The winner of The First 20 Minutes 2010 is...
Alex Clarke with Seconds
A girl is shot dead in Manchester, her family search desperately for someone to blame. Can their lives ever be the same again?
Alex Clarke is a dyslexic playwright from Manchester with a love of exploring ideas yet an unfathomable aversion to commitment. When she is not writing she teaches drama to people with learning disabilities, mentors teenage mothers and support victims of crime- she is currently working on her third play and is busy setting up the community project 'Words for Wellbeing' enabling those living with mental health problems to express themselves through creative projects. Alex won 2010’s The First 20 Minutes and will be having her play Seconds produced by Writer’s Avenue in 2012.
Director: Adam Morley
Cast:
Gilly Daniels Mark Starr Sadie Pickering
Oliver Stark Jenny Walters Ella Moody
Alex is now working with Writer's Avenue thoughout the year to develop her play to the highest quality. The play will recive a full production in March 2012
Finalist writers:
Clare Shaw The Other Roof
Dan Horrigan Face the Camera and Smile
Industry Panel:
Amy O'Neill Casting Director and Agent
Jenifer Farmer Playwright (Birmingham Rep, Soho Theatre)
Nicholas McInerny Screen writer and Playwright
Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway Director (National Theatre and Royal Court)
“The Final Stage was a really enjoyable evening of three new play extracts, a great opportunity to see new plays performed by interesting casts, and an excellent chance for emerging writers to have a showcase for their work. It was great to be part of the judging panel and I hope that Writers Avenue goes from strength to strength in its championing of good new writing. “
Sarah Hughes (Casting Director)
“It was great being a judge. I had a fantastic time and feel Writer’s Avenue’s events are a great opportunity for new writers. I will be spreading the word!”
Bola Agbaje – (Award winning playwright; Royal Court)
I was delighted to be asked to be part of the panel for Writers Avenue, and found it exciting having the opportunity to see new writing in such an intimate setting. Writers Avenue offers a great platform for new writers and actors and I am proud to be associated with such a project! I am looking forward to my next venture with Sandra and the team, they are a joy to work with.
David Lazenby (literary and acting agent from Richard Stone Partnership)
"This is a great initiative. All three plays had already proved themselves by getting into the final - the quality of writing, acting and directing was very high, which made my job even more difficult, and rightly so. What a fantastic turn out as well, and a great atmosphere. The Writers Avenue are doing something very special here which will help any writer at any point in his or her career - that is, putting the play in front of an audience. David Hare once said that a day spent in a rehearsal was worth a week spent sitting alone in a room trying to create. Well, twenty minutes in front of a live audience is worth even more than that - it cuts through to the chase to what works. No amount of readers reports and workshops can substitute for that'
Nicholas McInerny (screen writer-The Bill)
"The First 20 Minutes is a great initiative from the dynamic new company Writers Avenue. It helps writers hone an invaluable skill - how to hook the audience and state your theme at the beginning of a piece of drama. It was a complete pleasure to be involved."
Philip Gawthorne- (screen writer; Casualty, Doctors and playwright)
"I am really grateful for the opportunity that being involved with The Writer's Avenue Final Stage has given me. It was lovely to be part of a project that, as it is new writing by emerging writers, is very vital and immediate. There is a good energy about taking a section of a new play and competing with other productions in front of an audience and a panel of industry experts. It is also one of the most nerve wracking things I have ever done! Hearing feedback from the experts was really interesting, invaluable for the writers but an education for the actors in how a play can gain life and grow. I am very excited to be part of the next stage of the process, taking the play and developing it in rehearsal with Alex. I think between us all, cast and crew, we are going to put on something pretty special"
Jenny Walters (Actress in Seconds by Alex Clarke)
"It's been an amazing experience and I'm so glad to be part of it... Looking forward to seeing how the play develops. Alex is such a talented writer!!!"
Sadie Pickering (Actress in Seconds by Alex Clarke)
"Working for Writer's Avenue has been an inspiring and wonderfully creative process. The Writer's Avenue brings artists together and gives way for a safe and productive avenue for actors, writers, theatrical technicians alike. New writing is so very important to our industry and I am incredibly privileged to have been a part of something so innovative and worthwhile. The format for the avenue will only continue to grow as it is led and produced by passion and this was evident from the moment I auditioned to the after show drinks in the bar"
Ella Moody (Actress in Seconds by Alex Clarke) | 
Winner of 2010
