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More speakers announced
Release date 5 March 2010
We are pleased to announce that Barbara Norden and Clare Bayley will join the panel discussion on 11 March.
Barbara set up the MA in Creative Writing (plays and screenplays) at City University London in 2004. Her plays include Try Not to Worry, Via Crucis, The Milkman (Birmingham Rep commission) and a play for 7-11 year olds produced by Hampstead Theatre and published by Oberon.
Clare attended David Edgar's playwrighting MA course in Birmingham, and is a former Theatre Editor of THE INDEPENDENT, as well as freelance journalist and theatre critic on various other publications. Her play The Container (Young Vic, 2009) was the winner of the 2007 Amnesty International / Big Issue Freedom of Expression Award.
We are awaiting confirmation from a number of other speakers.
Most up-to-date details for each night can be found on our Facebook page '17 percent - London Launch'.
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Launch submissions
Release date 10 Feb 2010
We are delighted to announce that we received 45 submissions for our launch showcases. The quality was very high and we will notify those chosen by 12 February. Thanks to all those who submitted.
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17percent launch - 11 and 12 March 2010
Release date 1 Feb 2010
The launch venue has now been confirmed as The Red Hedgehog in north London. 17percent will be holding two panel discussions asking the questions of why so few UK plays are written by women and suggesting ways this can be improved.
The discussion panels will comprise of representatives from education and theatre management as well as new and established playwrights. The full panel line-up and timings for the event will be announced later in February.
Following the discussions there will be an opportunity for questions and networking, then we will showcase the best short plays by some of today's most exciting women writers.
Places are free, but spaces are limited. To reserve your place - please email us, saying which days you will be attending on.
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17percent seeks 10-minute plays by women for the launch event week - 22/01/10
One (or more) of the events that we will launch with (in the week of International Women's Day 8-12 March 2010) will be at least one regional UK showcase of new writing. These showcases will be script-in-hand rehearsed readings, with a maximum number of five actors (doubling up roles will be considered depending on the script). The showcase/s are likely to be in Kent and/or London. If you have a ten-minute play that you think fits the bill and you would like to be involved with the launch event, please email the script as a PDF or .doc by Monday 1 February, with a short CV.
It is important that you are able to attend a rehearsal of your work during February, as we want to give you the opportunity to meet other writers and discuss your work. This will be the first of what we hope will become a regular event to showcase women’s writing. This showcase is South-based, but we also have several different events planned for the launch week in other parts of the country - news on the full series of launch events to follow.
Due to the expected number of submissions and short timescale before the launch, we won't be able to give individual feedback at this time.
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'Only two of top 20 plays of the decade in the Sunday Times 'Best of' list were by women.' - 14 December 2009
According to today's Sunday Times, only two of the top plays performed in the UK over the past ten years were written by women. Read 17percent founder, Sam Hall's blog about the article, and nominate your alternative 'Best of'.
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Read Olusola Oyeleye's Q+A - new on the website - 3 December 2009
Olusola (Sola) is a woman of many talents and an impressive determination to create meaningful work. The first black staff director of the English National Opera, she has worked here and abroad as a director of opera and drama. She is also a poet, lecturer and educator, working with adults and children.
" I have witnessed the transformative nature creative writing can have on individuals and within communities both in the UK and abroad. In essence a great achievement is to have the ability, in some small way, to touch people’s lives, through creativity."
Read Sola's Q+A in full.
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Shelley Silas gives her support to 17percent - 27 Nov 2009
"There is a definite discrepancy in the broadcast material for men v women writers. We all know it, we are all trying to change it..."
Shelley Silas writes for theatre, radio and television. Her plays have been performed at Soho Theatre, the Bush and Theatre Royal Stratford East. She is currently working on a TV comedy series.
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Kent group first meeting - 24 Nov 2009
The first meeting of the group was held in Rochester, Kent on 24 November.
The group will be a 'pilot' ahead of the national launch next year. This group will mainly be about sharing experiences and learning. If desired, we can focus specifically on works in progress, arrange theatre visits, arrange showcase nights and anything else TBA!
If you are interested in joining the group, please email the Rochester group | |
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To address the gender imbalance of plays being produced in the UK, through education, support and networking opportunities for female playwrights
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