Accidental Theatre
Belfast
www.accidentaltheatre.co.uk

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Does your company accept unsolicited scripts? What is your preferred method of script submission (e.g. full scripts, 10-page extracts, synopses)? Do you prefer hard copy (if so, to what address) or electronic submission (if so, to what email)?

We do accept unsolicited scripts through both open submissions (full scripts) and via paid reading service. The reading service allows us to help writers obtain in-depth feedback on their work without worrying about whether their work "suits the company's artistic programming". Information on all our submission options can be found here.

What should writers expect if they send a script to you? (E.g. written acknowledgement, length of time between submission and response, feedback, etc.)

If they submit an unsolicited script we'll acknowledge receipt of the play and then get back to you if it's a firm "not for us", a "we really like your writing, let's stay in touch" or a "yes yes yes".  There's no timeline for unsolicited as it's no longer a funded aspect of our work and has to be done off our own back when we can. It also means we can't usually give more than a line or two in feedback on each script. 

With reading services it's very different as we focus it on giving proper written feedback on writer's work. We'll acknowledge receipt of the script and booking and then get back to writers within approximately a month with a full written report on the script. This service is about providing professional in-depth guidance to writers and is only occasionally connected with our overall programming. We deliberately keep them separate to allow for unbiased feedback that doesn't steer writers towards our own artistic styles. 

Is there a designated point of contact in your company for new writing (e.g. a resident dramaturg or literary manager)? 

We are a new writing company through and through and each member of our team is contactable about new work. In particular our resident dramaturg Emily DeDakis works directly with script reading and fostering relationships with writers and other artists.

What structures does your company generally employ when working on new writing (commissions, workshops, readings, work-in-progress presentations, one-on-one dramaturgical meetings, etc.)

We work across multiple formats from commissions, to developing first productions of existing work, to developing writers themselves with readings, one-on-one work, scratch nights and more. Some of these are developed along with our artistic programming and other aspects are bootable as a service to meet a writer's need outside of our programming needs. You can find full details here.

What kind of new writing is your company interested in?

We want to work with bold writers of all sorts, who have something to say about the world around them and the society they live in. Our work focuses on multiple disciplines and formats merging with new writing. So highly theatrical writing that's ambitious in form will excite us the most but the skill of the writer to discuss an idea, question their surroundings and build a world will always be core to that.