theatre bristol
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T h e a T r e B r i s T o l
C o m e a n d P l a Y
a r T m a k e s T h e W o r l d a B e T T e r P l a C e
1
Whether by expressing alternative ways of being,
creating beauty, joy, community, political challenge,
generating understanding, revelation, exhilaration,
anger, laughter or countless other surprising
experiences, art makes the world a better place to live in.
Theatre Bristol is a collective of producers. We believe that anything is possible. We follow our curiosity, individually and collectively, to work for the benefit of artists* to make great art.
Theatre Bristol is for people who want excellent live performance to happen in Bristol and people who want Bristol to be a good place to live, play and visit.
*Artists = writers, circus artists, puppeteers, dancers, live art artists,
producers, directors, designers, technicians, funders, stage managers,
musicians, composers, thinkers, administrators, bookkeepers,
fundraisers, critics, enthusiasts, supporters… everyone who’s
interested is welcome.
Theatre Bristol’s Executive Producers are Tanuja amarasuriya
and katie keeler. Our General Manager is sarah kingswell.
Our Artist Support Producer is simon day. Our Company
Producer is mel scaffold. Our Associate Producer for Dance
is emma-Jane Benning.
Thingamabob by PanGottic
Circus Theatre. PanGottic is
a Bristol-based international
touring company, dedicated to
creating fresh new work that
combines physical theatre and
circus for indoor, outdoor and
street performance.
www.pangottic.com
[Photo: Steve Eggleton]
Champloo Roots: a free 3-week
dance project for young people
produced and supported by
Champloo, Dance Chora,
Bristol Old Vic, Theatre Bristol
and Bristol City Council.
[Photo: Kamina Walton]
Hold Everything Dear,
a dance work by Laïla Diallo
[Photo: Arno]
Laïla is a Director on the
Theatre Bristol Board
theatrebristol.net/board
W h e n Y o u s h a r e k n o W l e d g e , e v e r Y o n e
g e T s B e T T e r
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We believe in sharing trade secrets so that great ideas
can flow more freely, and artists, venues, producers can
collaborate in the most open way.
Live performance is all about engaging
with other people. Theatre Bristol’s team
of producers seek out wormholes and
bridges that can spark up partnerships and
collaboration. We host theatrebristol.net,
where artists and organisations can share
information about their work, ideas, events
and opportunities. We collate the best of
this Bristol-wide information for our
weekly newsletter.
Sign up at theatrebristol.net
“I started in theatre knowing nothing, with nothing, but what I make. TB launched me. It's all very well
making performance art, but knowing how to produce it sustainably, and to give it the right platform,
with the right resources, and the right people listening, is a whole other game. They offered me expert
- and incredibly warm and supportive - guidance, and now, I feel like I have landed, and my work will
take its rightful place in the world. I actually love Theatre Bristol, right to my finger tips.”
Jennifer Bell
Vocal composer / choir director and creator of theatrical song cycles In A Town and Temple Songs
“Theatre Bristol has been
wonderfully supportive during
my journey to getting my own
work made and seen. Through
regular discussions with the
Artist Support Producer and
also meeting his relevant
contacts within the industry,
Theatre Bristol has helped steer
me through choppy waters and
avoid countless pitfalls.”
saikat ahamed
Saikat is a writer, actor and
professional storyteller, weaving
his traditional tales in schools,
restaurants, libraries and
festivals. New plays: The Tiger
and The Moustache for theatre
and Telling Tale for BBC radio.
www.saikatahamed.com
[Photo: Paul Blakemore]
“My first experience of Theatre Bristol was going for a one-on-one advisory
session with Simon (Day, Artist Support Producer) when I first moved to the city.
The meeting provided me with several jumping off points for the development of
my practice and ever since they have acted as an invaluable source of advice
and support.”
Jo Hellier is an artist whose work takes a surreal stance to examine humanity
in explicit detail. She uses installation, sound, video and performance to make
carefully layered work that is fat with connections.
Jo Hellier, 97 Years, SPILL Festival of Performance 2013,
produced by Pacitti Company. [Photo: Pari Naderi]
www.johellier.com
B e P e r s o n a l . i T T a k e s T i m e B u T i T m a k e s f o r T h e
B e s T r e l a T i o n s h i P s
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Theatre Bristol has no curatorial agenda. We just want
the most exciting work to get to audiences. We’ll try and
match the best people with the right projects. And we’ll
knock on any door we can to help that happen.
We support around 150 artists and producers each year
through a mix of one-to-one bespoke support, feedback
and showcasing opportunities.
“Theatre Bristol gives us the space in which to stretch
our ambition. Working with the Theatre Bristol team
is always collaborative, always supportive and always
nudges us that little bit further down interesting and
imaginative paths. The focus is on the people, the
emphasis is on making the very best of any event,
experience or interaction.”
Rachel McNally
Executive Producer, Puppet Place
www.puppetplace.org
Bristol Festival of Puppetry (Aug/Sep 2013) presents
Vindstille by The Lunatics (based in the Netherlands)
The Festival is presented biennially by Puppet Place,
with the Tobacco Factory Theatre.
B e C o m m i T T e d T o T h el o n g - T e r m
–o n B e h a l f o f o u r s e l v e s
a n d T h o s e W e W o r k W i T h
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Artist development is about playing the long game. It
is not a finite thing. It’s a story rather than a formula.
We think success is when artists, companies and
organisations (big and small) think that one of us or all
of us are part of their team.
“Theatre Bristol’s support has been integral in
launching our theatre company Gallivant. Gallivant
makes new work; total theatre that is fabulist in
tradition. Simon Day’s advice and insight has been
invaluable in planning not only for immediate
projects but ensuring that the company has longevity.”
Lee Lyford
Joint Artistic Director (with Hattie Naylor)
of Gallivant Theatre Company
www.gallivant.org.uk
[Photo: Paul Blakemore]
“Theatre Bristol has been a steady, supporting
force for us since we first arrived in Bristol
in 2010. Over the years, we have got to know
the team better and feel they have an
understanding of our work, having seen us
grow and become more established at what we
do. It is a real comfort to know that you have
people like the Theatre Bristol team to advocate
for your work and to give feedback that you
really trust.”
lucy heywood
Joint Artistic Director of Stand + Stare Collective
www.standandstare.com
A Fake Moon Rises in the Bristol Sky – Part of IBT13
International Festival of Performance (In Between
Time, Artist Simon Faithfull) [Photo: Paul Blakemore]
“In Between Time is an independent producing
organisation, creating extraordinary events and
an International Festival of Performance.
Theatre Bristol is our local beacon, rooting our
work in the city by championing us, supporting
our Associate Artists, and helping us put local
talent on the same stage as iconoclastic
international artists.”
Anna Rutherford
Executive Producer, In Between Time
www.inbetweentime.co.uk
“You’re like a piece of software that
everyone uses now.”
Timothy X atack
Writer and composer,
Co-Artistic Director of Sleepdogs
www.sleepdogs.org
“Theatre Bristol have been right by our side since 2007, when we began to transform
Mayfest into a city-wide festival. They’ve given practical, hands-on support
when we’ve needed it most, cheered us on from the sidelines, been a shoulder to cry on
and most importantly collaborated with us on offering an annual commission to
South West artists since 2011. It’s a partnership that is hugely valuable to us and which
continues to grow and develop year on year. Mayfest wouldn’t be where it is today
without the tireless support of the Theatre Bristol team.”
Matthew Austin
Co-Artistic Director of Mayfest
Mayfest is Bristol’s festival of contemporary theatre, featuring a mix of local, national
and international performance. Mayfest’s Artistic Directors are Kate Yedigaroff and
Matthew Austin of MAYK, the producing organisation established in 2011.
www.mayfestbristol.co.uk / www.mayk.org.uk
[Photo: Paul Blakemore - Not Until We Are Lost
by Ockham’s Razor at Circomedia, Mayfest 2013.]
h o l d s P a C e f o r u n C e r T a i n T Y
a n d i m a g i n i n g a l T e r n a T i v e
P o s s i B i l i T i e s
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We don’t believe we have all the answers. We don’t
follow predetermined ladders of development when
we work with artists and producers. And we want to
be surprised. If we spot a gap where something should
be happening, we’ll take the lead in finding ways to
address that gap.
“Drastic Productions uses live art and performance to create new work
with people who do not usually access the arts. We commissioned Theatre
Bristol’s Company Producer to work with a group of women on a major new
project fusing performance and the graphic novel to promote positive images
and insight into women’s real life struggles and achievements.”
Liz Clarke
Drastic Productions
www.drasticproductions.co.uk
[Photo: Carl Newland]
We host a Producer for dance who leads on building the infrastructure for dance development in the city.
We curate events for artists to try out new ideas with audiences, including Prototype (in collaboration with Tobacco factory Theatre) and Testing Ground (in collaboration with Circomedia).
“Our partnership with Theatre Bristol has enabled
Circomedia to include lively and diverse professional
and emerging dance in our venue’s performance
programme. With their support, young people in our
local partner schools have also accessed quality dance
movement education as well as being inspired by
shows. Theatre Bristol plays a vital role advocating for
dance in the city and supporting the development of
new and exciting work.”
Jude hutchen
Circomedia Centre for Contemporary Circus
and Physical Theatre
www.circomedia.com
The Eye of the Hare by Stand + Stare Collective, being tested in front of an
audience at Prototype and now being developed into a full show to open at
The Brewery Theatre (Tobacco Factory) in Nov 2013 and then tour.
Impermanence Dance Theatre (based in
Devon) experimenting with new work at
Testing Ground.
www.impermanence.co.uk
[Photo: Benjamin Borley]
in 2013 we launched a Writer in residence programme to cultivate the critical discourse around theatre in the city. We are piloting a model of producing artists (rather than projects) through a new Company Producer role; testing if and how we can do this sustainably and sharing thatlearning as we go.
“Working with Mel (Scaffold, Company Producer) has literally been the thing
that’s kept us going. After working independently for 7 years we needed some
additional support and infrastructure, but that was a big leap to take. Theatre
Bristol helped us to dream up a model that could work for us and them,
and that supports us in a way that is totally bespoke. There was really no
other way for us to work with a producer on an ongoing basis, and no other
organisation that could respond so directly to our particular needs.”
Gemma Paintin
Co-Artistic Director of Action Hero
Hoke’s Bluff by Action Hero
www.actionhero.org.uk
[Photo: James Stenhouse]
“With Theatre Bristol’s help, I fundraised
for my role as Producer for Dance. I am a
freelance Producer, Theatre Bristol is my host
and we work in partnership. I appreciate the
skills, knowledge, resources and structure
that they provide and most importantly, their
commitment to dance and its sustainability and
longevity in Bristol.”
emma-Jane Benning
Producer for Dance
“One of the things that Theatre Bristol has
done superbly is to create a space for real
conversations and facilitated a debate that has
allowed people to dream about what kind of
theatre culture they would like to see here in
Bristol and how it can be enabled. “
lyn gardner of The guardian
We host regular Open Space meetings
called To You To Me where anyone can
raise issues they care about, ask
questions they don’t know the answers
to, find collaborators, and share
needs, solutions, ideas.
B e h o n e s T a B o u T s u B J e C T i v i T Y :
s u B J e C T i v i T Y i s v a l u a B l e B e C a u s e i T l e a d s Y o u T o
W h a T Y o u C a r e m o s T a B o u T
6When we commission new shows, we send out an open call inviting applications. sometimes we also produce work that has not come through an application process. sometimes a project that doesn’t fit anywhere else is the one we’re most excited by – and where that’s the case, we’ll back it in the best way we can.
“I invited Theatre Bristol to see a show I had made in Poland with retired dance
artists with a view to making a show for Bristol with circus artists over the age of
60. I was lucky because they loved the idea and they thought that they were best
placed to help make it happen. They became the lead producer and Once Upon A
Time will debut in 2014.”
aga Blonska
Director, performer and creator of Once Upon A Time
[Photo: Steve Tanner]
Art is subjective. We make sure our producers are
well-informed and have diverse tastes and industry
experience.
“I saw a short work in progress of a piece called In A Town and was
convinced that Jennifer Bell’s vision and talent were worth getting behind.
My colleagues encouraged me to follow that instinct, and so we set out to
discover how we might best help. We are very proud at Theatre Bristol to
have helped Jen develop her practice and to have produced a project and
performance called Temple Songs with Jen and her ensemble
The Beautiful Machine.”
Simon Day
Artist Support Producer
Temple Songs by Jennifer Bell & The Beautiful Machine.
Produced by Theatre Bristol. Presented in Mayfest in 2013.
Commissioned by Temple Quarter in association with Watershed,
Knowle West Media Centre and MAYK,
with the support of Bristol City Council and
Arts Council England.
C u l T i v a T e a d i v e r s e P o o l o f d e C i s i o n m a k e r s
s o t h a t T h e r e i s m o r e T h a n o n e
s u B J e C T i v i T Y a T P l a Y
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We invite freelance producers to work alongside us at
Theatre Bristol so that we can all share knowledge and
skills and collectively seek out a diverse range of great art.
“As an Associate Producer at Theatre Bristol
I had a base and access to knowledge about
the local and regional arts world. They were
generous with their time, offered advice,
acted as sounding-boards, and gave useful
contacts and suggestions as to who was
the right person or organisation to talk
to. Working at Theatre Bristol was a door
opener, and was somewhere I could develop
my relationships with artists including
Lisa May Thomas, Liz Clarke and Mehmet
Sander. I am now working as Senior
Producer at MAYK.”
ruth holdsworth
Theatre Bristol Associate Producer (2012-13)
There is a shipwreck in my bones by
Lisa May Thomas (producer Ruth
Holdsworth), commissioned by Chisenhale
Dance and the Homemade Round 3.
[Photo: Bob Karper]
“Working with Theatre Bristol has meant supportive
ears, critically engaged debate, a sample of other
people’s working structures and conversations around
the creative fabric of Bristol and the wider UK theatre
scene. More than anything, it has opened doors for me,
most importantly in my own ways of thinking about my
practice as a producer.”
luke emery
Freelance producer, curator and
Theatre Bristol Associate Producer 2013
lukeemery.wordpress.com
“Theatre Bristol helps me with my professional
development as a producer and they openly invite me
and the projects that I work on into their network, which
as a freelancer is an invaluable offer, and is a way of
connecting up the dots as well as staying connected.”
sarah Warden
Sarah is a freelance producer and
Project Manager for Residence
www.residence.org.uk
Karla Shacklock Company is one of the
companies we are able to offer support
to by hosting the company’s part-time
Producer, Katie Dunn.
www.karlashacklock.com
[Photo: Irven Lewis]
“I arrived at Circomedia in 2011 to learn how to create
work which integrates physical theatre, circus and
narrative. I got in touch with Katie Keeler after she
visited Circomedia to talk about producing, and
was subsequently offered a placement at Theatre
Bristol working on the PASS Cross Channel Circus
project (an Anglo-French project to develop circus
arts). As well as project management for PASS, I've
visited France to meet Theatre Bristol’s partners and
see French work, and organised an event in Bristol
with outdoor artists from all over Europe. It’s been
stimulating, crazy, overwhelming and inspiring, and
I've loved every single minute.”
Catherine Boot
Producer on industry placement
(Circus & Outdoor Arts)
Following the placement, Catherine is now working as
an Associate Producer supporting Theatre Bristol with
the PASS project and working on her own projects as
producer and director.
g o o d i d e a s C o m e f r o m u n e X P e C T e d P l a C e s
We are open to anyone and everyone interested in live
performance. For example, if a pop musician who’s never
made a theatre piece before proposes an idea for a show for
3 – 8 year olds based around a gorilla, a bear, a hedgehog and
a badger, it might just turn into a massively successful
touring production.
8
We first met Ed Patrick when he came to a To
You To Me event interested in making music for
theatre. He then applied to a Theatre Bristol and
Tobacco Factory Theatre commissioning initiative
called SITE and Theatre Bristol worked with him
to tour his show across the UK (supported by Arts
Council England) in 2012.
“…Funny, I was just last night thinking about the
massive debt of gratitude that I feel towards
Theatre Bristol. Without Theatre Bristol’s
involvement and encouragement I wouldn’t be
making theatre or money.”
Ed Patrick (Kid Carpet)
Kid Carpet & The Noisy Animals
by Kid Carpet. Commissioned by Theatre Bristol and
the Tobacco Factory Theatre through the SITE initiative.
kidcarpet.wordpress.com
[Photo: Chris Collier]
B e a l i v e T o i n s P i r a T i o n
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Our work is about making brilliant, affecting art and so
it’s important that we are out there seeing provocative
and inspiring work, which can act as benchmarks and
reference points for the advice and support we give.
We’re a small team but we get out and about as much as we can. We value ideas shared by colleagues nationally and internationally and in turn share what we learn with people in Bristol. We are members of several national and international networks, we are part of the British Council’s new uk-korea arts exchange Programme and we are working on two european funded projects sharing knowledge and skills with france, netherlands and ireland. We invite inspiring people into the city and we support others that do so too.
“The Open Out Arts Project [European exchange
project on which Theatre Bristol is a partner]
allowed us to develop new skills and our working
practice, whilst being inspired and provoked by
the many different artists we worked with in
France and Ireland.”
Jack stoddart
Artistic Director
Ramshacklicious Theatre Company
www.ramshacklicious.com
Save Me by Search Party was commissioned by
Theatre Bristol and Mayfest. Search Party
were one of 26 artists that went to France, Ireland
or the Netherlands as part of Open Out Arts.
www.searchpartyperformance.org.uk
www.openoutarts.eu
T h e a r T i s T s o W n T h e W o r k
1 0
Our job is to celebrate the distinctive artistic visions of
a wide range of artists and companies. We don’t want
to take a paternal role with the people we support. It’s
about partnership; we learn from each other.
There is a full directory of artists and companies working in Bristol on theatrebristol.net as we invite people to use this site to profile their work. To select just four to celebrate right now was difficult.
Sylvia Rimat creates Live work for theatres, galleries and public
space. Her performances have been presented widely in the UK
and in Europe. Her projects often revolve around the places and
times we inhabit mentally, physically and in our imagination.
Recently she has become fascinated by the possibilities of
making performance alongside specialists in diverse fields
such as neuroscience, experimental psychology, mathematics,
psychotherapy and astrology.
www.sylviarimat.com
If You Decide to Stay was commissioned and produced by In
Between Time for IBT13. Developed at The Basement and at
Residence, supported by Arts Council England, Bristol Old Vic
Ferment and ICIA Bath. Sylvia’s I Guess if the Stage Exploded is in the
British Council Showcase at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2013. If You Decide to Stay by Sylvia Rimat
[Photo: Carl Newland]
Dan Canham’s company is called Still House. His first piece, 30 Cecil Street toured extensively throughout
the UK and internationally. His latest work, Ours Was the Fen Country, is dance-theatre built from
interviews collected with rare and uncommon characters of the fens of East Anglia. It is produced by MAYK
and was commissioned by Bristol Old Vic Ferment, New Wolsey Theatre and DanceXchange with support
from Arts Council England. It is at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Festival as part of Escalator East to Edinburgh
with support from Bristol Old Vic Ferment and at the National Theatre Shed in Sep 2013.
www.stillhouse.co.uk [Photo: Camilla Greenwell]
Gary Beadle plays Titus in Banksy: The Room
in the Elephant created by new company The
Sum, written by Tom Wainwright and directed
by Emma Callander. It is the true(ish) story of
how a Banksy artwork made a man homeless in
Los Angeles. Co-commissioned by A Play, A Pie
and a Pint and Tobacco Factory Theatre. At the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2013
[Photo: Paul Blakemore}
Idiot Child makes playful and peculiar, darkly
comic tales that emerge from the facts, oddities
and objects of the company’s own lives and which
keep the audience firmly at their heart. I Could’ve
Been Better has been produced in association with
Bristol Old Vic Ferment. 2012 tour supported by Arts
Council England. At Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2013.
‘Wonderfully unique and beautifully heartbreaking’ -
Total Theatre.
www.idiotchild.com
[Photo: Crush Images]
J o i n i n
Please talk to us if you think we can help you or if you think you can help
us make Bristol THE place in the UK to experience world-class art.
Theatre Bristol The Fire Station 82-84 York Road Bristol, UK BS3 4AL
Tel: 0117 373 0873
www.theatrebristol.net
Twitter: @theatrebristol
facebook.com/theatrebristol
Executive Producers
Tanuja amarasuriya
katie keeler
General Manager
sarah kingswell
Artist Support Producer
simon day
Company Producer
mel scaffold
Producer for Dance
emma-Jane Benning
Associate Producer
(rolling 6-month hot-desk post)
Design by Venn Creative
Theatre Bristol is a not-for-profit company. If you would like to support us or any of the artists we work with,
please contact Sarah Kingswell: [email protected]
Be inTeresTingBe inTeresTed
Be oPenBe angrY
Be PlaYfulBe hoPeful
Be generousBe modernBe BeTTerBe alive
Be Curious
C o m e a n d P l a Y