After years of writing, multi talented writer and playwright Maxine Quintyne-Kolaru is hitting her stride with a succession of accolades en route to her quest for her first play to be staged this year. She explains why she wants 2008 to be special.

February 2008

Maxine Quintyne-Kolaru

I’m currently in the middle of putting the finishing touches to my third full length play. It’s looking like it’s coming out at 130 pages plus, in draft form! I’ve either written an epic, or it needs some serious editing.

I’m stuck on playwriting fever right now, following my success at being shortlisted in 2006 for the Alfred Fagon Award and in 2007 for the Verity Bargate Award. The play ‘Mean Time’, which got me the shortlists, also opened doors to the Soho Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre. I’ve been asked to write a play for consideration by Soho - the submission date is the end of February.

I also got a call from the Royal Court asking me to take part in their writers programme, run by Michael Bhim. I’m writing a play as part of the programme and if it’s successful, there’s a chance of a rehearsed reading, or maybe even a staged performance, as I’ve got a meeting with the Literary Development manager this week.

I’ve also been able to strike up a good working relationship with Christopher Rodriguez, Associate Director from Talawa theatre, who has been open to me sending him my draft plays (by email - very handy) and providing extensive feedback in very short spaces of time. Handy when you want to rewrite to tight deadlines.

All this activity has meant that I’ve had to put my second novel on hold. It’s completed in draft form so I’m now (or was before the playwriting) trying to ‘sell’ it. My first novel is still residing in a drawer somewhere. My mum says I should keep all my work ‘because when I finally do get published (hopefully before she’s on her Zimmer frame) my early work will be much in demand. That’s one big I HOPE SO!

As a writer who feels like they’ve been writing for a million years without success, the connection with theatre is uplifting. If you enjoy writing dialogue it also gives you a means of getting your story out using a format that doesn’t take you what feels like a million years to finish - such is the journey of the novel!

That said, you can never escape the rewrite and even ‘Mean Time’ was rejected by a number of theatres before being shortlisted. However, I still can’t find any theatres that are willing to stage it. So I guess the best tip for the ‘would be published writer’ is just to keep writing. Maybe that advice is pretty basic, but as I haven’t yet reached the Nirvana of publication, I’m in no position to spread my worldly wisdom.

The weirdest thing for me was to see my details on the internet listed as a playwright, with a line that said ‘Mean Time’ might be available to buy online. I thought about self publishing and getting it out there, but you know what thought did - absolutely nothing. I really need to put my thoughts into actions.

The challenges of playwriting, or any writing, for me is finding the time to write, especially after a hard day at work and being disciplined enough to work at the weekends, which means locking yourself away from the rest of your family, after squeezing in all the housework and cooking and shopping... I can be usually found writing on the train on my way to work and also put much value in keeping a notebook close by just for those moments when that killer line comes to you out of the blue, even if it’s at 1am in the morning and you’ve had way too much beer!

I was on my way to work last week and I looked out of the train window and saw this graffiti. It’s given me the idea for my next play. Things just happen like that and I suppose it’s best to go with it. Before I do that though I need to get back to sending out extracts of my novel ‘Small Mercies’ to agents and publishing houses, although I know it’s going to be even more of an uphill struggle than usual as this second novel is written completely in dialect. I guess I don’t make things easy for myself. By the end of the year my goal is to have a play staged at the Royal Court or Soho, or both, and to be in publication with my second novel.

Read: Extract from Maxine’s play ‘Mean Time’ here.

Biography

Maxine Quintyne-Kolaru refuses to talk about her age anymore. Schooled in London she went to Durham University. Her day jobs have taken in community work, supporting adult learners, being an Information Officer, managing an Information Team, shadowing an MP as part of the Operation Black Vote scheme and she is currently doing grants work. Maxine is part of an actors theatre and has had her work performed there, as well as performing herself as Lady Macbeth and Scrooge! She almost auditioned for BBC1’s Search for Nancy, but being unable to sing a note would have been a slight disadvantage. Maxine was recently selected to be part of the Stellar Network Open Page event at the BFI (British Film Institute).

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