Attended this workshop as part of HLF2014. Michael Stewart is a poet, writer and lecturer and started the workshop by talking about the BBC and the commissioning process. Radio 4 has 3 slots, 2.15 Mon-Fri and Sat 2.30-3.30/4. New writers are rare on Saturday drama and it is the best way into writing. He wrote for Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Grease Monkeys and feels that radio drama has changed. It was like theatre, but now more short scenes, like TV/films.
Michael discussed a radio play called Beast about a fishing community who catch a beast in a net and what people want to do with the beast. It divides the community, but Michael feels it exploits the medium of radio in an expert way as you are not really sure if the beast is human or not. One play begins with a woman giving birth to rabbits which is based on a case in history of someone putting them up there to fake doing so, another a man shooting a fox but the fox turning out to be a man with a tail that is part fairy. On TV it is social realism, cops, frocks and shocks.
Three short extracts from recent plays were played to the group and the attendees were asked to discover certain things to use as discussion points. The Wild Bride by Knee High Theatre Co had a fable-like approach, with a narrator. Narrative voice over is frowned on in film but not on radio. Lost and Found by Ian Kershaw, features a woman who goes to a lost and found office to discover who she is. Really it is the granddaughter of a dementia patient who pretends to have lost her mind to try to help her grandfather remember her (BBC downloads are available) and Excluded by Michael Steward where a school in Ofsted special measures is being investigated, so the worst teacher takes the worst kids out for the day so they will not be there for the inspection.
There are lots of scripts available to download on the BBC Writers Room website as it has a script library (e.g. radio 48 scripts) and you can choose by genre. Comedy and drama are very different sides to the BBC and Michael explained that in sitcom the characters don't change, but in drama there is an emotional change in the character. Michael also recommended GRIST, the page can be found on Facebook, as there are lists of competitions and opportunities posted. BBC Writers Room submission guarantees that actual commissioning staff will look at your work.
Characters and their defining actions are important for radio drama and his Do's for dialogue include subtext, characterisation, establish hierarchy, poetry, plot and raise questions. Subtext develops the character whilst moving the story forward. Unequal statuses create drama and it has to appear real without being real (poetry is in the distillation of the words). Don't be predictable, be indistinguishable. Michael recommends Story by Robert McKee as it is the bible for scriptwriting.
We then listed to another play and we had to pick out the following: who is the protagonist and what do they want? How do sound effects add to atmosphere and how are they being used? What disease is the main character suffering from? Can you spot any subtext in the dialogue? Are there any jokes/incidents that exploit the medium of radio and what is the inciting incident?
Following the feedback we were then asked to think of 3 ideas that could only be done/work best on radio, e.g. something that would cost more for TV/film. Then the separate groups shared their ideas to end the session.
#HLF2014 #MichaelStewart
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