Script to Scratch 2025: My Local Theatre Debut, Supporting New Writing & Creating A Community 😊❤️🎭

Hello world! 

Welcome back to another blog. In this blog I’ll be taking you through my journey into how I got the chance to perform at my hometown in an event called “Script to Scratch” organised by Carolyn Murray and Catherine Davies from Ginger Dog Theatre REP. What made this night even more special was that it was an event in my community, and yes whilst investing into jobs in other cities in the country is great, having projects like this is also more accessible for those who for different reasons can’t afford to travel to the big cities like London or Manchester. So without further ado, here is my journey as to what the night actually involves, how I went through the rehearsal process and the night of the performance:

What is Script to Scratch Night? 

Organised by Carolyn Murray and Catherine Davies, this was an event where writers sent in submissions of plays in progress and then got actors to perform them live which was a lot of fun! Yes this wasn’t a paid job, but what I liked about it was that it’s giving local talent a chance to show off their work whilst also giving actors like myself a chance to show off their skills. And that was a win for me! 

Application:

I first came across this opportunity during a calling advertisement on Mandy (as casting site for actors and creatives). that was when I noticed they were looking for people from my hometown, I knew I couldn’t pass up on an opportunity like this. Normally it would take me a few days to actually apply for the job (due to my autism having to take longer to process information), but this time I decided to take the plunge and applied for it ASAP. Yes it was a little bit of a waiting period but I was glad to get selected. 

Rehearsal:

This was quite different to the previous jobs I did. So I’ll break it down into little chunks so those reading it (especially my fellow autistic audience) don’t get too overwhelmed by it:

My Own Prep:

For my own prep, I looked at the scene, and used a technique which has helped me with other pieces of work. This was practical aesthetics, where in simple terms, helps to separate the actor from the character. And this was definitely helpful for this script, as this scrip tells the story of a daughter coming out to her dad. And even though I’m heterosexual, I do support those who are LGBTQ, and using the technique to substitute this scene for a similar situation whilst doing some research into coming out stories, I feel like I did well in the scene itself. 

Pre event meet up:

The Sunday before the event I got to meet the organisers and some of the participants on a zoom meeting. This was a lot of fun, as I got to put some of the names to the faces, and also got some information of the day itself. It was also great to see other like minded creatives who want to expand their crafts, and despite it not being a paid job, they do it simply for the fun of it like myself. 

Tech Rehearsal:

On the day itself, we had two hours to bring the script to life. Now that was a challenge, but all in all I think me, my fellow actor and the director did a good job, knowing what our objectives are and how we saw the script. We knew we didn’t want to over-rehearse, so we simply read the script, chatted, ran through it again and did one run on the stage. The only thing we needed to work on was the volume, but we could easily do that. 

Performance:

The performances of the piece went according to plan, and after each piece we got feedback from the Founding associate & Creative Director of Ginger Dog Alan Bradshaw I quite liked this process, and I also loved his enthusiasm on his feedback he gave to each pic as well. But again just to break it down, here is what I thought of my performance along with the other pieces I saw.

My Piece:

I feel like my piece did well, and the writer got some really good feedback. I did feel like I was trying to force myself to project at one point, but then I slowly settled into the scene and found my rhythm. And the moment where my character comes out to her dad felt special, and I think I did the scene justice! Here is a link to my Instagram below where you can see a snapshot of the scene itself! 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DL-Meizoc1x/?igsh=azJndjE2NXhjZmls

Other performances: 

All the other performances were brilliant, but I feel my favourite one was “Confession” (with a photo of the two actors in it as seen below). It has everything in it. From humour, to current trends and a plot twist which i quite liked. But everyone did a grand job on the night, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. 

Reflection: 

Overall, the night was pretty good. I got to meet new people, see amazing work, and I got to perform a piece where it’s a character I’ve never played before, so it was good to challenge myself. And it was a nice relaxed event as well, and as an autistic woman, we need more events like this. 

And that was it for my night of performing in my hometown. I hope you enjoyed this read and please see the link to the website to Ginger Dog Theatre REP so you can see who they are, what they do and events they have coming up next.

Ginger Dog Theatre

Please also see a link to my vlog of the night and how I felt on each moment and what I did to prepare for the night itself!

https://youtu.be/e3yG7zkK4wc

See you soon for another blog. Until next time…

This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)