Shout outs and Gratuitous Plugs, Part 2

Yes, it's that time again when I throw some love the way of people doing good things, in these cases on stage or on mountains. It's all a matter of scale I guess... or incline perhaps?

First off - go see the play Animal.

No, stop reading, just go. Now. Right now. Immediately!

Brilliantly written, superbly acted it is a tale about human drug experimentation in a time of civil unrest. I know what you're thinking, "that old hoary chestnut?" No, seriously, it is brutal, provocative, thought provoking with a sly sense of black humour. Even seeing it on a Friday night after a week of work and three stubbies of cider, I was on the edge of my seat absolutely rapt. On at the Pakenham Street Art Space (PSAS) by the Upstart Theatre Company it's running Tuesday through Saturday of this week.

The facebook event page is here or you can book tickets here.

Up next, the hilarious musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Koorliny Arts Centre in Kwinana. You can read my review and learn about my onstage disappointment as I bombed out... on a made up word *shakes fist* "There was a real buzz from the audience after the show ended and it is genuinely laugh out loud funny. But do you dare volunteer to go on stage?"

Bookings here but be quick as there are only three shows left this weekend!

Thrice, it is nearly time to witness the West Australian Youth Theatre Company's production of Another Twin. The cream of Perth's young acting talent will be on stage exploring the hot button topic of the internet so what's not to like? I shall be there opening night with reward tickets from their successful Pozible campaign. Two older model mobiles have been sacrificed for the cause as well.

The event page is here or book tickets here.

Which brings us to the mountain. A local actress and her partner are "...climb(ing) Mt Kinabalu (Borneo) on behalf of Coalition Duchenne, to raise awareness and much needed research funds for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy." They are looking for donations to support this worthy cause and have set up a facebook page. They hope to... oh, look, let me let them tell it in their own windblown (sorry, Jess, couldn't resist!) words:



Three fantastic pieces of entertainment and one worthy cause. What more could you ask for? Get to it Perth... and beyond.

WA Youth Theatre Company needs your help!

The WA Youth Theatre Company (WAYTCo) have a new production coming up - Another Twin - written by American award-winning playwright Lally Katz and directed by the fabulous Kirsty Hillhouse. Appointed as Artistic Director of WAYTCo in December, I was fortunate enough to have Kirsty read one of the leads in my feature at PAC Script Lab recently.

The tagline for the play: Is the Internet taking over your life?

Described as "Fear, Faith and Obsession tangle as science and spirituality confront. It’s head vs heart, thought vs emotion, machine vs God in a winner-takes-all conflict that threatens to tear the world in two."

Featuring 17 talented actors under the age of 27 and staged at the Dolphin Theatre on the UWA campus, this should be quite the show. Meet the cast here.

Thematically the play is right up my alley, particularly given I have an unproduced screenplay called The Tangled Web that I suspect deals with similar issues. So I'm really looking forward to seeing Another Twin.

But let's get to the crux of the matter! WAYTCo have a crowdfunding campaign on Pozible to raise $2000 to help make the show even more awesome. With a month left to run they're looking for donations and I'm happy to spruik for them.

Why?

This is a company that promotes excellence in our local young actors and always tackles interesting and challenging material. The two WAYTCo productions I've seen - Mine and the self-devised Wind - were very good. Indeed, Mine made it to my top ten list of plays/musicals of 2012 coming in at #5. There is a deserved expectation of excellence attached to their shows.

I have seen some of these actors before in WAYTCo productions and worked with one through another great youth organisation, Filmbites. Again, I expect the acting to be uniformly strong and I'm positive Kirsty will get the very best out of the cast.

Plus it sounds like it will be a ripping good yarn!

If you have a few dollars to spare, love thought provoking theatre and the idea of supporting upcoming local talent, please donate. There are great rewards on offer (I have already secured opening night tickets with my donation) and if the internet is truly taking over your life what better link to click on than HERE!

If you'd like to know more about WAYTCo you can also click on the following links:

Facebook page; Vimeo; Blog

Richard Hyde

Behind the Scenes - Edison: Adventures in Power

Up that steep staircase and through the open door is the home of Davison Bros. Productions, creators of stop-animated short films such as Tropfest Finalist "Medusa" and "Cedric and Hope" currently in festivals worldwide.

Today they opened their doors - well, door - to let select contributors to the successful Pozible campaign for their latest project, "Edison: Adventures in Power", see how the sausage is made. In this case there really is sawdust in the sausage... and plasticine and all manner of things to make these stop animated characters come to life.

Producer Jacob Ford and Writer-Director Pierce Davison kindly spent an hour of their time showing me the sets and characters; how they were made; shared real-life tales of Edison; the creative process in developing the webisode; and revealed a little of the footage already shot.



Edison (centre) and his armless assistant (left) "on set".

It was a fascinating look at all the elements that need to come together to pull off something as ambitious as a stop animated webisode even with ScreenWest tipping in $3 for every $1 they raised in the campaign.

It is a very spacious home full of sets and props from previous projects, both theirs and other local filmmakers. Characters get recycled so you may see some familiar faces in Edison if you watch closely. Storytelling can also be dictated by the sets that have already been made. Alas, we might never see the epic fight scene atop a ferris wheel that was mentioned; but there certainly are a lot of castles in the Davison Bros. world!

A customer built fan for the short film, you guessed it, The Fan.

A most enjoyable hour so thank you for the invite. I look forward to seeing the completed webisode!

Turbulence - The Reading

I have been terribly remiss in not blogging about the reading of my feature script which was nearly a month ago now. 

It was a great success, better than I expected. Some random observations: 

 

Someone told me the Subiaco Arts Centre studio seats 110 and it was a full house which was very gratifying. I was delighted that many family, friends and colleagues were in attendance with even a delegation from work. This meant I was busy trying to say hello to everyone before the reading while also answering last minute questions from the cast about line reads and the like. The buzz was fantastic. 

I was surprised how relaxed I was. I expected that once I finished work I’d start getting nervous but the nerves never came. Not even when I was running later than I wanted with the peak hour traffic. 

The wine was fabulous. I’m sorry I only managed to have one glass. Too busy talking. I won’t make that mistake again. Well done new sponsor Happs! Your white wine was very nice. 

It’s the first time I’ve ever sat in the front row at a reading… next to Mum and Dad who I was really pleased to have there and who enjoyed themselves immensely. Yes, this is what I did with that outrageously expensive private school education you paid for. I’m sorry! 

 

Me with Dad in the background.

What a great cast we assembled!!! Thank you Matt Elverd, Kirsty Hillhouse, Gemma Sharpe, Clara Helms, Ben Mortley, Lee Sheppard and Vito de Francesco; with kudos to Vivienne Garrett for handling all the big print with such aplomb. 

While I’m thanking people – thank you Ric Curtin for recording the reading – it’s kind of a pleasantly weird sensation walking along the river listening to the words you’ve written come to life on your iPod; Cathy Prastides for the wonderful teaser poster; Michael McCall for hosting and not embarrassing me in front of all and sundry!; volunteers Tahlia and Becky for helping on the night; and lastly and especially Annie Murtagh-Monks for coordinating all the activities behind the scenes that make this happen. Sorry you didn’t get to experience the evening but I’m sure an authentic American road trip is adequate recompense! 

Fifty-nine feedback forms! I think the last reading I had it was more like 30-something. Lots of great feedback with only one brickbat (can’t please everyone I guess). The one amusing outcome – I’m not sure if they had run out of forms but there were some in the old format… for a comedy script read. So the question “What sections did you find funny?” was a little incongruous for a thriller but as is my normal style there was enough wit scattered throughout the script to garner some positive responses. 

The reaction afterwards was fantastic. People coming up to congratulate me, many who I did not know and assume were from the general public. Including a woman who told me her shy teenage son wanted to play the teenage character that was in one scene only (hope he survives the rewrite!). Plus extraordinarily kind words from colleagues mixed in with a blunt assessment from another. But that is what the evening is all about – finding out what is working and what needs work.

It’s fair to say I was on quite the high at the end of the night. Even as the stragglers (yes, I was one of them) were told off for being a tad too boisterous whilst the second half of Hamlet was being performed in the main theatre. T’was a fair double bill and all in all an excellent night J 

Director Tim Dean with Actress Gemma Sharpe

Since then the director and I have analysed the feedback forms, identified trends and areas to work on and have something like ten pages of our own notes for the next draft. Some exciting discoveries and planned changes including flipping a few elements on their ear which I love doing as a screenwriter. Instead of trying to make something work that simply isn’t gelling, you attack the problem from a completely fresh angle. The objective insight of a 100+ pair of eyeballs (yes, Vito, eyeballs!) is a powerful catalyst. 

Soon it will be time to knuckle down again and translate all the feedback and discussions into words on the page but for one evening at least it was all about celebrating the process in the public eye.  

Lastly, thank you to all those people who did attend. Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out a feedback form and/or talk to me afterwards or text me or email me.

 

I really do appreciate it.

Please Fasten Your Seatbelts – Turbulence Ahead

The Preamble 

I’ve posted about PAC Script Lab before, a wonderful initiative run by Annie Murtagh-Monks and supported by ScreenWest with many other sponsors involved. 

Held at the Subiaco Arts Centre every couple of months, the reading of local feature screenplays provides a unique opportunity to road test a script in development.

This Wednesday evening my thriller script, with director Tim Dean, is being read.  

 

Turbulence:

 

An unprincipled lobbyist flies into Perth to close a multi-billion dollar deal. After a mix-up with a woman on the plane he ends up with the wrong briefcase. When he opens it he discovers a gun and a list of names with only one not crossed out. To complicate matters, his briefcase contains a folder that implicates him in fraud and corruption relating to the business deal. The lobbyist desperately wants the folder back but in return the woman demands that he find the last person on the list… and kill them.  

 

The Inciting Incident

There I was hidden away in my dark, damp, Goldman-esque pit doing all the things screenwriters do when they’re working on a script – checking my email; writing witty updates on facebook; researching obscure facts on the internet; re-cataloguing my DVD collect-- *ahem* - punching out page after page like a machine… when, well, damn it, it was time for a shot of actual and metaphorical Vitamin D!  

Yes, screenwriters need a little love too sometimes. What better way than to… 

…showcase a brand new script… 

     …to a room full of…  

 …complete strangers… 

…and ask for their feedback. 

                                                            What have I done?! 

*Gulp* 

 

The Special World

Fast forward to early February and I‘m sitting in my customary spot - the back row of the Subiaco Arts Centre studio. Annie is making the usual introductions; I’m sipping a wine, relaxed, and waiting to hear Reg Cribb’s latest screenplay, safe in the knowledge my reading isn’t until 27 March. Plenty of time to work on the scr-- 

“… and the next Script Lab will be Richard’s Hyde’s Turbulence on the 20^th of March.” 

My wine sputters all over the entire row of patrons in front of me and I possibly flap my arms in wild-eyed bewilderment as I want to scream: 

“That’s one whole less week to procrastinate!!!”  

There’s no turning back now though – the date has been announced; the project declared. Time to -- 

Get down to work 

One of the things I like about now working fulltime is the monthly paycheck. The part I don’t like so much is getting up at 6am and working fulltime… especially when you still keep writers’ hours at night. However; there’s a draft to punch out, the fear of impending public humiliation a powerful incentive.  

Some things to consider: this is a first draft; I no longer have the luxury of time what with that whole “going to work for a living” thing; I have an immovable deadline. That last fact is my saviour.   

As are these two - the structure is pretty solid as the director and I spent a lot of time getting the beat sheet right before I wrote a scripted word; and, praise be, I have a critical voice, my director! 

The writer-director relationship 

There’s probably an argument to be made that there are far too many writer-directors in this country but that’s a debate for another time. Other than to ask this, who is the critical voice that makes them strive to make the script better?  

In my case it is the director, Tim Dean, who was involved from the inception of the project and shares a story by credit. He gives very precise notes and won’t let me get away with being lazy or cheating or going off on tangents.   

For example, there is a scene early in the first act that he kept coming back at me over. It’s an important part of the setup but, for him, wasn’t quite working. Time was at a premium so I was giving him chunks of rewritten pages as I was working through the script. I was happy enough with the scene but he kept pulling me back to it. So I reworked it… and reworked it… and now it has a greater sense of urgency and is more revealing of character.  

Eventually two drafts were written in just over a month… PLUS a reading draft but we’ll get to that later. 

Time to Cast 

Tim and I go to Annie’s home one evening to discuss the casting of the reading. I have a few names in mind and, of course, Annie is, amongst other things, a casting director.  

She really likes the script and I get free script notes including a couple of logic holes that are subsequently addressed. Then it’s down to the fun part – who do we want to bring these characters to life.  

While it’s only a reading, every attempt is made to cast it as if we were filming. Preferred options are discussed and nominated; alternates also chosen if there are issues of availability.  

In short, I am very happy with the reading cast, most of whom I know in person or by reputation and are fabulously talented. It’s also important to note that they are volunteering their time not only for the reading but a rehearsal read as well. For that I am extremely appreciative and grateful. 

 

 

Cast from

Top Row: Vivienne Garrett, Matt Elverd, Kirsty Hillhouse, Gemma Sharpe. 

Bottom Row: Ben Mortley, Vito de Francesco, Clara Helms, Lee Sheppard.  

The Reading Draft

 

In many ways Script Lab is live theatre so there is a request to keep the Big Print (scene descriptions) to a minimum. I do another pass to take out what amounts to three pages of description, mainly to allow dialogue to flow without the Narrator having to intrude. This is a rhythm thing for this exercise only. Those descriptions would be important for filming but here might slow down the read. It makes the script look a little funny in places to my eyes but it's a specific document for a specific purpose.

 

Tell all your friends! 

PAC Script Lab is quite the slick operation now – social media; press releases; a radio interview that you can listen to here; promo poster and tag line; the finalising of the feedback form for the audience to fill out after the reading; volunteers on the night; a sound recording of the read; even a Q&A that you can read here - all masterfully coordinated by Annie.  

Thank you also to Cathy Prastides for designing the poster which has had a very positive response. 

Now all that’s left is to sit back, sip my wine and be open to all the feedback that is about to come my way. This is an important part of the development cycle for our story and my sincere hope is that all this scrutiny will enable Tim and I to make the script even better. 

I look forward to seeing you there. You can RSVP to pac@screenworkshop.com.au if you wish to attend. If you do, make sure to come up and say hello.  

Richard Hyde  

Q&A... on writing

As part of the upcoming PAC Script Lab (more of that in a later post) I was asked some questions by co-founder of the Perth Actors Collective, the indefatigable Annie Murtagh-Monks:

Many people are intrigued as to how writers get their inspiration for stories/scripts.

What triggers your ideas?

This is perhaps the hardest question of all for a screenwriter – where do ideas come from?  For me it could be an obscure news item or a snippet of overheard conversation or simply the question all screenwriters ask, “What if…?” The hardest one to explain is when I see a scene fully formed in my head. If it keeps reappearing I try and figure out what it means and what the greater story around it is. The greatest trick is to trust that you know a good idea when it comes to you, no matter how that happens!

What was it in this story that came to you first?

There were three main aspects. Firstly, Tim and I wanted to make a straight forward, low budget genre thriller as a reaction to not getting any traction (yet) on our big, sprawling conspiracy thriller. We explored a few scenarios but the one that stuck was, “what would you do if you found a gun and a list of names in a briefcase?” The other element came from a bizarre, real life news story that felt like it was straight out of a movie script.

Are you the kind of writer who writes only when the ‘inspiration’ fires? Up till all hours burning the night oil OR do you set aside allotted time each day or week to write in?

I consider myself an ill-disciplined writer yet I manage to write a lot of pages. When I’m “in the zone” I write prolifically. When I’m not I procrastinate like crazy. How to find that magic place where time slows and creativity reigns? If only I knew.

I’m certainly not someone who has set times every day to write. I admire people who can do that. Deadlines help me enormously. I think the hardest part is beginning – once you dive into the world of your story you get immersed in it. It’s getting to the keyboard that’s the killer – the usual self-doubts most creative people have. “Will it be good enough?”

Screenwriting is difficult at the best of times. You’re juggling story, character, tone, theme, pace, structure, a myriad of different elements. That can be daunting. When you get it anywhere near “right”, however, it is exhilarating.

What do you find easiest about writing film scripts?

The collaboration. Working with smart, creative people such as directors who share your sense of storytelling style and who you trust and respect. Script meetings, brainstorming, problem solving, working with actors on improvisations or workshopping scenes. Basically bouncing ideas off people to make the script better.

What most challenging?

After all the meetings and discussions, the reality is that screenwriting is very much an anti-social activity. You have to lock yourself away and write, for hours, for days, for months, in some cases for years. That can be really difficult and maybe is another reason beginning each day is so scary. You have to cut yourself off from the real world to some measure and lose yourself in your imagination and the world you have created. That’s why rainy, stormy days are my favourite writing days – less excuses to be out “doing things”!

Where do you get your ideas from?

What are your writing habits?

Quick Update

It seems I've been a little remiss with my blogging duties lately. A quick update appears to be in order.

Full-time employment has been hectic. Which is good because if I'm going to have to work 8 hours a day then don't let me be bored. I also hate routine. Actually, I'm quite enjoying it but still not used to the early starts and can't for the life of me go to bed at a respectable hour on a "school night". Having money again though is fabulous - paid a $1000 off my credit card after the last (monthly) pay day. Also get to go see movies at the cinema again!

To the writing.

Working on the next draft of the thriller script which will have a public reading currently earmarked for 27 March through PAC Script Lab. Very excited about this and starting to get into a groove with the rewrite. More details to come and the hard deadline is a good incentive to balance my work and creative commitments.

The second Filmbites short I scripted finally wrapped and the edit is being done in LA by an ex-pat who has worked as an assistant editor on such films as Avatar. Very happy about this.

Two short scripts are currently with directors. A second draft of the ostensibly zombie short was delivered last weekend and the other script is awaiting notes from that director. Who, as an aside, asked if I could send an editable file so they could work on it. The short, sharp reply: "you director, me writer." Nice try but I don't think so!  

Other than that I haven't been writing many paid scenes or doing script notes as I simply don't have the time and don't need the money anymore. However, I wrote a nice little scene for the lead actress from the CIT short for her show reel which looks like it could be shot through one of the film institutions. Also had a request to do a polish of one of the scenes I wrote for another actor as a paid gig so those things occasionally come up.

I'm enjoying the sporadic conversations with the couple of young writers I have a de facto mentor role with. Even though work has cramped my meeting style! Finally, I am keen to see the progress of the short films I've had some minor involvement with last year as either script editor or by giving notes. There might be a raft of these being completed soon and can't wait to see how they turn out.

Working again means I have to narrow my focus and that may not be a bad thing at all. Excited about the feature and encouraged by the director interest in the couple of shorts which will get prepped for funding rounds.

What's everyone else been up to?

**Addendum: I wrote a guest blog for actor Molly Kerr about actors working with writers which you can read here.