{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Sam Cochrane, producer and writer of Scouts! The Musical","standfirst":"Want to write and perform your own show? Sam from Gigglemug Theatre has provided some great hints and tips for you and your Scouts. ","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EStorytelling\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBefore you start writing, as a group think about what makes a good story.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EDo a spider diagram with \u2018good story\u2019 at the centre and think about all the different things a good story has. Then do the same for a bad story!\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EBuild on this idea by devising the worst story ever, collectively come up with a truly rubbish idea and act it out. This is a really useful exercise in working out what not to do when it comes to story writing!\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ENext, try free-writing. This is an exercise that\u2019s great for getting your devising brains going. You have a minute to write anything and everything that comes into your head. It could be really poetic or literally just \u2018I\u2019m looking at a wall\u2019.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EShare with the rest of your group! This is a good way to take any fear out of writing. The hardest thing often is thinking of what to write \u2013 so don\u2019t think, just do it!\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003ECharacters\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe best way to start writing a story is to first think about your characters.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EMy favourite exercise is to play a completely random piece of music (it could be classical, scary, adventurous \u2013 have a search on YouTube!), then independently start drawing the character you think of when you hear the music. Do this as many times as you like with different pieces of music!\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EPick your favourite character out of those you\u2019ve come up with and explore them in more detail. Give yourself one minute to write down as much as you possibly can about them: their name, their age, their job, their appearance (hair colour, eye colour, height) and all the details which make up their personality. Get to know these characters and remember there\u2019re no wrong answers, these are your characters!\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EImagine a day in the life of this character and silently act it out to your group, if it helps play the piece of music which they were based on to accompany it.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/fgzl5jav/scouts-the-musical-2.jpg","width":4000,"height":2668,"altText":"The image shows four actors in Scouts! The Musical performing on stage. Two are holding guitars and another two are stood behind them on boxes.","caption":"Scouts! The Musical","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EScriptwriting\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EIn pairs, devise a scene with your characters. Discover more about your own character by seeing how they interact with someone else\u2019s.\u00A0\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ENow that you have a solid understanding of your character, discuss as a group \u2018What is a script?\u2019. I like to think of it as a set of instructions made up of 1. action and 2. dialogue. Once you look at it in those simple terms, it\u2019s not scary!\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ENext, discuss \u2018What is a scene?\u2019 \u2013 you\u2019ve already devised a few so you should have a pretty good idea! I think the most important thing is that there\u2019s a change for your characters. By the end of the scene, your characters need to be in a different place to where they started (whether that\u2019s emotionally or physically).\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ETry putting a script together of just one or two pages for the scene you devised earlier. Remember to think about the change that happens in the scene itself.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003ERehearsing and performing\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EYou have your script (action and dialogue), so the next step is to learn your lines. If it helps, a member of your group could also act as director to give you some guidance!\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EEveryone in your group now has a scene they\u0027ve written and rehearsed, so you have enough material to put on a showcase!\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"05 November 2025","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Scouts! The Musical is now online","url":"/news/2025/november/scouts-the-musical-is-now-online/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Scouts Entertainer badge","url":"/scouts/activity-badges/entertainer/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[],"id":87799,"nodeName":"Tips for writing and performing your own show","title":"Tips for writing and performing your own show","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/hncaxn1p/scouts-the-musical-5.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1db7d6096e739b0","caption":"Scouts! The Musical 5","type":"jpg","size":1256309,"width":4000,"height":2668,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Tips for writing and performing your own show","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Read tips from Sam Cochrane, producer and writer of Scouts! The Musical, on writing and performing your own show.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC84Nzc5OSJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2025/november/tips-for-writing-and-performing-your-own-show/"}