FALLING Stars Theatre are urging people in Keighley and Craven to show off their acting skills during the lockdown.

They have launched a competition for people to deliver monologues which can be seen by people on social media.

The contest comes after Falling Stars had to curtail its regular activities of rehearsing and performing plays in villages across the area.

The contest has grown out of a daily activity that Falling Stars director Rebecca Durham came up with to entertain people in lockdown.

She said: "Every day I have been creating and performing a monologue based on a character and their response to the current situation.

"I have been sharing them on different social media platforms."

Rebecca decided to give local people a chance to do the same thing, and began asking local companies to sponsor prizes. Class One Fresh Produce Ltd and Space 3 Signage and Graphics have already signed up.

Rebecca added: "The idea is people can submit their own monologues to Falling Stars Theatre. They will be judged and the winner will be posted on our sites and receive the prizes."

To enter the competition, people should create and perform a monologue of no more than one minute responding to the current situation, such as coronavirus, social distancing or lockdown.

In her advice, Rebecca said: "You only have a minute! Consider what is important to say to communicate your character. What do you want to convey?

"Words don’t have to be the focus – facial expression, physicality and pauses can be really effective in communicating meaning."

Rebecca also advised people to think of their hair, make-up, costume and accessories, and added: "Monologues will be judged on originality, imagination and commitment character."

Rebecca, who lives in Lothersdale, is an experienced drama teacher who set up the Falling Stars Theatre four years ago to perform initially at Glusburn's annual Fallfest arts festival.

The group now tour their productions around venues in Keighley and Craven, and Falling Stars' success inspired Rebecca herself to pursue a career in acting and directing, after 20 years working in education.

Rebecca said: "Falling Stars were in the middle of touring the play Here I Belong by Matt Hartley, a play which explores village life. We had 10 venues booked in villages in Yorkshire, ending up at Guiseley Theatre for our final performance in May.

"We managed to perform once at Appletreewick Village hall, to a very appreciative audience. Our plan is to re-schedule the tour for the autumn and I have my fingers crossed that this can happen.

"We are also having fortnightly Zoom meetings to plan and discuss our next performance that we will take to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2021 We will tour the play locally before going to Edinburgh.

"I have also written a short five minute script about a family Zoom chat that we are planning to perform via Zoom. All this is happening as well as my daily monologue that you can see on our social media sites."

Email your monologue to beccy@fallingstarstheatre.co.uk