STEEL by name and Steel by nature when it comes to naming a theatre company that will launch a world premiere at Stockton's Arc in September, award-winning writer and director Gordon Steel acknowledges that the tiny amount of Arts Council funding he's received isn't going to go far.

But far only has to be ensuring some of his plays are performed regularly in the region, by his new company Steelworks, and that talented actors and creative theatre people gain an opportunity in the world of stagecraft.

"The idea of a theatre company scares the hell out of me, but you put forward these ideas and then think, 'Oh my God, I've got to deliver now'," says Steel. "It was actually my eldest daughter's idea to stick my name on the company. I said, 'No, I'm not going to do that because it sounds pretentious', but quite a few people told me that I had to go for that name.

"I think I've worked over the years with some phenomenally talented people from Teesside and I always thought it was a great shame that the area didn't have a professional theatre company. I just thought 'why not'. You look at Mark Benton, Mike Hodgson and Bill Fellows, who have all gone into the West End and I thought it would be great if the people of Teesside had an opportunity to see them," he adds.

Steel recalls that Benton, who is about to tour to Sunderland in a stage musical version of the film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, started off in his youth theatre and played in Grease and was the character George Berger in Hair.

"I was at Hull Truck (theatre) for ten to 15 years and people used to get bus trips down from Teesside to see my plays and it didn't seem right. I could see them thinking, 'Why I am getting the bus to see a play about Middlesbrough in Hull'?" Steel says.

Originally from Eaglescliffe, Steel started out with plays for youth theatre groups before founding Stockton Youth Theatre in the 1980s. While a part-time lecturer at Stockton's Riverside College, he attracted interest with works like A Pair Of Beauties, the park football comedy Studs, Edinburgh Festival award-winning Dead Fish and Like A Virgin, which became a London Weekend Television film. A Kick in the Baubles, Albert Knobbs and Britain's Got Talent-inspired Wilde Boyz have continued Steel's ability to use Teesside as a backdrop to his productions.

He says that his latest play Grow Up Grandad is creating excitement and the hunt for a young actress to play granddaughter Poppy starts on Saturday (May 9) with auditions at Arc.

"Come September 3 we are going to open the play. I am in a situation where I'm going to be saying to actors, 'I haven't really got any money, but please can you do it?' There will be a real element of risk about this play, but I think it will work," says Steel, who has created an intergenerational story that deals with love, loss, hope and sadness through the relationship between Poppy and her Granddad, who struggle after being thrust together.

Steel organised a read-through of the play a few months ago which went down well and he feels that once he has the actors on board the rest of the production will fall into place.

"There's a 12-year-old girl in it, so that's an opportunity for a young kid, or somebody to play 12. I'm told that Stockard Channing, who played Rizzo in Grease, was actually 33, but I do a lot of work with students and I've got some cracking kids who might get involved," says the playwright, who points out that he isn't a granddad himself yet.

"I just made up this plot. Previously, you could say some of my stuff was semi-autobiographical because you tend to use experiences from your past," he explains.

Steels is proud that his current work as an acting coach has helped youngsters from the region reach Urdang, Arts Educational College, Italia Conti and Lamda.

"I enjoy doing that as well as the writing. I've got a London producer interested in another play, but if Steelworks is a success I might do the play myself. All the signs are positive. I think it's also frustrating when I see other companies doing my work and not doing it justice. I keep thinking that I should be directing it," says Steel.

The region's newest artistic director confesses to a few nerves about producing plays, because he's normally written and directed before. Now he has a website to launch as well.

Help is coming here from daughter, Rebecca, who is currently head of theatre studies at Eton and will be assisting dad with the Arc auditions.

"She started off with a degree in dance, but is now at Eton. I normally nip down there when she puts on a show," says Steel.

Being based at Arc and getting the chance of creating more new work gets the playwright thinking about what's happened to work he's created already.

"The back catalogue of plays still gets done a lot and as far as New Zealand and Australia. It's quite bizarre when you Google it and you find out that you're on in Brighton in Australia or on the Gold Coast. Reform Theatre Company, in Sheffield, used to tour quite a few. Amateurs and drama schools also stage quite a few and my speeches from my plays are often used for auditions, so that's great. I was talking on the phone to a girl from London, via my agent, who is studying Like A Virgin for her A-levels.

"But it is getting harder and harder to stage my plays because people are becoming more reluctant to take risks with new work. Established works are the norm. You now see theatres full of tribute bands which is disheartening somewhat," says Steel.

* Places must be booked for Poppy auditions by calling Arc on 01642-525199 or visiting arconline.co.uk and searching for the audition page under Workshop and Classes. Saturday, May 9, audition slots are 9.15am to 10.30am; 10.45am to 11.30am and 12.15 to 1.30pm. Call backs are likely the same afternoon and on Thursday, May 14.

* Grow up Granddad is booked to run from Thursday, September 3 until Saturday, September 12. Tickets are on sale at Arc.