Well, you did ask ...

I am constantly being asked for advice about writing for theatre and the "what" and "how" of my approach to it. Additionally, my considerations in trying to get work staged.

I am no expert. I’ve never put myself up as an authority on anything, especially writing. I just do what I do in a way which has evolved through trial, error and hard work and heartache. But I do it because I love it. OK, I question myself constantly about my own process and product. But I guess all writers endure the joy of self-disbelief. For what it’s worth, here you go. Thirty-seven points in no particular order. The product of a couple of hours contemplating what’s in my very scary brain. The caveat: this is what I think based on what I’ve done and experienced. Different people with different experiences WILL have very different advice/comments. Welcome to life. Agree, disagree, your choice. I have no doubt that there are glaring omissions too. All I will say is, it’s not done me any harm.

NB: I've decided this will be a living page. As and when, I will update/add to it (last updated 19/02/2025 - No. 22)

1. Write. No excuses. Don’t wait. No searching for creativity. No ‘finding time.’ No waiting for ideas to come along. Choose a keyboard, an electronic document, a piece of software, a piece of paper. And write something. Anything. Write nonsense. Doodle. But let your creativity loose to explore. The most banal of things can unleash it. You need to discover the habit before you discover the idea.
2. Whether you like it or not, your business brain and creative brain must go hand-in-hand - and never let go of each other.
3. Throw nothing away. Absolutely nothing. A thought is a thought and all are valid. It may be an intrusive one at the wrong time, an annoying one, an ill-timed one; nothing to do with what you are trying to do. But I promise you, some time, someday, that piece of the jigsaw will fit a picture you are trying to complete. And if not exactly, it will introduce you to the piece of a new story you are searching for.
4. Without even asking others, I know my approach to writing is inefficient, unstructured, time consuming and illogical. I can't say that I use storyboards or any boards. I know, my bad. But it works for me. I enjoy it. So, find what works for you be that the product of trial and error or a course of study. My characters speak to me and their story only ends when they have finished explaining themselves. They take me on a journey and I trust them. Their destination may change, it may take an age to resolve, they may introduce me to unexpected people along the way. But I just go with the flow. So find your flow and dive in. I know that there are right and wrong ways to approach writing based on the collective wisdom out there. But storytelling and imagination are for me, alchemy - and it is glorious. Without them, writing is in jeopardy of being just another process. Don't allow structure and plans to rob you of that experience, gifted by an unfettered imagination. Because without it, you run the risk of being effective without being affective. And the latter is where the magic lies. So, through trial and error or a course of study, learn where your happy, creative place is and discipline yourself to visit there, even when you have no reason to call by. Unexpected visitors so often arrive bearing gifts. Don't be prejudiced by what Virgil wrote of them!
5. Watch theatre. Watch what you want to write about. Watch what you don’t want to write about. Immerse yourself in the form. There is so much to understand and appreciate, even from the stuff you personally don't rate.
6. People-watch. Constantly. Listen, observe, understand. Ideas for plays are born in real life no matter how abstract they may become. Dialogue, structure, timing, humour, culture, relationships, offence, passion, disgust, power, conflict. You name it. Inspiration is found in the fortune, fun, failings and frailty of real life.
7. Refine your skill of storytelling. We are storytellers and practice perfects. Read and then read more. Scripts, books, newspapers. What captures and captivates? What grabs and maintains interest? Practice, pilot, perfect. You will never stop learning and if nothing else, it enhances your vocabulary and rekindles your appreciation of the beauty of language; the phraseology and words you wish you'd not forgotten. NB: and never dumb down your language. Don't worry about making a stranger reach for a dictionary. You are doing them a favour.
8. Refine the skill of editing. Don’t be ruthless, be intelligent. Be true to your style. Be true to your characters. But be careful what you cut. Pulling a thread in a tapestry causes snags in places you wouldn’t expect. Ill thought through editing does much the same.
9. Big casts means big casting which means big costs - which then can mean little interest.
10. Explore and understand 'currency.' What are audiences interested in? But equally, don’t just follow the crowd for the sake of ease. The world is full of enough sheeple incapable of an original thought. Write what you love, but also, write what others will want to see. And don’t be afraid. Be brave, fearless. Dare to dare. Challenging is also entertaining. Personally, I avoid preaching. Granted, there is a time, a place, a platform and an audience if that is your thing and your purpose. Just bear in mind that at the root of the form, many of us just go to theatre to be entertained. There are much cheaper and easier ways of spending an evening being offended and/or miserable.
11. If theatre is an art, humour is a specialism. Not everyone has that skill to devise, construct and then, write it. And irrespective of that, an audience will decide what is and is not funny. Audience dynamics are, in themselves, a science. They vary widely with each performance, each demographic, each town, each country. What one roars at, another will remain silent. It's not a failure. Just a foible. They've paid for a ticket. Let them decide.
12. Just to prove it isn't just you, fate or the gods. You will find in a performance that during the key moment of a piece, your best comedy line, dramatic moment, most beautifully crafted piece of prose, an audience member will cough all over it. It is written in the stars. Equally, an elderly couple will have a beautifully projected chat about what time their bus is. Welcome to writing. Welcome to theatre. Let it go because your work is done.
13. Some writing is for Christmas, not for life. Some writing has a shelf life. Learn to accept that some writing may not be forever. Some have their time after which, it’s time for you to move on to new projects, new opportunities.
14. Some ideas can be overwhelming because of their sheer size. Writing historical pieces is a good example for me. They can deter you from ever trying. The lesson I learnt was that you don't just edit your draft. You begin by editing your idea. Finding that part of a vast landscape which has the most captivating view. Focussing on characters and their relationships helped me in finding the storytelling within the history. That place in a timeline where the potential lies. Less is more. Otherwise, you run the risk of diluting, even drowning the characters.
15. Constantly changing a piece? Hmm. Whether it’s first aid or lifesaving, constantly editing may achieve nothing. It may not be working for a reason. Sometimes, you need to step away to find the way. And that 'way' may be filing it as an interesting idea which might even end up being used for spare parts.
16. Love what you write about. Love your ideas. Discover and always hold onto what excitement feels like when we create something. Everything you write is unique. No one in history will have written exactly what you have. That is some achievement. Be inspired by your creativity. Be inspired by you.
17. Only seek advice from people whose advice matters to you. Those who know the marketplace and have operated/sold successfully within it. There is a chasm of difference between advice and opinion. Advice comes with qualifications and evidence. Opinion can come with baggage and bias. Just accept that not everyone will think that your new baby is the most beautiful. And just because some may not ‘like’ your work does not invalidate it. Everybody is a critic at heart and when they have bought a ticket you have to accept that they have also bought the right to an opinion – whether you like it or not. One person is not the public. And the public are the ones that matter. Listen to the voices you need to hear. BUT, if they are overwhelming, they may be making a point which you don't want to hear.
18. Don’t surround yourself with just the feedback of those who love you unreservedly. They might end up only telling you (as above) what they think you should hear. Relying on well-meaning rescuers gives you a warm feeling but little else.
19. Network. With other creatives, theatre makers, theatre owners, theatre goers, producers, actors, directors, business people. Those who might have an interest in you and your work and potentially, give it stage time. Those who can then become vocal agents and advocates for it. Above all, find and engage with those who choose seasons and repertoires. Reading and evaluating a script for performance is a skill. Many theatres are still wary of new work and new writers. Only a personal relationship with them can hope to change that. Guide them and evidence why they should choose you. And be prepared to put the hours in with them. If you want to get your work on stage, you need to understand that your role as a writer is not just about writing. PS: Producers who are looking for opportunities are your new best friends. Understand their needs.
20. Read others work. Don’t just rely on watching it.
21. Be objective. If your work needs any investment, be it time or money, spend wisely and spend on what might have the most realistic chance of a return. Many have gone before you and lost more than their shirt because they became too attached to their blinkers.
22. Achieving publication is not the ultimate goal. It is just one of them. OK, it provides a measure of validation and opens up the marketplace - but you still need to sell 'you' and your own wares. A publisher's business is about making money out of your business. And supportive as they are, they still need to turn a profit. Irrespective of the quality of your writing, it might not be right for them and their catalogue. If you get a refusal, understand why before you self-combust. But keep at it. Be visible and vocal about your output. But also be visible and vocal about other writers. Generosity breeds generosity and you must aim to be part of a greater creative community which cares to care.
23. A synopsis is a sales pitch. It is just as important as the work itself. The most important 150 words you will ever write. Craft it and don’t allow it to be an aside, the obligatory summary of a work. Otherwise, it won’t do justice. It will create an injustice.
24. Artwork, artwork, artwork. As important as the synopsis. Unless you are that type of creative who can produce your own, engage someone who is. Work with a creative who can visualise and conceptualise your work in one image. Do justice to it. Sell it to the uninformed. An image which will engage and tease. An image which will convince a company to pay to perform it and an audience to pay to watch it. People who use images belonging to others and harvested from the net are unimaginative thieves.
25. People who say that any publicity is good publicity need help. Good publicity is the only publicity. If you don’t know how to create it, market and publicise you and your work, find/engage people that do. If you are going to invest in anything, prioritise this.
26. Professional quality photographs and videos invariably only ever come from professional people. Find people who don't just have a camera, but a track record in using it, specifically in theatre. Garbage pictures taken on a shaky mobile during a rehearsal do nothing more than use up your data allowance. They will never sell the work or a ticket to watch it. Ever. Equally, rehearsal video footage with platform/stock music accompaniment will get more ‘swipes left’ than a dating app. Pro photos and video sell tickets when used correctly and in a timely manner. Don’t allow your work to be represented online in a manner which demeans or undermines its value.
27. Never be that desperate to have your work performed at any price. Guard the integrity of the piece and the reputation of the creator with your life. You have poured your soul, your time and your money into making something of you. If you find yourself saying “Yeah, feel free to do what you want, change anything” then give yourself a slap.
28. If someone wants to change your work, the conversation should start with “why?” And every reply should then be answered with “why?’ until you get to the crux of the request. But be balanced and objective. It might be that they have found an issue. Then discuss it. Conversely, they might not possess the vision, the skill, the creative intelligence to appreciate or understand it. If you have done your work correctly, the question should not arise. If they want to rewrite it then maybe they need to take up writing; they may have chosen the wrong piece altogether. Worse, the production may have the wrong director. But in the first instance, be prepared to listen.
29. As soon as possible, get the work on its feet. Get actors you trust and respect to bring it to life. Hear your words out loud. Hear and feel the characters THEY create from it. Their advice and experience is invaluable. That room is your R&D laboratory. Use their findings to refine your product.
30. Sit in the auditorium with a fee paying public to watch your work. Soak in the collective experience which turns them from individuals into an audience. Observe the ebb and flow of the tide, where the waves lap, where they overwhelm and where they recede.
31. Rehearsals are for the performing company. You are a well-meaning observer, a person of interest with an interest; a passenger on their journey. They didn’t meddle in your work. Don’t meddle in theirs. Allow them to exercise the trust you have placed in them.
32. Get to understand everything else. Everything. Production, budgets, funding, direction, acting, casting, scenes, scene changes, rehearsals, technical, set construction, wardrobe, sales, marketing, box office etc etc etc. Roles and responsibilities in theatre. Your writing MUST complement every aspect which takes it from page to stage. If a work is incapable of being cast, delivered, staged, sold, toured, (all of the above and so many more) you’ll only ever write lovely stories that no one has ever heard of.
33. Invest in an online presence (website) created by people who know what they are doing. All that magic about meta tags, optimisation, key words and a million phrases you/me may know nothing about, they do. That is what you are paying for. The domain name is just an address. You need quality builders and a building which people will want to visit and explore. (And even my description proves how little I know).
34. Social Media. So many platforms, so little time. Aim to build a following of likeminded creatives and supporters with the use of quality content. Posting and repeating the same posts on every platform constantly, soon shifts you and your work from interesting to annoying. It takes time, knowledge, planning and a budget if you want it to be done effectively and productively. Aim to stand out for the right reasons. Engaging and evolving content. Fun, interesting, visual, brief, targeted. Desperation and pleading have never been brilliant sales tools.
35. With your script, you have provided the ingredients to bake a cake. The creative team will then make it, adding to it their own essential skills and from their own experience. Don't get too precious about what comes out of the oven. It's not your cake! Instead, be proud that they took up your challenge. Remember, a production honours the writer and their work. Allow them some professional leeway with their seasoning.
36. Let’s end by being a tad controversial. Treat reviews with caution. Do they validate what you already thought? Do they contradict the audience and their feedback? Do you learn anything from them? How will you use that learning? How do they compare to peer feedback? Vitally, does it come from a person with a pedigree and a following? Think about it. Who and what is their audience? For every production there will be a blogger wanting a ticket. Some are serial attenders with no real voice and little traction. Agents for themselves, not the arts. Avoid the lovers of everything and equally, the sniffy elite who wallow in telling you how much they know. Do your research. Read their work! Seek out the genuine reviewers, for they are out there. Those who understand theatre and celebrate the value and the worth in the doing. With a platform, a pedigree and a passion. Who know the art and the repertoire. But don't be disillusioned if they don't pour platitudes on it or throw virtual bouquets your way. Just roll with it, regroup and move on.
37. And lastly, don't chase after stars and ratings. I'm not a fan of this "five gold stars or nothing" mentality. You left Infant school years ago. You no longer need gold stars on your work to validate it or you, no matter what the 'star-makers' may tell you.

PS: if you want a copy of the above to use, just get in touch. The usual provision of a credit is enough.