Live Writes Directors Open Call - November 2026 Survey

A NOTE...

Before we get stuck in, we wanted to share a little about Live Writes and what to expect as a Director on it.

Live Writes is one of the first steps in our new writing journey at Live Theatre. It’s a scratch night, with minimal tech and plenty of room to experiment. As a theatre dedicated to new writing, our main focus is on the words on the page and giving writers what they need to help their work, and their craft, grow beyond the night itself.

Our audiences are a lovely mix of theatre lovers and fellow artists who wholeheartedly embrace the scratchiness. They’re up for discovering something new, rough edges and all. In fact, those rough edges are often part of the charm.

One of the joys of Live Writes for us is getting to meet brilliant new directors and performers, too. We bring people together, often for the first time, and ask them to bring a new script to life in a few hours. Nothing quite says “nice to meet you” like a shared deadline with strangers!

In our experience, the pieces that connect best with audiences are often the ones that lean into the scratch: reading stage directions aloud, keeping sets and props to a minimum (or scrapping entirely), having scripts proudly in hand, trying out different forms, and enjoying a bit of play with each other and the audience. There’s no need to hide the work in progress, that’s what everyone’s come to see.

Above all, we want you to feel free to explore, rather than under pressure to prove yourself. Live Writes isn’t your one shot to impress us. We hope it’s the beginning of a long and joyful creative relationship, with plenty of opportunities along the way to show us the full range of your directing toolkit.

For now all we ask is to bring your curiosity, your ideas and yourself. We’re really looking forward to meeting you.

1.I confirm that I am currently based in the North East of England(Required.)

Yes. I am currently based in the North East of England.

2.Full Name(Required.)

3.Email address(Required.)

4.In keeping with our mission to unearth, nurture and champion the creative talent of our region, we are accepting expressions of interest from all levels of experience. We are open to hearing from seasoned theatre makers to those wanting to try it for the first time, with opportunity to shadow directors too.

Please can you give us a few brief sentences letting us know what experience you have as a Director (if any) or experience working in other theatre roles (Again... if any.).

You can also include why you would like to direct the piece(s) selected if you like.(Required.)

5.Which roles would you like to be considered for?

The Other Room
By Liv Gilchrist

One room. A hot-cold couple in a crumbling marriage. A daughter on a journey of self-discovery, and a priest in hiding…with his sexy boyfriend Neil. Underneath the sheets, they confront some hard truths about sex. Come stay in the other room, for an intimate night in.

- a three-hander comedy

6.Best Man
By Sol Taibi

The Inbetweeners meets Aftersun. Best Man is a play about men’s mental health through the guise of a four way buddy comedy. It’s about Fatherhood and wanting to become a better man, and how we set a much better example to our children when we live in a system where men don’t speak about mental health, and more often than not groups of men are frightened to speak about how they’re actually doing. They tend not to have real conversations, or just make references to memories of days gone by; rather than speak about how they’re doing and where they are right now.

- a 4 hander comedy

7.The Smell Of Waiting
By Grace Kirby

It was an ordinary life with no secrets - until a family friend exposes what really happened when they all went on holiday. Gina’s never been inside a prison before and it won’t be the last time. She’s visiting her husband of four decades. We watch as she begins to declutter her memories. Her life. She takes us with her as she moves through security doors, barriers and alien procedures to visit Barry. All the while the emotional pain of the last few months has taken its toll and her childhood condition of osmophobia, (fear of specific or unpleasant odours) has resurfaced.

- a one woman multirole drama performed by the writer, Grace Kirby

8.The Barcardi Chronicles
By Macy Stasiak

At the Prince Albert, everyone's got a poison. Most order a double! One pub. One raffle. Several reasons to call the police. Landlady Jackie has it all under control, but how much trouble can one pub get into before last orders?

- a one woman multirole comedy performed by the writer, Macy Stasiak

9.If you are successful in your application, we will need a short bio that you are happy for us to use on the freesheet for the performance.
Please feel free to provide here.

10.If you are successful in your application, we will need a headshot or photo of yourself that you are happy for us to use on our social media, website and freesheet for the performance.
Please feel free to provide here.

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11.We'd love to shout about the amazing creatives working with us. Please provide any handles if you would like us to tag you in our posts.

X (Twitter)

Instagram

Facebook

12.Access Requirements:

Is there anything we can do to make this process more accessible for you to gain the most you can from the project? (Attending rehearsals, our correspondence with you, script formatting, etc.)