DramaWorks is coming close to the end of its time. On June 13th 2024 Digital Theatre will have bought the rights to the digital content of DramaWorks and this website will cease to exist.
Thereafter there will be no more hard copies either. Digital copies only will be available from DT+. If you haven’t been able to afford to join DT the next few months are the LAST CHANCE to buy my resources. Look at the volume of the content and make sure you are not left without.
I started DramaWorks up at a difficult time in my life, with no husband and young children, but a need to make a living. As a Head of Drama in a busy college with five productions every year [with rehearsals at weekends and in the evenings] not to mention A levels and GCSEs, it was no longer feasible to continue in the job I loved.
Luckily I had been for a number of years both an Examiner and a Chief Examiner, worked on various committees and Government quangos to do with the setting up of new types of exams and their content, so was quite high profile as a drama person with many teachers knowing at least of me and often, because of the need for a Chief Examiner to examine other Examiners wherever they worked in the UK, they could put a face to my name too.
So writing resources for teachers to use with their students appeared the way forward and I was astonished at how successful it was right from the start. There clearly was a need and for the first few years I found it hard to write enough to keep up with demand. Now, twenty-three years on, there are more than fifty resources, all written by myself, all with the focus on ‘through practice’: that is theories or whole texts tried and tested through helpful and creative exercises, plus background and context clearly explained. Anyone who has used any of these will already know how easy they are to use.
Please note that I do have some hard copies still so watch the website for offers. I still have considerable numbers of some hard copies and am considering offering them at a very reduced price so that I am not left with huge numbers that would have to be destroyed after that June 2024 date.
About five years after DramaWorks began I put out a request for plays. The result was the highly successful Plays for Student Performance, often written by other teachers who know what the demands for A level and GCSE examinations are. Many of the plays were specifically written for exam demands but there are also a number for the School Play and for young performers to cut their teeth on. Unlike the other resources which are aimed exclusively at secondary schools and colleges, a number of the plays are written for younger students from 7-8 years old upwards, though most are for secondary level.
Digital Theatre is not interested in the plays so I am putting up a website, when DramaWorks closes down, devoted exclusively to these. They include seven written by myself.
I am therefore inviting submissions to teachers to send me plays suitable for any age group. They can be short or full- length, though the plays that are most popular are still the ones suitable for examination purposes. These need to have good roles for smaller numbers – every character has to be examinable. Look at the sample sheets for the plays already there to see the sort of cast sizes and length of script. Sales won’t make you rich but you will have the satisfaction of knowing that someone somewhere is performing something you wrote. You will receive a quarter of the play sale, which will be paid at the end of every academic year. It would be good to have some new up- to-the-minute scripts.
Nearer the time I will tell you the name of the new site for the plays. Meanwhile don’t hesitate to dust off any plays you have written and e-mail them to me with your name and contact details clearly displayed above the body of the text. Send texts as attachments in Word or PDF Format please.
Obviously this is not the last you will have heard of DramaWorks. But I do not want to close this foreword to the future without thanking so very much the many loyal teachers who have continued to buy from me and support what I do. So many happy memories of visits to schools, inset days with teachers and workshops for both teachers and students.
THANK YOU and best wishes to you all, Jeni