Skype Me! Sheffield and the World

Performance Slots

On Saturday 29 October Off the Shelf is putting on a Skype night, where writers in Sheffield will be joined by writers from around the world appearing via Skype. The evening will alternate between appearances from local writers and remote writers, who will be projected onto the screen in Showroom Cinema 5, and will include one specially commissioned Skype script.

We are looking for six writers who would like to read or perform their work (or have someone else perform it for them) in Sheffield on the night. Slots are 5–7 minutes, and we are interested in any genre, be it poetry, prose, storytelling, or dramatic monologue. If you don’t want to perform your work yourself, we can find actors to do this for you.

This is all about how connected we are, so the spur word is ‘contact’. It could be physical, emotional, or electrical contact, contact sport, contact with the dead or with creatures from another planet, or just another number in your address book.

If you would like to take part, please send your proposal to by 5pm on Tuesday 13 September 2011. You can submit your proposal using the application form. It should include:

• your name, telephone number, and email address
• some information about yourself and your writing
• the text you would like to submit or an extract from it, or if this isn’t possible, a description of it (preferably attached in Word, ODT, PDF, or RTF format)
• who will be performing it (yourself or someone else) and whether you want us to help find someone for you.

You may attach or provide a link to one piece of video or audio if you feel this is appropriate. We are also looking for writers abroad who are connected to writers in Sheffield to appear via Skype, so please send us any suggestions.

£150 Skype Script Commission

As part of this event, we are commissioning a new piece of writing designed especially for performance over Skype.

It could be a dialogue between long-distance lovers, a business call, a case of internet grooming, or maybe the speakers are simply talking in parallel, unaware of each other’s presence. Are they even speaking? Perhaps the call gets cut off, they redial and get someone else. Use your imagination!

We want to see something that makes innovative use of this unusual performance situation, where human relationships are mediated by modern, but not necessarily reliable, technology. We are not fussy about genres—whether it’s drama, poetry, or performance art—so long as it will engage the audience.

To apply, please fill in and return the application form, or for more information, write to . The deadline for proposals is Tuesday 30 August at 5pm.

Call for Actors: Skype Fright

Three actors are needed for Skype Fright, a short horror pastiche by Andrew T Wright to be delivered over Skype on 29 October 2011 as part of Skype Me! Sheffield and the World. The actors all need to based in or within easy reach of Sheffield.

Two female actors and one male actor are needed.
FEMALE ROLES to play prank callers: acting age 18 to 23, confident, genuine presence, and a sense of comic timing.
MALE ROLE to play phantom: demonic/scary voice required.

If you are interested in any of these roles, please contact for further details.