Convener: Andy Harmon
Participants: People came and went but we started with the following:
Sophia Simerensky, Sandra Bo-Sim Yee Ben Luke, Jo Faith, Angela Clerkin,
Title: Courage to Act:
What's in the way of taking action
and some ideas about how to breakthrough
Motto contributed by one of the session members:
"If we talked to our friends the way we talk to ourselves, no one would want to be friends with us."
"What are the aims or goals you need courage to do?" and/or "What are your fears that are getting in the way" (Goals and Obstacles)
Goals:
Networking
Auditioning (pushing forward, making calls)
Finding a Mentor
Finding a Project
Taking myself seriously
Finding a community
Taking a Risk
Feeling Entitled (I'm not good enough)
Taking ownership of the value of what I create
"I Want to stop Playing Small"
"I'm rubbish at networking but I want to work in an ensemble"
Obstacles:
Things we do that stop us:
I have a fear that what I create won't be perfect
I have a fear that I won't find the exact right group of people
I over-think what I do (analysis paralysis)
I get intimidated by what other people think I 'should' be doing.
Some suggestions about moving forward:
Don't use the the word 'Networking' think about 'making new friends' or 'building a community for yourself'
Use language that helps you take action rather than reinforces your preconceptions
Make it Public. Declare yourself; then there's no time to be terrified.
Put your fears in perspective, think about what it will be like if you DON'T take action
Attend the NorthEast D&D. Set up a Local D&D in Leeds (forinstance)
Imagine yourself as someone else when you have to make a call or meet someone new
Email a friend or a colleague who will support your commitment to yourself with some things you're going to do.
Create a little community that will hold you to the deadlines you set for yourself
Many thanks to everyone involved in the weekend but especially Lee, Phelim, Nick, Lucy, Julian and all the others from Improbable and the Support Team who made this wonderful event happen!
Showing posts with label support. Show all posts
Showing posts with label support. Show all posts
Friday, 5 February 2010
096 A Confessional – Share your theatre sins / Speak the unspeakable / Voice your secret fears & desires
Convener: Chris Goode
Participants: No names, no pack drill ☺
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
Wanting to hold open a space for people to say the things that are difficult to say but that, once you say them, it turns out lots of other people have secretly been feeling the same thing…
All undertaken under a vow of confidentiality so nothing can be reported…
Actually it kind of turned in to swapping of embarrassing anecdotes, but that was fine. The fun of sharing, the laughter of release.
Two significant findings:
One: It’s really important for us to have this kind of space and to trust each other with our insights and experiences, even – or especially – when it’s hard stuff to voice. The person in the room with the most power is the person with least to hide.
Two: The BSL sign for ‘bollocks’ is awesome.
& love for all
Ch.x
Participants: No names, no pack drill ☺
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
Wanting to hold open a space for people to say the things that are difficult to say but that, once you say them, it turns out lots of other people have secretly been feeling the same thing…
All undertaken under a vow of confidentiality so nothing can be reported…
Actually it kind of turned in to swapping of embarrassing anecdotes, but that was fine. The fun of sharing, the laughter of release.
Two significant findings:
One: It’s really important for us to have this kind of space and to trust each other with our insights and experiences, even – or especially – when it’s hard stuff to voice. The person in the room with the most power is the person with least to hide.
Two: The BSL sign for ‘bollocks’ is awesome.
& love for all
Ch.x
095 What has D+D done for you? (in less than 15 words)
Convener: Jen Lunn
Participants: various
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
“D+D is my annual creative vitamin shot.” Jen
“D+D has reunited me with my love, passion and contemporaries.” Peta
“D+D introduced me to a possible way to get rid of stuff in my storage. Ta.”
“D+D is a great start to my year and gives me new friends.” Stella
“D+D has given me lots of new ideas, ideas to chase, friendships to follow and ways forward.”
“Made me less ashamed when I tell cab drivers that I work in theatre.”
“Become a little more theatre savvy!” Deepa
“Given me adrenalin in my veins and a bruise on my leg.”
“Recharged my batteries.”
Participants: various
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
“D+D is my annual creative vitamin shot.” Jen
“D+D has reunited me with my love, passion and contemporaries.” Peta
“D+D introduced me to a possible way to get rid of stuff in my storage. Ta.”
“D+D is a great start to my year and gives me new friends.” Stella
“D+D has given me lots of new ideas, ideas to chase, friendships to follow and ways forward.”
“Made me less ashamed when I tell cab drivers that I work in theatre.”
“Become a little more theatre savvy!” Deepa
“Given me adrenalin in my veins and a bruise on my leg.”
“Recharged my batteries.”
093 Which job should I do?
Convener: Gerard bell
Participants: Liza, Laura, Robert, Tilly and one or two others.
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
The enquiry could be, equally, in inverted commas so that it becomes a direct question: “Which job should I do?”
How can I make it, this question, this choice, Iess angsty?
What is the angst about?
Does it lie within – juggling ‘the needs of life’ against the artistic pursuit ?
How you project (or justify ) what you do (decide) to others is an important part of the ‘problem’.
Is it…about Balance in your life? Or is it about prioritizing?
It (could be ) about following your gut.
But it is difficult to hear your gut.
It is possible sometimes to do both, or can you negotiate to do both?
There can (may) be regret afterwards.
“I went to two weddings on the same day to be at both friends weddings, and felt I was at neither properly.”
Why do things come along at once? ….. It is a law of nature, perhaps.
(So the question is how to live with this law)
The Meslow Heirarchy – a hierarchy of needs – was suggested, which may be seen as a pyramid. You resolve the ones lower down the pyramid and this enables you to address the ones, fewer, nearer the top.
As artists we reverse the pyramid, and take it that the ones that need to be supported, that are higher up, as the basic.
Some off the ones lower down the pyramid, nearer the base( finding the means to live, and others) might ‘provide’ for you to be creative.
But possibly one might feel trapped by the pyramid of need. You have accepted the need to earn a living, for example, and now you are “trapped” by that.
[“ Wanna Fight?” intervened here]
Perhaps I shouldn’t be doing this one….or I “should” – that this (whatever) is the most important thing to do; the proper thing to do, the right thing to do.
There are psychoanalytic tests (questions) that can reveal if you had done the right thing, or gone on your path.
Can you ease that? (The angst, ..see above) Put that dilemma in a place to make it more easy?
[ This is a problem in life, - this problem of choice, of ‘which one?’ – and a consistent (perhaps) condition for performers. There is a distinction to be made or rather different formulations of the question – an occasional one as to which job or career I should embark on as opposed to free-lancers when it is about which piece of work and this may happen many times. Is there help with this question?]
You can use cards, write the alternatives on them and set them beside each other – if you have that one then you can’t have that other one – and see what that means; what doing “this” means doing without; or “which makes you feel better”.
Doing this you might find the hidden depths, which lie beneath your choices that you may not recognize (or have discredited – they are wants, too, but you are so used to them).
The hidden depths of your priorities.
Or which are your rules?
Rules can give order and they can also set you up for failure, (by not meeting them).
You regret the things you did not do, rather, generally, than the things you did (not always valued)
“Am I too old?” … is this related? There is a link. This is the last phase of my life. Where am I in my life now?
What is my plan for the year? To know what my plans are by the end of this year.
[ The question and the way it is phrased clearly acknowledge an ethical dimension, which may or may not be appropriate. To the original questioner, at least, this sets against the simple and robust solution – “what do I want?” , another question “but, which is right?”.
There is another question inherent in the question concerning jobs that one should or should not do; which jobs one would never do. This discussion was not opened]
Participants: Liza, Laura, Robert, Tilly and one or two others.
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
The enquiry could be, equally, in inverted commas so that it becomes a direct question: “Which job should I do?”
How can I make it, this question, this choice, Iess angsty?
What is the angst about?
Does it lie within – juggling ‘the needs of life’ against the artistic pursuit ?
How you project (or justify ) what you do (decide) to others is an important part of the ‘problem’.
Is it…about Balance in your life? Or is it about prioritizing?
It (could be ) about following your gut.
But it is difficult to hear your gut.
It is possible sometimes to do both, or can you negotiate to do both?
There can (may) be regret afterwards.
“I went to two weddings on the same day to be at both friends weddings, and felt I was at neither properly.”
Why do things come along at once? ….. It is a law of nature, perhaps.
(So the question is how to live with this law)
The Meslow Heirarchy – a hierarchy of needs – was suggested, which may be seen as a pyramid. You resolve the ones lower down the pyramid and this enables you to address the ones, fewer, nearer the top.
As artists we reverse the pyramid, and take it that the ones that need to be supported, that are higher up, as the basic.
Some off the ones lower down the pyramid, nearer the base( finding the means to live, and others) might ‘provide’ for you to be creative.
But possibly one might feel trapped by the pyramid of need. You have accepted the need to earn a living, for example, and now you are “trapped” by that.
[“ Wanna Fight?” intervened here]
Perhaps I shouldn’t be doing this one….or I “should” – that this (whatever) is the most important thing to do; the proper thing to do, the right thing to do.
There are psychoanalytic tests (questions) that can reveal if you had done the right thing, or gone on your path.
Can you ease that? (The angst, ..see above) Put that dilemma in a place to make it more easy?
[ This is a problem in life, - this problem of choice, of ‘which one?’ – and a consistent (perhaps) condition for performers. There is a distinction to be made or rather different formulations of the question – an occasional one as to which job or career I should embark on as opposed to free-lancers when it is about which piece of work and this may happen many times. Is there help with this question?]
You can use cards, write the alternatives on them and set them beside each other – if you have that one then you can’t have that other one – and see what that means; what doing “this” means doing without; or “which makes you feel better”.
Doing this you might find the hidden depths, which lie beneath your choices that you may not recognize (or have discredited – they are wants, too, but you are so used to them).
The hidden depths of your priorities.
Or which are your rules?
Rules can give order and they can also set you up for failure, (by not meeting them).
You regret the things you did not do, rather, generally, than the things you did (not always valued)
“Am I too old?” … is this related? There is a link. This is the last phase of my life. Where am I in my life now?
What is my plan for the year? To know what my plans are by the end of this year.
[ The question and the way it is phrased clearly acknowledge an ethical dimension, which may or may not be appropriate. To the original questioner, at least, this sets against the simple and robust solution – “what do I want?” , another question “but, which is right?”.
There is another question inherent in the question concerning jobs that one should or should not do; which jobs one would never do. This discussion was not opened]
Thursday, 4 February 2010
084 I’m not from here… where do I fit?
Convener: Emma Deakin
Participants:
Jennifer Pearcy-Edwards, Rosalie White, Allen O’Leary, Barry Wilson, Anna O’Brien, Stella Duffy, Andy Harman
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
Four from New Zealand
Three from the States
One from Devon
NONE from London… originally!
When we’re not from this place (London) how do we fit in, find a home here? When we think we don’t quite fit how do we create here, and feel like we deserve be creating/making here? And who is from London anyway? Does anyone here feel like they fit?
We talked about the fears we have when we open our mouths that we’re instantly judged on where it is we’re from and therefore who we are and what we can contribute creatively. This pigeon holing is entirely based on where we’re from, and what people perceive that to be… Example; a Kiwi only being auditioned for New Zealand (and of course Australian!) roles when she is more than capable of playing another accent. And an American writer receiving a surprised reaction when he wants to base his play in London rather than writing about America.
But, we all thought not being from here (ie London or UK) does gives us a different perspective on creating work here, on the industry here, on the way things work, and don’t work here. London is not our home so we can see it with a kind of ‘outsider’ view…
And what/where is home? Maybe its not geographical, but more about our creative home; ie when we’re in black box theatre, when we’re in the rehearsal room… that can feel more like home than the geographical patch of land we’re from.
Talking about how we work here, why we work here, led to a discussion about ‘just doing the work’. Some of the group felt that there were frustrations arising within themselves when hearing others over the weekend talking about needing the money in order to make the work. Or having to have the Producer, or having the Fundraiser – having these things before ‘just doing the work’. Two of us experienced, independently, that when we voiced those frustrations we received… a strange… look…like we were speaking another language. But surely when a company and/or project is new and young there needs to be a period of seriously hard slog (which includes taking most of, if not all the roles on) in order to make that work happen, to realize it. That hard slog doesn’t stop if we want to continue to create and build our piece of beauty, that thing we feel most passionate about. And over time the company and/or project grows, people come and go, support (in every sense of the word) begins to increase, and so on and so on. The company, the project, the relationships and people develop and the work grows and evolves. And these things take time… Probably never stops, just continues…
London is a hard place, thriving, which is great! But its hard too. Because we’re not from here do we feel we need to work harder to prove ourselves? And with this thing we need to prove, does it make it harder to give ourselves permission to work, to do, to make?
We need to don the dress of entitlement! Wear the waistcoat of entitlement! Feed our imagination with a secret that gives us permission to take space and believe we deserve to be here.
Participants:
Jennifer Pearcy-Edwards, Rosalie White, Allen O’Leary, Barry Wilson, Anna O’Brien, Stella Duffy, Andy Harman
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
Four from New Zealand
Three from the States
One from Devon
NONE from London… originally!
When we’re not from this place (London) how do we fit in, find a home here? When we think we don’t quite fit how do we create here, and feel like we deserve be creating/making here? And who is from London anyway? Does anyone here feel like they fit?
We talked about the fears we have when we open our mouths that we’re instantly judged on where it is we’re from and therefore who we are and what we can contribute creatively. This pigeon holing is entirely based on where we’re from, and what people perceive that to be… Example; a Kiwi only being auditioned for New Zealand (and of course Australian!) roles when she is more than capable of playing another accent. And an American writer receiving a surprised reaction when he wants to base his play in London rather than writing about America.
But, we all thought not being from here (ie London or UK) does gives us a different perspective on creating work here, on the industry here, on the way things work, and don’t work here. London is not our home so we can see it with a kind of ‘outsider’ view…
And what/where is home? Maybe its not geographical, but more about our creative home; ie when we’re in black box theatre, when we’re in the rehearsal room… that can feel more like home than the geographical patch of land we’re from.
Talking about how we work here, why we work here, led to a discussion about ‘just doing the work’. Some of the group felt that there were frustrations arising within themselves when hearing others over the weekend talking about needing the money in order to make the work. Or having to have the Producer, or having the Fundraiser – having these things before ‘just doing the work’. Two of us experienced, independently, that when we voiced those frustrations we received… a strange… look…like we were speaking another language. But surely when a company and/or project is new and young there needs to be a period of seriously hard slog (which includes taking most of, if not all the roles on) in order to make that work happen, to realize it. That hard slog doesn’t stop if we want to continue to create and build our piece of beauty, that thing we feel most passionate about. And over time the company and/or project grows, people come and go, support (in every sense of the word) begins to increase, and so on and so on. The company, the project, the relationships and people develop and the work grows and evolves. And these things take time… Probably never stops, just continues…
London is a hard place, thriving, which is great! But its hard too. Because we’re not from here do we feel we need to work harder to prove ourselves? And with this thing we need to prove, does it make it harder to give ourselves permission to work, to do, to make?
We need to don the dress of entitlement! Wear the waistcoat of entitlement! Feed our imagination with a secret that gives us permission to take space and believe we deserve to be here.
069 Where audiences are responsible for creating their own performance, what is the role of the artists?
Convener: Sian Rees
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
This type of work offers the artists more freedom, it’s an empowering process and offers more options.
The focus of the work is about re-negotiating the audience/artist relationship
Although, there is something freeing about stepping back, and not having to participate fully. And sometimes the work becomes solely about the audience member, which can be overwhelming and even dull (as they spend their time watching each other)
What about the presence of the artist? In some work, the artist need not be present at all.(the artist becomes redundant?) Are we missing out on the presence of the artist, the ‘spark’ that they bring to the work? However, installations are meaningful without the presence of the artist. Theatre, however, is different, as its live, its ephemeral, and this is what’s exciting about performance.
Audiences may want more imaginative work, and only see a ‘slice of their own life’. And audiences become the artist. (performativity?) Audiences though, want to see artistry, and skills which they don’t have themselves. They want to see craft.
Perhaps we over-think the audience experience, is there too much focus on this relationship at the expense of the work?
The role of the artist becomes more about the work undertaken before the performance itself, the creative process happens beforehand.
Do we need the audience more than they need us?
The personal journey (individual moments for e.g.) v’s the collective experience (group of audience members). Perhaps we can marry the two in a rich conversation. Those individual moments make audience feel privileged and special, it’s an empowering, emotional and intimate experience.
As a culture, are we obsessed by categorization? Can more ‘experimental’ theatre join other artistic communities to create a more supportive network? Why do they work against each other? Can we support each other across disciplines?
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
This type of work offers the artists more freedom, it’s an empowering process and offers more options.
The focus of the work is about re-negotiating the audience/artist relationship
Although, there is something freeing about stepping back, and not having to participate fully. And sometimes the work becomes solely about the audience member, which can be overwhelming and even dull (as they spend their time watching each other)
What about the presence of the artist? In some work, the artist need not be present at all.(the artist becomes redundant?) Are we missing out on the presence of the artist, the ‘spark’ that they bring to the work? However, installations are meaningful without the presence of the artist. Theatre, however, is different, as its live, its ephemeral, and this is what’s exciting about performance.
Audiences may want more imaginative work, and only see a ‘slice of their own life’. And audiences become the artist. (performativity?) Audiences though, want to see artistry, and skills which they don’t have themselves. They want to see craft.
Perhaps we over-think the audience experience, is there too much focus on this relationship at the expense of the work?
The role of the artist becomes more about the work undertaken before the performance itself, the creative process happens beforehand.
Do we need the audience more than they need us?
The personal journey (individual moments for e.g.) v’s the collective experience (group of audience members). Perhaps we can marry the two in a rich conversation. Those individual moments make audience feel privileged and special, it’s an empowering, emotional and intimate experience.
As a culture, are we obsessed by categorization? Can more ‘experimental’ theatre join other artistic communities to create a more supportive network? Why do they work against each other? Can we support each other across disciplines?
061 The Dreamtime: What do you want to create?
Convener:Andy Harmon
Participants: A group of really wonderful people who included… (please add yourselves to this)
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
Motto: The most difficult obstacle to getting what you want is the story you tell yourself about why you can’t have it.
The group looked at that space where Ideas and Projects are born within us. We began with Stella who talked about a project that had been emerging for her for the last 15 years, but had no particular shape yet. She told us some of what she did know about it. (and later broke out the play dough and began to both draw a picture and place little figures on it, playing around with what was coming up for her.)
Then we brought up the issue of sometimes you can create a piece of writing but suddenly lose heart with it. You feel ‘oh what’s the use?’ or ‘I’m not good enough…’
This brought up the value of courage, and the challenge posed by fear. Sometimes fear can help you as in the fear of not meeting a deadline pushes you, but sometimes it can block you. We talked about how fear is endemic to creativity because, in a very real sense, all creativity is a form of rule breaking (or bending). This brings up all sorts of feelings sometimes ranging from not being good enough to being downright wrong! And that these feelings end up stopping you. So how do some people manage to deal with this problem?
Then I, Andy, talked about a play that I’ve been working on for nearly 20 years, and shared a bit of what it was about and how I’ve wrestled with it, knowing both beginning and ending, but being deeply stuck in the middle of it…!
We talked about techniques that can help deal with the fear: Writing on a whiteboard, for example or having a deadline that forces you to finish.
This led us to think about Responsibility. What if you don’t have a producer or theatre company (or TV company) to commission your script and set the deadline? What then?
So what’s stopping you from creating a group of friends/colleagues who you can be responsible to? Not as critics to ‘improve’ the work (there are plenty of those), but actually to support the simple act of creation, when your dream comes into it’s first manifestation – to help you deal with the fear. I mentioned a group my wife Anita started in the USA called ‘The Mentor Group’, to help new writers develop their confidence.
Then we returned back to the central theme which was: What are your dreams, what do you want to create? Dreams are really intimate, so often difficult even to share – sometimes the fear so grips us we won’t even admit our dreams to ourselves. So I began by sharing my dreams for myself for this year and then gradually everyone began to do so. We heard from just about everyone. A chorus. A one woman show. Creating a living from one’s art. A play that’s been in the works a long time. A space where people can share their dreams and inspire others with them. And more… (please add yours!)
One dream of note was coming into reality even as we spoke, The Hackney Rose, just around the corner, a playing and performance space for people to develop THEIR DREAMS.
We talked about the issue of Motivation. Jen shared her idea that there are only two motivators. Fear (that pushes us away from doing something) and Hunger (that draws us in to doing something). Angela amplified this when she talked about learning to wear the ‘dress of Entitlement’. Claiming the right to create! Taking the responsibility in your own hands. And if what motivates you is the hunger to seize the limelight, to show off, to be visible and applauded, what’s wrong with that?
“Your playing small does not serve the world”
Lastly, we looked at the issue of the boundary between dream and manifestation. As one of us asked, should you try to carry the ‘dreamtime’ into real life? My answer is that there is a real difference, but that It’s a question of perspective. Phelim talked about developing the part of the self that’s ‘The Witness’ that can provide the perspective to get a larger view, to step back from the act of creating.
Please feel free everyone to add things I’ve forgotten… (many apologies to all those who made great contributions but I didn’t know your names!)
Participants: A group of really wonderful people who included… (please add yourselves to this)
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
Motto: The most difficult obstacle to getting what you want is the story you tell yourself about why you can’t have it.
The group looked at that space where Ideas and Projects are born within us. We began with Stella who talked about a project that had been emerging for her for the last 15 years, but had no particular shape yet. She told us some of what she did know about it. (and later broke out the play dough and began to both draw a picture and place little figures on it, playing around with what was coming up for her.)
Then we brought up the issue of sometimes you can create a piece of writing but suddenly lose heart with it. You feel ‘oh what’s the use?’ or ‘I’m not good enough…’
This brought up the value of courage, and the challenge posed by fear. Sometimes fear can help you as in the fear of not meeting a deadline pushes you, but sometimes it can block you. We talked about how fear is endemic to creativity because, in a very real sense, all creativity is a form of rule breaking (or bending). This brings up all sorts of feelings sometimes ranging from not being good enough to being downright wrong! And that these feelings end up stopping you. So how do some people manage to deal with this problem?
Then I, Andy, talked about a play that I’ve been working on for nearly 20 years, and shared a bit of what it was about and how I’ve wrestled with it, knowing both beginning and ending, but being deeply stuck in the middle of it…!
We talked about techniques that can help deal with the fear: Writing on a whiteboard, for example or having a deadline that forces you to finish.
This led us to think about Responsibility. What if you don’t have a producer or theatre company (or TV company) to commission your script and set the deadline? What then?
So what’s stopping you from creating a group of friends/colleagues who you can be responsible to? Not as critics to ‘improve’ the work (there are plenty of those), but actually to support the simple act of creation, when your dream comes into it’s first manifestation – to help you deal with the fear. I mentioned a group my wife Anita started in the USA called ‘The Mentor Group’, to help new writers develop their confidence.
Then we returned back to the central theme which was: What are your dreams, what do you want to create? Dreams are really intimate, so often difficult even to share – sometimes the fear so grips us we won’t even admit our dreams to ourselves. So I began by sharing my dreams for myself for this year and then gradually everyone began to do so. We heard from just about everyone. A chorus. A one woman show. Creating a living from one’s art. A play that’s been in the works a long time. A space where people can share their dreams and inspire others with them. And more… (please add yours!)
One dream of note was coming into reality even as we spoke, The Hackney Rose, just around the corner, a playing and performance space for people to develop THEIR DREAMS.
We talked about the issue of Motivation. Jen shared her idea that there are only two motivators. Fear (that pushes us away from doing something) and Hunger (that draws us in to doing something). Angela amplified this when she talked about learning to wear the ‘dress of Entitlement’. Claiming the right to create! Taking the responsibility in your own hands. And if what motivates you is the hunger to seize the limelight, to show off, to be visible and applauded, what’s wrong with that?
“Your playing small does not serve the world”
Lastly, we looked at the issue of the boundary between dream and manifestation. As one of us asked, should you try to carry the ‘dreamtime’ into real life? My answer is that there is a real difference, but that It’s a question of perspective. Phelim talked about developing the part of the self that’s ‘The Witness’ that can provide the perspective to get a larger view, to step back from the act of creating.
Please feel free everyone to add things I’ve forgotten… (many apologies to all those who made great contributions but I didn’t know your names!)
051 How does the phrase “Britain’s finest talent!” grab you?
Convener: Tim Taylor
Participants: Tim Taylor
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
Questions to ask:
• How do you know if you’re the finest?
• Who says?
• What’s it like being the finest?
• What if you’re not?
• Why does it matter?
• When will you know?
You know…when others say you are, using criteria they think contribute to such an assessment. You might know when you feel that what you do has reached a standard of excellence that is apparent – to you.
Who will tell you? Other fine people who know what it means to be the finest, fans of you’re work and many and various ‘finest’ watchers.
What’s it like being the finest? It’s like winning a prize, glowing, validating, rewarding and empowering.
What if you’re not? Then you keep doing what you do and somewhere, somehow, for someone what you do will produce a response, a connection that encapsulates a sense of fineness. Alternatively, accept your place on the continuum running between excellence (with or without the reward of glory/obscurity) and badness (again with the various attendant responses it might produce).
Britain’s finest…it’s great to be it because then you know that you’re loved, that what you’ve done has made a difference to people’s lives, that you and what you do are valued and that, at least for now, you’re secure.
The possibility that you’ll not always be the finest unless you keep working very hard hovers, but that’s OK because you’ll keep working for as long as inclination, energy and inspiration last. If external notions of finery become more elusive then it may be time to take a more sanguine approach to the whole bally thing.
If you’re in a bolshie mood and notions of meritocratic hierarchy cloy like a big pot of bubbling goop, then have a good old grumble, see the funny side and turn it to good use, e.g. write a sketch or a poem, perhaps called Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hands together for…
Participants: Tim Taylor
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
Questions to ask:
• How do you know if you’re the finest?
• Who says?
• What’s it like being the finest?
• What if you’re not?
• Why does it matter?
• When will you know?
You know…when others say you are, using criteria they think contribute to such an assessment. You might know when you feel that what you do has reached a standard of excellence that is apparent – to you.
Who will tell you? Other fine people who know what it means to be the finest, fans of you’re work and many and various ‘finest’ watchers.
What’s it like being the finest? It’s like winning a prize, glowing, validating, rewarding and empowering.
What if you’re not? Then you keep doing what you do and somewhere, somehow, for someone what you do will produce a response, a connection that encapsulates a sense of fineness. Alternatively, accept your place on the continuum running between excellence (with or without the reward of glory/obscurity) and badness (again with the various attendant responses it might produce).
Britain’s finest…it’s great to be it because then you know that you’re loved, that what you’ve done has made a difference to people’s lives, that you and what you do are valued and that, at least for now, you’re secure.
The possibility that you’ll not always be the finest unless you keep working very hard hovers, but that’s OK because you’ll keep working for as long as inclination, energy and inspiration last. If external notions of finery become more elusive then it may be time to take a more sanguine approach to the whole bally thing.
If you’re in a bolshie mood and notions of meritocratic hierarchy cloy like a big pot of bubbling goop, then have a good old grumble, see the funny side and turn it to good use, e.g. write a sketch or a poem, perhaps called Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hands together for…
047 If I’m a Jack of all Trades, Why do People think I am a Master at none?
Convener: Zoë Cobb
Participants: Sharon Seager, Jack Kloff, Hugo Chapman, Annie Rigby, Tyne Rafaeli, Andy Rogers, Mary O’Connor, Kirsty Lothaian, Morven, Paschale Straiton, Beccy Owen, Stuart Tagett, Jo Faith, Suzy Almond, Sara, Dan Copeland, Amy Ip, Andy Harmon, Steven Wainnery, Simon Wilkinson, Lee Simpson, Lucy Foster, Shakera Laise Ahad, Lee Simpson, Nadine Ishani, Angela Klirkin, Anna O’Brian
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
• A few more positive ways to look at it: Polymath, Renaissance woman/man, fluidity
• From the perspective of someone who does one thing, he doesn’t like that others do more than one because of Envy, and thinks they spread themselves too thin.
• If you are an actor who has directed, then don’t put it on your card, or CV keep it separate
• Is this polymath behavior a necessity in the beginning of a career? Lee commented that he is well into his career and still does it.
• If you want to be famous, then do one thing, and keep doing it and only it
• Conversely, if you don’t want to become famous, do many things.
• Is it a model for the future, moving away from the Industrial Revolution
• We feel pressured to specialize. Why? On paper, for grants, for forms, for simplicity in organizations, we need to have a role.
• In the publishing world the wealth, and variety of Stella’s life is really embraced and considered of value, however that is not the case in the theatre world
• Perhaps it is a problem because we don’t specifically produce a product
• One person expressed that she is never going to be good enough at any of the one thing she does. Is this the reason we do so many things? ‘You are not successful at that one thing because you are not always doing it.’
• We see the creation process a chaotic one, but in the institutions there is an idea of clock work that is applied to the process. Where each person does their job and the final product is resulting. This is still at the heart of how most theatre works. In Britain’s rep system, that is how the system still works.
• So do we need to silence all the other voices in hopes of following just one?
• Could we get the satisfaction of all the different things we do in one profession, like directing, if we gave it a chance? Might we learn just as much and find just as many rewarding pieces of information if we just stuck to it, and got deeper into it?
• Do we need to change? Are we just on the wrong path, and need to learn how to keep doing one thing? Is it a matter or changing or just embracing what we do and valuing it, so at some point others will too?
• Do we need the trumpets and the ceremony, the recognition to say that we are brilliant at what we do?
• People who have a medal, and certificate make the theatre
• Newtonian thinking breeds the non-polymath
• There is lots of non-medaled work is not heard about and doesn’t enter the main stream’s thinking.
• It is not monetarily sustainable to be a polymath
• Even though a collaborative theatre company is well established, they are still thought of as crooks, or suspected of being low in moral character.
• For the show at the National, Lee and Phelim proposed to co-direct and the National looked confused and worried, however when they came back and said, Lee would write and Phelim would direct, the response was a massive smile and sigh of relief
• Perhaps it is more of a British way of being and European theatre is less ‘container’ and ‘label orientated
• In South Africa they didn’t have the luxury to do one thing. It felt like it was a Colonial idea to have so much division of labour, and this director who went down felt threatened by the lack of division. When she had experienced it a little more she felt an artistic poverty in relationship to all these people who could do so much
• In the American system people are unionized and really only allowed to do one thing.
• Be aware of why you are doing many jobs
• There will be someone who is more equipped to do the work, because you are too tired, to busy to be there when you need to
• Perhaps you are a control freak and cannot trust others to do the work you need to be done
• Get a team around you who you trust with artistic integrity
• In some cases we need to set boundaries and not do everything. People are very willing to accept us being a ‘jack of all trades’ if you are going down the ladder. The doors start closing when you start multi-tasking up the ladder.
• ‘Whoever paints the wall, chooses the colour’ – Amber Films
• All of the other forms of art and practice are very nourishing to the theatre work
• It is a balancing act where you need to keep your options open.
• If you present yourself so that someone can look at your body of work and find some through line, some method to your madness
• You can use the different skills as a way to almost spiral up in your value, where you get a good credit in one area, it then gives you some sense of credence and then another area will be able to possibly also have a little bit of levity
• The question of ‘What do you do?’ makes me feel defensive or uncertain, and think ‘which one should I answer? Actually, the person you are speaking with just wants interact and is asking quite a simple question. So choose something you are happy with saying.
• Perhaps step away from the CV and went with the work biographies
• The stitching is very important, what I do in a conceptual way
• Portfolio careers, a more modern way to recession proof
• It is self propagating; as soon as people know you do a lot of different things, they will start asking you to do all kinds of things. One suggestion of a design company was to show up in a shirt and slacks, and don’t lift a thing, this way you are not expected or asked to do the menial tasks. Doing it all can be lowering status
• What part of us feels like what we are doing has less value that we are willing to let this judgment mean so much? Does it matter if other people think this if we don’t?
• Representation is a game, learn how to do it
• In this talk there is a sense of ‘they’ think and they do, well who are they?
• I started in the military, and the Royal Shakespeare company is very similar. You should start your own think, do your own work, and ‘they’ will take notice.
• Stick with your particular skills and there will be a strange arrangement that only you could fit. But this will not happen unless you value the things you do. Trust.
• These are the kinds of jobs that you can’t advertise, this fit into the discussion about why there are no job advertisements, because often they are not certain of all the things that they want until you turn up.
• Was there anything else that we needed to say?
Participants: Sharon Seager, Jack Kloff, Hugo Chapman, Annie Rigby, Tyne Rafaeli, Andy Rogers, Mary O’Connor, Kirsty Lothaian, Morven, Paschale Straiton, Beccy Owen, Stuart Tagett, Jo Faith, Suzy Almond, Sara, Dan Copeland, Amy Ip, Andy Harmon, Steven Wainnery, Simon Wilkinson, Lee Simpson, Lucy Foster, Shakera Laise Ahad, Lee Simpson, Nadine Ishani, Angela Klirkin, Anna O’Brian
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
• A few more positive ways to look at it: Polymath, Renaissance woman/man, fluidity
• From the perspective of someone who does one thing, he doesn’t like that others do more than one because of Envy, and thinks they spread themselves too thin.
• If you are an actor who has directed, then don’t put it on your card, or CV keep it separate
• Is this polymath behavior a necessity in the beginning of a career? Lee commented that he is well into his career and still does it.
• If you want to be famous, then do one thing, and keep doing it and only it
• Conversely, if you don’t want to become famous, do many things.
• Is it a model for the future, moving away from the Industrial Revolution
• We feel pressured to specialize. Why? On paper, for grants, for forms, for simplicity in organizations, we need to have a role.
• In the publishing world the wealth, and variety of Stella’s life is really embraced and considered of value, however that is not the case in the theatre world
• Perhaps it is a problem because we don’t specifically produce a product
• One person expressed that she is never going to be good enough at any of the one thing she does. Is this the reason we do so many things? ‘You are not successful at that one thing because you are not always doing it.’
• We see the creation process a chaotic one, but in the institutions there is an idea of clock work that is applied to the process. Where each person does their job and the final product is resulting. This is still at the heart of how most theatre works. In Britain’s rep system, that is how the system still works.
• So do we need to silence all the other voices in hopes of following just one?
• Could we get the satisfaction of all the different things we do in one profession, like directing, if we gave it a chance? Might we learn just as much and find just as many rewarding pieces of information if we just stuck to it, and got deeper into it?
• Do we need to change? Are we just on the wrong path, and need to learn how to keep doing one thing? Is it a matter or changing or just embracing what we do and valuing it, so at some point others will too?
• Do we need the trumpets and the ceremony, the recognition to say that we are brilliant at what we do?
• People who have a medal, and certificate make the theatre
• Newtonian thinking breeds the non-polymath
• There is lots of non-medaled work is not heard about and doesn’t enter the main stream’s thinking.
• It is not monetarily sustainable to be a polymath
• Even though a collaborative theatre company is well established, they are still thought of as crooks, or suspected of being low in moral character.
• For the show at the National, Lee and Phelim proposed to co-direct and the National looked confused and worried, however when they came back and said, Lee would write and Phelim would direct, the response was a massive smile and sigh of relief
• Perhaps it is more of a British way of being and European theatre is less ‘container’ and ‘label orientated
• In South Africa they didn’t have the luxury to do one thing. It felt like it was a Colonial idea to have so much division of labour, and this director who went down felt threatened by the lack of division. When she had experienced it a little more she felt an artistic poverty in relationship to all these people who could do so much
• In the American system people are unionized and really only allowed to do one thing.
• Be aware of why you are doing many jobs
• There will be someone who is more equipped to do the work, because you are too tired, to busy to be there when you need to
• Perhaps you are a control freak and cannot trust others to do the work you need to be done
• Get a team around you who you trust with artistic integrity
• In some cases we need to set boundaries and not do everything. People are very willing to accept us being a ‘jack of all trades’ if you are going down the ladder. The doors start closing when you start multi-tasking up the ladder.
• ‘Whoever paints the wall, chooses the colour’ – Amber Films
• All of the other forms of art and practice are very nourishing to the theatre work
• It is a balancing act where you need to keep your options open.
• If you present yourself so that someone can look at your body of work and find some through line, some method to your madness
• You can use the different skills as a way to almost spiral up in your value, where you get a good credit in one area, it then gives you some sense of credence and then another area will be able to possibly also have a little bit of levity
• The question of ‘What do you do?’ makes me feel defensive or uncertain, and think ‘which one should I answer? Actually, the person you are speaking with just wants interact and is asking quite a simple question. So choose something you are happy with saying.
• Perhaps step away from the CV and went with the work biographies
• The stitching is very important, what I do in a conceptual way
• Portfolio careers, a more modern way to recession proof
• It is self propagating; as soon as people know you do a lot of different things, they will start asking you to do all kinds of things. One suggestion of a design company was to show up in a shirt and slacks, and don’t lift a thing, this way you are not expected or asked to do the menial tasks. Doing it all can be lowering status
• What part of us feels like what we are doing has less value that we are willing to let this judgment mean so much? Does it matter if other people think this if we don’t?
• Representation is a game, learn how to do it
• In this talk there is a sense of ‘they’ think and they do, well who are they?
• I started in the military, and the Royal Shakespeare company is very similar. You should start your own think, do your own work, and ‘they’ will take notice.
• Stick with your particular skills and there will be a strange arrangement that only you could fit. But this will not happen unless you value the things you do. Trust.
• These are the kinds of jobs that you can’t advertise, this fit into the discussion about why there are no job advertisements, because often they are not certain of all the things that they want until you turn up.
• Was there anything else that we needed to say?
043 Gate-Keepers (or Obstructions to Involvement)
Convener: Stephen Darcy
Participants: Allen O’Leary, Kerry, Tim, John Spooner, Ellis, John
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
What is a Gate-Keeper? Are we all gate – keepers in some way? Can we be more open?
For Writers; Perseverence….
The Gate Keeper is not necessarily an enemy. What are the agents – casting and literary looking for? A happy marriage? A positive relationship.
Directors usually want everyone to be ‘The One’.
We are Gate Keepers of the Language: ie for any non English speakers in this country we are the social/political/ cultural barrier… or facilitators. Eg doctor,social worker,dole officer,
Kerry said, “ I am a gate keeper…The artist must seek to find the right gate keeper. It’s a relationship.”
Why do we do it? The industry is like a machine. “In New Zealand I’m on the inside. Here I’m on the outside” (Allen O’Leary) Why do we persevere? Coz it’s more fun on the inside….
Obstructions: Please Add…
I’m not successful because………………………………………………………….
I’m wrong!
I’ve got the wrong body / hair / look / style / voice / colour / gender / ethnicity…………………………………………………………………………………
[Please Add]…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
I haven’t met the right……………………………………………………………………
I haven’t done the leg-work / research / classes / training……………………..........
………………………………………………………………………………………………
I don’t have enough Talent! (the facilitator finds this point particularly controversial)……………………………………………………………………………
Thoughts;
Maybe it is the wrong gate.
Maybe I’m using the wrong key. Wrong lock ……………………..
Maybe Try and step away from the gate.
Is the gate an institution or person? I can chat to anyone in person ie Literary manager of the national. But I can’t pick up the phone and call. Pourquoi?
“I know lots of gate keepers. They’re lovely. If I ask them for a job it’s the end of the friendship.” John
I want to run the marathon in under 3 hours! I run it in 3.20. Success or Failure?
Conclusion:
Start your own party! And keep at it!
Participants: Allen O’Leary, Kerry, Tim, John Spooner, Ellis, John
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
What is a Gate-Keeper? Are we all gate – keepers in some way? Can we be more open?
For Writers; Perseverence….
The Gate Keeper is not necessarily an enemy. What are the agents – casting and literary looking for? A happy marriage? A positive relationship.
Directors usually want everyone to be ‘The One’.
We are Gate Keepers of the Language: ie for any non English speakers in this country we are the social/political/ cultural barrier… or facilitators. Eg doctor,social worker,dole officer,
Kerry said, “ I am a gate keeper…The artist must seek to find the right gate keeper. It’s a relationship.”
Why do we do it? The industry is like a machine. “In New Zealand I’m on the inside. Here I’m on the outside” (Allen O’Leary) Why do we persevere? Coz it’s more fun on the inside….
Obstructions: Please Add…
I’m not successful because………………………………………………………….
I’m wrong!
I’ve got the wrong body / hair / look / style / voice / colour / gender / ethnicity…………………………………………………………………………………
[Please Add]…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
I haven’t met the right……………………………………………………………………
I haven’t done the leg-work / research / classes / training……………………..........
………………………………………………………………………………………………
I don’t have enough Talent! (the facilitator finds this point particularly controversial)……………………………………………………………………………
Thoughts;
Maybe it is the wrong gate.
Maybe I’m using the wrong key. Wrong lock ……………………..
Maybe Try and step away from the gate.
Is the gate an institution or person? I can chat to anyone in person ie Literary manager of the national. But I can’t pick up the phone and call. Pourquoi?
“I know lots of gate keepers. They’re lovely. If I ask them for a job it’s the end of the friendship.” John
I want to run the marathon in under 3 hours! I run it in 3.20. Success or Failure?
Conclusion:
Start your own party! And keep at it!
040 How to get a (better) job in an hour and an half
Convener: James Bush
Participants: Jo, Jack, Lindsay, Other (x6/7)
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
If your goal is to get paid for doing what you want or love, follow these simple steps:
• Be aware, there may not be many job opportunities ‘out there’
• Be Punctual
• Begin to strike a balance between working for free and paid work
• Be prepared to work as a waitress, a bartend, a care assistant, an intern, a box officer, a front of house manager, a call centre operative, a teacher.
• Align yourself with buildings/institutions/support networks that may allow you free access to the resources that aid your desired practice.
• Be Self-Employed
• See your family/friends/partner/bed less as you work 80 hours a week.
• Benefit from further education/training/professional development…
• But, before parting with any of that hard earned money, have a clear idea of what skills you are improving and why you have chosen a particular development path
• Be aware of the things/situations that scare you and attempt to transform this fear into your currency
• Bravely go into that audition or that interview and declare “I am Artist/Performer/Director/Designer/etc.
• Believe in your own ability.
• Be selective in what you say yes to – being paid for your expenses/work is not an unreasonable request.
• Be bold and barter – offer your skills (tea making, envelope stuffing) as an exchange for that ticket or that place in that workshop.
• Be realistic – weigh up the financial cost of a project against the personal/professional gain.
• Appraise the quality of your life.
• Be thankful for what you have.
• See where you may be able to help others.
Web links that may be useful when job searching:
www.tcw.org.uk – complete works creative company
www.facebook.com – seek arts venues/companies that interest you
www.twitter.com – follow organisations/people that interest you
www.jiscmail.ac.uk/mailinglistsindex.htm - sign up!
www.artsjobs.org.uk/index.php - Jobs galore
www.guardian.co.uk – jobs
Participants: Jo, Jack, Lindsay, Other (x6/7)
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
If your goal is to get paid for doing what you want or love, follow these simple steps:
• Be aware, there may not be many job opportunities ‘out there’
• Be Punctual
• Begin to strike a balance between working for free and paid work
• Be prepared to work as a waitress, a bartend, a care assistant, an intern, a box officer, a front of house manager, a call centre operative, a teacher.
• Align yourself with buildings/institutions/support networks that may allow you free access to the resources that aid your desired practice.
• Be Self-Employed
• See your family/friends/partner/bed less as you work 80 hours a week.
• Benefit from further education/training/professional development…
• But, before parting with any of that hard earned money, have a clear idea of what skills you are improving and why you have chosen a particular development path
• Be aware of the things/situations that scare you and attempt to transform this fear into your currency
• Bravely go into that audition or that interview and declare “I am Artist/Performer/Director/Designer/etc.
• Believe in your own ability.
• Be selective in what you say yes to – being paid for your expenses/work is not an unreasonable request.
• Be bold and barter – offer your skills (tea making, envelope stuffing) as an exchange for that ticket or that place in that workshop.
• Be realistic – weigh up the financial cost of a project against the personal/professional gain.
• Appraise the quality of your life.
• Be thankful for what you have.
• See where you may be able to help others.
Web links that may be useful when job searching:
www.tcw.org.uk – complete works creative company
www.facebook.com – seek arts venues/companies that interest you
www.twitter.com – follow organisations/people that interest you
www.jiscmail.ac.uk/mailinglistsindex.htm - sign up!
www.artsjobs.org.uk/index.php - Jobs galore
www.guardian.co.uk – jobs
038 Babies in Theatre
Convener: Morven Macbeth
Participants: lots of very generous, honest people to whom I’m grateful
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
Opened with where I’m coming from on this Issue – which has over recent months become a massive issue for me – in all sorts of respects, the prospects of having a baby in this world ie the world of work / theatre all the way through to coming out of a screening of The Age of Stupid and thinking well there’s no way on earth I’m even going to consider having a baby and everything in between. It can be really really difficult to talk honestly and openly about this ‘issue’ – obviously it’s a very emotive subject and very easy to hit a nerve – so I hoped the Open Space would engender a free and genuine discussion about some or all of the above. Thoughts and descriptions of times in lives:
- a designer, had her baby at 24 and soon after became a single parent, spoke about not knowing any other designers with small children then, work is do-able in theatre rather than in film/tv, that her daughter will now happily sit through a tech
- what sorts of mums do we see on stage?
- ‘the death of creativity is a buggy in the hallway’
- the difference if there is a supportive partner with you and there is a share of childcare
- one is do-able – two is a different thing entirely…
- don’t worry about it – do it – no point in worrying about the consequences
- losing focus on getting work because something else if far more important to you
- oogly boogly – how babies come into our work, become part of it
- it all comes down to how determined and how courageous you are
- it goes SO fast – your 6 month old is 17 before you know it
- a one woman show made by a woman whose partner left her when she was 7 months pregnant, she made a show about it within a year of giving birth, had her second child 17 years later
- having a baby is like having another full time job
- freelancing being possible once one of the group had had her son, taking tax credits etc into account
- not being able to see as much live theatre – not the time to – a place where ‘digital theatre’ comes into it’s own
- you end up talking to people you’d never have spoken to before
- example given of the Unicorn Theatre – attitude, changing the way you think, the way you physically bring up your children, the environment you create is up to you and the people around you
- involving children in rehearsal process – playing
- example given of a meeting with an agent being effectively ‘over’ having gone well when the question of age, being in a long term relationship came up because all that added up to having babies and therefore being ‘no use’ to him. Point made that a co-operative would be genuinely unlikely to take that attitude, as would many agents
- hearing a lot about people’s skills developing after they’ve had children, if you acknowledge that you may not want to perform for a year, 18 months, 3 years or whatever having had a baby then what else can you do, what other areas do your current skills lead you towards?
- having children focuses you
- it’s like open space – whatever happens happens, whenever it starts is the right time for it to start
- how do you tour with a 13 month old? Using a local child-minder? What if something goes wrong, the minder can’t get there and you can’t get to the theatre? It’s not like an office where you can call in to tell them you can’t make it in today. ACTION – encouraging theatres to have local childcare lists and child friendly digs lists available
- experience of regional theatres particularly being very positive and flexible over the arrangements that need to be made with actors who have children
- Equity are good in terms of offering advice in certain areas eg benefits available to you
- rep theatres used to have crèches in the olden days and apparently there used to be ‘homes’ for the children of touring actors, a bit like temporary foster care
- in terms of the ‘moral’ question point made that there’s the responsibility to ‘breed the good people’. That it falls under the remit of ‘if you don’t leave the house today you won’t get hit by a bus’ – you just can’t think like that
- parenting is a whole other ball game, a whole other session
Participants: lots of very generous, honest people to whom I’m grateful
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
Opened with where I’m coming from on this Issue – which has over recent months become a massive issue for me – in all sorts of respects, the prospects of having a baby in this world ie the world of work / theatre all the way through to coming out of a screening of The Age of Stupid and thinking well there’s no way on earth I’m even going to consider having a baby and everything in between. It can be really really difficult to talk honestly and openly about this ‘issue’ – obviously it’s a very emotive subject and very easy to hit a nerve – so I hoped the Open Space would engender a free and genuine discussion about some or all of the above. Thoughts and descriptions of times in lives:
- a designer, had her baby at 24 and soon after became a single parent, spoke about not knowing any other designers with small children then, work is do-able in theatre rather than in film/tv, that her daughter will now happily sit through a tech
- what sorts of mums do we see on stage?
- ‘the death of creativity is a buggy in the hallway’
- the difference if there is a supportive partner with you and there is a share of childcare
- one is do-able – two is a different thing entirely…
- don’t worry about it – do it – no point in worrying about the consequences
- losing focus on getting work because something else if far more important to you
- oogly boogly – how babies come into our work, become part of it
- it all comes down to how determined and how courageous you are
- it goes SO fast – your 6 month old is 17 before you know it
- a one woman show made by a woman whose partner left her when she was 7 months pregnant, she made a show about it within a year of giving birth, had her second child 17 years later
- having a baby is like having another full time job
- freelancing being possible once one of the group had had her son, taking tax credits etc into account
- not being able to see as much live theatre – not the time to – a place where ‘digital theatre’ comes into it’s own
- you end up talking to people you’d never have spoken to before
- example given of the Unicorn Theatre – attitude, changing the way you think, the way you physically bring up your children, the environment you create is up to you and the people around you
- involving children in rehearsal process – playing
- example given of a meeting with an agent being effectively ‘over’ having gone well when the question of age, being in a long term relationship came up because all that added up to having babies and therefore being ‘no use’ to him. Point made that a co-operative would be genuinely unlikely to take that attitude, as would many agents
- hearing a lot about people’s skills developing after they’ve had children, if you acknowledge that you may not want to perform for a year, 18 months, 3 years or whatever having had a baby then what else can you do, what other areas do your current skills lead you towards?
- having children focuses you
- it’s like open space – whatever happens happens, whenever it starts is the right time for it to start
- how do you tour with a 13 month old? Using a local child-minder? What if something goes wrong, the minder can’t get there and you can’t get to the theatre? It’s not like an office where you can call in to tell them you can’t make it in today. ACTION – encouraging theatres to have local childcare lists and child friendly digs lists available
- experience of regional theatres particularly being very positive and flexible over the arrangements that need to be made with actors who have children
- Equity are good in terms of offering advice in certain areas eg benefits available to you
- rep theatres used to have crèches in the olden days and apparently there used to be ‘homes’ for the children of touring actors, a bit like temporary foster care
- in terms of the ‘moral’ question point made that there’s the responsibility to ‘breed the good people’. That it falls under the remit of ‘if you don’t leave the house today you won’t get hit by a bus’ – you just can’t think like that
- parenting is a whole other ball game, a whole other session
031 How do you go about communicating “Non-Sense” ideas to people who would likely not know what you mean?
Convener: Li E Chen
Participants: Griet Spanhove, Gary Horsman and Paul Whitlock
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
• Style of expression
• Cultural differences: To find out the difference between European conceptual artists and Asian conceptual artists?
• To speak to artist who are like-minded and similar backgrounds. (Kazuko Hokui, etc)
Suggestions:
• Test ideas through few people
Participants: Griet Spanhove, Gary Horsman and Paul Whitlock
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
• Style of expression
• Cultural differences: To find out the difference between European conceptual artists and Asian conceptual artists?
• To speak to artist who are like-minded and similar backgrounds. (Kazuko Hokui, etc)
Suggestions:
• Test ideas through few people
028 Playwrights: A dying species?
Convener: Sarah Grochala – sarah at widsith.org.uk
Participants:
Andy Harman, Allen O'Leary, Suzy Almond
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
Discussion
Two strands: Financial and Artistically. Original question posed referred to the difficulty of financially supporting yourself as a playwright and also the extent to which playwrights need to evolve in order to expand their role in a changing theatre environment.
Financially: Agreement that it is virtually impossible to support yourself financially from playwrighting. Theatre makes nothing therefore playwrights also make nothing. Having another job is essential. Plus side is that this gives you more freedom to write but the downside is that it decreases the amount of time that you have available to write. Difficulty of getting into the industry through the traditional model, especially if you’re over 26. Need to be pro-active in producing your own work and building an audience for it. The need to produce your own work, however, decreases access to the profession. Building doors rather than banging on them. Not being British and polite in your approach, but instead asking for what you need. Means that most playwrights are inevitably from a wealthy or middle class background. Playwrighting having a high cultural value in UK (related to legacy of Shakespeare), but commercially its value is low. Better position for playwrights financially in the UK than in New Zealand or in the USA. Need for some kind of agency to replace writernet as a supportive body for playwrights. Some to ask for advice about funding etc. from.
Artistically
Need for playwrights to build more of a community network and set their own terms. Nature of playwright’s role is isolated so building a community seems difficult at times. We don’t know who the other playwrights are. D&D providing that forum for a weekend, but could this be extended.
Recommendations – To set up a stronger network of playwrights. Possibility of forming a playwrights support group from interested people at D&D?
Participants:
Andy Harman, Allen O'Leary, Suzy Almond
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
Discussion
Two strands: Financial and Artistically. Original question posed referred to the difficulty of financially supporting yourself as a playwright and also the extent to which playwrights need to evolve in order to expand their role in a changing theatre environment.
Financially: Agreement that it is virtually impossible to support yourself financially from playwrighting. Theatre makes nothing therefore playwrights also make nothing. Having another job is essential. Plus side is that this gives you more freedom to write but the downside is that it decreases the amount of time that you have available to write. Difficulty of getting into the industry through the traditional model, especially if you’re over 26. Need to be pro-active in producing your own work and building an audience for it. The need to produce your own work, however, decreases access to the profession. Building doors rather than banging on them. Not being British and polite in your approach, but instead asking for what you need. Means that most playwrights are inevitably from a wealthy or middle class background. Playwrighting having a high cultural value in UK (related to legacy of Shakespeare), but commercially its value is low. Better position for playwrights financially in the UK than in New Zealand or in the USA. Need for some kind of agency to replace writernet as a supportive body for playwrights. Some to ask for advice about funding etc. from.
Artistically
Need for playwrights to build more of a community network and set their own terms. Nature of playwright’s role is isolated so building a community seems difficult at times. We don’t know who the other playwrights are. D&D providing that forum for a weekend, but could this be extended.
Recommendations – To set up a stronger network of playwrights. Possibility of forming a playwrights support group from interested people at D&D?
025 Running a company: Where are our support networks?
Convener: Sebastian Warrack
Participants:
Dee Evans, Sebastian Warrack, Lisa Maguire, Jonathan Petherbridge, Annie Rigby, Many more (please write names below)
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
• Working for a small organization means that you don’t have a support network close to hand – whether this is practical support or emotional support
• Who can you turn to?
• The need for reassurance
• To know that there are others who are in the same boat
• Often this is most useful from people doing a similar job
• The “imposter syndrome”
• We all feel that we are imposters and that everyone else knows what they are doing – we’ll be found out!
• This can be debilitating, isolating
• It is a relief to discover that we are all feeling our way
• Is there support from the board – that is what they are there for
• Sometimes they are not supportive
• Sometimes they are supportive but don’t have the requisite skills
• Hence the need to choose board members carefully – skills audit
• Does the Arts Council offer useful support?
• Often the personnel don’t come from the sector so don’t have the skills
• Important for ACE to consider this when recruiting in the current major wave of recruitment
• Peer mentoring is an important way of getting support
• The need to share information
• Improbable has a mentoring scheme
• ITC has the General Managers’ Forum
• Actors’ Centre surgeries – primarily aimed at young companies just starting out
• Creative mentoring is often easier to find because we work in the creative industries and we are mostly creative animals, mixing with other creative animals. It comes more naturally
• There is a real need for business mentoring
• Who can match-make?
• Where can these mentors be found? How can relationships be brokered? ITC? ACE?
• Cross sector mentoring can also be really useful – not only refer to one’s obvious peers
• E.g. Subsidised sector seeking advice from commercial sector
• Also cross arts mentoring – theatre, dance
• Also important to acknowledge the need for well-being support
• Hard in small organizations for staff support, owing to limited number of staff and time – everyone so busy
• Should support networks remain informal or have a bit more structure so people recognize their responsibilities
• Should large well-funded organizations have these responsibilities included in their funding agreements?
• Important to acknowledge that large organizations also have a lot to learn from smaller organizations – the ability to be flexible, media and technology
• Networks for companies can feel invisible – more “in the air”
• Online support, run by users
• This can mean more people have access to this advice and support – greater benefit
• No need for repetition
• Individuals should commit to hosting a session
• What specific support has one to offer?
• This support should stimulate the giver as much as the receiver
• National Theatre Wales has a website for news and one for community use – on line community
• Young Vic model for directors
• Stan’s Café on line support – setting up a company
Participants:
Dee Evans, Sebastian Warrack, Lisa Maguire, Jonathan Petherbridge, Annie Rigby, Many more (please write names below)
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
• Working for a small organization means that you don’t have a support network close to hand – whether this is practical support or emotional support
• Who can you turn to?
• The need for reassurance
• To know that there are others who are in the same boat
• Often this is most useful from people doing a similar job
• The “imposter syndrome”
• We all feel that we are imposters and that everyone else knows what they are doing – we’ll be found out!
• This can be debilitating, isolating
• It is a relief to discover that we are all feeling our way
• Is there support from the board – that is what they are there for
• Sometimes they are not supportive
• Sometimes they are supportive but don’t have the requisite skills
• Hence the need to choose board members carefully – skills audit
• Does the Arts Council offer useful support?
• Often the personnel don’t come from the sector so don’t have the skills
• Important for ACE to consider this when recruiting in the current major wave of recruitment
• Peer mentoring is an important way of getting support
• The need to share information
• Improbable has a mentoring scheme
• ITC has the General Managers’ Forum
• Actors’ Centre surgeries – primarily aimed at young companies just starting out
• Creative mentoring is often easier to find because we work in the creative industries and we are mostly creative animals, mixing with other creative animals. It comes more naturally
• There is a real need for business mentoring
• Who can match-make?
• Where can these mentors be found? How can relationships be brokered? ITC? ACE?
• Cross sector mentoring can also be really useful – not only refer to one’s obvious peers
• E.g. Subsidised sector seeking advice from commercial sector
• Also cross arts mentoring – theatre, dance
• Also important to acknowledge the need for well-being support
• Hard in small organizations for staff support, owing to limited number of staff and time – everyone so busy
• Should support networks remain informal or have a bit more structure so people recognize their responsibilities
• Should large well-funded organizations have these responsibilities included in their funding agreements?
• Important to acknowledge that large organizations also have a lot to learn from smaller organizations – the ability to be flexible, media and technology
• Networks for companies can feel invisible – more “in the air”
• Online support, run by users
• This can mean more people have access to this advice and support – greater benefit
• No need for repetition
• Individuals should commit to hosting a session
• What specific support has one to offer?
• This support should stimulate the giver as much as the receiver
• National Theatre Wales has a website for news and one for community use – on line community
• Young Vic model for directors
• Stan’s Café on line support – setting up a company
017 Stories & Learning
Convener: Lawrence O’Connor
Participants: Louise Platt, Amy Wackett, Andrew McLay, Jennifer Pearcy-Edwards, Stephen Darcy, Colin Atkinson, Thomas Hescott, Cheglee Houston, Alison Goldie, Liz Porter, Andrew McLay, Rachael McGill, Antonio Arrara, Jen Lunn,
Zoe Cobb, Mary O'Connor, Dominic Cambell, Martin Aukland, Mark Pheonix, Sharon Seager, Kiplacet, Rupert Jones, Grefor Henderson-Begg, Jack Knight, Nick Coupe, Lawrence O'Connor
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
This session was a truly amazing, inspiring and encouraging dialogue by a group of people both passionate to both contribute and to listen.
The participants requested that the map that resulted from the session be the included as reference in the record of the conversation.
Time permitting, text notes to explain the ideas will also be added.
The ideas discussed extended and interconnected rapidly with passionate sincerity. The map also grew rapidly, therefore, and so it is presented in sections below in the interests of legibility. It is best viewed in colour- click on the images to view fully.
Participants: Louise Platt, Amy Wackett, Andrew McLay, Jennifer Pearcy-Edwards, Stephen Darcy, Colin Atkinson, Thomas Hescott, Cheglee Houston, Alison Goldie, Liz Porter, Andrew McLay, Rachael McGill, Antonio Arrara, Jen Lunn,
Zoe Cobb, Mary O'Connor, Dominic Cambell, Martin Aukland, Mark Pheonix, Sharon Seager, Kiplacet, Rupert Jones, Grefor Henderson-Begg, Jack Knight, Nick Coupe, Lawrence O'Connor
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
This session was a truly amazing, inspiring and encouraging dialogue by a group of people both passionate to both contribute and to listen.
The participants requested that the map that resulted from the session be the included as reference in the record of the conversation.
Time permitting, text notes to explain the ideas will also be added.
The ideas discussed extended and interconnected rapidly with passionate sincerity. The map also grew rapidly, therefore, and so it is presented in sections below in the interests of legibility. It is best viewed in colour- click on the images to view fully.
014 Response Ability
Convener: Jen Toksvig
Participants: Andy Harmon, Suzy Almond, Jen Toksvig, Kerry Andrews, Adam Brace, Oliver Townsend
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
I called this discussion because Phelim suggested that if we feel a passion about something, we could take responsibility for that passion and open a space to discuss it. The word ‘responsible’ made me want to avoid doing that, as it always does, which is why I like to split it into two words: being responsible, for me, means opening out to other people so that I can have a look at the thing in their hands, and am therefore able to respond to it because I’m not in control of it.
I wanted to see how other people felt about the idea of responsibility. Here are some of the ideas we discussed.
Responsibility is about making something happen.
+
Being responsible is being at the base of the triangle, where anything is possible.
Being responsible can feel like huge pressure.
Ultimately, there must be a goal if it’s intended to be a finished work. (What is the goal?)
Being responsible is not necessarily about control. It’s a different thing.
We tend not to want to be changed, but in an open space, anything can happen, so you could be changed.
Taking responsibility is acknowledging and celebrating fear.
Breathing creates a space.
Being responsible is active.
Responsibility and fear are very closely related.
When you’re responsible, you are creating something.
The dark side of responsibility is trying to take responsibility for how other people will behave.
Groups need a point of authority.
Being responsible tends to move from facilitation to direction in order to produce a final goal.
Being responsible means opening a space for something.
What to take responsibility for? The work? The group? Yourself? Your voice?
Paradox: taking responsibility by letting go. In fact, not a paradox, but balance.
There’s a risk that comes with being the one who is responsible. You open yourself up.
It means going in to the arena and maybe getting eaten alive.
Boredom / laziness are aspects of fear.
Fear drives you to be safe, but fear can also act as a pilot light.
All creativity is fear because it’s about transgression. (Fear and hunger)
Being responsible is having an awareness of opportunities.
The director is the audience’s advocate.
Maintaining – inspiring, to keep the flame alive.
Participants: Andy Harmon, Suzy Almond, Jen Toksvig, Kerry Andrews, Adam Brace, Oliver Townsend
Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:
I called this discussion because Phelim suggested that if we feel a passion about something, we could take responsibility for that passion and open a space to discuss it. The word ‘responsible’ made me want to avoid doing that, as it always does, which is why I like to split it into two words: being responsible, for me, means opening out to other people so that I can have a look at the thing in their hands, and am therefore able to respond to it because I’m not in control of it.
I wanted to see how other people felt about the idea of responsibility. Here are some of the ideas we discussed.
Responsibility is about making something happen.
+
Being responsible is being at the base of the triangle, where anything is possible.
Being responsible can feel like huge pressure.
Ultimately, there must be a goal if it’s intended to be a finished work. (What is the goal?)
Being responsible is not necessarily about control. It’s a different thing.
We tend not to want to be changed, but in an open space, anything can happen, so you could be changed.
Taking responsibility is acknowledging and celebrating fear.
Breathing creates a space.
Being responsible is active.
Responsibility and fear are very closely related.
When you’re responsible, you are creating something.
The dark side of responsibility is trying to take responsibility for how other people will behave.
Groups need a point of authority.
Being responsible tends to move from facilitation to direction in order to produce a final goal.
Being responsible means opening a space for something.
What to take responsibility for? The work? The group? Yourself? Your voice?
Paradox: taking responsibility by letting go. In fact, not a paradox, but balance.
There’s a risk that comes with being the one who is responsible. You open yourself up.
It means going in to the arena and maybe getting eaten alive.
Boredom / laziness are aspects of fear.
Fear drives you to be safe, but fear can also act as a pilot light.
All creativity is fear because it’s about transgression. (Fear and hunger)
Being responsible is having an awareness of opportunities.
The director is the audience’s advocate.
Maintaining – inspiring, to keep the flame alive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)