South Somerset District Council’s Countryside Service, The Friends of Yeovil Country Park and the Somerset Fellowship of Drama have laid the gauntlet for any aspiring playwrights to make the history of Yeovil Country Park come alive!
They are inviting writers to come forward with short plays for performing in Yeovil Country Park in late 2015.
The Friends of Yeovil Country Park have succeeded in getting ‘Awards for All’ Big Lottery funding to encourage written creativity and drama development by local people. The first step is to call on writers who live, work or volunteer in Somerset to submit their scripts. They must be at least 16 years of age. The play must last approximately fifteen minutes and should broadly fit in with historical fact relating to one of six themes. They will be judged by a judging panel. The winners will receive a certificate with an overall winner receiving a prize of £100. The deadline is 5pm on 22nd June 2015.
The themes are: the creation or maintenance of the Yeovil Railway; the creation of Ninesprings Valley Gardens ; visitors to the Victorian Jubilee Celebrations at Wyndham Hill; planting of Lime-trees on Wyndham Hill; war-time adventures on Summerhouse Hill; leather-dying and the Dodham Brook.
The six plays will be acted by amateur actors from the Yeovil area including students, drama club members and the public, who wish to give their time voluntarily. The Friends will be seeking to employ a director and will be purchasing or hiring in costumes and props. The performances will take place repeatedly as outdoor performances at Yeovil Country Park on one weekend day in late 2015. Visitors to the park will see these performances for free and will be invited to visit all six locations of the play-settings.
Councillor Sylvia Seal, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture said, “Yeovil Country Park is steeped in history and this can spark the imagination of anyone! I’m sure there are many people out there who would love the chance to see their handiwork performed in their local green space so I hope that we receive a number of worthy entries.”
Full details may be found at www.southsomersetcountryside.com and www.somersetdrama.org.uk.