Bitter Pill has a new Script Consultancy service.
Bitter Pill began The Painkiller Project in April 2020 and since then we have received and read over 3000 scripts. Every month we give feedback to the writers whose work we have found particularly striking. Many of these writers have gone on to have their work produced for the podcast.
We have now set up the consultancy service to offer feedback to playwrights at the early stages of their writing career. Whether you are professional or amateur, we will be happy to work with you in developing your script.
The service we provide involves:
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A read through of the script, with detailed notes.
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Zoom conversation and a notes exchange.
How do we write our feedback?
Every script is different, as our every writer’s needs. When giving feedback, we will take into account all the traditional elements of playwriting:
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Story
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Characters
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Dialogue
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Themes
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Form
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Structure
For each script, some of these aspects will be more important than others. Sometimes, the way a script can develop will be outside of these elements, and so we’ll look at other ways of unlocking a piece.
We will always try to structure our feedback around:
What’s good?
It’s vital that a writer understands what their strengths are - so that you know what you can rely on as well as what you might want to avoid.
What could be even better?
Could you be accentuating the positives. Is there a character we love who we want to see more of? Do you touch on an idea that fascinated us?
What’s missing?
Is there something vital that’s missing from your script? A sense of time or place, an emotional grounding, a sense of jeopardy? Or are there many small things?
What doesn’t feel right?
Is there something about certain aspects of your script - the characters, the dialogue, the form, the structure, the ideas - that feels misjudged?
What Next?
Advice
As well as providing feedback, we will try and give you some advice about what to do next. It may be that you could really benefit from a reading or a workshop or your piece. Or perhaps your play would work especially well as a radio play or a screenplay or even a short story. Or maybe it just needs another draft.
There may be books which we'll recommend you read. These could be specifically on the craft of playwriting, on the theatre in a broader sense, or even just novels or non-fiction relating to the subjects you touch on.
It might be that there is a competition or an initiative that perfectly suits your script. If there is, we will let you know. Likewise, there may be a playwriting course perfect for you
Dramaturgy
If you have found our feedback particularly helpful, we will be happy to provide our services as dramaturgs. This might be in the form of ongoing script advise. It may be for a workshop that you would like us to attend. It may even be for a scratch night or production that you would like us to work with you through the rehearsal process for. Whatever the case, we would be interested to hear from you. This would be a separate service, the fees for which would be decided on a case by case basis. Please do get in touch for more information.
FEEDBACK RATES
50% upfront and the remainder on completion. Our rates depend on the length of your script:
Up to 7500 words - £80
Up to 15,000 words - £110
Up to 22,500 words - £160
Up to 30,000 words - £210
The above rates are for a single read, for further reads of the same script we offer a discounted rate.