How do you pitch a drama idea to BBC Radio Four?

That was the theme of a return visit to Somewhere Else by radio writer and producer Paul Dodgson.

After a morning analyzing the nuts and bolts of successful afternoon dramas we took it in turns to pitch our ideas to Paul, who has written fourteen plays for BBC radio and directed and produced more than 400 programmes across all BBC radio networks.

Was the process painful? Yes, a little, but it was also hugely instructive – and
entertaining. Our thanks to Paul, whose comments on our 15 pitches were
enormously helpful.

You can find out more about Paul’s work here

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Clare Finnimore has been learning about Scriptwriting at Bath Spa University following her MA in Creative Writing. The course culminated in a practical demonstration of skills learnt – a Showcase event at Newton Park Theatre on 30^th September, with a final night at The Cube in Bristol. Clare was delighted when fellow SE writer Selwyn Morgan agreed to take a key role in her controversial radio play ‘Shared Space: Oliver’s Story.’ A ten minute extract from her play aired as part of the Showcase along with films, plays and an animation from BSU students in the class of 2017.

The ideas for ‘Shared Space’ began in February with talking and recording local people and moved on to include a trip to  London’s South Bank to meet a Paralympian currently in the House of Lords, and then in September to a protest at 10 Downing Street. Meanwhile Clare also found herself working with Southwest Scriptwriters at Bristol Old Vic, casting and working with actors (including a 10 year old boy), and technicians in the recording studios at BSU.  Clare enjoys writing but says for her the fun and most creative part is working collaboratively with actors and other writers.

The scriptwriters of the 2017 MA Scriptwriting course: Laurence Guy, Clare Finnimore, Ben Crushcov, Sophie Torry-Cook, Mike Williams, Oliver Hutton, Aaliyah Al-Lawal

Stephen Connolly’s short fable ‘Fog’ has been selected for the Bath Spa University anthology A Place in Words. The anthology celebrates  twenty-five years of Bath Spa University’s very successful creative writing programme, and the culmination of a “flash fiction” competition for novels of 25 words in length.

The new anthology also features contributions by Naomi Alderman, David Almond, Susan Beale, Nathan Filer, Maggie Gee, Tessa Hadley and Philip Hensher. To reserve a copy, go here.

Stephen graduated with an MA in Scriptwriting from Bath Spa in July 2015. His most recent script ‘Urbini’ was performed at the Salisbury Fringe in October 2017.

Author of an Observer Book of the Year 2012, Ruth Waterman talked movingly about her experiences of working with musicians in Bosnia in the aftermath of war on a visit to the group this week.

‘When Swan Lake Comes to Sarajevo’ is Ruth‘s account of her visits to the country between 2002 and 2006 as guest conductor of the remarkable, multi-ethnic Mostar Sinfonietta.

The book weaves together Ruth‘s diary entries with first hand accounts of the musicians’ own war experiences. In it she describes how she begins to understand the ‘nuts and bolts of how a village can be split, how neighbours can become enemies, how people can be broken, how a society can be torn apart.
It’s so easy. It would work anywhere. You only need a handful of killers, let out of prison for the purpose, to start the ball rolling. It would gather speed of its own accord.’

Ruth is listed in the latest edition of ‘The Great Violinists’. Her concerts have taken her from Carnegie Hall to St Petersburg’s Hermitage and her first visit to Mostar was described in a documentary she presented on BBC Radio Four. She is also a poet and a painter.

It was a fascinating talk and a great honour to welcome her to the group.

Stephen Connolly’s first piece of non-fiction has been published in Issue 2 of DNA Magazine.

It’s a biographical piece, describing how he came to leave the Republic of South Africa in 1984 in something of a hurry…

Congratulations to Somewhere Else members Jim Moeller and Iris Anne Lewis for their success in the 2017 Gloucestershire Writers Network/Cheltenham Literature Festival Competition, Iris as a runner-up for her poem ‘Matryoshka’ and Jim for his prose piece ‘Benefits’.

Both will be reading their work, along with the winners and other runners-up, at the Gloucestershire Writers’ Network event L322 at The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival. There will also be readings from the competition judges Roy Mcfarlane and Dr Lania Knight.

Tickets will be on sale from 6th September, book early to avoid disappointment.