News

🎧 Movies for the Mind 🎧

Posted on by SassCass

Storytelling for Audio

What do Doctor Who, Malory Towers, and Manchester’s ALL FM 96.9’s continuing drama ‘Station Road’ all have in common?

Me and my love for stories that come to life through the medium of sound.

I’m thrilled to represent the University of Salford’s Northern School of Writing by running my Writing for Audio workshop ‘Movies for the Mind’ as part of this year’s Festival of Libraries.

Broadcasting legend Terry Wogan once said, “Television contracts the imagination and radio expands it”, and I agree with that statement. When I listen to an audio drama, I actively visualise the narrative I’m hearing, which will look different to the next listener and the next.

When I write for audio, I imagine one listener. That one person who is wearing a set of headphones and listening to my story. My characters, words, and chosen sounds playing into a person’s ears make writing for audio a magical, personal and intimate experience.

No costumes to consider. No sets. No huge budget. Just voices, sound, silence—and the listener’s imagination. Whether I’m dreaming up an episode of sci-fi, a school-based story, or a brand new continuing drama set in Manchester, audio storytelling is the most intimate and visual form of writing there is.

Who Am I?

Over the past few years, I’ve written for:

  • For two years, I was part of the writing team behind Station Road, a much-loved soap on ALL FM 96.8, a Manchester community radio station
  • Wythenshawe FM’s first audio nativity play A Wythenshawe Tale

I’ve learned loads about what makes audio tick—and I want to give my top tips to budding audio writers.

What You’ll Learn

In this hands-on, friendly and welcoming workshop, we’ll explore:

  • Writing dialogue that feels real and alive
  • How to create atmosphere and tension with sound cues and silence
  • Structuring stories for the ear, not the eye

Whether you’re a writer curious about audio, a podcaster looking to sharpen your storytelling, or just someone who loves a good story, this session is for you.

Event Details

📅 Thursday 5 June 2025
🕒 17:00 – 19:00
📍 Prestwich Library, Longfield Centre, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1AY
🎟️ Book here

Bring your ears, ideas, pen, and love of story.

#FestivalofLibraries

Listen to the trailer for my episode of Susan’s War Family Ties.

Summer/Autumn/Winter 2021

Posted on by SassCass

Well, if my earlier post Winter 2020/Spring 2021 was all about writing my episode of Tales from Malory Towers, then Summer 2021 was when I got to hear it for the first time. 

Hearing your words out loud for the first time is always wonderful.  

Whether that be in a rehearsal room for stage, or through my headphones on the BBC Sounds app. Both glorious, both nerve-wracking, but also bloody marvellous. Writing is such a lonely beast. The exciting part comes when the script is handed over for collaborators to do their jobs. 

I was at work when I received the email that informed me that Malory Towers was now live. I grabbed my phone and headphones. I found an empty classroom. I wanted to listen to it all on my own. I didn’t want any distractions spoiling my first listen. 

To say that I was over the moon with the production is an understatement. I was incredibly proud and still am satisfied with The Bomb. I wish I could time-travel. I want to visit Clayton Green library. Nine-year-old me used to sit there and read the Malory Towers books. I would tell her that one day she’ll write her own story for Irene, Jean and Gwendoline. It would be played out on the BBC. Lots of youngsters would also love that school. They would adore those girls like she did. 

Younger me would never believe it. Writing was something that only posh people could do. Not people who live on Clayton Brook estate. It should never have been like that. 

Straight from delivering my Malory Towers script, I sought what I hoped would be another writing commission. I was invited to pitch for an audio story. After months of finessing my treatment, I was given the go-ahead late in the year to go to script. Watch this space. 

In November, I took part in a 48 Hour Filmmaking challenge at 53 Two in Manchester. Six directors collaborated with six writers. Many actors participated. A prop and a line of dialogue were essential ingredients for creating a short film. We met at 7pm on a Friday night. By 7pm on Sunday night, we watched the screening of the six films made. It was a hoot. My film is called Through the Keyhole, which can be viewed here. Ours was a small team, two actresses. My personal goal was to ensure that these actresses had a fun script to perform and that I wanted to hear laughter in the screening. Covid was a tough time, and I hadn’t heard collective live laughter in years. Mission accomplished.

Winter 2020/Spring 2021

Posted on by SassCass

It’s always wonderful to reflect, and that is one skill that I am good at – reflecting on little wins which I might not have sung about at the time. It’s important to take stock of accomplishments as well as rejections. Fact is, that writing generally comes with more rejections.

In the Winter of 2020 I received one of those joyful emails that only come around once in a blue moon.

I’d been invited to apply for a BBC Writersrom call-out. I was made up to be offered the opportunity to apply to be honest, but it was a short turnaround to send a script plus all the accompanying materials to support the application which are answers to a number of questions etc. I find those question and answer things tough. I never know what to say with them. You don’t want to appear too confident but also don’t want to sound like an amateur. I overthink every single one of those call-outs.

Turns out if you contract the delta variant of Covid and are very poorly, you don’t overthink anything as your brain is as foggy as mornings in San Francisco Bay.

I was delighted to receive the email notifying me that I was being offered a place on the BBC CBBC New Voices Festival in the November of 2020.

Two whole days of back to back industry panels, workshops and the opportunity to pitch for a number of CBBC commissions. It was a fantastic festival, and I was thankful for it being online as I was still suffering from covid. In fact that first infection took 5 months to fully recover from.

I applied for a couple of commissions on kids TV shows, and a new podcast for Malory Towers to accompany the television series.

It was the Malory Towers one that I wanted more than anything. I was a huge fan of the books as I grew up. Spending Saturdays in Clayton Green library reading all about Darryl, Gwen and Mary-Lou. And audio is a medium I feel so comfortable writing for. The many episodes I’d written for ALL FM’s soap ‘Station Road‘ a number of years earlier had made their mark on me as I found visualising storytelling in sound rather than pictures something those weekly read-throughs of Station Road had ingrained in me.

So I set to work and watched series one of Malory Towers on CBBC. I took notes of all the characters, their flaws, how they spoke, their relationships and I re-visited the original books by Enid Blyton. I sent two pitches for that show and crossed my fingers over Christmas that I might get one of them.

I could not believe it when the acceptance email came back from BBC Writersroom to say that my pitch for ‘The Bomb’ had been chosen as one of the twelve. Like I said, writing is mostly being rejected unless you’re a big name like Sally Wainwright or Danny Brocklehurst (although they probably still receive the odd rejection to a pitch). The idea for The Bomb came from our opening episode of Station Road where an unexploded bomb is found in the local park. We used it as a tool to introduce characters quickly. I had this concept of Irene finding a bomb in the school grounds and I also had a strong image of Gwendoline’s brush being thrown out of a bedroom window with a lacrosse stick. All I needed now was a story.

This leads onto Spring 2021 where I found myself writing a treatment and three drafts of ‘The Bomb‘ for King Bert Productions. I enjoyed every second of the process. Audio is a dream for me. I’ve been a huge fan of radio drama since listening to it whilst doing my MA. Then I discovered podcasts in 2014 on a train heading down to London Screenwriters Festival and listened to this new show that people were starting to talk about called Serial. I was hooked. This medium of storytelling felt fresh, exciting and full of possibilities.

At the same time as writing The Bomb, I was also working full-time and in the last months of my two-year PGCE. So many deadlines and pressures around that time which is when I discovered London Writers Salon‘s Writers Hour. It was simple, turn up on zoom and write for 50 minutes alongside writers from all over the world. It was and still is a fantastic accountability partner. I turned up for their 8am and 1pm Writers Hour over two months whilst I got my draft 2 and final draft written for Malory Towers.

We were also still suffering with covid lockdowns over this period too. Thank goodness that I could lose myself at Malory Towers for a couple of hours a day. It was way more fun hanging out with Irene and Jean than it was watching Boris’ daily covid briefings.

2020

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It’s been quite the year.

I’m ecstatic that my short play Black Dog was produced as ‘Time To Talk Day’ back in February. It was my last visit to the theatre before Covid-19 changed everything, which included my writing practice.

My writing desk and room which is my sanctuary went from being my space of creation to being where I do my day-job. And sharing that space has been the biggest challenge this year. Switching off from job to writing in the same area is and continues to be difficult.

I’ve taken gentle steps to assist. Ensuring I put away my day-job laptop, notebooks and post-its daily. But it’s the same outside view that I look at through stressed out eyes to then try and view the same scenery with quiet vision.

If anyone has any tips on how to be creative in a space that is tainted with non-creative work then let me know.

As 2020 comes to a thankful close. I normally take time to reflect on accomplishments and set goals for next year.

One goal for 2021 – to keep as healthy both physically and mentally as possible. Anything else that happens in 2021 is a bonus.

Happy New Year everyone.

Time To Talk Day 2020

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I’m delighted that my new short play BLACK DOG will be going for walkies as part of ‘Time to Talk Day’ on Thursday 6th February 2020.

My good friend Scott, a fellow northerner, fab writer, supportive, encouraging and overall nice person is putting on an evening of short plays to raise money for the charity ‘Time to Change’.

Time to Change http://www.time-to-change.org.uk charity focus their work on reducing stigma and getting people to talk about mental health.

The evening will showcase six new short plays that look at the theme of mental health in an entertaining and engaging way.

Whilst my play ‘Black Dog’ looks at the impact of depression/suicidal thoughts on those closest to us, I could easily have written about my own issues with mental health over the years.

I suffered with crippling anxiety and panic attacks in my late teens and twenties. It was one of the worst times of my life. Whilst I should have been enjoying life, I was agoraphobic as a result of these attacks.

In fact, due to my anxiety and panic disorder I was housebound for six months aged twenty. I got off two aeroplanes as I was terrified of panicking. I avoided supermarkets and queues for over ten years. I quit university six months into a course as I was too scared to do the presentations (and there was no support for mental health issues back in the 1990s). It affected my whole life. For decades. What helps me is meditation, exercise and breathing techniques. It’ll always be there but I’m aware of when I’m prone to these episodes now.

Anyway the show must go on. And it will be. Thursday night. 7.30pm at The King’s Arms, Salford. Only ten tickets left and they are available to purchase at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/charity-short-play-evening-for-time-to-talk-day-tickets-88160966825?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Autumn/Winter 2018/19

Posted on by SassCass

Greetings in what has been a time of hibernation, self-care and contemplation for me over these months since I last posted.

Towards the end of last year I suffered a sudden and unexpected bereavement which has taken some time to process. Grief certainly affects creativity. In fact it’s a m@ther f@cker!

One minute you can be relatively okay, and then grief can creep up behind you, chew every ounce of your normality and spit you out into a broken, fragile mess.

Everyone experiences it. But it can sure take the wind out of your sails for a while. If not, forever.

So, I’ve been struggling with the writing. Actual sitting down on my seat and typing words has felt like a huge mountain to climb for months. A combination of mustering strength to keep the day job in tact has meant emotional exhaustion of an evening.

Resulting in me having to learn kindness to myself. Learning to accept how I am feeling and try not to force creativity. It just doesn’t want to venture out. Made all the worse for those dark winters nights which are a struggle at the best of times. Never mind the worst of times.

Thank goodness for great TV dramas and superb novels and scripts to keep my brain ticking along. Killing Eve, Sex Education, Russian Doll, Keeping Faith and The Haunting of Hill House have kept me occupied from real life.

The words may be currently in drought, but what I have managed to do is to keep meeting my writing tribe.

This has been greatly aided by organising the Manchester branch of the Write Then Socialise group.

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This group was started in London to provide a regular meet-up for writers. It’s exactly what it says on the tin. Write Then Socialise. Get a couple of hours writing time, and then hang around and chat with fellow writers.

It can be a lonely business being a writer, so I was delighted when I was asked at last years London Screenwriters Festival if I would organise Manchester’s first group.

Organising is a piece of piss to me. Of course I can organise a writers meet up in Manchester. No problemo.

So I have. We met in October for the first time, and our February meeting last Sunday was our fifth.

It’s a cracking group which I love being part of. We have screenwriters, novelists, creative writers, short-story writers and playwrights.

Any writer in the North-West who would like to join this friendly group can join the main group on facebook and can come along to any of the monthly meets. They just need to reply to the event so that I know how many to expect on the day. Simples.

And my meetup in March is extra special.

Whilst the ‘normal’ meet-up is two hour writing sprints which are followed by a brew and a chat. This month I am extending it to a whole day.
A whole day to focus on the writing. We will have a 2 hour writing sprint in the morning, followed by a one hour break to get food and drinks and then a further 2 hour writing sprint in the afternoon.

This meet is taking place in Ziferblat, Edge Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester – 10:00 – 15:00 on Sunday 24 March 2019.

The reason I mention this is that I have three spaces available so if anyone fancies a writing day.

It will cost you £18.75 which includes all the refreshments you would like over the five hours. A bargain if I may say so. I would also like to add that we don’t read each other’s work. We literally use the time to focus on our work in progress in a supported, kind, safe environment.

Anyone interested in this can email me on northernscribbler@gmail.com it is first come first served as I would love for this day to run at full capacity so that I can run it again in June/July.

Finally I’m currently mentoring a small number of undergraduate television and radio students with their scripts that they will be filming for their final year project. This is a wonderful opportunity for me, and I’m delighted to share my knowledge and passion of scriptwriting with young creators. I ran my own playwriting group last year which I enjoyed every second of so to be able to work with young people is a joy.

That’s all for now folks

Join the Write Then Socialise group here.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/326562354379121/?ref=share

Summer 2018

Posted on by SassCass

The irony is that I’m writing my summer update whilst wrapped up in a blanket trying to keep warm on a cold, winters day.

Summer seems like such a long time ago.

But what a summer 2018 was.

Day after day, week after week of glorious sunshine, eating breakfast in the garden each morning and forgetting what it felt like to have to wear a big coat each day.

Sunshine makes everything feel so optimistic, which included my writing.

I experienced a real surge in two projects that I was working on.

A new radio play and a new stage play which I was developing through my placement on the Liverpoool Everyman Theatre’s Playwright Programme.

July

What better way to spend a week than hiring a glorious, spacious house in picturesque Norfolk with three wonderful writing friends and nothing but friendship and words to keep me company.

I’m a huge fan of writing retreats as I find it difficult to switch off if I am at home. So to get away from it all and to only think about my current writing project was much needed tonic.

I also didn’t realise two things. How flat Norfolk is – and how much sleep I needed to recharge my batteries.

Later in July I had my final feedback session from Liverpool Everyman.

It felt sad to be finishing this fantastic development scheme and I feel very much like I’ve learnt so much along the way. The introduction to some prolific and brilliant playwrights through their reading list has been a real highlight for me.

August

I’d decided to take the whole of August off from writing to recharge my batteries.

I’d made the important decision to fill my well with watching theatre and reading.

I couldn’t imagine the power of giving myself permission to just take some time out and not write for a month.

Normally I give myself such a tough time if I haven’t written anything for a few days, so having already planned this down time meant that I didn’t give myself shite for a few weeks.

I saw the fantastic Everybody’s Talking About Jamie in the West End which gave me an injection of life and excitement. What a brilliant, uplifting and inspiring play. The first time I have leapt to my feet just before the final chopped to give the cast and creatives a much deserved standing ovation.

September

September started with the three-day London Screenwriters Festival and alongside doing that I crammed in more theatre shows.

An Adventure which was an epic three-hour affair at the Bush Theatre and Little Shop of Horrors in the Regent’s Park Outdoor Theatre. Talk about a complete contrast in genre, theme and tone.

Screenwriters Festival highlight for me was every session led by Scott Myers. His delivery of screenwriting craft is both eloquent and easy to follow and I had a real break-through on a project that I’d shelved for a number of years.

Half a day with Scott and his in class exercises on character gave me a new theme for my feature idea which I hope to execute in 2019.

I’d also started running again this year.

During the summer I continued with Park Runs each Saturday morning which have been incredibly helpful for my mental health. I also joined a local running group to keep the momentum going.

Running is a lot like writing in that it is an isolating activity but if you can find other participants then you can form a tribe and really encourage each other.

I can’t emphasise how important it is to find your tribe. Whether it be writing, running or any other interest that you have. Being able to share the journey with like-minded people feels powerful and accountable.

Spring 2018

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Greetings and I can’t believe that we’re half-way through the year already. Time certainly flies. And what glorious seasonal weather that we’ve been having in dear old Blighty.

I’m the first to admit that I love the heat-wave that has graced us recently. There is something very European about being able to read and eat breakfast whilst sitting in the garden. So I took exception to all the moaners on social media who were praying for some rain.

Come and live in Manchester if you want rain. This city usually never stops. Anyway they got what they wanted as I’m writing this post with the weather having turned and Manchester being back to its familiar, drizzly self.

April

I was excited to attend a three-day scriptwriting workshop at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Writing school led by playwright Simon Stephens.

Being taught by Simon was the main reason that I booked onto the workshop in the first place, and he didn’t disappoint. A wealth of knowledge and experience oozed from his very being.  I learnt several new approaches to writing from Simon, and I particularly enjoyed his writing prompts which he’d start the day off with.

Creative juices flowed and I adopted a similar method when I taught a masterclass in creating characters during May.

May

The opportunity to teach the masterclass in creating characters was given to me by Alty Word Fest, a brand new writing festival in Altrincham. Each of the delegates left the session having created brand new characters and hopefully a new enthusiasm for writing.

Most people who know me know about my lifelong love affair with Coronation Street, so I was delighted to be asked to co-present a talk at Salford Museum and Art Gallery as part of their Tony Warren exhibition.

Myself and a colleague discussed the role of villains of Coronation Street and listed the top eight. We couldn’t have planned it better if we had tried as it was the same week that Corrie was running its demise of Pat Phelan week long episodes. It was pure fluke that the timing was perfect as we were booked back in October 2017.

June was a very busy writing month as I frantically wrote a second draft of my new theatre play that I’m writing as part of the Liverpool Everyman Playwright Programme.

img_1937I decided to hold a read-through with three professional actresses to hear it read out loud and make copious amounts of notes to help with the editing. There is never a short cut when it comes to writing. Getting to the end of a first draft is an accomplishment in itself but then beginning re-writes is a whole other ballgame.

I also began to develop a brand new radio play which I took to my online script development workshops in June. Beginning new writing projects is always exciting and this piece will certainly be challenging for me.

img_2052Finally, some life writing that I submitted as part of Manchester Womens Words project was displayed in Central Library Manchester at the end of June. I felt absolutely privileged to have my work included with other outstanding pieces of writing by incredible women across the city.

On top of all of that I started running again which is instrumental in maintaining a good mental health state for me. Parkrun 5k races have been incredibly motivating for me and I’ve just completed my fifteenth as I write this post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter 2017

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Big news: I completed my #100daysofwriting challenge which I started just before New Years Eve and I’ve written a separate blog https://sarahcassidy.net/2018/04/18/challenge-100daysofwriting/

January – and what better way to start 2018 than joining a new writing group called Writers Support Group. I love many things about this group; it caters for writers at all levels, it is flexible so you can just turn up, the group is a mix of actors/writers which is incredibly beneficial for script reads and each week there are different writing exercises to do. In fact, the new play that I have just started working on was sparked from one of those exercises.

Speaking of writers groups.  I attended a weekend writers retreat at Whalley Abbey with another writing group that I’ve been part of since I finished my MA and that is the outstanding Scriptwriting North. Spending three days in a relaxing, tranquil Abbey in Lancashire was a perfect setting to write with no interruptions or distractions (photo @scriptsnorth) .

I began teaching a beginners playwriting course at my local library in January. A six-week absolute beginners programme that I’d written for people who live in Wythenshawe. What a wonderfully, fulfilling six-weeks it was. A perfect introduction to teaching for me, and one which I would like to develop further later in the year.

February – and I attended a magnificent celebratory evening at Manchester’s Central Library for the Suffragette Tea Party organised by Manchester Women’s Words. Cucumber sandwiches, cake and tea hosted in a room fit to burst with incredible females. Spoken word artists, singers, actors and musicians all came together to celebrate 100 years since the vote for women was rolled out to a few. I felt incredibly privileged to even be there, let alone sip tea with novelists, poets, teachers and even the the Mayor of Manchester.

Speaking of tea. I met with one of organisers of Altrincham Word Fest in a Didsbury tea shop to discuss becoming involved in this years festival. One of the most enjoyable parts of scriptwriting for me is the creation of characters. I use a number of processes when developing characters which I’ll be displaying in my workshop at the festival.

March – and it was a busy month for me as my Everyman deadline whooshed by. Slight relief to let it breathe for a couple of months until it has a read through. Read about how that went in my Spring blog post.

I also attended a storylining workshop for a well known continuing drama show. A brilliant experience at how stories are created and developed. And even more thrilling was that I got to see inside the new studios. Pulling a pint in the Rovers to selling a copy of the Weatherfield Gazette at The Kabin. As a lifelong  fan it was a magnificent treat to tour the studios and see where it all happens.

The last bit of news is that I’m now reading scripts for two Manchester theatre companies which I am thrilled about as I enjoy reading new writing.

I’ve been reading a lot of play texts too. My top three winter reads are:

1) Girls and Boys by Dennis Kelly

2) And No More Shall We Part by Tom Holloway

3) Pomona by Alistair McDowall

Coming up in Spring 2018

Character Workshop at Altrincham Word Fest on Sunday 13 May 2018

Coronation Street Villains at Salford Art Gallery on Wednesday 23 May 2018

Countdown to the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival

Posted on by SassCass

Hello world.

The first blog post carries with it so much pressure.

Be witty, say something outstanding, be different, make a bold statement.

Here’s the ‘bold statement’ then.

I have exciting news.

My fantastic, funereal farce Bleeding with Mother is part of this years Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

BWM revised May 2017 poster

We open on the 4th July at 7pm at Theatre 53Two. The hottest new theatre space in the city of Manchester, and the perfect location to resurrect ‘Mother’

Following on from the success of the previous production last year, I am delighted to have obtained the original cast.

Excitingly, director Emma Bird is a welcome recruit to the Bleeding team fresh from directing our very own Randall (Pete Gibson) in his monologue performed in North West Wonders.

Rehearsals began this weekend so please come back to my website as I’ll ensure that I keep you up to date. This year I have the added pressure of producer so if it all goes wrong……well that’ll be the plot for the next play that I write.

It would be wonderful to see as many people as possible for our Bleeding fantastic show.

Performances are on Tuesday 4th July, Wednesday 5th July and Thursday 6th July at 7pm. To buy them click here.

There will also be limited copies of the playtext available to purchase on the night.

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