Who knew there were so many scriptwriters in the Blue Mountains? Committee members of the Blue Mountains group Weatherboard Theatre were overwhelmed last year when they received 31 entries for a scriptwriting competition.
The Mountain Voices project was born when the not-for-profit company received a grant to draw out, support and promote the work of local scriptwriters.
I think we expected about five scripts,” said Weatherboard vice-president Mark O’Flynn, himself a shortlisted author for the 2017 Miles Franklin award. “We know the Mountains community has produced many novelists and poets over the years, but we had no idea there were so many writers of stage, film, TV and radio scripts. It was very exciting.”
Three scripts were finally selected for a development process of readings and workshops, allowing the writers an opportunity to re-evaluate and polish their work.
The winning entry, The Bogan Mondrian, a screenplay by Steven Herrick, deals with domestic violence framed in a teenage love story set in the Mountains. The runners-up, Desk Rage by Stephen Davis and The Man Who Became Santa by Julian Leatherdale, are both comedies for the stage.
The Bogan Mondrian was performed at The Carrington library earlier this month. Desk Rage will be on on Thursday, April 26, and The Man Who Became Santa on Wednesday May 9 at 7pm.
The project was made possible by an initial grant from the Seaborn, Broughton and Walford Foundation and the generous support of local businesses, in particular the Katoomba branch of the Bendigo Community Bank. Entry tickets are by donation, no booking required. More information on Facebook, @weatherboardtheatre.
