Welcome Welcome to Write Lines, Theatre Centre’s conference on new writing for young audiences. We hope you enjoy the day. Theatre Centre staff will be on hand throughout – do stop and chat, we’d love to hear about you and your work. If you’re on Twitter, you can tweet about today’s events with the #WriteLines hashtag, or tweet us directly @TCLive. Your schedule… 9.45 – 10.30 Registration and refreshments Theatre

10.30 – 11.00 Welcome from Natalie Wilson (AD, Theatre Centre) Theatre

Film: Our audience Theatre Keynote speech: Bryony Lavery Theatre 11.10 – 12.20 Breakout session 12.20 – 1.05 Lunch Theatre 1.10 – 2.20 Breakout session 2.30 – 2.45 Refreshments Meeting Rooms 2 and 3 2.50 – 4.00 Skylines Showcase: Three new plays Theatre 4.00 – 5.15 Provocation: Evan Placey Theatre Panel debate: Anthony Banks, Jonathan Lloyd,

Purni Morell and Natalie Wilson Theatre 5.15 – 6.00 Drinks Theatre

Rob EvansPlaywrightRob Evans is a writer, director and devisor. He has written extensively for young people, and his plays include Caged, Pobby and Dingan (winner TMA award 2010), The Ballad of Pondlife McGurk and Kappa (Catherine Wheels Theatre Company); The Dark; Pinocchio (Northampton Theatre Royal) and Mikey and Addie, a collaboration with international artist Andy Manley for the London 2012 Festival. Rob’s new version of Peter Pan recently premiered at Sherman Cymru. His work for adults includes Aruba, The Cracks (BBC Radio 4) and A Girl in a Car with a Man (Royal Court).

Amanda DaltonPlaywrightAmanda Dalton is a playwright and poet. Her work for theatre and radio spans original drama and adaptations for BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 3 and the Royal Exchange Theatre. Original drama includes large scale site specific theatre pieces Mapping the Edge: A Sheffield Medea (Sheffield Theatres/Wilson+WilsonCo.) and Mulgrave (Wil-son+Wilson Co). Recent original theatre for young people includes Powder Monkey (Royal Exchange Theatre). Amanda regularly teaches writing workshops and is currently an Associate Director at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre and an honorary fellow in the Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Anthony BanksAssociate Director, National Theatre LearningAnthony Banks is from Manchester and studied English at King’s College London before training as a director at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He is Associate Director for National Theatre Learning, where he commissions and develops scripts for the NT Connections seasons and Primary Theatre programme and curates a variety of projects and events for lifelong learning. His directing includes: Bryony Lavery’s More Light, Lucinda Coxon’s The Eternal Not and Michael Lesslie’s Prince of Denmark (NT); Mark Ravenhill’s The Experiment (Soho Theatre & Berliner Ensemble); Dennis Kelly’s DNA (National Tour); Bryony Lavery’s Cesario (World Shakespeare Festival, NT and Tate Modern); Tennessee Williams’ The Hotel Plays (Grange Holborn).

Guest Speakers Here’s some handy information about our guest speakers: these individuals are taking part in events throughout the day, including breakout sessions and panel discussions.

Bryony LaveryPlaywrightBryony Lavery’s plays include Her Aching Heart (Pink Paper Play Of The Year 1992) and A Wedding Story (2000). Her play Frozen, commissioned by Birmingham Repertory Theatre (TMA Best Play, Eileen Anderson Central Television Award) was produced on Broadway where it was nominated for four Tony awards. Stockholm won the Wolff-Whiting award for Best Play of 2008. Recent work includes Beautiful (Fringe First at Edinburgh), Kursk with Sound and Fury, Cesario for The National Theatre, Dirt (3 Helen Hayes nominations - Washington DC) and Thursday for Brink/ETT at The Adelaide Festival. Bryony is an honorary doctor of Arts at De Montfort University and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature.

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Evan PlaceyPlaywrightEvan Placey’s debut play Mother of Him won the King’s Cross Award for New Writing, Canada’s RBC National Playwriting Competition, and the Samuel French Canadian Play Contest. His plays for young people include: Holloway Jones (Synergy, winner of the Brian Way Award 2012), Banana Boys (Hampstead Theatre), Scarberia (York Theatre Royal) and How was it for you? (Unicorn Theatre). Girls Like That premieres this summer at Birmingham Rep, West Yorkshire Playhouse, and Theatre Royal Plymouth, and Pronoun premieres in 2014 for National Theatre Connections. He is also under commission with the Unicorn Theatre, YPT (Canada), and Radio 3, and is a Creative Writing Fellow and Senior Lecturer at the University of Southampton.

Philip OsmentPlaywright / DirectorPhilip Osment is a playwright, theatre director, dramaturg, teacher and facilitator. For Theatre Centre he directed A Feeling in My Bones and Bretevski Street by Lin Coghlan and his own plays Listen, Wiseguys and Little Violet (joint winner of the Peggy Ramsey Award). Plays set in Devon, The Dearly Beloved, What I Did in the Holidays, and Flesh and Blood, were nominated for Writer’s Guild awards and The Dearly Beloved won the award for best regional play. Other plays include Mad Blud, a verbatim play about knife crime in East London (Theatre Royal Stratford East). Philip’s work has been broadcast on BBC Radio and he has worked on translations for the RSC, the Royal Court and Graeae. Most recently he wrote WHOLE for 20 Stories High.

Purni MorellArtistic Director, Unicorn TheatrePurni Morell is Artistic Director at the Unicorn Theatre in London, which is the UK’s largest professional theatre for audiences under 21. Purni was previously Head of Studio at the National Theatre, where she nurtured major productions such as London Road, Nation and Light Princess. She joined Suspect Culture (Glasgow) as Administrative Producer in 2004 before founding her own production company, gryllus, which offered support and producing services to freelance theatre-makers in Scotland from 2004-2007. Alongside her work at the Unicorn, Purni is also a freelance director and translator.

Jonathan LloydArtistic Director, Polka TheatreJonathan Lloyd is a theatre director, writer and Artistic Director at Polka Theatre, one of the few UK venues dedicated to producing and presenting work for young audiences. Since Jonathan’s appointment, Polka has presented an ambitious and entertaining mix of new plays, adaptations and innovative work for Early Years audiences. New work makes up over 50% of the company’s programme and shows have included the premiere of Fevered Sleep’s Brilliant; Ghosts in the Gallery by Paul Sirett, a collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery and The Monster Under the Bed by Kevin Dyer.

Natalie WilsonArtistic Director, Theatre CentreNatalie studied at Glasgow University before joining 7:84 Scotland as Assistant Director. She later moved to the New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme as Associate Director before embarking on an eclectic freelance career. She has worked with many theatre companies and Drama Schools including Birmingham Rep, Contact, Nottingham Play-house, Oldham Coliseum, queerupnorth, Salisbury Playhouse and Rose Bruford, Central, Mountview and RWCMD. Natalie set up Truant Company with writer Billy Cowan to pro-mote new writing with a LGBT perspective. Natalie has been Artistic Director of Theatre Centre since 2007 and has directed most of the company’s repertoire.

Skylines Showcase: WritersDelegates will be presented with extracts from three plays by writers associated with Theatre Centre’s Skylines programme. This showcase marks the culmination of a year-long project involving 47 playwrights as they develop scripts for young audiences aged 4 to 18.

Here’s some information about the three plays you’ll see, and the three fantastic writers behind them. Special thanks goes to the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, whose support makes Skylines possible.

Plays Directed by Natalie Wilson.

“Skylines is an excellent resource in an industry which should absolutely look to sharing skills and knowledge and expertise.” Will Mortimer, Literary Manager, Hampstead Theatre

Suhayla El Bushra is a Brighton-based screenwriter and playwright. Her play Pigeons will be staged at The Royal Court this June, while her play Cuckoo will be produced at The Unicorn in January 2014. Previous theatre work includes contributing to The Bush Theatre’s 66 Books, and a reading at the National Theatre Studio. She was mentored by Christopher Hampton on the prestigious Guiding Lights scheme, and is developing a feature length screenplay. She regularly writes for Hollyoaks.

Sehr Cool (for ages 13+): Two teenagers from opposite sides of the tracks get lost in the woods after a disastrous party. Tempers fray and insults are hurled, but an unlikely friend-ship is waiting to blossom - if only they’d let it.

Kellie Smith teaches playwriting. She has taught on the National Theatre’s New Views Programme and has also been dramaturg on the National Theatre’s Travelling Light Young Film Makers Project. Kellie recently led a six week introduction to playwriting pro-gramme in Walton Prison as part of Synergy Theatre Company’s ‘Write Now’ project.

The Lost Things (for ages 6-9): Andy’s things keep disappearing. Normally he doesn’t care so much, but tonight is different. Tonight he sets a trap, crawls into his sleeping bag, and sets out to discover where all the lost things go.

Jane Wainwright is a member of the Royal Court’s YWP, the Invitation Group and a ‘Supergroup’ of twelve specially selected writers. Her plays include Pinocchio Gets Laid (HighTide /Winner of IdeasTap Brief); Photos of You Sleeping (Prizewinner – 2012 Papa-Tango New Writing Festival, and Hampstead); Barrow Hill (Finborough); FiveFiftySeven (Roundhouse Radio); In World (Vibrant 2011, Finborough), Hands Free (Old Vic Tunnels) and Pet’s Corner (Miniaturists, Arcola). Jane is ‘fostered’ by OffWestEnd.com’s Adopt A Playwright Award.

Life Mould (for ages 14-16): Fifteen year old Rita is running a 24 hour web stream from her bedroom – it’s nice being the centre of attention for once. But, when her new friends turn up the spotlight, she realises there’s nowhere to hide.

Skylines Showcase: ActorsThese three plays are performed today by Naomi Ackie, Matt Bradley-Robinson and Niamh Webb.

“There is a real demand for the talent development of playwrights who write for young people and creatre work for young audiences.” Chris Taylor, Artistic Director, New Writing South

Naomi Ackie graduated from Central School of Speech and Drama in 2012. This is Naomi’s second time working for Theatre Centre, after she toured with The Day the Waters Came last year. She recently finished touring with The Snow Queen (Trestle Theatre).

Today Naomi appears in: Life Mould (Rita) and The Lost Things (Gremlin).

Matt Bradley-Robinson will be graduating from Mountview this year with a BA (Hons) in Acting. Whilst training his theatre credits include: Huggins/Goodman in There Is A War (Jacksons Lane); Eva in Kimalia; Alexander Goffe in Cressida; Trebonius in Julius Caesar; Dino in The Rink; Halvard Solness in The Master Builder; REV. Shannon in The Night of the Iguana; Martin in Through A Glass Darkly; Parolles in All’s Well that Ends Well; Maz in The Knowledge. Radio credits: D’artagnan in The Three Musketeers.

Today Matt appears in: Sehr Cool (Clem), Life Mould (Johnno/MeToYou98) and The Lost Things (Andy).

Niamh Webb’s theatre credits include: Catch (Royal Court Theatre), Open House (Royal Court Theatre), Rigged (Theatre Centre), Two Nights Before Christmas (Riverside Stu-dios) and Boy Soldier (Tricycle Theatre). Television credits include: EastEnders (BBC), Meta4orce (BBC - BAFTA Nominated), The Bill (ITV) and Mum’s Gone Gay (Channel 4). Niamh is also a regular voice over artist for the Disney Channel, Channel 5, and BBC3, as well as many other channels and programmes.

Today Niamh appears in: Sehr Cool (Kelly) and Life Mould (Cassie/MovesLikeJagger).

Thank you Thank you for attending today’s conference. We hope you’ve got a lot out of it and you’ll continue to keep in touch with us at Theatre Centre – don’t forget to Like our page on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our newsletter via our website: www.theatre-centre.co.uk There you’ll also find out about our wide range of activities and our forthcoming touring shows for young audiences, which include Advice for the Young at Heart, a new play by Roy Williams for young audiences aged 14+. Thanks to the following organisations and individuals for their support of today’s events:

The Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Arts Council England. Regional partners of the Skylines project: Everyman Theatre

(Cheltenham), Hampstead Theatre (London), New Writing South (Brighton), The Royal Exchange (Manchester) and the University of East Anglia (Norwich).

Islington Community Theatre, Lewisham Youth Theatre, Alex and Louella Sear and Ollie and Ezra Thomas for their help in making the short film shown at the beginning of the day.

James Hodgson, Kirstin Harrison and all the staff at Canada Water Library and Culture Space.

All of today’s speakers: Anthony Banks, Amanda Dalton, Rob Evans, Bryony Lavery, Jonathan Lloyd, Purni Morell, Philip Osment and Evan Placey.

Skylines Showcase judge Suzanne Bell, and readers Rachel Barnett and Kenneth Emson.

The writers behind the three plays presented this afternoon: Suhayla El Bushra, Kellie Smith and Jane Wainwright. Also to Kicking K and Josie Melia, who were highly commended by the judges of the Skylines competition and whose ten minute play scripts (Myra Celeste and Jessica Meet Jack) you’ll find included in this pack.

The actors appearing in the Skylines Showcase: Naomi Ackie, Matt Bradley-Robinson and Niamh Webb.

About Theatre Centre Theatre Centre is a professional theatre company celebrating 60 years of commissioning new writing and touring to schools and venues across the UK. Collaborating with artists and teachers, Theatre Centre produces high quality theatre experiences for young audiences and young theatre-makers alike. It received its first Arts Council England grant in 1966, and became a National Portfolio Organisation in 2012. Theatre Centre has worked with a diverse range of writers such as Lisa Evans, Noël Grieg, Mike Kenny, Bryony Lavery, Philip Osment, Roy Williams and Benjamin Zephaniah. Theatre Centre also administrates the Brian Way Award for Best New Play, the Adrienne Benham Award and the Dorothy L. Sayers Award. Visit the website at www.theatre-centre.co.uk

“Theatre Centre's work instils confidence that the performance that comes to your school is of a very high standard, interesting and accessible.” Head of Drama, Croydon High School

News from our friends… The egg: Leverhulme Arts Scholarships The egg theatre seeks writers and theatre-makers for a new three-year writing and dramaturgy scheme. The egg theatre has received funding from the Leverhulme Trust to develop a specialist Arts Scholarship programme over the next three years. Between 2013 and 2015 the egg theatre will offer 5 Arts Scholarships per annum to talented artists and theatre-makers interested in developing their skills in making work for young audiences. The egg invites submissions from writers and/or theatre-makers of any description. Bursary funding will enable successful applicants to access some of the best children’s theatre in the world, receive bespoke training from expert practitioners, and be supported and mentored to develop innovative new work for a young audience (including funded writing, research and development time). Please email Kate Cross (kate.cross@theatreroyal.org.uk) for further details of how to apply.

“The team is always of the highest standard, great role models for my students.” Head of Drama and Dance, Woodroffe School

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“Theatre Centre plays always challenge pupils to think about serious social, political and cultural issues and demonstrate skills and techniques they can employ in their own work.” Head of Drama, William Farr C E Comprehensive School