FREE WORKSHOPS
with industry professionals
We run at least six workshops a year, often more, inviting a wide range of fantastic guest professionals along to engage and enlighten us in topics including…
• The nuts and bolts of scriptwriting
• Writing for specific genres
• Writing for different media
• Adapting others' stories for stage or screen
• Presenting your work and getting commissioned
• Working as a script editor or a staff writer
Workshops are usually held on Saturdays at Leeds Playhouse from 11am to 4pm, and they’re absolutely free for members.
WORKSHOP DIARY 2025
Writing ghost stories with Adam Z. Robinson
Saturday 22nd March
11am to 4pm @ Leeds Playhouse
Are you interested in creating spine-chilling tales for stage and screen? Join writer and theatre-maker Adam Z Robinson for this thrilling and productive workshop on ghost-story writing.
You'll look at building tension and atmosphere, creating riveting narratives and backstories. You'll explore how best to structure a ghost story and consider the all-important question: how do you make ghost stories scary?
Adam's original plays and adaptations of classic works have toured nationally. His most recent play, Unhomely, premiered at Leeds Playhouse in 2024. Adam also hosts The Ghost Story Book Club podcast and is a prize-winning author of flash fiction.
Booking window opens Saturday 8th March via the Events tab in your member account
Writing for radio with Marion Nancarrow
Saturday 17th May
1pm to 6pm @ Leeds Playhouse
Whether you've written for radio before or it's a whole new medium for you, you're sure to get heaps out of this fab 5-hour workshop with erstwhile Head of BBC World Service Drama Marion Nancarrow.
Marion directed and produced over 300 hours of drama during her tenure at the BBC, so what she doesn't know about writing for radio isn't worth knowing!
Her workshop will include everything from listening to excerpts from radio plays, learning about the subtle but important difference between voiceover and narration, and how to record radio plays in the studio and on location - plus routes to getting your play on air. And, of course, there will be time for a Q&A at the end. If you're thinking of entering our annual radio competition, this is definitely an unmissable session!
A NOTE FOR YOUR DIARY: 1pm start instead of the usual 11am.
The booking window opens Saturday 3rd May via the events tab in your member account
Writing for games with Will Jones
Thursday 19th June
7.30pm to 9pm online
Writing games is a world away from writing screenplays and play scripts. This is your chance to take your knowledge of gaming to the next level, with Will guiding you through the realms of designers, developers and wranglers to learn how they create the worlds and structure the narrative in the games you know and love.
Then comes the interactive part, where you and Will focus in on the role of developing the protagonist for a game, which often requires creating different versions of the same character, to see how this impacts the plot structure. This promises to be an enlightening and fun session for members who have basic knowledge of games as a player.
Will teaches digital storytelling and sociological concepts at the University of York, where he is an academic in game-narrative studies. A true game-development enthusiast, he has created custom content for Team Fortress 2, Pokémon Heartgold and Dungeons & Dragons 5E. There’s nothing he enjoys more than cracking open his favourite older titles to make new and exciting experiences out of their code – be it competitive shooter action or fresh narrative experience.
The online meeting link will be shared with members in the week of the seminar
In the pipeline...
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Write and produce your own film
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Radio comedy for the BBC
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Writing for musical theatre
WATCH THIS SPACE!
HOW TO BOOK
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Numbers are limited to 20 writers per workshop.
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To attend, you must be a current paid-up member of Script Yorkshire. Join us!
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Tickets are bookable via the events page in your Script Yorkshire account, and the booking window opens on the Saturday two weeks before the workshop date.
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If the workshop is full, you can add yourself to the waiting list and you'll get an email if someone drops out.
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If you book a ticket and discover you can no longer attend, please cancel your ticket as soon as you possibly can via your account so another writer will have the chance to come along.
PAST WORKSHOPS
2025
25 January: How to kill your darlings with Lisa Holdsworth
2024
23 March: How does telly work? with Lisa Holdsworth
18 May: How to write a gripping monologue with Cheryl Martin
11 June: Writing for radio with Jonathan Hall
25 June: Writing for radio with Marion Nancarrow
9 July: Writing for radio with Jonathan Hall
16 July: Producing your own work with Dick Bonham
10 Sep: Opportunities at The Playhouse with Amy Leach/Rio Matchett
1 Oct: The script doctor is online with Jonathan Hall
5 Oct: The writers' room experience with Ian Kershaw
2023
10 January: The Proactive Writer with Jonathan Hall
11 February: Devising theatre with Actors with Lucy Campbell
18 April: Writing for radio with Oliver Emanuel
20 May: Writing & pitching a TV drama series with Jade Jones
17 June: Podcasting for scriptwriters with Pods Up North
14 October: Producing your own work with Gordon Meredith
2022
26 January: Reconnecting With Our Creativity with Script Yorkshire's workshop team
26 March: Writing Film Scripts with Julian Woodford
23 April: How To Put On Your Own Play with Dick Bonham
12 November: Writing a theatre play with Tom Wells
2021
11 & 18 January: How to Catch Ideas with James Moran
15 & 22 February: Shoot Your Script with a Smartphone with Wayne Sables
22 April: Unlock Your Creativity with Emma Adams
22 May: Sitcom writing with Bennett Arron
15 July: The First Ten Pages with Tom Needham
2020
8 February: Has it Got Legs? with Ola Animashawun
29 February: Writing for Video Games with Steve Ince
14 July: Writing for Radio Part 1 with Oliver Emanuel
18 August: Writing for Radio Part 2 with Oliver Emanuel
8 September: Writing for Radio Part 3 with Oliver Emanuel
7 November: How to Start a Podcast with Pods Up North
2018
27 January: Creative Kickstart with Ola Animashawun
10 February: Horror Writing Workshop with James Moran
17 February: Scriptwriting Essentials 1 with Lisa Holdsworth and Alison Hume
17 March: Scriptwriting Essentials 2 with Lisa Holdsworth and Alison Hume
28 April: Thriller Writing with David Allinson
26 May: Plays That Kick Ass with Ola Animashawun
16 June: How to Write for Radio Drama Q&A – Chris Reason, Gary Brown, Kamal Kaan, Everal Walsh
15 September: Using Historical Research in Story-driven Drama with Ciaran Bermingham
3 November: Writing Radio-ready Drama with Stefan Escreet
2017
18 March: Writing for Film with Jimmy Richards
27 May: Script Editing Workshop with Alison Hume
8 July: Adaptation Workshop with Martin Jameson
23 September: Writing for TV with Ian Kershaw and Debbie Oates
11 November: Writing Comedy Workshop with Toby Hadoke
16 January: Creative Workout with Emma Adams
13 February: Producing New Writing with John Tomlinson
7 May: Writing for Radio Drama with Chris Reason
16 July: How to Get Ideas from Absolutely Anywhere with Dan Bye
10 September: Ways to Use Autobiographical Material in Creating Drama with Matt Miller
5 November: Creating Drama from Original Sources with Vanessa Rosenthal
26 November: AGM/Writing and Producing TV Q&A/Christmas social
WORKSHOP ETHOS
It’s very important that our workshops are events at which people feel safe and included and can share their work without prejudice, regardless of their age, race or gender.
We ask that our members always show respect to each other in a mutually constructive and supportive way.
