天美传媒

The competition, hosted by 鈥极飞诲测补诲辞 - a touring theatre company based in Cornwall, known for producing darkly comic dramas - challenged writers to pen a five-minute 鈥榯wisted鈥� audio drama based on the theme of 鈥榠solation鈥�.

罢辞产测鈥檚 script, titled 鈥�10 Items or Less鈥�, was one of five to be selected from 335 entries and will now be recorded and produced by the 鈥极飞诲测补诲辞 team.

Toby, who joined our School of Culture and Communications in 2013 said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 always gratifying to be selected as a winner from a large field of entries.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 always on the lookout for suitable competitions, for both myself and my students. To beat the odds you need to have faith in your ideas and have a thick skin. Your ideas will face rejection much more often than success鈥�.

Charlotte Bister, Co-Artistic Director of said: 鈥淲e really liked the idea of running a competition, firstly to provide an opportunity to other creatives who needed something fun to do in the lockdown, and secondly, it was a good opportunity to find new talent鈥�.

The competition received submissions from all across the country, showcasing a wide range of voices and (dark) imaginations. Having written many short stories and film scripts, as well as teaching students at the Luton Campus, Toby could draw upon his experience to navigate the challenges.

鈥�5 minutes is a very short amount of time to tell a complete story, with a beginning, middle and end鈥�, he said. 鈥淎ny short form of writing requires succinctness and precision, and the writer needs to create an intriguing or compelling character,鈥�

鈥楾en Items or Less鈥� is about a supermarket cashier that gains insight into customers鈥� lives by observing their mundane purchases. The cashier begins to have suspicions abut one particular customer, who conceals a dark secret.听

Toby said: 鈥淚 took a more lateral approach to the theme of isolation, focusing on a protagonist who feels isolated at work. However, the isolation she experiences at her checkout till drives her creative imagination.

As well as winning a 拢500 prize, Toby will now get to hear his script come to life in the form of an audio drama performed by the 鈥极飞诲测补诲辞 cast.

Charlotte Bister said: 鈥淧erformance-wise, the script does a lot of the work. It鈥檚 written as an inner monologue in a naturalistic style and the quality of the writing means that the actor doesn鈥檛 have to 鈥榝orce鈥� anything to make the script work鈥�.

罢辞产测鈥檚 fellow winners are the scripts 鈥�My, Myself & A.I鈥� by Liam Kelly, 鈥�Mother Lode鈥� by Adam Elms, 鈥�The Undertaking鈥� by John Paul Jones and 鈥�Mouse鈥� by Charlotte Cromie.

The School of Culture and Communications offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. To find out more about our creative writing options at the 天美传媒 please visit /howtoapply/departments/culture-and-communications/creative-writing/

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