The Write Stuff: Young writers groups

Acting and direction take centre stage in our drama and theatre education, but what about the process that takes place before a play is mounted? Dan Clay visits the young writer's groups introducing scriptwriting to young people as a way to access the industry.

Students discussing script ideas - Adobe Stock / Seventy Four

‘Safe spaces where you can try out mad stuff.’ Jack Holden's debut play Cruise might not have been written were it not for the very opportunity to try out that ‘mad stuff’ – as he calls it – at the Young Writer's Group he attended. Across the country many theatres explore new writing with their young companies where, as Holden says, ‘work is read out, critiqued and questioned by coursemates. It strengthened my instincts and toughened me up.’

Giving young writers the opportunity to develop an idea and potentially bring it to life on stage is what inspired and motivated Jack throughout the process of bringing Cruise to the West End. ‘Writing groups are the place to make mistakes, experiment, fail and learn,’ he says. ‘Theatre is a collaborative art form and I create much better work when I'm in a good collaborative company.’

Voicing your views

So what can these scriptwriting groups offier the budding playwright with the seed of an idea ready to bloom if they want to see their script brought to life as live performance? ‘These programmes offer young people a unique opportunity to write about what matters to them and their unique perspective on the world around them,’ explains Nadya Bettioui, programme manager of New Views, a yearlong in-school playwriting programme for students aged 14-19 at London's National Theatre. ‘It opens up a route into the industry which might not have otherwise been possible or visible to these young people,’ she adds. ‘Young people don't necessarily need any specific skills or experience; just the courage to write about what matters to them and a willingness to learn and take on board feedback.’

That's something echoed by Suzanne Bell, dramaturg at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, whose weekly Young Writers Group offiers those interested in accessing the industry plenty of incentives. ‘There's a benefit in terms of structure,’ she says. ‘For that period once a week you are a playwright. You're not alone in your bubble; we are able to hold, nurture and facilitate a conversation about your idea. Joining a theatre and being part of a company shows the reality of being in a theatre. It gives you a greater understanding of what it takes to make work happen.’

One such writer hoping to bring a script to life and see her work ‘happen’ is Linnae Abraham, part of the Exchange's Young Writers Group. ‘The best place to share your work is with people who also care about writing, in a space where everyone is learning too,’ she enthuses. It's the collaborative feedback element, so typical of these shared groups, she feels strengthens her writing most. ‘When people ask me questions about certain choices I made in my writing, it makes me feel I have written something people want to know more about.’

Off the page

With a focus on the technical as well as the creative challenges of developing and staging your prospective play, being part of a young writer's group can have real benefits. ‘You will be able to interrogate the choices and decisions a design team made to bring their show to life and how that was conveyed in the script in very different ways,’ Suzanne explains, adding that teachers have a real role to play in developing young people's creative voices. ‘Encourage that person to keep telling stories and keep creating characters. Talk to them when they see a piece of theatre that, as someone interested in writing. What would you take from that and how would you put that in your writing? These questions nurtures students to begin to watch work as a writer as well as an audience member.’

And that's exactly what helped Jack Holden develop his initial idea for Cruise. ‘Working extensively within theatre for a while definitely developed my taste, my sense of what works on stage and my understanding of what is achievable. Your story might be original or it might be a retelling or a reworking. The point of difference you have is your voice. Write and write and write to find and develop it.’

Having now found his, it seems he might be write about that.