Preview: SAND

The Stand: What is your role in the St Andrews New Drama [SAND] Festival?

Alex Mullarky: I’m the coordinator, which essentially means I got in touch with Mermaids at the start of the year and said ‘I want to make sure SAND is revived this year’, and they said ‘cool, so do we’. It has really just been a case of liaising with Mermaids and the writers and production teams.

TS: How can people get involved?

AM: The first and most important thing is to come and support St Andrews’ homegrown talent by selling out all their shows! That would be wonderful. The second way to get involved is by attending the workshop run by Rachel Wagstaff. She’s an alumna of St Andrews who has very successfully adapted Sebastian Faulks’ Birdsong for the stage among other projects. She’ll be talking about ‘How to Establish a Career as a Playwright’, examining questions like why write, what to write about, and how to write. If you’re considering a career as a playwright, it will be fantastic; even if you’re just considering writing a play, this is going to be an invaluable resource! It’s one thing I was particularly keen to make happen this year.

TS: Why do you feel that student drama is important?

AM: We’re very lucky to be at a stage in our lives when we have time to play around with our interests as well as working towards something important. St Andrews is a microcosm of the rest of the world, so we can use our time here to see whether we really do have it in us to write a play, and whether we really do enjoy working in the theatre! It’s sort of like a test run for real life; there’s less pressure (I imagine, having not reached ‘real life’ yet).

TS: How did you choose the plays that will be going up?

AM: Everyone who had even the tiniest sparkle of a play in their eye was invited to a meeting, where we assessed whether each could realistically have a play ready for March; every person who deemed themselves capable and had their proposal passed by Mermaids was scheduled into the festival.

TS: Is there a formula for success when it comes to writing a play as a student?

AM: See: Joanna Alpern! I can only recommend not putting too much pressure on yourself, especially when you’re competing with Chekhov; have fun in the process, that’s the important thing.

TS: What are you most looking forward to during SAND week?

AM: I’ve heard rumours of a dance number in Queen of Seventh Avenue which I am very much looking forward to… Really, though, the chance to hear so many St Andrews voices in one week is very exciting!

Queen of Seventh Avenue – Katie Brennan (3^rd – 4^th March)

It’s 1926, and The Bluebird Club on Manhattan’s West Side is struggling to stay open. Rose and Jon are at the end of their ropes, until Rose’s sister, Evie, comes to stay, bringing along Gus, a charismatic preacher haunted by his years spent in the trenches. How far will they go, to build an empire?

This Breathing World – Catriona Scott (4^th – 5^th March)

‘The year is 1485 A. E. After Earth. Albion, the last bastion of civilization, has been scarred by years of civil war between the Yorkist and Lancastrian parties, but now the war has ended. Or so it seems. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, is a man of war trapped in a time of peace – and he wants the Imperial throne for himself. Persuading the initially reluctant Duchess of Buckingham to aid him in his cause, with the hollow promise of changing the empire for the better, he begins his bloody rise to power.  But can he be certain of his co-conspirator’s loyalty?  Inspired by Shakespeare’s Richard III.’

Common People – Alice Shearon (6^th – 7^th March)

At a prestigious University in 1997, Brendan T. Quigley (jack of no trades, master of all – and modest, too) is struggling to get to grips with seemingly being the only student not to be born into a world of posh parties and long-standing tradition. Penelope and Jonathan, on the other hand, appear to have it sorted, having been together since Sixth Form – a veritable University love story. But maybe that’s not the case, and maybe when Brendan’s friend Robbie comes to visit, Brendan will learn something really important, for once: that just because you think you know a person doesn’t necessarily mean you actually know them.

Giulietta – Susie Coreth (8^th – 9^th March)

At the turn of Ludwig van Beethoven’s musical career, 1802, he lost two of the most important things in his life. This short play depicts the final meeting between the Maestro and Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, the Moonlight Sonata’s muse. Coreth, Giulietta’s playwright, has a personal connection to the story: the titular Giulietta is actually her 4x Great-Grandmother. This story is almost completely unknown and yet she was, evidently, an influential part in the great Maestro’s life.