NEWPORT writers and artists have taken part in a monologue series of performances for Cardiff's Sherman Theatre, which are due to be re-released online this month.

The TEN/DEG series - featuring all 10 short plays for the Sherman's Festival Ten project, will be uploaded from June 5-12.

Originally launched on May 1, the TEN/DEG series invited Welsh or Wales-based writers to submit a paragraph-long pitch for a monologue lasting between one and five minutes, to be hosted on the Sherman Theatre website for one week at a time. The artists from Newport were involved in two productions - ‘Comma’ and ‘Dom’s Drug Prayer’.

Paisley Jackson, the Newport-born actress in Comma, is a graduate from East 15 acting school and winner of the Laurence Olivier Bursary, listed by the BBC as a Promising Writer.

South Wales Argus:

Paisley Jackson

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Connor Allen, writer for ‘Dom’s Drug Prayer’, from Hammond Drive in Newport, has worked with many companies in Wales and beyond since graduating from Trinity Saint David's.

He is a member of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and was also the winner of Triforces Cardiff Monologue Slam. As a writer, Connor has written for companies such as Dirty Protest, National Theatre Wales, Sherman Theatre and BBC Wales.

South Wales Argus:

Connor Allen

He has written an Arts Council of Wales-funded debut play and two Literature Wales commissions. He is also part of the BBC Wales Welsh Voices 19/20, and the Welsh Royal Court Writers' Group.

“As a writer the thing that inspires me is telling stories that are representative of my background ,and experience," he said.

"If people like me can see themselves or hear their voices on a creative platform then they feel more empowered and more like they are being heard."

The director, Samantha Alice Jones is from Malpas, Newport, and has worked in Wales for two years as an emerging director working for and with companies such as The Other Room, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, National Theatre Wales and Sherman Theatre.

The TEN/DEG monologues also includes (Single) Motherhood by Alexandria Riley, from Shaftesbury, Newport. She is part of the BBC Writersroom Welsh Voices and has several projects underway for screen and stage. The series details the reality of being a single parent and the stigmas attached to it.

South Wales Argus:

Alexandria Riley

To find out more about the series, visit www.shermantheatre.co.uk