Ringplay Productions - SIP 2019 11th Annual Festival Introduces the Faces of Short Tales
SIP CELEBRATES 11th ANNUAL FESTIVAL
OF THEATRE IN THE BAHAMAS BY BRINGING 10 NEW BAHAMIAN WORKS
TO THE STAGE FOR THE SECOND TIME
See what's new to our 2019 Festival!
Join Us for Another Season of Short Tales SiP 2019 - Introduces the "Faces" behind Short Tales. Today Meet James Marsh
Story by Dr. Nicolette Bethel
Shakespeare in Paradise
is a theatre festival held every October in Nassau, Bahamas. Part of
its mission is to develop new works and new talent for Bahamian
theatre. Short Tales is its latest project in that endeavour celebrating its second year.
Our series on the Faces of Short Tales, this SiP Festival continues with James Marsh.
Want to hear the story of some disgruntled swimming pigs? Well, James Marsh’s “Pig’s Paradise” is certainly the play for you! We asked him to tell us a little about his “pig-nacious”
play and the inspiration behind it, and he said “tourism plays such a
huge role in Bahamian life. I wondered what it must be like not just to
work in tourism, but to be the attraction itself. Like a swimming pig.
Then, what if you didn’t enjoy being a tourist attraction – and you
could talk?” He continued, “that’s where my play Pigs’ Paradise came
from. It’s about some swimming pigs who are disgruntled with their lot
and decide to change their world”
Although
it was not always his goal to become a playwright, James credits the
theatre for being a place where one can see a group of creative people
bringing your world to life! His love for theatre pushed him to become
more involved in all aspects of the art. He says, “I used to work as an
actor in the UK, founded small theatre companies, performed at
improvised comedy nights, produced plays, wrote sketch shows, directed
plays and worked behind the scenes. I stopped for a while when I moved
into writing and marketing roles, so it’s great to re-ignite that
dramatic fire.” This year, James will be sharing his expertise as the
director of Stephen Hanna’s “All Our Monsters”, a featured play
in Short Tales 2019. According to James, what he loves about Short
Tales concept, “is that the audience can see ten very different plays in
a single evening.” He also said, “if you don’t like a particular piece,
don’t worry – there’s another one along in a minute!” In his opinion,
short ten-minute plays bring much challenges, from condensing the story,
to only choosing the pertinent and honing dialogue all while
maintaining the pace and personality of the piece. He assured, “it takes
a fair bit of rewriting and creating new drafts to get there.
What advice would you give to aspiring playwrights? We also asked James what advice he would
give aspiring playwrights and he urged them to start writing! “It
doesn’t matter what you write as long as you get something down on paper
or screen but commit to putting something on the page. Don’t worry if
you can’t work out how a scene works – just put a note on the page,
start the next scene and work your way through to the end to create a
first draft. You can figure out the gaps later. The real work is in the
next stage – the rewriting. Slowly, draft by draft, you will spiral up
towards your finished work. No-one ever gets it right first time!”
If you want to see James Marsh’s play, come see Short Tales 2019 at the Shakespeare in Paradise Theatre Festival!
Season Two Ten New Plays
Ten New Writers
Nine Directors And A Whole Lot of Fun and Excitement
Premieres onMonday, September 30, 2019 Philip A. Burrows Theatre The Dundas Centre for The Performing Arts.
SAVE THE DATES SHORT TALES SEPTEMBER 30, 2019
OCTOBER 2, 8, 10 ,11 & 12, 2019
THE DUNDAS CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS,
PHILIP A. BURROWS THEATRE
Short Tales is one of four productions and one special event that makes up SIP 2019 Check Out Our Other Productions for SIP 2019
