First Draft 2015

Marina Caldarone

Marina has been a theatre director for 30 years – including time as Associate Director of Theatr Clwyd and Artistic Director Queens Theatre Hornchurch.  She enjoyed an extensive freelance theatre-directing career in Britain and abroad. She has been a regular lecturer on contemporary theatre since 1998 and continues to work as a guest director in London’s leading Drama schools and has run workshops for professional actors and directors at The Actors Centre since 1986.

She has been a freelance radio drama producer since 1999 working both within the BBC radio drama department, and with Pier Productions and Fiction Factory. She is a regular director for The Archers.

She co-wrote Actions, An Actors’ Thesaurus with Maggie Lloyd Williams – an acting book, which is now set text in most drama schools in Britain and many in the States. And also 3 new radio monologue and duologue publications Radioactive, compiled with Marilyn le Conte and published by Methuen books. She has just completed two editions of The Good Audition Guides published by Nick Hern Books. She runs the Radio Drama provision at Rose Bruford College, and is Drama Director of Crying Out Loud productions.

Denton Chikura

Denton Chikura was born and raised in Zimbabwe and migrated to the UK in 2002. Since then he has lent his comic charm as an actor to companies such as Told by an Idiot, Complicite, Royal Exchange Manchester, National Theatre and The Tricycle. In 2008 he co-founded Shakespearean troupe Two Gents Productions, whose two-man interpretation of Two Gentlemen of Verona was acclaimed at the Globe in 2012 and has toured the world. Writing credits include Magetsi (Two Gents Productions), The Epic Adventure of Nhamo the Manyika Warrior and His Sexy Wife Chipo (Tiata Fahodzi/Tricycle) and Mighty Oaks Academy (Royal Opera House).

Denton played Badger in Sixteenfeet’s 2011 production of ‘Wind in the Willows’.

 

Saffron Myers

Saffron began directing and writing with Moving Parts Theatre Company, while touring to schools, colleges and community venues across the country. She then went on to spend two years at the Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich on the Thames Television Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme.

She has worked as a Director/Literary Manager with numerous companies including: Hampstead Theatre; Paines Plough; Graeae; Old Red Lion; Soho Poly Theatre; Theatre Royal Stratford East; Red Ladder; No Boundaries; Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre; Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich; The Drum, Plymouth Theatre Royal; Babel Theatre Company (Pin Money Opera at Battersea Arts Centre – Best New Music Theatre Award).

She has also been a reader for Channel 4 New Plays and the Verity Bargate Award and has worked with a number of high profile writers: April de Angelis, Catherine Johnson, Hattie Naylor, Tunde Ikoli, Dave Cohen, Simon Mendes da Costa and Rona Munro.  Saffron Myers is currently literary manager at Omnibus Arts Clapham.

The Body by Olu Alakija

Olu Alakija is a screenwriter, playwright and script reader. He has an MA in Scriptwriting (Fiction) for Film and Television from Leeds Metropolitan University. He has completed the Royal Court Theatre’s Critical Mass Playwriting programme and previously he has been shortlisted for the IRP Young Playwrights Award and the Prix Iris Europe awards. He is also the winner of a CRE Race in the Media award for his short film “Guilty”. His work has appeared on Channel 4, Yorkshire Television, Audiotheque and at The Young Vic with Talawa Theatre Company. He is currently working on a new full length stage play and a screenplay.

 

Lilies by Riona Millar

Riona Millar is fifteen, and still fairly hesitant to call herself a writer, though she has been crafting novels from the tender age of 5, complete with illustrations. However, after she realised she couldn’t draw, she decided she’d try her hand in other fields. She has been writing poetry for a few years, but this is her first play. She also enjoys music – particularly, at present, 1940s big band jazz – live theatre, and boxsets of 20th century comedy shows. She considers herself to be a classicist and a logophile: sometimes, just for some real excitement, she reads the dictionary.

 

 

Fault by Holly Robinson

Holly Robinson is an emerging writer and director. Holly began training at Playbox Theatre in Warwickshire. Now in her final year at King’s College London, she reads English, specialising in Virginia Woolf. At KCL she has directed Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles and Christine Evans’ Trojan Barbie. She worked with Faction on Rep2015 as the Assistant to the Directors. Currently, she is co-writer and director for To She or Not To She (Joue le Genre) which is touring before showing at The Pleasance (This) for the Edinburgh Fringe.

 

The Malteser Falcon by Chazz Redhead

Chazz Redhead is a writer, actor, improviser and comedian. He first began his comedy career in Birmingham whilst attending the MRES Playwriting course, including support slots for Andrew O’Neil and Jo Brand. Chazz has written several fringe theatre pieces, including The Kidnapper’s Guide (NSDF Commendation for Writing), Ecouter, and Riptide: The Slasher Musical (Commendation from the MTN Awards). He continues to expand his writing through stand-up, sketch comedy (both in personal projects and as a writer for NewsRevue), and theatre. He is currently working on his first full play and a TV pilot.

 

It’s My Party by Poppy Corbett

Poppy Corbett is a Brixton-based playwright and theatre director. She has previously had short plays produced across London, most recently Cyber-Babies (Park Theatre, Little Pieces of Gold), Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (Arcola Theatre, Miniaturists), I’m Terrified/Don’t Cry (Southwark Playhouse, The Story Project 4). In 2013 Poppy won the Masterclass ‘Pitch Your Play’ competition with her play Hatchling, receiving a reading at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Her 2013 pantomime Robin Hood written for BigFoot Arts toured around Lambeth primary schools. She is really excited to be working close to home with Sixteenfeet!

 

 

Fluteman by Sandra Wareham

Sandra Wareham has lived in Brixton all her life. Her parents migrated to the UK from Jamaica in the 1960’s and settled in Brixton. She attended Santley Primary School (now flats), Vauxhall Manor Secondary School (now flats), and Kingsdale Comprehensive.   She also attended “Ah-fi-we” Saturday School in Brixton. She studied Town Planning as a mature student at Southbank University, and has worked in Lambeth (in a variety of roles), for over twenty years.She enjoys reading, writing and visiting her local library, she has attended a number of creative writing courses in Lambeth. She also enjoys pottery and World Cinema.

 

 

Surveillance by David Lydon

David Lydon is a writer, musician and teacher. He began writing for the stage whilst living in Dublin and since arriving in London has been invited on to the Soho and Royal Court Theatre’s Young Writers’ Programmes. His work has been shown at various venues around London and at the Edinburgh and Dublin Fringe Festivals. As well as writing for the stage, David composes music for Goblin Theatre Company and plays guitar and mandolin in various bands. He lives in Lambeth and is delighted to be taking part in the First Draft project.

 

No More Starmix by Conor Carroll

Conor Carroll is a recent graduate of the RCSSD’s Masters in Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media. He tends to write darkly comic pieces which ask uncomfortable questions of its audience with some experience in verbatim theatre. He is the artistic director of REC Theatre, a theatre company that creates work with an interactive element, often offering unprecedented control to the audience. He is also an alumni of the National Theatre Young Studio which involved devising for the Shed on the Southbank. His work has been performed at Theatre503, The LOST Theatre, Camden People’s Theatre and the St James Theatre.

Jen Davis

Jen graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2013, after reading Drama and Theatre Arts. She has directed plays for a number of new writing festivals including: How It Turned Out (RealDeal Theatre), Cheers (Attic Theatre), Self Reflection (Theatre Exchange) The Pudding Club, Looking Down (Lost Theatre) Community Not For Sale, Mouse and Lion (Sixteenfeet Productions). For the last twelve months she has been on the Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s artist development programme: Foundry. Whilst being on the programme she has showcased work at their monthly scratch nights and directed Billy for their Home Theatre Project. Recently, she co-founded and produced ‘Shoot Festival’-a new platform for emerging artists making work in Coventry. Jen is also Assistant Producer of First Draft.

Jennifer Tang

Jennifer is a freelance theatre director, working across the UK and Internationally. She has recently returned from Sweden, where she directed the Scandinavian premieres of two Nick Payne plays to critical acclaim. Jennifer specialises in working with new writing and fusing theatre with music. She was resident Assistant Director at The Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth in 2013-14 and was named a finalist of the Genesis Future Directors Award in 2015. Jennifer is a Creative Associate at the Gate Theatre in London and is Associate Director of Reduced Circumstances Theatre Company.

Nicholas Anthony

Nicholas has been with Sixteenfeet since 2008 and is Associate Director of the company. Previously he has worked internationally as an Events Director, teaches English, Theatre and Classical Civilisation and as a qualified teacher leads Sixteenfeet’s education programme.

 

 

 

 

ACT 1

The Lilies – Anna Barry, Sophia Carr-Gomm, Peter Bourke

The Body – Dwane Walcott, Marcel Whyte, Derek Elroy

Malteser Falcon – Kate Cook, Matthew Bates

Fluteman – Pyepie, Angela Wynter, Derek Elroy, Marva Alexander and Racheal Ofori

ACT 2

Fault – Racheal Ofori, Elyot Burnett, Kate Cook, Sophia Carr-Gomm

Surveillance – Racheal Ofori, Dwane Walcott, Peter Bourke

No More Starmix – Matthew Bates, Elyot Burnett

It’s My Party – Kate Cook, Racheal Ofori

 

Marva Alexander

Marva’s theatre credits include productions at Salisbury, The Library theatre, Manchester the Arcola, the London Bubble, Birmingham Rep, Bristol Old Vic and Richmond Orange Tree.

Television credits include: ‘Silent Witness’, ‘M.I.T’, ‘Stockwell’ and ‘Walking with Cavemen’.

 

 

 

 

 

Anna Barry

West End acting credits include “Half A Sixpence”, “Our Man Crichton” and “Hamlet”. Television : “Dr Who”,”General Hospital”, “The Strauss Family”, “No Hiding Place”Dates” and “Doctors”. Film : “Your Highness”, “Dig” She has played leading roles in reps throughout the UK and for three years was Associate Director at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh. For a decade or so she premiered one-woman plays in Canada, Antwerp, Brussels, the Middle East and India. Audio/visual work includes numerous voice-overs, radio drama and dubbing. For seven years she read the letters on “Points Of View” with Barry Took. Her one-woman play about Mrs Shakespeare, “Mistress Mine”, won Best Actress in Canada and received two Sony nominations after being broadcast on Radio Four and the World Service.

 

 

Matthew Bates

Matthew’s acting career has taken him from fringe theatre to

regional repertory and the West End, as well as on tours stretching from Argentina to Uzbekistan. His credits include leads in Tales of The Country (Pentabus) and Neville’s Island (English Theatre Frankfurt), while his TV work includes roles in DCI Banks, Silent Witness and Eastenders, and on the big screen Bridget Jones’s Diary and V for Vendetta.

He has narrated over 20 audiobooks and worked for the BBC World Service. His next project is filming on Jericho, a new drama series for ITV.

 

Peter Bourke

Peter Bourke was in the NYT before training at RADA rep at Leeds RSC and NT Chichester and Scarborough

West End Endgame Exclusive When We are Married and Dial M forMurder most recently seen in Clarion at the Arcola .

On television:   Nicholas Nickleby David Copperfield  The Mayor of Casterbridge Hazel East Enders Corination Street Doctor Who The Bill Bugs Birds of a Feather

Films: The Stud Stand up Virgin Soldiers The Mission The Jazz Detective

 

Elyot Burnett

Elyot trained at Drama Centre London, graduating in 2014. Whilst training Elyot won the Sir John Gielgud Award 2014 and the Lilian Bayliss Award 2013.

Theatre includes: Casca in Julius Caesar, Iachomo in Cymbeline, Benvolio in Romeo And Juliet, Sparkish in The Country Wife, Nikolai in The White Guard, Chris in All My Sons and Tuzenbach in The Three Sisters (all for Drama Centre London).

 

 

Sophia Carr-Gomm

Sophia graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2013. Since then, she has played a guest lead part in ‘Shetland’ (BBC One) and guest parts in ‘Doctors’ (BBC One), ‘Mr Selfridge’ (ITV) and ‘The Inbetweeners Movie 2’.  She has recently finished filming ‘World’s End’ as Lexy Winters for CBBC  for a thirty-six episodes run. She took part in the Playwriting festival last year for Sixteenfeet Productions and is delighted to have been asked back.

 

 

Kate Cook

Theatre Credits include: Weird Weather (Vault Festival), The Forum (Underbelly), Quality Street (Finborough Theatre), A Man For all Seasons (York Theatre Royal), The 39 Steps (Criterion Theatre), 1936 (Arcola Theatre), Chekov at the Chapel (Union Chapel Theatre).

Films include: You’re the Stranger Here (Film 4) Songs for my Mother (Film 4), Tender (Pedro Rilho), The Ripperologist (Meniscus Sunrise). Kate is currently preparing her solo show Invisible Woman which she will perform at this years Edinburgh Festival.

 

    Derek Elroy

Derek’s most recent theatre role was that of Lloyd Boateng in ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ for the National Theatre. Other stage credits include ‘Kingston 13’ at Stratford East, ‘The Harder They Come’, ‘Blue Brothers’ and productions for Northampton Theatre Royal, Coventry Belgrade and Theatre De Complicite. For Sixteenfeet productions Derek played the Caterpillar and March Hare in ‘Alice in the Walled Garden’.

Television credits include: ‘Rev’, ‘Casualty’ and ‘Hope and Glory’.

His pantomime appearances include Ma Twanky in ‘Aladdin’ and Grannie in ‘Red Riding Hood’, both for Stratford East.

 

Racheal Ofori

Racheal Ofori graduated from Italia Conti Academy in 2013 and has since worked in both theatre and television.

She played Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Tooting Arts Club Theatre Company and later Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice at Shakespeares Globe Theatre. Her work on television includes BBC’s Wizards v Aliens.

She is currently working on her first solo show; Portrait, which will play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August.

 

Pyepi

Pyepi hasbeen a flute performer since 1982.

Performing with various bands, and genres of music, mostly a fusion of cultural sounds.

He was was part of the vibrant Ladbroke Grove musical scene.

Since moving to Wandsworth in 1983, he has been a regular busker at Vauxhall & Brixton stations. Performing solo or as a duo – guitar and flute.

He is presently working at The Omnibus Theatre Clapham Northside as a Maintenance man and is in a few projects Pyepi & Friends-ESS-U-MUMA and RebelTone.

www.myspace.com/pyepi

www.myspace.com/essumuma

https://soundcloud.com/rebeltone-muzik

 

Dwane Walcott

Dwane’s appeared most recently in ‘The Twits’ at the Royal Court Theatre.  His other theatre credits include productions at the Donmar Warehouse, Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre and the Bush. He also played Romeo in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at the Stafford festival Theatre.

His television credits include Jamie Burchette in ‘Doctors’.

 

 

 

Marcel J Whyte

Marcel graduated in 2012 from the London College of Music with a Ba Honours in Musical Theatre. Since leaving his roles include Simba in The Lion King and Seaweed in Hairspray. As a teenager he featured in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and with various other experience on screen he hopes to further his career on and off the stage.

 

 

 

Angela Wynter

Angela is best known to television audiences through her portrayal of Yolande Trueman in Eastenders. Other television credits include the part of Edi Effanga in Holby City, and appearances in Doctors, Cutting It and Casualty.

Her theatre credits include Amen Corner at the National Theatre, Arcie in Simply Heavenly at the Young Vic, and appearances at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Bristol Old Vic, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, Talawa, The Royal Court and Tiata Fahodzi.

 

 

Alongside First Draft we also offered writers a trio of free workshops. From Page to Stage followed the different phases of a playwright’s creative life, from the first word to the first rehearsal.

Talking Stories- A script writing workshop for beginner and intermediate level writers

Friday 1st May | 7:30-9pm | Brixton Library

Ever wondered what it takes to write a script? Why do some stories work as books, but not films or plays?

Bang, wallop, yak-yak. Be it radio, television, theatre, film or videogame, scripts are all about conflict, character and action. Working with award-winning scriptwriter Andrew S. Walsh (Byker Grove, Emmerdale, Prince of Persia, Fable:Legends and Brockwell Park’s Wind in the Willows and Goldilocks and the three Endings) this 90 minute workshop gave participants the chance to learn the essentials of scriptwriting and the opportunity to create some script samples that bring a story and character to life.

 

 

The Nuts and Bolts of getting started in the Theatre

Friday 22nd May | 7-8:30pm | Brixton Library

Local resident, Brian Walters, ran a workshop on the practicalities of being a playwright. Currently, Brian is the Deputy Literary Manager at the National Theatre, which involves research and reading revival plays for possible production, dramaturge on specific plays for writers to development, and arranging attachments for writers at the National Theatre Studio. He has also worked in the literary departments at Hampstead Theatre, the Bush Theatre and Paines Plough.

 

 

 

 

Rehearsal Room Experience

Tues 26^th May | 7.00 – 8.30pm | Omnibus 1 Clapham Common Northside SW4 0QW

This workshop explored what a writer might experience once a theatre company has commissioned their play and what the first day of rehearsals as a writer in a rehearsal room might be like. Omnibus Artistic Director, Marie McCarthy, and two actors took writers through an example of a rehearsal process: questions actors might ask, how actors approach new writing and rewrites in the rehearsal room.