EXCLUSIVE: A great opportunity is being offered to playwrights from the North of England.
Free Turn Entertainment and Screen Yorkshire have teamed up to launch Loop, an initiative billed as the UK’s first radio play fund to offer paid development for writing talent living, working or visiting the North.
The fund is for published film, television, play, radio or literary writers who have not had opportunities in immersive radio drama.
Applications for Loop opened this morning in the UK on the Screen Yorkshire website. Ten different writers are selected to work with a panel of UK radio play experts including commissioners, directors, producers and established writers to develop their projects. This list will be published in May.
Loop’s aim is to create a range of genres such as YA, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Fantasy and Comedy.
British indie company Free Turn, which has boosted staff in recent months, has immersive audio production as one of its strategic focus areas, alongside TV shows and films such as 2022’s Gigi and Nate. On the new talent front, it’s working on an eight-part “Sonic” drama by Grammy-nominated artist Justin Lockey, intended as a British sci-fi franchise, and an audiodoc format by writer/artist Kirk Flash , whose podcast It’s fun earned him the Rising Star award at the British Podcast Awards 2022.
“The UK has some of the best writing talent in the world and a strong tradition of producing high quality audio files,” said Free Turn CEO Jon Hamm. “At this stage, however, many talented writers are unaware of the creative potential of audio drama and how to translate these ideas into an audio medium.
“We have a clear agenda for the initiative to fill this knowledge gap, develop under-represented voices in the North of England and support Britain’s potential to continue to lead the world in this new form of entertainment. By funding this initiative and supporting this initiative with our time and team, we hope to give something back to the medium we love so much.”
Jo Schofield, Senior Talent Executive at Screen Yorkshire added: “Our region is teeming with talent who are keen to explore and experiment, creating brilliant stories across a range of platforms.”
Source: Deadline
Joseph Fearn is an entertainment and television aficionado who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for what’s hot in the world of TV, Joseph keeps his readers informed about the latest trends and must-see shows.
