5:39pm Tuesday 24th June 2008
By Michelle Archard
TEACHING can provide more than just a rewarding career - it was the inspiration for a script which has been turned into a short play for TV.
Sarah Butler, 39, is a reception teacher at Thorpedene Infants School, Shoebury, and wrote Always the Teacher Never the Bride.
The satellite channel Teachers TV ran a national competition asking teachers to write a play, and Sarah was one of three winners who will have their plays filmed.
The seven-minute monologue has been performed by actress Tamsin Greig, one of the stars of award-winning Channel 4 comedy Green Wing.
Her play is about a reception teacher, called Samantha, whose wedding plans seem to involve her school more than the groom.
Sarah, who works part-time and has a son, Louis, 22 months, said: "I wrote it in the evenings after my son had gone to bed.
"It's not about one person, I've drawn on lots of people, but it's essentially about the dedication of teachers and how it takes over your life sometimes.
"In the piece, the fiancee is getting fed up with how much it impacts on their life.
"I find when I go shopping I'm thinking about what I need for school. Things like saving cereal boxes or yoghurt pots for making things at school."
Teachers TV's Staffroom Monologues competition attracted nearly 500 entries, with five winners picked by a judging panel.
Sarah's script was one of three chosen to be filmed for the channel, while the other two were recorded for audio broadcast on the Teachers TV website. Sarah added: "It's amazing it's been filmed. Tamsin Greig is perfect for the role, too."
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