I’m Leslie Ann Po, an alumnus of Red Ladder’s recently concluded “Writing for Emerging Playwrights” course led by Cheryl Martin. As the rest of the courses were in-person and open to West Yorkshire residents, I consider myself lucky that Red Ladder and Cheryl decided to create an online version of the writing course available to everyone. This is especially since I am originally from the Philippines and only this February migrated to London, where I am currently based. My only previous foray into playwriting was a full-length play I penned in high school, solely for my own entertainment.

Admittedly, I had no prior relationship with Red Ladder. I just chanced upon it while googling opportunities to learn. Whilst I still have a long way to go, I feel like I have my foot (or at least more than a few toes!) in the door through Cheryl’s mentorship. The writing course inspired me to chase more opportunities and renewed my confidence in my writing.

As for the classes themselves, I am still in awe with how Cheryl managed to pack so many lessons in such a short period of time.  Above all, she emphasised the importance of character-building in playwriting. I was impressed with how in just four sessions, she helped us hone our abilities to create complex characters.  Amongst many other things, we learned to evaluate a scene’s relevance and necessity for our characters’ development, as well as to discern the necessary details about our play’s setting to include for the audiences. What struck me the most, however, was Cheryl’s emphasis that the playwright has to root for their characters and that we should write in three levels of motivation: the conscious, the unconscious, and what the characters really need.

Sunday 14 July 2024, we writers had the chance to see our work come to life through our fellow students. At one of the studios in Northern Ballet in Leeds, those from the directing and acting classes staged our written monologues and dialogues. I had a great time meeting my fellow students in Cheryl’s classes. Whilst I already had an inkling of the talent of my fellow writers as we shared our work during our sessions, I was blown away by the sheer volume of talent among the directors and actors. Personally, seeing what I have written come to life, is definitely better than what I imagined my work to be. The performances also helped me think about how my scripts could be further improved. It finally sank in that what makes theatre quite different from other forms of writing was its collaborative nature. Whilst writers have their ideas about how their plays will come to life, the medium allows space for the creativity of directors and actors to shine as well.

I really appreciate being given this opportunity and I will always be thankful to Cheryl and Red Ladder. I feel that the courses created a community of directors, actors and writers who are all rooting for each other. I will definitely keep going back to Leeds and be on the lookout for what the theatre company has on.

As for the writing, I feel like this is only the beginning. I will just keep on going.

By Leslie Ann Po

Some of our writers. 

I have always enjoyed a good old coincidence.

Working as an independent advocate in health and social care settings, I hear people’s stories and plights. Seeking to draw attention to lesser heard voices, I wrote my first play ‘Frank’ about a man trapped in a care home. At the time, I had the 90’s banger ‘Tubthumping’ by Chumbawamba in my head, later discovering that two of the band are now writing for theatre. A few internet rabbit holes later and I found Red Ladder theatre! A radical theatre group offering a free course for emerging playwrights- flippin’ ‘eck I thought, better sign up quick!

As a woman with autism I can worry about new situations, but Cheryl Martin led the course with inclusivity and generosity. The online sessions exceeded my expectations, offering a wealth of practical advice on structure and creating character depth. There was no pressure, just lots of food for thought. What a buzz it was. I went in with no prior training, just a passion for social justice, and came out with a monologue and development of a new play. I recommend the course to any would-be writer. It’s never too late.

At the end of four classes we were invited to watch our pieces performed at a showcase event in Leeds. What a treat! An actor had learnt words I had written and real people listened and also laughed! Good folk abound, new friendships and a supportive atmosphere made for an encouraging experience. I won’t quit writing, I thought.

I have recently been shortlisted for the Shelagh Delaney writing award and am developing some new work around taboo social care themes. Thank you Red Ladder!

By Samantha Wilson

Main image and here: some of our brilliant writers, directors and actors at the sharing day with Cheryl