The Scrap is a monthly, open-call Scratch and Jam night for new theatre. It happens every second Thursday of the month, at The Others in Stoke Newington.
At its heart, The Scrap is about giving London theatre artists opportunities to flex their creative muscles, have their work seen by an audience, gather feedback, and meet potential collaborators in an active setting. It also just whips and is a fun way to spend a Thursday.
The Scrap doubles as a mixer, where you can drop by to see what's being created in the scene at the moment, grab a drink, swap ideas etc. It's about community building, artsy cross-pollination, diversifying our perspectives and voices. All that good stuff.
It's designed to be as accessible as possible to as many people as possible. Which means we want you. In a neutral, platonic way.
So here's what you need to know:
The Scrap has three key sections to it: the Jam, the Scratch, and the opening entertainment (usually music, but we're open to persuasion).
Each works differently, so it's important to know what Scrap is the right Scrap for your Scrapping needs.
The Jam
The Jam is NST's unique, patented workshopping extravaganza. This section of the event is for individual writers, directors and actors – and it involves coming in on the afternoon of the event and Jamming a text. That means diving in with folks you've probably never met before and throwing something up on its feet in a glorious mess of creative madness.
Allow us to be more specific....
Yes, please do. What does this all entail?
For the Jam, we take script submissions from writers, and gather applications from directors and actors at the same time. We look at the scripts and try to curate a balanced evening of cool performance. Then we pair those texts up with a director and cast them with a suite of actors from the pool!
Everybody comes together at The Others at 1pm on the afternoon of the event. We say hello, we get scripts, and we GO FOR BROKE. You have four hours to workshop those script excerpts before taking a dinner break at 5pm and coming back to perform them in front of a lovely audience that night. Trust us, it's a blast.
To participate in the Jam – whether as a writer, director or actor – you need to be available from 1pm - 10pm on the day: we can't guarantee timings for the evening.
Writers
I'm a writer.
Cool, love that for you.
Thanks. How does it work for me?
If you have a text you've been working on that you'd like to jam with actors and a director, you can send us an excerpt: it should be around 10 - 20 pages (maybe fewer if it's a dense monologue), and it can't require more than four actors.
We'll let you know if we're able to programme your piece in the next quarterly block, and check if you're still interested. If you are, we'll grab a director who we feel would be a good fit for your script, and cast the roles from our pools of submissions. It's worth noting that, due to The Scrap being an open-call initiative, casting is loose and indicative only. We make every effort to be sensitive and accurate in our casting choices, but we have no guarantee of who'll apply. If a particular specificity in casting is demanded by your script, we'll endeavour to work with you to find actors who are right for the parts – but it's trickier.
If your script is being jammed, we ask that you still attend the workshopping from 1pm - 5pm on the day. The Scrap works best when it's a creative conversation, collaborative and flexible in nature. It's always best if you're present to provide insight and orientation to the other artists.
What kind of scripts you after?
NST strives for an absolute minimum of editorial preference or gatekeeping based on style, theme, content, form etc. We're open to pretty much anything.
All we really ask is that you're trying something bold, new, and formally inventive. Other than that, it's aaaaaall you friend.
Directors
What's the deal for me, daddio?
Pretty simple! You apply to direct one of our script jams. Once we've programmed the scripts for each quarter, we look for directors that might be a good fit for each. We'll reach out and check you're still down to participate. If so, you get sent the script, come in at 1pm on the day and run the session with your cast and writer!
As a director, your main job is to facilitate an exploration of the text up in the space. It's not a grand vision, it's a workshop. So your mandate is to be fun, light, collaborative and exploratory.
Sorry for calling you ‘daddio’ before, that was weird.
No worries, it happens.
What are you looking for in your dream director? Asking for a friend.
You don't need to have mountains of experience to direct at The Scrap. To make sure it's a fruitful day for all, we generally ask that you have directed something for the stage: whether that's a Uni show, community theatre, fringe performance or anything around that level.
Do I need to prepare a bunch?
Not as such. You'll be sent the script in advance to read through, and you're very welcome to bring in some props, sound cues or costume items if you think it'll spice up the workshop. But The Jam isn't meant to be a stress or large time commitment: so it's fine just to show up with a plan and a can-do attitude.
Actors
Tell me how it works. Spare no details.
Right – for you it's the simplest of all. You apply. We programme scripts. If you're right for a role we cast you and send you the script. You come in at 1pm on the day, get a printed copy of the text, and get to actin'.
Sick. But who should I be?
You should be you – and you is pretty much anyone. We generally look for a couple of stage credits to your name, which might be from any level of theatre: uni, am-dram, fringe, pro. Other than that we welcome all, as much breadth and diversity as we can gather.
Casting for The Scrap is loose and indicative only. We try to cast as close to the characters as possible, but obviously it may not be precise.
Do I have to prepare stuff?
Short answer? No. We ask that you read over the script in advance of the day, but there's no obligation to learn any lines or prepare any character notes ahead of time.
If you'd like to wear a costume item that helps you get into character that's cool, but otherwise it's a one-day affair!
The Scratch
This is the most straightforwardly recognisable part of the night. It's a Scratch showing!
Here we're looking for companies or ensembles to present a short work or excerpt from a piece they've been developing independently – usually about 25 minutes, max 30. These would be pieces that already have a team attached, and which have undergone development, rehearsal, and more thorough preparation. We usually programme one or two scratches per Scrap.
So what does my night look like?
Scratching ensembles come in at 6pm, and have half an hour to tech their piece. Then in the evening you're up and away!
The Others has a sound desk with a line-in for sound, plus three microphones. There's also a short-throw projector if you use AV. Fancy lighting important to you? That may be a problem. It's a static state, and we can't do fades or transition states of any kind.
We also need to transition between pieces fairly quickly during the night. Anything you're using set or prop-wise needs to be something you can bring in with you on the night, get up the stairs into the venue, and set-up/strike within 10 minutes.
We'll also film your piece for you so you can have a record of it if you like! Our gift to you.
Woah sounds fun, what kind of thing are you looking for?
That's the fun part: pretty much anything. We practice minimal gatekeeping, maximum accessibiliy. NST don't editorialise, and place no strictures on genre, theme, content or style for The Scrap. If you can pull it off in the time, and in this venue, we're keen to hear from you.
All we really ask is that you be bold and try something new and formally inventive. We're No Such Theatre after all. It's sort of the point.
Sounds like a deal. What else would you need from us?
Simple: SHOUT ABOUT IT.
The Scrap can only continue and be a worthwhile endeavour for folks if we get people along. If you're scratching at the event, we'd expect you to do at least a couple of social media posts about it, and aim to bring in at least 5 audience members.
And that's just generally good for everyone.
Opening Act
Nothing fancy about this part of the whole affair. We're looking for 25 minutes of rock-solid entertainment to kick off our scrappy evening with a metaphorical bang.
It's usually live music. BUT. If you're a comedian, a juggler, a magician, a clairvoyant, whatever, you might still work – so don't hesitate.
What will happen on the night?
Live musicians or opening acts come in and line-check at 6:30pm, and kick the night off around 7:15pm. Apprx. 25 minutes set.
Then you get to have a drink, kick back and enjoy the theatre.
What are you looking for?
Pretty. Much. Anything. We've had pop artists, shoegaze bands, doom-organists, jazz combos, stand-ups. We love the weird and we love the fun.
That said, The Scrap takes place in a casual bandroom setting and is meant to double as a mixer evening. So if your music is particularly screechy slash screamy – please believe we love that, but it might not be right for this particular soirée.
Generally we can't accommodate super elaborate or large ensembles. There simply ain't time. Check over The Others' tech specs to make sure they've got what you need for your act.
What else do you need from us?
We need your friends and fans to get down and around it. If you're playing on the night we'd hope to get a few social media posts, and some extra footfall through the door.
Helps keep the event rolling along.