Pub Quiz needs YOU!

As I have limited this blog to Pub Quiz related witterings I haven’t had much to post since August. I finished my attachment at The National with a first draft of Wounded and went back in October for a reading of the new play which was an amazing experience. I had a brilliant time at the Studios, just being there was incredibly productive and I am pleased with the finished play. I am on a Hollyoaks shadow scheme following the delivery of a well received trial script which means writing a second script to the same deadlines as their existing writers, attending story conference etc. I get my first draft notes back next week – fingers crossed.

But the reason for posting is that I hope anybody who went to see Pub Quiz and enjoyed the show will consider nominating/voting for one of the actors, and/or New Writing North/the production team or even me for writing, this is for the Journal Culture awards, a series of local arts awards for the region Pub Quiz was produced and toured in.

Many thanks

Link below:

http://www.thejournalcultureclub.co.uk/home/awards.aspx

PS Still waiting to hear back from ALL the regional theatres I sent Pub Quiz to and had good feedback from the London ones.

Bad Parent

I haven’t looked at my blog for such a long time let alone write a new post. I have abandoned my spoilt child. Not sure what to do, I can’t keep blogging about Pub Quiz now it’s over but then again I would like to continue to blog. And then there’s the question about a new blog, should it be anonymous which would be loads more fun or do I continue to parade myself publicly? Do I shut the Pub Quiz blog and start a brand new one or just carry on with this one? If I did I would be able to dump the one  delusional weirdo reading this but lose all the fab people who left comments and followed the play’s progress.

After the dust from Pub Quiz settled I got round to posting out a few copies to regional and London theatres along with a couple of new play ideas. I’m still waiting to hear from most of the regionals but had some good feedback from the Royal Court and an offer of an attachment from The National Theatre which will mean I can get a first draft finished of a new play. I am excited about the attachment, you get a fee, a great room to work in at the National Studios, the chance to see some amazing shows, workshop my stuff with talented people  and I will be living in London for a while. I didn’t know but The National sent somebody up to see Pub Quiz which is more than invited parties from certain local theatres did. Pub Quiz also got me a new agent who I am really enjoying working with. It also got me an interview on the BBC Writers Academy scheme but not one of the 8  places, (they thought Pub QUiz was ‘excellent’ my Eastenders script was ‘average’) Pub Quiz also got me a trial script for Hollyoaks which I am waiting to hear about.  Jennie from Lime Pictures came to see the show and we bonded over free wine.

All I need now is Pub Quiz to be taken on for a second run somewhere but I am terrible at pushing those sorts of things and am also keen to get moving on something new. I need to get out of my writing slump and my head firmly into my new characters and story.  The play I’m working on is called Wounded, it’s dark and proving difficult to mould into a first draft. I started with two characters, gradually moved to six and once I have a first draft plan on culling the parents.  I want to finish my attachment at the National with a draft that I can polish enough to be sent out.

I have missed writing the blog.

another day

Well it’s been two weeks since Pub Quiz ended. I thought I was going to be sad when the penny dropped that it was all over but I had such a positive experience and ejoyed myself so much that I have yet to feel sad it is over. I would love to see Pub Quiz get taken on by another theatre or have another tour but after four years I am also keen to get cracking with a new play and new story ideas.

Having PQ produced was a real shot in the arm for me. People have been so supportive, from reading the blog, to leaving comments and sending email and messages of support and feedback to coming to see the show. I have no other talents, writing is the only thing I can do well, or hope to do well and it is hard to maintain momentum and optimism about your chances of succeeding or belief in your own abilities without seeing your work developed, produced and appreciated. I now feel more confident about my work and my ability and determination to succeed and that is because of the team behind Pub Quiz and the audience in front of it.

Now the dust has settled I am going to get to work contacting theatres about PQ and sending out a couple of ideas for new plays and see if I can get a new commission. I am also going to be doing a trial script for a Tv soap after one of the production company’s development team came to see the play. Last week I also had a good meeting at Granada TV about some ideas I have for original drama so need to get a good outline together for one of those that is brand spanking new and yet to be committed to paper.

In the hope that Pub Quiz lives another day I am reluctant to close the blog. I have enjoyed writing it and documenting the process so until Pub Quiz is offically dead I am going to keep it open.

Thanks to everyone who has followed the journey.

Northern Stage

I am going to write about the play now the dust has settled and the experience of seeing it produced but I wanted to write about the experience of being at Northern Stage. I should have done this before but last week was a blur of visitors, performances and the bar. This was the home turf for many of the actors and it was good for them to have friends and family in (Northern Stage not the bar)

I was so excited to have my play on at Northern Stage in Newcastle. This was the icing on the cake for me and it lived up to expectations. Northern Stage is a wonderful venue with a great reputation. The staff looked after everyone really well, there were huge posters on display and best of all waiting lists for the sell out shows. Each performance was packed. The audiences were different as they are in every venue but still warm, vocal and appreciative. On Thursday we had pre and post show discussions and some interesting questions and comments. I was dreading it but once I was on stage you couldn’t shut me up, the poor actors couldn’t get a word in edgeways. I could have stayed there all day basking in the artificial light.

I didn’t go to the opening night in Newcastle but attended three performances. On Friday night there was a reception after the show, lots of food and wine. I was revoltingly pleased to be asked to sign autographs but forgot how to write my signature (remember, large quantities of wine) and clumsily wrote ‘Carina Rodney’ in full, messily, no witty comments to hand.

The only downside was a lack of national press coverage. The national press do review Northern Stage shows but not at the end of a run so I understand, would have been nice though.

You spend so long on your own as a writer, mostly you hear about what is wrong with your work, how it needs rewriting, why you are being rejected, that you have been rejected. Writing tends to be blind hope in the face of crushing disappointment so I am making no excuses for enjoying a rare success with Pub quiz and enjoying the experience so much.

Could I have done better ? Yes, in parts. I plan on another rewrite to tighten the script.

Was the ending the right one? Yes, absolutely. Anyone who didn’t get the ending, didn’t get the play.

The cast/set/director/design were great. I was privileged to have worked with that team.

I have enjoyed this week immensely. I have learnt a lot. I want to get better. I want to finish my next play ASAP. I want to see my work on stage again.

I owe a big thank you to many people.

Pub quiz provides inspiration for play (review Sunderland Echo)

Published Date: 11 April 2008, Sunderland Echo

By Ed Waugh

REVIEW: Pub Quiz, Customs House, South Shields, until Saturday

This is yet another occasion that we can proudly reflect on the huge amount of theatrical talent we have in the region.

As part of The North East Theatre Consortium, the Custom House with New Writing North present a black comedy debut by Tyneside-based Carina Rodney.

Carina has gathered together a group of largely unpleasant types for a weekly pub quiz, run by the bitter Geoff (Joe Caffrey), a wannabe comedian who missed his comedic vocation and ended up as a barman.

Like Caffrey, jack-the-lad Pete (Mickey Cochrane), insecure academic Lewis (James Cunningham), lonely school teachers Kathleen (Vicky Elliott) and Bethany (Helen Embleton), a foreigner called Asram (Joe Garton) and Jon (Chris Price) a racist, are all excellent in their roles, which at times are far from politically correct.

Psyche Stott’s bright direction allows the piece to move constantly while Mila Sanders’ stunning set makes us, the audience, feel we are actually at the pub quiz.

The first half felt a bit over long (it took 25 minutes to introduce the characters) but Rodney’s wit coupled to excellent delivery from the actors provided many laugh-out -loud moments.

The second half gathered more pace and Joe Caffrey’s performance was breathtaking.

The play should have ended with his despondent and emotional speech about wanting to be part of a team but a short scene afterwards felt tagged on and detracted slightly from what was an otherwise entertaining evening.

This runs until Saturday and it’s well worth giving the telly a miss to see such high quality live theatre.

Pub Quiz Song

In an earlier draft of Pub Quiz I had written a monologue for the character John. It was the director’s idea to turn this into a song which John plays on the juke box and then sings along with the rest of the characters oblivious to the whole thing. I wrote the lyrics which were then set to music by the composer Simon Oakes who you can hear singing on the link below. The song on the link is an early version of the song developed pre rehearsal. In the play Christopher Price (John) does a wonderful job of singing live to Bethany (Helen Embelton) and really gets the audience’s sympathy for his poor aching heart though they still laugh at his desperate attempts to impress. It is one of my favorite parts of the play.

Click to listen to A Different Side to Me

Every picture tells a story

Here are some pub quiz photos taken by Keith Pattison. You can see all seven characters: the lady teachers, Cathleen and Bethany; the University Challenge man, Lewis; Asram and his amazing jumper; the lads, Pete and John; and landlord Geoff. As well as the general pub scenes you can see a couple of surreal quiz moments when we leave the pub behind. You can also see in some detail Mila’s amazing set of the pub which can be dismantled and set up in a day. Click on the photos to enlarge. (And then click on them again to see them even bigger!)

smug

Again I am slacking on the blog. The truth is, without something to bitch and moan about I have little to say. The play is going really well, the Newcastle dates sold out two weeks before the show, the reviews have been positive, the audiences fantastic and I am hugely pleased with it all. I cannot keep saying the same thing without sounding vilely smug. Also I had a horrid lurgi for a week and then managed to throw my lap top on the floor and smash it. My husband thought I had just read a bad review. Viva the Diva!

I am going to try and post some more of the reviews or rather ask John to. I am trying to find something to moan about. There are things I would change in the play if I get to fiddle about with it again, I know I could do better here and there. There are a couple of things in certain performances that I am not happy with but more that I am delighted by from the actors. I do not like that a couple of reviews have not liked/understood the darkness of the end of the play but I am still convinced it is the right ending. There is nothing to moan about this week and in that case, what is a writer to do?

I have seen the play three times so far and will see it three more times before the end of the run. What I have noticed is how different audiences react. There is something distinctly organic in a collective audience, as a group they respond en-mass, laughing at lines one night, taking the same line seriously the next. I have found it hard to watch audience’s reactions to the bullying of Lewis. I feel protective of him, I want them to be horrified by what happens but sometimes they laugh for too long until it almost seems to catch them out. Poor Lewis. I like watching the audience almost as much as the play. Funny how they have their own collective mood and energy just like how every performance has, each feeding off the other.

However, I am feeling bad that it is all about to end. How can that be?

review from The Hexham Courant (18th April)

A quizzical look at life in the pub

Published on 18/04/2008

PRODUCED by New Writing North and directed by Psyche Stott, Pub Quiz by Carina Rodney made its debut at the Queen’s Hall, in Hexham.

At first, I was sceptical about seeing the play. I had my reservations about the story.

However, all doubts quickly disappeared after the first 10 minutes, as I saw a funny, warm-hearted play, with a hint of mystery and darkness.

In fact, I was impressed even as I sat down to watch the play. For not only was there a very impressive pub setting but some of the characters were already on stage, revealing small hints about their persona.

I felt this gave the play a much more personal feel. You felt you weren’t really ‘watching a play’; you were sitting in the pub with these characters and eavesdropping on their conversations.

But what fully convinced me of the setting and storyline were the characters. Each one had a lot of depth and intrigue about them, and as they interacted with each other you got a greater insight into their relationships with those around them.

There were star performances from all those involved, each displaying their talent effortlessly.

One performance that particularly caught my eye was that of Geoff the pub landlord, played by Joe Caffrey who gave us a fantastic typical Geordie landlord with a very dark side to him.

Pub Quiz is truly a fantastic play, exceedingly well written by a talented playwright, containing countless laughs and punch lines and a lot of twists in the storyline that will keep you guessing and hooked. It is a must see for everyone.

l For an A-level performing arts student, it is important to study all aspects of acting and working in the theatre.

My fellow drama students and I were incredibly fortunate to receive a two-hour script writing workshop at Haydon Bridge High School from the Pub Quiz creator Carina Rodney.

The two lessons we had were a fantastic learning experience with a very capable and experienced writer and teacher. We all found it an entirely useful and appropriate workshop.

The lesson started with Carina describing to us how she became a writer and she encouraged any of us with an interest in this particular area of theatre studies to pursue it in the future, as the theatre is always looking for fresh, new talent.

For the rest of the workshop Carina gave us a crash course in the foundations of script writing, creating characters.

The whole experience gave all the group thoughts of becoming involved in various areas of theatre studies, apart from just performing on stage, and also aroused the writer in all of us!

This review meant a lot to me because it came from one of the students I so enjoyed working with in the week before the play, I couldn’t see a name on the online version to credit for the review. True to that particular group of students it is an enthusiastic, original and honest response and reaction to the play. Somebody left a message on the blog about this or I wouldn’t have seen it. The only thing I don’t like is the thought of all that local and new talent waiting to be unleashed on the writing world!

play available to buy – how exciting!

	Price £4.99 plus £3 postage and packing Drama: Pub Quiz A new play by Carina Rodney. Tuesday night is quiz night at The Magpie and tonight the regulars are playing for a triple rollover jackpot. When an outsider arrives to join in with the quiz, the regulars find more than just their general knowledge tested. Taking place in real time over the course of the quiz, the play uses popular TV game show formats to interrupt reality and reveal how the characters’ relationships and past mistakes have always kept them one step away from the big prize. Available from www.newwritingnorth.com/shop/shop.php