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Post by wally on Mar 13, 2024 23:11:27 GMT
A first time playwright, I submitted a script to a local theatre in my home city. It is a reputable theatre company that I submitted it to and they have a webpage that explains how they accept submissions. After submitting my script four months ago, they did not confirm receipt. They have not gotten back to me in anyway with positive or negative news. Recently, I sent an email to several people in the theatre asking for confirmation at least that they received my script. They have not responded.
Due to my lack of experience, I'm not sure what to think. I'm considering the following possibilities
a) My script is so bad they don't even think it's worth their time to respond
b) The script is under consideration and they have a policy not to respond while it's being evaluated
c) They are so overwhelmed with emails that they just don't have time to read and respond to my requests for confirmation
d) Something else (please explain)
Thanks for your advice.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 13, 2024 23:24:44 GMT
Almost certainly c or a variation among those lines.
They may not have one person in charge of keeping on top of submissions so it might just have slipped through the net. Or they get so many that keeping track is hard.
Don't get too disheartened. But open submission is a tough route
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Post by Jan on Mar 14, 2024 9:01:34 GMT
A first time playwright, I submitted a script to a local theatre in my home city. It is a reputable theatre company that I submitted it to and they have a webpage that explains how they accept submissions. After submitting my script four months ago, they did not confirm receipt. They have not gotten back to me in anyway with positive or negative news. Recently, I sent an email to several people in the theatre asking for confirmation at least that they received my script. They have not responded. Due to my lack of experience, I'm not sure what to think. I'm considering the following possibilities a) My script is so bad they don't even think it's worth their time to respond b) The script is under consideration and they have a policy not to respond while it's being evaluated c) They are so overwhelmed with emails that they just don't have time to read and respond to my requests for confirmation d) Something else (please explain) Thanks for your advice. It's (c) and they may not have even read the script yet. You may never hear back from them. Don't take it personally and keep trying. It is the same in publishing, the amount of unsolicited material they get is enormous and if they actually request it it is even more. However if what you submit is good enough it can break through. |
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232 posts
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Post by singingbird on Mar 14, 2024 11:32:47 GMT
As someone who has been writing theatre for almost 30 years, I can tell you I've been in this situation more times than you can imagine. It's definitely nothing to do with the quality of what you've written.
I send stuff out all the time. 99 times out of 100 you hear nothing. Even when I've been invited to pitch a new show for a reputable theatre, and have gone along with actors to perform segments and talk about it, half the time you then end up hearing nothing back, neither positive or negative. You then contact said theatre and they apologise and tell you they're busy and that you will definitely hear... then still nothing. There's only so many times you can chase places!
I also know that it's nothing to do with the quality (or not) of the writing because I've had pieces that have done well when they've eventually been staged, but that have been ignored, or rejected, countless times before that point.
Biographies of famous writers tell me this happens to them all the time. Projects look like they're happening, only for the people keen on producing them to seemingly vanish. It frankly astonishes me that anything gets greenlit and makes it to full production, because there are so many hoops to jump through before that point, and no definitive way of doing that jumping.
Write because you love doing it. Write because you need to. Keep going. Sometimes you hear back a year later out of the blue. It's rare but it happens. But don't believe that, just because you've written something the best you can, that you've done your bit and the rest of the process will follow neatly on from there. It's totally random. It's luck. But that luck can only happen if you keep trying, over and over again. It can take years. It drives me crazy, but I keep having ideas that I want to pursue, so I keep diving back into the craziness. On the few occasions it has worked out, it's the best feeling in the world.
Good luck!!
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1,265 posts
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Post by mkb on Mar 14, 2024 11:50:50 GMT
What a depressing read! Good manners should dictate that an acknowledgement of receipt email is sent at the very least. If there's no/little chance of the script being read/assessed, that should be stated too.
Do UK playwrights have any guild that stands up for better treatment?
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5,588 posts
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Post by lynette on Mar 14, 2024 13:36:36 GMT
Rude is rude. If they can’t even acknowledge receipt then call them and ask. Not pushy, sensible. We don’t want the NT staging your masterpiece at the same time as the RSC do we? Good luck with all these submissions. By golly we need new voices.
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18,811 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 14, 2024 15:23:09 GMT
If they can’t handle the volume of submissions they should stop taking further submissions. Put a note on the website where the instructions are, “not now, thank you”. If they can’t be bothered to do that then it says a lot about the organisation and if this is endemic it says a lot about the industry.
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Post by fiyerorocher on Mar 14, 2024 15:45:49 GMT
If it's anything like publishing then one 'nudge' is fine but I would not send another if that gets no response. Never hearing back is frustrating, but it's so common that it's bordering on standard practise at this point and I wouldn't risk standing out as an annoyance by repeatedly chasing when they never plan to reply. No point in burning a bridge.
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