Melanie Bell

Author, Writer, Editor

Tag Archives: showcase


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New Play and Chasing Harmony Book Tour

Lots of good writing news lately. September was my book tour to celebrate Chasing Harmony’s one-year anniversary, following shortly after its ebook release. What a whirlwind!

From August 28 to September 22, a variety of book blogs hosted guest posts, excerpts, gift card giveaways, and reviews for my YA novel. You can catch up with the tour stops here! I had fun writing about everything from the cover design process to my research and forthcoming books.

Last year, I had a short play performed in the Tower Theatre Writers’ Room showcase. I’ve stayed involved with the Writers’ Room this year, and am delighted to have a play chosen for performance in the showcase again!

It couldn’t be more different. Last year’s play was a dark, feminist Dorian Gray-meets-Faust story about art and death. This one is a comedy called An IQ Test for My Birthday, directed by Ragan Keefer:

Callie gets a surprising birthday present from her father. An appointment to take an IQ test. Upon her arrival she meets a straightlaced journalist, a hard working mum and her energetic daughter. All are here for the same thing, to pass the test for their own personal agendas. Will they pass? Will their nerves get the best of them? A play that deals with themes of family, acceptance, and pride.

The Writers’ Room Showcase this year has the theme of “Home” and features four brand-new short plays that explore the theme from different angles. They’ll be onstage from December 12-16 in London.

“Home: A place? An ideal? An emotion? Tower Theatre writers explore a range of ideas suggested by this richly evocative little word in an exciting programme of short plays. Come along and see some ground-breaking new writing!” 

There’s more information on the showcase here. I hope to see some of you in the audience this winter!


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Oh, the Drama!

These last couple months have been exciting ones for my short play, The Pictures of Dora Gray. I’ve seen it read by two different casts. And at the end of the month, I’ll see it performed at the Tower Theatre’s Writers’ Room showcase.

In Oscar Wilde’s classic novel, The Pictures of Dorian Gray, a young man makes a supernatural bargain to preserve his beauty. My play features a woman who decides to use her beauty as a bargaining chip. It’s about gender, art, death, and the costs of greatness. 

It was a heady week in October when I met the cast of Dora Gray for the showcase and heard their first read through of the play. I’d met the director and assistant director earlier, and was confident the play was in good hands. Colin Guthrie gave a lot of thought to characters and relationships, and we collaborated on a few revisions. Then came the read-through. It was surreal to watch other people perform the words and story I wrote. I admit I cried a bit. 

That same week, Dora Gray was one of three short plays performed at Barons Court Theatre’s scratch night, The Sunday Fix. I watched in real time as a director directed it and a group of actors rehearsed and acted it out. At the end of the night, the plays were performed and the audience gave feedback to the writers.

It was a fascinating process to see the play evolve, and to watch two different directors’ takes on it. Not to mention meeting some great theatre people! I can’t wait to see a fully staged production after this.

If you’re in London, you can watch the Writers’ Room December showcase between 29 November and 3 December. 


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My Play Is in a December Showcase

The Tower Theatre has become one of my favorite places in London. It’s that rare thing, an amateur theatre company with its own performance space. The plays are diverse and high quality, ranging from Shakespearean comedies to contemporary theatre about the Black British experience, from intimate monologue series to expansive productions like Coram Boy. I’ve been volunteering there for a year now as a front of house steward, and by now, it feels like home. This month I’m moving to Brighton, but I’ll be coming back now and again for events at the theatre. 

The Tower has also gotten me back into playwriting, which I haven’t done since high school, when I wrote and acted in a Christmas play about angels because I remembered an old play about elves and thought, “I can do better!” 

The theatre’s Writers’ Room, previously closed, opened up to new members recently, so I joined it. It’s a lively group of theatre nerds. Most of them are involved in multiple aspects of productions, such as directing, acting, or stage management.   

The Writers’ Room put out a call for scripts for a December-themed showcase of their members’ short plays, which will take place from 29 November – 3 December. I was excited to have my short play The Pictures of Dora Gray chosen as one of five featured scripts! 

The audition notice for the showcase summarized my play much more effectively than I could have, so I’ve included it here below. I enjoyed meeting the talented directorial team and look forward to meeting the actors who will bring my words to life!

Thank you to Colin Guthrie for the summary of The Pictures of Dora Gray:

“Dora Gray is a successful artist’s model, but has been less successful in getting her own art to be appreciated. Following a heart attack she makes a deal with Death – Death can take her beauty, as long as she is given mastery over painting. If it shortens her life, it is a price she is prepared to pay.

Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray showed a man who was desperate to retain his beauty and cheat the ravages of life and time. The Pictures of Dora Gray shows a woman who is prepared to forgo her beauty if it allows her to become an exceptional artist. The play explores questions about the nature of art, beauty, fame and the way women are viewed in the male-dominated art world.”

So, if you’re in London in late November or early December, come check out the Writers’ Room showcase and find out what it’s like to make a deal with Death. I’m not going to spoil everyone else’s plays, but other highlights will include a guy in a polar bear suit, and revenge on a Prime Minister. It’s sure to be a good time!