| Last updated at 8:44 AM on 25/04/09 |
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(From left) Casie Bartlett, Shawna Simonds, Jay Brushett, Angus Woodman, Krissi Waldick and Jerika Coleman discuss their progress during a Script Frenzy write-in at Chapters on Tuesday. - Photo by Linda Browne/Special to The Telegram |
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Local wordsmiths get 'frenzied' over competition 
Writing
LINDA BROWNE
A graphic designer by day, script writer by night, Angus Woodman's interests are as varied as the characters and scenarios in his sketch comedy radio show.
While his radio show may never see the light of day, he says that's absolutely fine with him. As long as he reaches his goal of 100 pages by the end of this month, he'll be happy.
Woodman, along with about 20 other people in the province, is currently participating in Script Frenzy, an international contest where writers try to come up with 100 pages of scripted material in the month of April.
Write on
Script Frenzy, which began in 2007, is organized by The Office of Letters and Light, a non-profit organization based in Oakland, Calif., that is also behind the popular event National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
Writers, working on their own or in teams of two, can create whatever their heart desires.
Whether it be a graphic novel, TV show, stage play, screenplay or audio play, as long as their submission is at least 100 pages, and they have "ridiculous amounts of fun," anything is game.
Woodman says that while he was never an avid reader or writer up until a few years ago, once he put pen to paper, or rather fingers to keyboard, there was no stopping him.
His determination, coupled with his natural flair for the written word, has led him to become quite the prolific writer in a short span of time.
He has competed in both NaNoWriMo and the three-Day Novel contest twice.
"Someone gave me a book to read and I read it and said, 'I think I could do that.' And so I just started writing and playing around and now, a couple of years later, I've written a couple of novels and a couple of scripts. I really enjoy the process."
He counts novelist Kurt Vonnegut among his influences.
"After reading 'Slaughterhouse-Five,' I pretty much went though his entire catalogue in awe," he says.
This is Woodman's second year competing in Script Frenzy.
"It just sounded like a really good challenge, so I wanted to see if I could do it. And after doing a few of them, it's like a nice annual event," he says.
While he only made it to 70 pages last year, Woodman plans on reaching his target this time around.
"This year, I hope to finish, as everyone does. The success rate, I think, is about 10 to 20 per cent, but we try to get that up every year."
He describes the sketch comedy he is working on as random, with no real characters, plots or themes throughout the script.
"One is about two ex-bankers on the street dressed as cuts of pork as walking advertisements for a butcher because they lost their jobs in the econ collapse. And I posted one on my site about a guy who's pitching a cereal made of cocaine," he says.
He compares his script to "That Mitchell and Webb Sound," a comedy sketch show on BBC radio starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb from the popular British TV comedy series "Peep Show."
"I had never appreciated radio comedy before hearing that show," Woodman says.
"I actually kind of chose my format because, where it's a radio show format, it could almost be, maybe not produced, but it could be done by a few people with a computer. It doesn't take a lot to turn it into something you could actually publish and put on the Internet."
This year, in addition to actually writing a script, Woodman is taking on double duty by acting as a municipal liaison.
Besides being responsible for helping to organize a Script Frenzy group in the province, Woodman also co-ordinates weekly write-ins and encourages fellow writers to come out and participate.
"A lot of people don't like to come out to the events, but it's really something that the organizers try to put a lot of emphasis on because it makes the whole experience way better and the success rates are way higher if you have a community of people supporting you," he says.
He also fields questions from other writers and handles support issues.
"If they're not sure about the rules or if they're starting to have a mental breakdown halfway through, I can coach them through it, probably refer them to a psychiatrist or something," he laughs.
"It doesn't happen much, but it does happen."
From now until April 30, Woodman and a group of Script Frenzy writers will meet in a local bookstore/coffee shop once a week to discuss their progress and work on their scripts together.
Woodman says that while the general interest in the event seems to be down, there are more people in the province taking part this year.
"I just wanted to encourage other people to do it because the first event I did was the sister event NaNoWriMo and it was one of the better things that I've ever discovered. It was really great to actually accomplish something in a month," he says.
"It was of a lot of value to me, so I thought it might be of value to other people."
Like Woodman, fellow Script Frenzy writer Krissi Waldick took part in NaNoWriMo last year.
"I write novels normally, but I have trouble finishing them or even getting to the middle sometimes," she says.
This is the first time she has taken part in Script Frenzy.
"Compared to NaNoWriMo, it's pretty much nothing to write this much," she says.
While she usually writes stories of a paranormal nature, for Script Frenzy, Waldick decided to create a "sci-fi/fantasy" graphic novel.
Jerika Coleman, on the other hand, is working on an R-rated comedy that she describes as "Fargo meets Pineapple Express."
Her interest in script writing was piqued during her days at Horton High School in the Annapolis Valley.
"I took film and video last year in Grade 12, and so I got into writing scripts, and I do it on my own free time, like Krissi writes novels. And so when she mentioned Script Frenzy I thought, OK cool, this is a good idea. It'd be a good time for me to actually finish one and be able to work around people who do it," she says.
For those who are brave enough to take on Script Frenzy and are determined to complete the contest, do not expect to win a trophy or prize, or be declared the writer with the best script. Instead, you will be rewarded with a great sense of accomplishment, and a nifty certificate.
"As cliché as it sounds, everybody's a winner," Woodman laughs.
He says that for those who are curious to try the contest, there is nothing to lose.
"Give it a shot. You'd be really surprised at how good the stuff you can write in 30 days is. You always surprise yourself with what you come out with."
lindahjb@yahoo.ca
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