Directing First Time Writers

After 30 years of putting on plays – acting, directing and producing – award-winning BBC Radio drama producer Claire Grove tells Brian Burns that it’s the challenges of working with new talent that keep her going.

The art of risk

"The complete joy of working with new writers is that they're fresh," says Claire Grove, with, yes, very palpable joy. "They might not yet have huge craft skills, but they can still take me somewhere I've never been. That’s what inspires me."

Why, though, take the risk of working with new writers, especially with such a brilliant track record and awards aplenty to dust and polish?

"Risk is the point. Writing is risk, whether you're working with a new writer or an experienced one,"says Claire. "In many ways, the medium of radio embraces risk more enthusiastically than film or television, not least because radio is very cheap.

"You just need a man, or a woman, and a microphone. We make quite a lot of drama on location and we can, for example, record in dangerous places. That's too risky for television because of how much a crew would cost. Similarly, radio takes more risks with new talent in ways that television couldn't afford to. A lot of series now famous on television - particularly in comedy - started on radio."

However, before television executives can peep through the top-floor blinds to see what new talent radio has to offer, producers like Claire have to find the people who can deliver what they promise.

Most of the new writers she works with come through other writers, actors and theatres. On their recommendations, she goes out, she looks, and she finds. But she's still barely off the starting blocks.

"A writer may have a brilliant idea but a low level of skill or craft," says Claire. "That may come with experience - then again, it may never come. You just don't know. That's another risk you have to take."

Crafty young man

Occasionally, though, Claire comes across a script that simply shines with precisely the qualities she looks for in new writing, such as a recent piece, Not Talking, by Mike Bartlett, who's just 26 and, says Claire, incredibly talented.

Not Talking comprises interwoven monologues that illuminate the same events, from the perspectives of four people who, as the title suggests, are not talking to each other. Having decided she wanted to produce this play by an unknown writer, Claire needed to send a clear signal to the audience about the quality of the work, so she offered the script to veterans Richard Briers and June Whitfield, who both thought it sensational.

"Mike's craft level was truly astonishing," says Claire. "The play was very sparely written, and had great narrative drive, a very strong story, tremendous characters and a depth of thought and truthfulness about its subject. I knew it would resonate with audiences for some time after they'd heard it. I also had to do very little editing on it, which is very unusual with a first-time writer."

Polish that script

Though Claire obviously expects to have to edit first-time writers more heavily as a rule, she stresses that if you intend to submit a radio script as a calling card, you should be confident it represents the very best that you can do. She offers the following advice:

• It's got to work off the page, so get your friends round to read it out loud.
• You've heard it said: write what you know. Nonsense. It's your right to write as a coalminer from South Africa if you want to - if your art is good enough.
• Follow your imagination. For example, Sebastian Baczkiewicz wrote The Prettiest Girl in Texas about two people hoping to profit hugely from President Kennedy's ill-fated visit to Dallas. Though not American, Sebastian’s love of American B-movies shone through the script and Claire managed to sell it to radio. And that was his first shot.
• It's not all about words. If people just keep talking, then nobody listens. On radio, silence, music and sound effects can all carry narrative.
• Radio audiences are attentive, so keep the story moving and keep them with you.
• There really is no formula to follow.

Cast away

When Claire finds the scripts she passionately believes in, she then has to be able to sum them up succinctly to sell them to commissioning editors at Radio 3 or Radio 4. Once a script has been commissioned, however, Claire and the writer work without input or interference from anyone else - unless there are issues, such as bad language, that must be referred to the BBC's policy unit or the commissioning editor - right up to the time they hand over the programme.

After a number of drafts - usually three - completed within a reasonable timeframe, she and the writer then discuss casting.

"I always ask writers who they would like in their play," says Claire. “If it's at all feasible, I try to make it happen. Also, there may be actors the writers really don't like - in which case, I won't cast them. The writer has to be happy, but the final decision is mine."

Memorably for Claire, another new writer, Chris Harris, suggested Gary Oldman for his monologue Walk Right By Me, so Claire sent him the script. Oldman loved it, and the next thing she knew she was off to Hollywood to record him.

Serious business

Do feel free to bathe in the warm, inspirational glow for a mo', but don't wander off thinking that radio drama is a carefree dander straight up to the front door of the A list. As Claire is at pains to emphasise, it is an extremely competitive and difficult profession. Out of every 100 productions put forward, 20 or fewer are commissioned. But if you believe you have something exceptional to offer the industry, then let people know. Specifically, you should:

• Make BBC Radio an early port of call. It's the biggest producer of new writing in the world.
• Visit The Writers' Room on the BBC website. As well as advice on formatting scripts and feedback, you can tap into a whole web of writing-related competitions.
• Familiarise yourself with the work of producers you're trying to sell your work to. Visit the BBC website or look in the Radio Times to see who's producing what, week by week.
• Turn on the radio. There's a play on every afternoon. Listen and learn.
• Go to your local theatre(s).
• Go listen to established writers talk about their work when they visit your local theatre, arts centre or wherever. It's all grist to the mill.
• Take your talent seriously and think of it as a business.
• Remember - nobody is going to make it happen for you.

A little respect

So, the work commissioned, the writer finally makes it to the studio. "The studio is a place to listen and be respectful of the actors and the director," says Claire. "Writers are usually blown away when they hear what really good actors can do with their words. Still, they shouldn't be afraid to ask questions or mention something that's worrying them. Studio time is very tight, though, so the professional approach is for the writer to pass a note to the director, who will decide how best to raise it. Otherwise, for the actors, there are two voices, which is just confusing."

With the first play done, ideally it's on to the next, and the next. On that particular point, Claire has one final piece of advice:

"If writing is going to be your career, it's incredibly important to be able to write across stage, television, film and radio. People often start with a stage play before approaching radio. Hopefully, they will then be approached by, or approach, television, then possibly film. You can’t do it all at once because there are different craft skills involved in each medium, but they all feed off each other. All the experienced writers I work with work across all the different media."

Wild thing

Meanwhile, Claire has plenty of varied new challenges to inspire her, including The Mahabharrata for BBC Radio 4, a new adaptation of the Orpheus myth for BBC Radio 3, and a big, outdoor project with Cornwall’s Wild Works theatre company. "They work mainly without text. It’s largely visual but enormously powerful, and I have to turn it into radio," she says, calmly.

So, no risk there then?

Relevant Links:

Claire Grove: web.ukonline.co.uk

The Writers' Room: www.bbc.co.uk/wrtiersroom

Mike Bartlett: web.ukonline.co.uk

Sebastian Baczkiewicz: web.ukonline.co.uk

Walk Right By Me: www.bbc.co.uk