BBC Ouch wants your stories for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival!
- Published
Your disability tales are wanted for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019!
New deadline for submissions: 2 July 2019 [announced 25 June]
We know you all have unusual, complex and humorous stories just waiting to be told ... and we're here to help you tell them.
BBC Ouch will be hosting its fourth storytelling event this August and we're back at the world-famous Edinburgh Festival Fringe. If you have a story, a desire to write and perform it on stage, then keep reading.
The theme this year is Lost and Found - interpret that at your will.
Perhaps you found a dog on a snowy street, adopted it and trained it to be your assistance dog?
Maybe you went to an inaccessible public loo, left your wheelchair outside, and when you came out it had been nicked … with hilarious consequences?
Or perhaps you lost a leg but found a husband?
Whatever the tale, we're interested and your stories are going to be far better than our made-up examples. All we ask is that the story is true, you are disabled or have a mental health difficulty and that this is at its heart.
We particularly like funny stories or those that give an insight into something the audience may not have thought about before. The performed versions must run no longer than about seven or eight minutes.
If chosen, you'll get to work with a top comedy script producer and perform it at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Want to give it a go?
Get writing and send it to us by 10:00 BST on Thursday 27 June 2019, along with some information about yourself - you need to be at least 18 years old to take part.
If you just want to do a summary for now, that's fine, but the people who got through last time mostly submitted full stories in their first reply.
Email your entries to ouch@bbc.co.uk, external or direct message us on Facebook, external.
If you have a great story, but need some "access" to tell it, tell us as soon as you can and we'll work with you to make that happen.
As well as performing it to a friendly crowd, we'll also be filming it for the BBC.
This is the fourth time we've put on a storytelling event, so have a look at some of the acts from previous shows - many of those taking part had never performed on stage before.
Lee Ridley a.k.a. "Lost Voice Guy" reveals the perils of relying on a synthetic voice for comic timing
John Servante on how a mental health meltdown led to love
We turned some of the stories into articles too, have a read:
The NEW deadline for your stories is 2 July at 10.00 (morning, BST).
If we like your story we'll be in touch to let you know the next step.
We require you to come to Edinburgh and perform your story in person, so make sure you're free and able to join us on 5 August 2019. Accommodation is available if you are coming a long way, and travel funding is available if you are based in the UK.
We will endeavour to assist with all access needs surrounding accommodation or transport. And we can answer any questions via the aforementioned email address too.
We're supportive, positive and downright lovely as a team and we badly want to hear the tales you've got locked away in your head. They need to come out.
Please share this on social media - especially with people you know are good at telling engaging stories.
Bookmark this page and keep across Facebook for updates and on how to get tickets to be an audience member.
Following the deadline the Ouch team will read all submitted stories and decide which best suits the bill. Good luck!
For more Disability News, follow BBC Ouch on Twitter, external and Facebook, external, and subscribe to the weekly podcast.