From screenwriter to playwright: rediscovering the joy of storytelling through London theatre

For more than a decade, I built my career as a spec screenwriter. My screenplays received awards in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and as an Australian-American citizen, I spent many years living in Los Angeles with my creative focus firmly on the American film industry. Writing for the screen was the only path I had ever seriously imagined.

That all changed after my first trip to London a few years ago, when I had the opportunity to experience the magic of live theatre on the West End.

A few years earlier, two of my screenplays had been copyright infringed in the USA. While the legal action ultimately resulted in a favourable outcome, the experience had a profound impact on me, both professionally and personally. Not long afterwards, I accepted a commission to write a screenplay for an Australian production company, only to have the company later breach its contract. After two significant setbacks, I found myself at a crossroads, questioning not only my career but also my relationship with writing itself.

I realised I needed to return to the foundations of storytelling. More than anything, I wanted to reconnect with the reason I had started writing in the first place - to rediscover the joy of creating stories and fall back in love with the craft. That search for a fresh creative perspective eventually led me to explore playwriting, through NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) in my native Australia.

The project I chose to work on has since become the most successful script I have ever written: a full-length one-act play titled Seasons of You.

Ironically, it had originally begun life as a screenplay. Before reimagining it for the stage, I became so frustrated with the script that I deleted the file altogether. Thankfully, I recovered it from my computer's trash folder before it was permanently erased. One of the most valuable lessons I learned during my time at NIDA and writing process was to never delete anything. Ideas evolve.

As I approached the script again, this time something remarkable happened. The screenplay that had felt stagnant began transforming comfortably into a stage play. The romantic comedy – one of my favourite genres – had found a new rhythm and an entirely new voice. The characters became richer, the themes clearer, and the dialogue started carrying an emotional depth that had previously been missing. Through private dramaturgy sessions in Sydney and London, together with thoughtful feedback from teachers and fellow writers, the play evolved in ways I had never anticipated.

One of the greatest challenges was learning to think like a playwright rather than a screenwriter.

Screenwriting relies heavily on visual storytelling, cinematic movement and multiple locations. Playwriting demands something different. It asks the writer to embrace dialogue, presence and the unique possibilities – and limitations – of live performance, which felt more creative and authentic. I had to unlearn habits that had become second nature after years of writing for film, by learning to see through the eyes of an audience and how that would translate on stage.

Surprisingly, that process became incredibly liberating.

Without the pressure to write according to industry standards, I found a renewed sense of creative freedom. By shutting out the constant noise of what a script "should" be – particularly the influence of Hollywood decision-makers – I was able to trust my instincts again. My writing became more intuitive, more playful and, ultimately, more authentic. For the first time in my career, I truly felt like an artist rather than someone trying to meet an industry's expectations.

Soon after completing my first play, I received an email informing me that Seasons of You had been selected for a scratch night at The Old Joint Stock Theatre in Birmingham. Not long afterwards, I received more exciting news: the play was also selected for a scratch night through the Liverpool Scratch Network and another at The Sunday Fix in London, giving it further opportunities to be presented to live audiences.

Since then, I have completed a second full-length play, Life of Groupies, and my short play Tall Poppies has been selected for publication in the November 2026 issue of Umbrellas for Fish, an international literary journal celebrating dramatic writing.

Looking back, I realise the greatest creative breakthroughs often happen when we are willing to let go of familiar ways of working and embrace something new.

As I prepare for the next chapter of my career, I am excited about where this unexpected path has led me. I will be relocating to London next year to fully immerse myself in the theatre world. 

Sometimes the story we are meant to write isn't the one we first set out to tell. Sometimes, it simply needs a different stage.

Joanne Rose is an award-winning Australian–American screenwriter, playwright, and founder of Sweetest Pit Bull Productions. Her screenplays have received international acclaim, earning awards and official selections in festivals and competitions in the US and UK. As a playwright, she is a part of the Writers’ Card community at Royal Court Theatre and the Creators Program at Young Vic in London. Her short play, Tall Poppies, was selected for publication in the international literary journal Umbrellas for Fish, celebrating dramatic writing. An extract from her debut full-length contemporary play, Seasons of You, performed at the Play/Test Scratch Night at The Old Joint Stock Theatre in Birmingham, Liverpool Scratch Network, and The Sunday Fix at Arches Lane Theatre in London. Joanne trained in screenwriting at RMIT University (The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology), as well as playwriting and set design at NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) in Australia. She is a member of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain and Australian Writers’ Guild. You can learn more at her website (www.joannerose.com) or by following her on Instagram @joanneroseofficial.