THE exciting build up to the Kendal Yarns Festival of New Plays continues this month with well-known local playwright Zosia Wand giving a helping hand.

Successful Ulverston writer Zosia - whose has several acclaimed radio and stage plays under her belt - hosts four half-day workshops on Saturdays, February 13 and 20, at Kendal Library and town hall.

“The atmosphere at the autumn workshops was absolutely buzzing with creativity," explained Kendal Yarns co-ordinator, Caroline Moir. "We're delighted that Zosia is coming back to help polish scripts but also to get even more writers to get their stuff down. Workshops are filling up but there are still places.”

Finished plays can be submitted from February 29 with the absolute deadline on April 1.

Kendal Yarns Festival of New Plays runs from July 10-30, and actors as well as plays are being sought along with a whole range of production roles.

And every play that's written will get an audience.

Among those galvanised by the ambitious theatrical project is the creative Naranghi-Stewart family - Ishbel, aged 11, Rori, nine, and five-year-old Louis, plus their mum Joy, who are all turning their dramatic ideas into scripts.

Joy is a member of a writers’ group in Lancaster and is looking forward to the next workshops - organised by Kendal Community Theatre - to help her refine her ideas. She added: "It’s great that Kendal Yarns is catching the imagination of young people, new writers and established local writers.”

Another budding scribe is 15-year-old Queen Katherine School student Ned Reid, who has planned his play around a group of people wrestling with their future lives and careers, and how they can avoid the problem of letting their skills becoming obsolete.

“Each of these plays in the making sounds intriguing and displays just some of the vast range of creativity that we are hoping for,” explained Kendal Yarns production manager, Anne Banks, who pointed out that it wasn't too late to get in on the act and write a play for the festival: "They can’t be longer than 15 minutes, which is about 3,000 words and must require no more than five actors."

For further information visit www.kendalcommunitytheatre.org/kendal-yarns.