is a year-long paid opportunity for a writer based in Yorkshire and the Humber to develop their writing for stage and screen. We spoke to writer Kat Rose-Martin who is the inaugural winner of the Kay Mellor Fellowship, about her experience during her 12 month attachment and the advice she would give any writers who are hoping to apply this year.
What encouraged you to apply for the Fellowship? How did you find the application process? What idea did you submit for your application?
When I saw that and were partnering up for a , I knew that I had to apply. Leeds is my local producing theatre, and Kay Mellor had been such an influence in all the TV I watched growing up. She represented that female working class voice that so many of my stories are about. I remember watching and thinking there was nothing else like it on the screen.
There were a few stages to the application process, even at the interview stage, I learnt so much. I walked away with ideas and a plan of how to develop my idea further, and then later got the phone call – I felt like my insides had turned outsides, I was that excited.
I submitted my sample script which was a play called £1 THURSDAYS and a pitch for an idea about women who worked in adult services. It explored the nature of exploitation both in the arts industry and in online sex work.
Kay Mellor, Kat Rose-Martin and James Brining at Leeds Playhouse. Photography by Anthony Robling
What stood out to you during your time on the Fellowship? Was there anything that surprised you?
What surprised me most during the Fellowship was getting to peek behind the curtain at the day to day running of a big regional theatre and a TV production company. Getting to sit in on meetings and see how decisions get made, how development actually works. I had all these pre-conceptions about what the conversations in decision making rooms were like and it wasn’t at all as I imagined. That insider insight for TV and theatre is invaluable. It helped me to understand how rejection is more than likely not personal or about the idea but about lots of other moving parts and metrics that need to be aligned across a slate of work.
Did you discover/learn anything new during the experience?
Something that I learnt during the fellowship was how different writing for TV and theatre is and how to really lean into what is special about each medium. In the theatre you have the audience’s attention, and they are present in the space with the actors for a LIVE experience. What opportunities does this present? Then with TV, the audience have a hundred other distractions, so how can you draw them in, hold their attention, keep them glued to their screens. And then what is similar with both mediums – character, emotional heart.
I learnt a lot about what sort of writer I want to be. I’m still learning this, but a full year to really refine and focus my voice, helped to define the stories I was wanting to tell next.
How did you find working with Kay Mellor?
Working with Kay was incredible. Something I’ll cherish forever. Her feedback was blunt and to the point. I loved that. No messing about, she’d say, "but nothing happens, you have to make something happen!". She was gifted at story engine and seeing story potential in everything. How can we make things worse for our characters? She had brilliant anecdotes from her vast experience that always made me laugh. One thing that struck me was how much she supported new writers, not just myself. She would attend awards ceremonies and events and say people’s names. She would mention my name to people. I will never forget that. It’s so important to pay it forward and SAY A NAME whenever we can.
Kat Rose-Martin and Kay Mellor at Leeds Playhouse. Photography by Anthony Robling
What work did you create as a result of the Fellowship?
During the fellowship, I developed a TV pitch – WHIPPED and a play CHEAP AS CHIPS. From the same seed of an idea – the women in adult services. The TV pitch introduced me and my voice to commissioners for the first time. The play is currently under commission with . As I worked on the ideas, they became very different on a surface/plot level but they both had the same beating heart, themes, and knotty central argument.
What advice would you give to anyone who is hoping to apply/be selected for the ?
If you’re thinking about applying, really consider what story YOU WANT TO TELL. Kay always spoke about how she loved fusing real life experience with fictional stories. So, think about a feeling or situation that feels true and relatable to you and then start spinning that story web and branching out from there. Be ready to learn, absorb everything, make mistakes, and really commit to the opportunity. opened so many doors for me. It was basically a fire-lighter for my career. And with the additional team-up this year with ±«Óãtv Writersroom Voices, it’s basically the hottest ticket in town for a new writer. Embrace it.
Kay was and is an inspiration. She put Northern voices on the stage and screen and let down the ladder to support and nurture so many new writers. I’m proud to be a tiny part of her legacy, and thrilled that this scheme is continuing so go for it, grab the bull by the horns and apply. Kay paved the way, now it’s on us to keep those warm, complex, Northern characters coming down the pipeline.
The Kay Mellor Fellowship is a year-long paid opportunity for a writer based in Yorkshire and the Humber to develop their writing for stage and screen. Applications are open until Tuesday 29th August 2023, 10am.