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unusual : open up

Do you have a half finished masterpiece tucked away in your garage? Or are you working on your next screenplay? Perhaps you're bored of endless band rehearsals in your bedroom? Then our new series is for you. Open Up is for any-one who's been reading londonlostandfound.com and thinking "I can do that!"

From where to get your first gig, to open stage poetry events. From theatre scratch nights to comedy open mic venues, we've got it all.

Open Screen
Open Stage
Open Mic
Open Gigs
Open Gallery
Open Poetry

PART ONE : OPEN SCREEN

The first in our series aims to help budding film makers with some great opportunities to show off. Short film and video nights, such as Shortwave at 93 Feet East (www.shortwavefilms.co.uk), Shoot and Slice (www.shootandslice.com), and Future Shorts (www.futureshorts.co.uk) are always looking for submissions for their regular events.

Raindance (www.raindance.co.uk), the dedicated website for independent film makers, have several one-off screening events. You can also find special previews and festivals featured in the cinema section of The Selection, so watch this space, and come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough.

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PART TWO : OPEN STAGE

The second in our six-part series focuses on theatre. While the considerable quantity of preparatory work required for theatrical productions means that there aren’t so many ‘open mic’ style evenings, there are still opportunities for people to air new work and work in progress.

Arcola Shortcuts, Arcola Street
http://www.arcolatheatre.com/currentshows/shortcuts.htm
This is a festival organized by the Arcola Theatre, in Dalston, set to take
place in May this year. It promises to be a forum for new work. For more details, and to submit a proposal to show your own work, e-mail arcolashortcuts@yahoo.co.uk.

Scratch Nights at Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill
http://www.bac.org.uk
BAC Scratch evenings are performances of work in progress at developmental stages. They are normally on the first Sunday of each month and follow the
format of about four performances in one of the theatres, each performance lasting 10 to 15 minutes, then everyone decants to the café/bar to give feedback and talk about the work. To submit a proposal to perform, e-mail lydias@bac.org.uk. I strongly advise against phoning them, the automated message rubbish will drive you up the wall!

The Jerwood Space, Bankside
Rent able rehearsal spaces. Not cheap as chips but that’s London for you.
Telephone 020 7654 0171 or email space@jerwoodspace.co.uk.

The Young Vic, Brixton Road
http://www.youngvic.org
They say their policy is to present seasons of work by new directors in tandem with productions by some of the great directors of the world.

Soho Theatre and Writers Centre, Dean Street
http://www.sohotheatre.com
There aren;t any regular opportunities like the BAC Scratch nights but the venue supports “bold” work. Currently the centre is running a two week series of events, under the title Open House, to open the centre to more people.

Riverside Studios, Crisp Road
http://www.riversidestudios.co.uk
Riverside Studios aims to be “London’s pre-eminent space for risk, inspiration
and creativity in the arts and media, in a setting which is energetic,
internationalist and friendly”. Currently they are running a series of short performances by guest writers. The shows consist of five 10 minute performances and are lead by Siobhan Curham and Courttia Newland. Phone 020 8237 1000 for details.

White Bear Theatre Club, Kennington Park Road
http://www.whitebear.uktheatre.net
This place should be given a medal. The biggest hurdle in small scale theatre production is capital; a place to give you a chance when nobody with money believes in you. The White Bear rental policy is a 60/40 split of box office takings. For more details call Mike Kingsbury (Artistic Director) on 020 7793 9193.

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PART THREE : OPEN MIC

The third in our six part series focuses on comedy open mic nights. Yes; if you fancy yourself as the latest in that great fringe tradition, following in the footsteps of Eddie Izzard and Mark Thomas, then let us guide you to the greatest open access comedy nights in London.

New Acts Night, The Bedford, 77 Bedford Hill, SW12 / Balham tube
For four years now the infamous Bedford pub has been running a New Acts Night. Every Tuesday you can stand up against other newbie comics. The audience gets to vote for the best act who go on to Best of New Acts. For more information call Ed on 020 8673 2443.

Comedy Cafe, 66 Rivington Street, EC2 / Old Street tube
One of only a handful of purpose built comedy venues in London, the Comedy Cafe has an open spot on Wednesday evenings. For more information call 020 7739 5706.

The Comedy Store, 1a Oxendon Street, SW1 / Piccadilly Circus tube
This one is for comedians with a bit of experience under their belts, but any-one who has been performing for at least six months and has at least five minutes of material can apply. The waiting list is six months, but the Store is probably the most famous comedy venue in London, so it's worth a shot. Call 020 7930 2949 or e-mail alex@thecomedystore.co.uk for more details.

The Laughing Horse, The Coach and Horses, 1 Great Marlborough Street, W1 and The Blue Posts, 18 Kingly Street, W1 / Oxford Circus tube
The Laughing Horse has several venues across London, and specialise in finding and promoting new comedy talent. They run course for comedians, alongside new talent competitions. The Coach and Horses Laughing Horse has an open slot every Tuesday, whilst the Blue Posts holds sessions for newcomers on Mondays. Visit the website www.laughinghorse.co.uk for more details about these and other venues across London, in Camden, Islington, Wimbledon, Kingston, Richmond and Walthamstow.

Pear Shaped, The Fitzroy Tavern, Charlotte Street, W1 / Goodge Street tube
This strange club proudly announces itself as the second worst comedy club in London, and focuses on fun rather than quality control. The club offers comics the chance to perform in a friendly non competitive atmosphere, and all acts have the chance to perform a five minute set. Email briandamagekrysstal@yahoo.com.au for more details.

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PART FOUR : OPEN GIGS

As should be the case in a city as big and vibrant as London, there are open mic nights every night of the week, for all you aspiring musicians. Playing at them is both a great opportunity to use an audience as a sounding board for trying out new stuff, and really good fun. The general idea is turn up with your ideas and instruments which are portable (wind and string instruments) and sometimes a drum kit is provided. The provision of a PA is the norm, as is the first come first served basis for getting your name on the evening's play list.

Mondays

Ain't Nothing But ..... A Blues Bar, 20 Kingly Street, London, W1 / Free

Up All Night Music, The Spice of Life, 6 Moor Street, W1 / Starts 6.30pm / Free

Parker Place, 51 Parker Street, WC2 / PA, back line, stage and lighting provided. Players to arrive by 8pm / Free

Artesian Well Wandsworth Road, SW8 / Monday and Wednesday Nights 8pm - 12pm, PA provided / Free

Half Moon 93 Lower Richmond Road, SW15 / Monday Nights 8pm - 11pm
PA and monitor speakers provided / £2

Tuesdays

Up All Night Music, The Spice of Life, 6 Moor Street, W1 / Blues Jam Session from 7pm / Free

Montuno's, 138-139 Shoreditch High Street, E1 / Lunchtime and evening open mic sessions / Free before 8pm but £6 after

Spirit & Soul, Troys Wine Bar, 10 Hoxton Street, EC1 / A bit different: a ‘house band’ plays for singers who turn up

The Wheatsheaf, Windmill Hill, Enfield / Third Tuesday of every month / 8pm - 11pm / Free

Wednesdays

The Virtually Acoustic Club, Progress Bar, 162 Tufnell Park Road, N7 / 7.30pm - 11pm / PA and monitor speakers provided, and the proviso that you only play 2 songs / Free

Singers and poets night, The Bug Bar, St Matthews Church, Brixton Hill, SW2 / 1st Wednesday of every month / 7pm - 1am / Free before 8pm but £4 after

Mic Club Open Mic night, Plan-B, 418 Brixton Road SW2 / Last Wednesday of every month / Free before 7pm, show starts at 8.30pm

The River Bar, 208 Tower Bridge Road, SE1 / 8pm - 11pm / PA provided, arrive before 8pm to have your name on the play list / Free

Shebeens Club, The George and Dragon, 183 High Street, Acton W3 / 9pm - midnight / PA, back line drum kit and keyboards provided / Free

Thursdays

Pete Boulters Blues Jam, Royal George Goslett Yard, Charing Cross Road WC2 / 8.30pm - 11pm / Vocal PA, guitar amp. Bass amp and drum kit sometimes provided / Free

The Hop House, 149 Maple Road, Penge, SE20 / 8-30pm - 11.30pm / Second and fourth Thursday of every month / PA provided / Free

First Thursday Club, The White Horse, 154 Fleet Road, NW3 / First Thursday of every month from 7.30pm / £4 / This is more ‘pre-bookable’ than the normal ‘just turn up and see what happens’; so email firstthursdayclub@yahoo.co.uk or call 020 7916 7016 or 07966 513 954.

The T-Bird, Blackstock Road, Finsbury Park, N4 / The one and only T-Bird, every other Thursday. Organised by Tim and Andreas, who couldn’t be friendlier / PA is provided and the crowd is there to listen, support and have a good time / From 7pm until late / Free

Fridays

White Hart, Mile End Road, E1 / Thursday and Friday 8pm - late / Not just music but also comedy and poetry and general free for all. An open and uncensored mic / Free

Saturdays

The W.K.D. Club, 18 Kentish Town Road, Camden, N1 / Saturday and Sunday afternoons / Blues Jam, Jazz Jam and Record Fairs 1pm - 6pm /
Both the Blues Jam and the Jazz Jam are free but there might be the opportunity to give a donation. Amps and drum kit provided.

Sundays

Club Fabulous, 60 Copenhagen Street, N1 / 6.30pm - 10pm / 10 minutes slots and a finite number of them. The earlier you get there the better your chances / Free

The Spot nightclub, Maiden Lane, WC2 / 9.30pm / £5

The Efrra / Kellet Road, SW2 / A Sunday night jazz jam following on from the exceptional regular band / Free

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PART FIVE : OPEN GALLERY

For every ill London has, such as crime, expense, pollution etc, there is an art gallery to more than compensate. However, there are also many more artists wanting to show their work. In a recent interview in The Independent, Nicholas Serotta, the Director of Tate Modern, said that one of the difficulties of funding the arts is that funding bodies consider artists and those involved in the arts to be resourceful people and better able to procure funding than other elements of society, and funding bodies over compensate for this. Resourcefulness is nevertheless the key to exhibiting work (except of course for wild good luck, bribery, blackmail, winning the lottery and sleeping with the right people). Here then, are a few places to start with.

Lauderdale House Photographic Competition
Not quite the Turbine Hall but this park set gallery space has an annual photographic competition, the deadline for which is 29 May. It’s prints only, no more than six and no bigger than 600mm x 600mm. It’s also £4.50 per print. For an entry form write to Lauderdale House Photographic Competition, Highgate Hill, N6 5HG.

International Photography Awards
This is two competitions in parallel, one professional and one non-professional. The sub categories are; Advertising, Architecture, Editorial, Fine Art, Nature and People. The deadline is 31 May and the application process is on-line at www.photoawards.com.

Mark Tanner Sculpture Award
The deadline has past for this year but this is an annual award with the following criteria: a maker of sculpture in the Fine Art tradition, a mature body of work and a clear understanding of their practice, good planning skills and a studio within the greater London area. Visit www.standpoint.co.uk for more details.

The Jerwood Drawing Prize 2005
Ambitious but if you don’t ask you don’t get. Annual competition and technically open to all artists who are resident or domiciled within the UK. Application details from The Jerwood Drawing Prize 2005, Wimbledon School of Art, Merton Hall Road, SW19 3QA or on line at www.wimbledon.ac.uk/jerwood. The deadline is 24 June.

Candid Arts Gallery
Candid have regular screenings of up to 30 minutes in length. They include animation and experimental work. For details send a SAE to Matthew Bowen, Candid Arts Trust, 3 Torrens Street, EC1V 1NQ.

Lounge Gallery, Shakelwell Lane, E8
Lounge Gallery focuses on sound and video art and accepts proposals for future exhibitions. Proposals should be DVD or video.

Mall Galleries
The Discerning Eye; two artists, two curators and two critics (whatever these words mean) will be the judging panel for this relatively well publicised competition. The receiving days will be in September and ING have a £30,000 purchase prize. For details send a SAE to The Discerning Eye, Parker Harris, PO Box 279, Esher, Surrey, KT10 8YZ.

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PART SIX : OPEN POETRY

The sixth and final part of our mini series, Open Up, focuses on where to go if you have ambitions to be the next Baird. Yes, if you are a budding poet there are plenty of opportunities to get yourself noticed with our guide to open mic nights across the capital.

Poetry Cafe, 22 Betterton Street, Covent Garden, WC2 / 020 7420 9887 / Covent Garden tube
Poetry Unplugged open mic nights take place every Tuesday. You will need to arrive between 6 and 7pm to take part in the raffle. Names are pulled from a hat, and you get to perform for 5 minutes, with readings starting from 7.30pm.

The Foundry, 94-96 Great Eastern Street, (corner of Old Street) / 020 7739 6900 / Old Street tube
Welcome to WormWorld is a free open mic night taking place every Sunday from 8pm. It's worth going along for the venue alone, which comprises a quirky bar, kitted out with grandma's old armchairs, bashed up antique computers, and the usual Old Street boho clientele. Fun for all, although don't expect a hugely attentive audience.

Charterhouse Bar, 38 Charterhouse Street, EC1 / 020 7608 0858 / Farringdon tube
Aromapoetry open mic nights take place on the first and third Sunday of every month (from June) and entry is free. The bar is a lovely find around the corner from Smithfield meat market, with a friendly atmosphere.

Borders, 122 Charing Cross Road, WC2 / 020 7379 8877 / Tottenham Court Road tube
Open mic nights take place on the last Tuesday of every month, from 6.30pm, in one of London's most well-stocked bookshops.

And to help you along the way, you might also want to compare notes with fellow poets:

Pitshanger Poets, The Questors Theatre, 12 Mattock Lane, Ealing, W5 / 020 8567 3233 / West Ealing train station
The Pitshanger Poets run a poetry workshop every Tuesday, meeting at the bar at 8pm.

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