Bristol Old Vic‘s annual call-out to West Country writers is open now. ‘The Open Session’ window has been extended in this unusual year, with 31st July being the final date for entries.

Bristol Old Vic invites plays and musicals from local writers, with five chosen for development. Many have been staged as part of the theatre’s ‘New Plays In Rep’ studio season, with ‘Wonder Boy’ by Ross Willis then picked up for full production on the main stage. Selected writers are also given priority for opportunities and collaborations that arise between Bristol Old Vic and other companies and agencies.

Guidelines 

• Submissions must be from writers living and working in the South West. The Brisol Old Vic define this as writers based in the counties of Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire and Somerset, and the unitary authorities of Bath & North East Somerset, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly, Isle of Wight, North Somerset, Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, South Gloucestershire, Southampton, Swindon, Torbay and Wiltshire. At the moment they are not able to consider work from writers who are based outside of the region.
• An original script that has not been previously produced. Plays or musicals that have emerged from a developmental stage (e.g. rehearsed readings or workshops) will be accepted.
• Plays that are complete (not only begun, or sample scenes).
• Plays you’ve taken some time to edit. If your play is much over 90 pages, it may benefit from editing.
• Musicals that are complete, along with demo recordings of at least 3 songs. OR Musicals that are not complete but are submitted in the form of a Full Synopsis of the plot along with demo recordings of at least 3 songs. Demos do not need to be polished recordings; rough demos are fine.