Funky Little Shorts

by Caroline Ross

FUNKY LITTLE SHORTS - some dates for the diary!

Huge thanks to the Play Selection Panel (Colin, Judy & Nancy) for reading 28 plays submitted for Funky Little Shorts. I know they have really enjoyed the process so well done to everyone who has contributed short plays, we really do appreciate it. There have been some amazing plays but we are just looking for one programme and that has inevitably meant some tough choices. So thank you again. Thanks also to Linda for the painstaking work of anonymising each play so the selection could be done on a no-name basis. As a result, we now have 5 plays which make up our Programme for Funky Little Shorts for 11th & 12th October at Walton Playhouse. They are:

Assassin by Graham Large Conrad’s Playlist by Ben Francis A Day to Remember by Graham Large Meeting in the Street by Peter Cunningham; and Rock Paper Scissors by Caroline Tajasque.

So we have our programme of varied plays with opportunities for men, women, young and old. The first date for you is a Readthrough of all the chosen plays on Monday 28 July at the RDG Studio at 7.30pm. This is not a rehearsed readthrough but is an opportunity for all to come along and hear the plays and to see if there are any that you would be interested in directing or auditioning to act in. This will be open to member and non-members and anyone is welcome to read so it should be a fun first look at what’s to come. We are very keen to welcome new people to this event. Anyone who is cast or chosen to direct will be asked to join RDG. We have also invited the writers to come to this, if they can, as it is an opportunity to make any last-minute edits that might come from hearing the plays read out for the first time.

If anyone is interested in directing, please do let me know (caltaj@icloud.com) BEFORE 8 August, as we will need to allocate the plays pretty quickly. Don’t forget to let me know, also, if you are coming along to the Directing Workshop on Thursday 17 July at 7.30pm at the Studio. I hope this will help provide a few tools you can use in rehearsal plus the benefit of Harry's experience directing for RDG over the years. Again, this workshop is open to members and non-members alike.

We are then planning to audition for the plays on Friday 8 August at 7.30pm at the Studio. Please let me know in advance of the audition: what parts you would be interested in auditioning for; whether you have capacity to act in more than one play;
what days you are NOT available for rehearsal; and contact details. We hope that people will come into the process with an open mind to audition for the Funky Little Shorts Company and so will be open to playing as cast (where we might have casting dilemmas to resolve).

Finally, the plan is, once we have directors assigned and all the pieces cast, to have a launch event on Monday 18th August at 7.30pm. The plan will be to get the whole company together, plus Lin’s technical team and run through some key dates and expectations and make sure everyone knows who is doing what. It is also an opportunity to run through what support is available from RDG to each group. And, most importantly, of course, it is a great opportunity to welcome new members and get together socially (in the pub afterwards!) before we split apart and work on our own pieces.

Here we go!

Regards

Caroline

Caroline Ross Producer, Funky Little Shorts Email: caltaj@icloud.com