sometime in the past? If so, Michelle would like to talk to you and hear your story.

She is particularly interested in the kind of 'left turn' that a significant change in work life can bring, such as: gambling on a new career with no safety net; making do with a job that does not match your qualifications; moving location to build a new life; redundancy forcing a new professional direction; a change in health that requires a new job situation; and any other scenario in which changing your job required a reassessment of your life.

If you are interested or would just like to know more about the project please contact her at mread@gofree.indigo.ie

Michelle will chat with you on the phone first, and then may ask to meet and audio record an interview with you.

HMV Cinemas

Sky News reports that HMV, the retail music and DVD chain, will open arthouse cinemas above its stores to add diversity to its trade.

The music and DVD retailer has entered into a joint venture with Curzon Artificial Eye, the operator of the Curzon Cinema chain.

The project will be piloted at the HMV store in Wimbledon, south London.

The 200 seat, three screen hmvcurzon will be situated above the HMV Wimbledon store.

HMV chief executive Simon Fox said that the trial could be rolled out to larger stores, including above branches of Waterstone's stores, which is owned by HMV.

The cinema will be accessible to customers during normal trading hours through the HMV store, but will have a separate entrance for when the store closes.

There is no news yet if HMV will roll out this initiative to stores outside the UK.

Storyland Redux

Voting has opened in the second round of RTÉ's Storyland competition.

The second episodes of seven web series are now available for viewing:

• Happy Slapper
• Hardy Bucks
• Jenny was a Friend of Mine
• Psych Ward
• Pubworld
• Rental Boys
• Running Low

Voting closes at 5pm Monday 4th May, and will determine which shows progress to round three.

NI Playwright Shifts Focus

Northern Irish screenwriter and playwright Darragh Carville was interviewed in The Guardian yesterday about his forthcoming play, This Other City.

He believes that it is time for Northern Irish writers to tackle new stories about the post-Troubles Northern Ireland.

"It seemed to me that the stories of the new Northern Ireland were not being told," he said. "I just thought that the world of the new city, of swanky apartment blocks, of coffee shops and the new culture was not being reflected in terms of theatre and film. I was writing a play about two years ago and suddenly realised I was writing a Northern Ireland of the past, a drama about the Troubles' aftermath. I said, 'Hold on - I've written this before.'

"It's unquestionable that the place, especially Belfast, has changed massively. No one is saying the Troubles have completely disappeared - recent events have underlined that - but this society is being reborn. These glass towers looming over the skyline symbolise how it has changed fundamentally."

Carville later clarified that he doesn't believe drama focused on the Troubles is redundant: "It would be wrong as a culture to repress what happened in the past and pretend it never existed, but there is room for other stories."

McNally and O'Halloran

Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally will be in conversation with Irish award-winning playwright Mark O'Halloran as part of the sixth Absolut Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, which runs in Dublin City Centre venues from May 4th to 17th.

The two playwrights will converse for an hour in the studio theatre at Outhouse, 105 Capel Street, on Wednesday April 29th at 6.30pm. All are Welcome.

Seating is limited. To reserve a place email info@gaytheatre.ie.

Linehan Bags BAFTA

Irish screenwriter Graham Linehan last night won the BAFTA Television Award for Situation Comedy for The IT Crowd series, which he created and wrote.

Cannes Competition '09

The BBC reports the twenty films in competition at the Cannes Film Festival this year.

The following list includes the writers of all the projects, which per usual, have been omitted:

À l'Origine (In the Beginning)
Director: Xavier Giannoli
Writer: Xavier Giannoli
Country: France

Antichrist
Director: Lars von Trier
Writer: Lars von Trier
Country: Denmark

Bright Star
Director: Jane Campion
Writer: Jane Campion
Country: New Zealand

Bakjwi (Thirst)
Director: Park Chan-wook
Writers: Jeong Seo-Gyeong & Park Chan-wook
Country: South Korea

Das Weiße Band (The White Ribbon)
Director: Michael Haneke
Writer: Michael Haneke
Country: Germany

Fish Tank
Director: Andrea Arnold
Writer: Andrea Arnold
Country: UK

Inglourious Basterds
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer: Quentin Tarantino
Country: US

Kinatay (The Execution of P)
Director: Brillante Mendoza
Writer: Bing Lao
Country: Philippines

Les Herbes Folles (Wild Grasses)
Director: Alain Resnais
Writers: Alex Reval & Laurent Herbiet, adapted from the novel L'incident by Christian Gailly
Country: France

Looking for Eric
Director: Ken Loach
Writer: Paul Laverty
Country: UK

Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces)
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Writer: Pedro Almodóvar
Country: Spain

Map of the Sounds of Tokyo
Director: Isabel Coixet
Writer: Isabel Coixet
Country: Spain

Soudain le Vide (Enter the Void)
Director: Gaspar Noé
Writer: Gaspar Noé
Country: France

Spring Fever
Director: Lou Ye
Writer: Lou Ye
Country: China

Taking Woodstock
Director: Ang Lee
Writer: James Schamus, adapted from the books by Elliot Tiber &
Tom Monte
Country: Taiwan-US

The Time That Remains
Director: Elia Suleiman
Writer: Elia Suleiman
Country: Palestinian territories

Un Prophète (A Prophet)
Director: Jacques Audiard
Writers: Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, & Abdel Raouf Dafri
Country: France

Fu Chou (Vengeance)
Director: Johnnie To
Writer: Ka-Fai Wai
Country: Hong Kong

Vincere (To Conquer)
Director: Marco Bellocchio
Writers: Marco Bellocchio & Daniela Ceselli
Country: Italy

Visages (Face)
Director: Tsai Ming-liang
Writer: Tsai Ming-liang
Country: Malaysia

The festival will be opened by Pixar's 3-D animation Up, which is co-directed by Pete Docter & Bob Peterson, and written by Bob Peterson. French actor Isabelle Huppert has been named jury president, one of only four women to head the panel during the festival's six decades.

RTE Player in Beta

RTÉ is currently beta-testing its new online Player facility, a free online catch-up service which lets Irish viewers watch a variety of programmes for up to 21 days after they are broadcast on RTÉ One and RTÉ Two television.

There are new programmes available every day, and include Entertainment, Arts, Music, Irish Language, Drama, Religious, News, Current Affairs, Factual, Lifestyle, and Young Peoples' shows.

Currently, there are two short films available to watch until early May: "My Dad", written and directed by John Vaughan, and "Badly Drawn Roy", written by Alan & Frank Shannon, and directed by Alan Shannon.

New Arts Minister

According to the Irish Times the cabinet reshuffle has resulted in new lineup of Ministers for State.

Martin Mansergh will be Minister of State at the Departments of Finance, including special responsibility for the Office of Public Works, and Arts, Sport and Tourism, with special responsibility for the Arts.

2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

The 2009 Pulitzer Prizes have been announced.

The Drama category -- which is a $10,000 award to a distinguished play by an American author -- went to Ruined, by Lynn Nottage, a searing drama set in chaotic Congo that compels audiences to face the horror of wartime rape and brutality while still finding affirmation of life and hope amid hopelessness.

Also nominated as finalists in this category were: Becky Shaw, by Gina Gionfriddo, a jarring comedy that examines family and romantic relationships with a lacerating wit while eschewing easy answers and pat resolutions; and In The Heights, by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes, a robust musical about struggling Latino immigrants in New York City today that celebrates the virtues of sacrifice, family solidarity and gritty optimism.

FSTI Bursaries

FÁS Screen Training Ireland supported by Bord Scannán na hÉireann / Irish Film Board is pleased to announce that the Bursary Award Scheme 2009 is now opened for applications.

In particular there are two special bursaries of €9,450 for the 2009 Entertainment Master Class. The participation fee for the Entertainment Master Class is €13,500 including didactic material, hotel accommodation and full board. Please note that the fee does not cover travel costs.

The deadline for applications for the Entertainment Master Class is the 23rd of April 2009. Applicants who are successful in securing places on the Master Class will be considered for bursaries. The application deadline for bursaries is also the 23rd of April.

Participants are advised to apply for both concurrently. The applications are separate, and participants who only apply to the Entertainment Master Class will not be considered for a bursary. Both applications must be completed.

All information about applying for bursaries is available on the web site, or contact Emer MacAvin at 01 4830840 for details.

IFTA Open

Membership to the Irish Film and Television Academy is now open to all industry professionals.

Those who apply for membership before the 31st of May will receive a 10% discount on their fees.

Dublin Writers Group

Developing a spec script can be a challenging experience at the best of times, especially if you don't have the money to invest in the services of a script developer or editor. Charting a course through the writing process can be smoother if you have access to a group of equally committed and enthusiastic writers who are willing to invest their time to improve your scripts - and for whom you can also provide this service.

The Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild is re-forming the Dublin Writers Group. It will run a series of meetings for writers interested in giving and receiving constructive feedback on their television, theatre, radio, or film script. The meetings will take place in Temple Bar either weekly or bi-monthly (this will be confirmed later).

The introductory meeting will take place next Monday, April 27th, at 7pm in the IPSG office on the 3rd floor of the Art House Building in Temple Bar.

Places on the group are limited, so if you wish to take part please email your request to info@script.ie by Friday 24th April.

Happy Writing!

Room For Hire

The Screen Directors Guild of Ireland has an exclusive offer to members of the Irish Playwrights & Screenwriters Guild on a Meeting / Screening Room for hire.

The screening room is furnished to a high standard with large comfortable sofas, adjustable lighting, tea/coffee making facilities and wireless broadband connectivity. The room can accommodate up to 14 people.

Conveniently located in the heart of Temple Bar the room features a DVD and Blu-Ray projection system and is compatible for laptop interface to facilitate PowerPoint presentations.

Cost: €40 per hour / €90 for 3 hour SLOT (day), payable in advance.

If you are interested in booking the space please contact Liz Dodd on 01 633 7747.

Irish Comedy Wins Jury Prize

The Irish Film Board reports that the Irish dark comedy A Film With Me In It, which was written by and starred Mark Doherty, and was directed by Ian Fitzgibbon, has won the Special Jury Prize at the 28th International Istanbul Film Festival at the weekend. Fitzgibbon was in Istanbul to accept the award on behalf of the producers, cast and crew.

Northern Funding

Northern Ireland Screen (NIS) is hosting a Funding Information Session on Wednesday 29th April from 4pm-6pm in the Holiday Inn, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast.

Those who wish to attend the meeting to find out more information about the funding programmes available from the NIS should email rsvp@northernirelandscreen.co.uk before Wednesday 22nd April to secure a place.