CityLife

Beth McCann helping a new wave of scriptwriters

Beth McCann

The influx of creative industries into Manchester over the next 12 months is likely to turn this city into a hotbed for new writing and acting talent.

The arrival of the BBC en masse in Salford Quays means the dawning of a new hi-tech and high-spec production era for the city – and everyone is hoping Manchester people will respond by wanting to be part of the Beeb’s fresh creative blood.

One woman who knows the city is up to the task is Beth McCann: co-creator (with her husband, Gareth) of Manchester International Festival’s unofficial fringe event, Not Part Of, as well as a lecturer in writing for screen and radio at Salford and Bolton universities and a trained scriptwriter.

Since 2007, she has scheduled countless plays, performance events and music nights while wearing her Not Part Of hat. But that isn’t her only job; she also teaches aspiring scriptwriters at her city centre-based school, Primary Creations, helping them with everything from the basics of how to formulate a script to the more difficult issue of getting it commissioned.

On Tuesday, she begins her next set of sessions – six weeks of evening classes designed to get attendees from nothing to performable script before they graduate in mid-October.

 So determined is she that this should happen, in fact, that in the closing weeks she even brings in young actors to perform the work to the group; for the students, there’s no hope of hiding their creative lights under a bushell.

What, asks Beth, would be the point of letting them do that? “It’s a challenging industry,” he adds. “I can understand that it’s really hard to read things out and fear being crushed by people. But that’s what the industry is like, so it’s important they learn to deal with that.

“Everybody within the group critiques the scripts; it helps them to identify what works in other scripts and to see what might work in their own work.

“There are so many walks of life with so many stories to tell in the groups.
Scripts might not be to my personal tastes, but I can still identify a good script, one that does what it’s supposed to do. Scripts live or die in front of an audience, so that’s the only way to test them out.”

Many of Beth’s students use the course as a stepping stone towards further or higher education, while others use it to scratch a personal itch (“to prove to themselves they can – something that’s enough for them,” Beth explains) or to start their journey to great things.

Just two years ago, an aspiring writer called Janet Harrison signed up for the six week introduction to scriptwriting and screen course; this year, Janet launched her own festival – Cofilmic, a celebration of fresh talent and comedy film making which debuts in Manchester on October 31.

“The course enabled me to take my dream of scriptwriting for film and make it a reality,” says Janet. “It helped that the sessions were fairly informal and I built a really great set of friends with the other people who attended the course.

“I didn’t want to sign up for anything academic and the fact that the facilitator had a screenwriting qualification, as well as practical experience ‘in the industry’ made it a perfect option as a start point to – hopefully – my film career.”

Beth gushes with pride when she talks about the students that blossom, but she says that isn’t her main source of satisfaction.

“The thrill for me is watching people write their first short film,” she smiles.
“My students come with no idea how to write, but by week two they’re bursting with ideas and by the end they have something they can take away and start a portfolio with.

“There are people who come through that are quite quickly blowing you away, but sometimes the best writers – just like with actors – are never going to get on the big screen. I get very determined to push people, though, if that’s what they want to achieve.

“If anyone is a really great writer, I do encourage them to continue and I’ll point them towards supportive local groups, such as literature evenings or workshops to keep them writing. And though I try to keep Primary Creations and Not Part Of very separate, I would certainly encourage them to look at working with the festival.”

Becoming a short film maker has never been so simple, says Beth.
Computers, smartphones and pocket-sized high-definition cameras mean that anyone can shoot a film and distribute it easily online. But making that film engaging remains the most difficult part. “If you want to make a film these days, you can make it on your mobile phone and get it out there – you couldn’t have done that a few years ago,” Beth explains. “You don’t need big budgets; you don’t need Hollywood to make a movie.

“But the most important thing is building up a portfolio of work that proves what you can do – and knowing when it’s ready to be presented to someone. In my experience, if you send a commissioner a script, he’ll read it and ask what else you’ve got.”

Introduction to scriptwriting and screen, starts on Tuesday (7pm-9pm) in rolling six weeks blocks, £59.50, at Primary Creations, Oldham St. Advanced script development groups run Monday (6pm-8pm, 8pm-10pm) in rolling six weeks blocks, £49.50. One day intensive introduction course, October 22 (10am-5pm), £50. For all course information, visit primarycreations.org.uk.