Convener: Elina Manni
Crowdfunding websites are good for:
Raising cash (set a realist goal, between £1000 - £5000)
Developing a loyal audience
Developing relationships for future projects
Some websites to consider:
WeFund
Crowdfunder
WeDidThis
KickStarter (USA)
Some suggestions for successful crowdfunding:
Direct traffic to your crowdfunding project via blogs, tweets, Facebook...
Come up with exciting rewards: free tickets to special showings, dinner with cast members...
Check out companies and artists who have carried out successful crowdfunding campaigns (London Bubble after losing its core funding, Lucy Foster's project at Soho Theatre ...
Put some cash aside for your own campaign to kickstart it ...
Thank you for all your help and kind suggestions!
Wednesday 25 May 2011
Metamorphosis'
Convener: Emma Ghafur
Participants: Emma, Elina, Helen
shifting landscapes
changing tides
uncertainty, danger and excitment
personal and professional
pushing boundaries
new partnerships
resilliance
leaving mental health job
to focus on being a theatre director
being committed to that
getting a lift from LIFT festival
flexible, creative
key words for this time
clean break theatre stable but still affected by cuts
forging new partnerships with colleges
skills exchange for tutors
working with new organisations collaborations
networks diminising
contacts leaving
local authority contacts and work diminished
turning funding on its head
approaching potential partners with something instead
snowball effect of interest and support
all three linked to clean break seen Soho work,
or worked with and have an immediate connection
london arts in health forum
for opportunities and funding
ITC group meetings for directors, producers
good conversation in first open space
came to its own conclusion
and stopped in time to move with two feet
buzz or flit to the next conversation station.
Participants: Emma, Elina, Helen
shifting landscapes
changing tides
uncertainty, danger and excitment
personal and professional
pushing boundaries
new partnerships
resilliance
leaving mental health job
to focus on being a theatre director
being committed to that
getting a lift from LIFT festival
flexible, creative
key words for this time
clean break theatre stable but still affected by cuts
forging new partnerships with colleges
skills exchange for tutors
working with new organisations collaborations
networks diminising
contacts leaving
local authority contacts and work diminished
turning funding on its head
approaching potential partners with something instead
snowball effect of interest and support
all three linked to clean break seen Soho work,
or worked with and have an immediate connection
london arts in health forum
for opportunities and funding
ITC group meetings for directors, producers
good conversation in first open space
came to its own conclusion
and stopped in time to move with two feet
buzz or flit to the next conversation station.
Thursday 5 May 2011
Improbable's Monthly D&D Satellite: What are we going to do about Puppetry?
Below are a list of issues that were raised during the evening, where they are highlighted means that a report has been typed up against it.
1. Puppetry: What are its unique offers to the theatre?
2. What are puppet theatre buildings for?
3. What is a Puppeteer?
4. Puppets are just for kids aren't they?
5. Are objects more honest than puppets?
6. How do we convince venues that adult puppetry is worthwhile to be programmed?
7. Considering the nature of puppets, can they ever truly consent to a lewd act? Or are puppets funny?
8. If you know the conditions in which your ideas arise, would you be interested in sharing in recreating it, and seeing if more people can make it bigger?
9. Has anyone (intentionally) set a puppet on fire?
10. Can the Puppet and the actor share the stage equally within the duration of a performance?
11. The dramatic potential of materials that transform. i.e. Puppets on Stage
12. Why is puppetry experiencing a surge of interest?
13. Most unsophisticated people are scared of puppet- why?
14. How do puppets tickle the unconscious?
15. Are puppets just used to tell a story?
16. Has Puppetry become an academic subject? How do we ensure the live art form continues to develop?
17. Is it all about the puppets?
18. Should the discipline of puppetry be a part of all drama school training?
19. Modes of survival: how to survive without the arts council a a puppeteer?
20. Can we find new relations between puppets and puppeteers?
21. Why making an object alive when it is also dead?
22. Is there hope for new puppetry companies to create a sustainable future for themselves?
1. Puppetry: What are its unique offers to the theatre?
2. What are puppet theatre buildings for?
3. What is a Puppeteer?
4. Puppets are just for kids aren't they?
5. Are objects more honest than puppets?
6. How do we convince venues that adult puppetry is worthwhile to be programmed?
7. Considering the nature of puppets, can they ever truly consent to a lewd act? Or are puppets funny?
8. If you know the conditions in which your ideas arise, would you be interested in sharing in recreating it, and seeing if more people can make it bigger?
9. Has anyone (intentionally) set a puppet on fire?
10. Can the Puppet and the actor share the stage equally within the duration of a performance?
11. The dramatic potential of materials that transform. i.e. Puppets on Stage
12. Why is puppetry experiencing a surge of interest?
13. Most unsophisticated people are scared of puppet- why?
14. How do puppets tickle the unconscious?
15. Are puppets just used to tell a story?
16. Has Puppetry become an academic subject? How do we ensure the live art form continues to develop?
17. Is it all about the puppets?
18. Should the discipline of puppetry be a part of all drama school training?
19. Modes of survival: how to survive without the arts council a a puppeteer?
20. Can we find new relations between puppets and puppeteers?
21. Why making an object alive when it is also dead?
22. Is there hope for new puppetry companies to create a sustainable future for themselves?
Wednesday 4 May 2011
What are Puppet Theatre Buildings For?
Who was in the group: Sean Myatt (co-convener), Nic Hopkins (co-convener), Peter Glanville, Ronnie Le Drew, Nina Watson, Steve Tiplady, two helpful, late joining Bees
Thoughts reflecting experiences:
+ "A living room to take tea with puppeteers and puppets"
+ "A magnet for interest" - newcomers and established performers; other theatre directors/producers wanted puppetry input or partnerships
+ A great track record in introducing, training, developing puppeteers (LAT, NPT), giving them work (sometimes pay!) and the evidence is the long list of alumni
+ Infrastructure for the puppetry community:
- training
- experimentation
- rehearsal
- performance space
- audience venue
- potential centre (recognition, support, advice, endorsement, development, collaboration) for excellence (standards, resources, help, making sure the novice does credit to the art form ("maybe the three chord band can compose a masterpiece"))
+ Specialist as well as General Facilities
- base for regular puppeteers and makers and their skills and experience
- a place to experience the liveness of puppetry and do your apprenticeship - techniques and artifacts
- the basics for learning stagecraft and stage management - by making the tea, and learning on the job
- lights, flies, staging, green rooms, technicians and technical ware, music and sound, props and wardrobe
- special stuff
-- puppets, and objects
-- bridges and trenches
-- focus on the small stage
-- special lighting
-- facilities to engage very young audiences
-- workshops, tools, more tools, models, examples, materials, support and know-how, makers
Thoughts about opportunities and maybe some risks
+ Place to develop audiences, and maybe take risks
+ Place to develop partnerships - artistic, funding, sponsors, education and outreach, heritage
+ What about The (lost or potentially disappearing) History of British Puppetry? Risks of distraction with archiving and storage but maybe
- Collaborate with museum sector
- educational and heritage and legacy performances - for touring
+ Join up some thinking: All/How many building based companies? Plus Puppet Centre Trust, Unima, others ...
- Share in providing a base for the raised profile of puppetry - how to find out/see more
- Share in sustaining/growing the infrastructure for puppeteers, makers, related arts and artists
- Share in making the case for funding the infrastructure the art form needs, despite government reluctance to put money into (more) arts buildings (London)
-- never mind the damage to the puppetry underneath
-- never mind the damage to the pipeline of puppet theatre alumni
The good, the bad and the ugly of Children's Theatre
- programmes that ARE funded
- accessible to the very young (yes but what is the best design for theatre for children especially the very young: does it marry up with puppetry)
- if you keep on like this how are we going to get adult puppetry taken seriously
- all children's theatre should be puppet or object based?
+ The Boundaries of Centres
- Types and styles of making
- Types and styles of directing/performance
- Don't building based companies have to specialise at least a bit, depending on their skills and artistic policy?
- Centres of excellence - as Centres for puppeteers or other a theatre directors - may not to provide access to the whole range ofmodels and approaches
Then we went to ask the puppeteers group what they thought - as suggested by a bee!
Thoughts reflecting experiences:
+ "A living room to take tea with puppeteers and puppets"
+ "A magnet for interest" - newcomers and established performers; other theatre directors/producers wanted puppetry input or partnerships
+ A great track record in introducing, training, developing puppeteers (LAT, NPT), giving them work (sometimes pay!) and the evidence is the long list of alumni
+ Infrastructure for the puppetry community:
- training
- experimentation
- rehearsal
- performance space
- audience venue
- potential centre (recognition, support, advice, endorsement, development, collaboration) for excellence (standards, resources, help, making sure the novice does credit to the art form ("maybe the three chord band can compose a masterpiece"))
+ Specialist as well as General Facilities
- base for regular puppeteers and makers and their skills and experience
- a place to experience the liveness of puppetry and do your apprenticeship - techniques and artifacts
- the basics for learning stagecraft and stage management - by making the tea, and learning on the job
- lights, flies, staging, green rooms, technicians and technical ware, music and sound, props and wardrobe
- special stuff
-- puppets, and objects
-- bridges and trenches
-- focus on the small stage
-- special lighting
-- facilities to engage very young audiences
-- workshops, tools, more tools, models, examples, materials, support and know-how, makers
Thoughts about opportunities and maybe some risks
+ Place to develop audiences, and maybe take risks
+ Place to develop partnerships - artistic, funding, sponsors, education and outreach, heritage
+ What about The (lost or potentially disappearing) History of British Puppetry? Risks of distraction with archiving and storage but maybe
- Collaborate with museum sector
- educational and heritage and legacy performances - for touring
+ Join up some thinking: All/How many building based companies? Plus Puppet Centre Trust, Unima, others ...
- Share in providing a base for the raised profile of puppetry - how to find out/see more
- Share in sustaining/growing the infrastructure for puppeteers, makers, related arts and artists
- Share in making the case for funding the infrastructure the art form needs, despite government reluctance to put money into (more) arts buildings (London)
-- never mind the damage to the puppetry underneath
-- never mind the damage to the pipeline of puppet theatre alumni
The good, the bad and the ugly of Children's Theatre
- programmes that ARE funded
- accessible to the very young (yes but what is the best design for theatre for children especially the very young: does it marry up with puppetry)
- if you keep on like this how are we going to get adult puppetry taken seriously
- all children's theatre should be puppet or object based?
+ The Boundaries of Centres
- Types and styles of making
- Types and styles of directing/performance
- Don't building based companies have to specialise at least a bit, depending on their skills and artistic policy?
- Centres of excellence - as Centres for puppeteers or other a theatre directors - may not to provide access to the whole range ofmodels and approaches
Then we went to ask the puppeteers group what they thought - as suggested by a bee!
Has puppetry become an academic subject? How can we ensure the development of the living art form
Members of the discussion were: Max, Charlotte, Jacqueline, Jack and Linda
Points noted
There seems to be a co-relation between how contemporary dance developed and what puppetry needs to do.
How do we do this?
It helps greatly having like minded people in the same room.
How do we make puppetry financially viable?
We need to make links with the commercial world.
Doing scratch performances with invited guests- people who can be investors and business people. We can present five minutes of really good work for them to see.
Puppetry will develop if we mix it with different genres eg dance, music, film.
Why not have performances and commissions in art galleries? This could be mutually beneficial.
We could have more artists in residency programmes eg one month long
We can look at puppetry as moving sculptures.
We can provide free school eg skill sharing opportunities
What we need is space to rehearse and create in.
We are not prepared to work for free any more.
We need more reviews on new puppetry. We need to get the media on side
We should use the web to spread the word eg the supper clubs that are sprouting up all over the place – all marketed by internet
WE need more pictures and visual essays
PCT should be able to offer tutorial- pop in times. – PCT does offer mentoring if requested.
At another group about the viability of a new company
We heard
We must ask ourselves what is really unique and special about puppetry?
It is very good at satire
It re-invents what normal people can’t do
When a puppet does an every day thing it makes the action heroic- so we re-invent the small things eg combing you hair
Puppetry can express the real life of animals and the life of the very young eg a 3 year old can be portrayed by a puppet eg dealing with divorce and child abuse.
In marketing our puppetry work we need to be very clear about the offer we are making.
Points noted
There seems to be a co-relation between how contemporary dance developed and what puppetry needs to do.
How do we do this?
It helps greatly having like minded people in the same room.
How do we make puppetry financially viable?
We need to make links with the commercial world.
Doing scratch performances with invited guests- people who can be investors and business people. We can present five minutes of really good work for them to see.
Puppetry will develop if we mix it with different genres eg dance, music, film.
Why not have performances and commissions in art galleries? This could be mutually beneficial.
We could have more artists in residency programmes eg one month long
We can look at puppetry as moving sculptures.
We can provide free school eg skill sharing opportunities
What we need is space to rehearse and create in.
We are not prepared to work for free any more.
We need more reviews on new puppetry. We need to get the media on side
We should use the web to spread the word eg the supper clubs that are sprouting up all over the place – all marketed by internet
WE need more pictures and visual essays
PCT should be able to offer tutorial- pop in times. – PCT does offer mentoring if requested.
At another group about the viability of a new company
We heard
We must ask ourselves what is really unique and special about puppetry?
It is very good at satire
It re-invents what normal people can’t do
When a puppet does an every day thing it makes the action heroic- so we re-invent the small things eg combing you hair
Puppetry can express the real life of animals and the life of the very young eg a 3 year old can be portrayed by a puppet eg dealing with divorce and child abuse.
In marketing our puppetry work we need to be very clear about the offer we are making.
How do we convince venues that adult puppetry is worthwhile to be programmed?
We need to change the perception of Puppetry = Children's show
Offering 2 versions of the same performance, one for young audience and another for adult audience (Programmers will book the show for young audience)
Programmers see adult puppetry is too risky to book
Not many venues where like to programme visual theatre or adult puppetry piece
Sharing information about venues and theatres who are happy to programme adult puppetry or have audience of adult puppetry.
Maybe through Puppet Centre Trust?
Sharing experiences among adult puppetry companies (eg, funding etc)
Can established theatre companies which use a lot of puppetry offer a help to young companies? (eg; Blind Summit, Improbable, Faulty Optic, Complicite etc)
Scratch performance event only for adult puppetry pieces to order to invite programmers
More integration of puppets with main stream theatre
Showing adult puppetry pieces where you could have direct contacts with audience. (eg; Edinburgh festivals) Audience should be the driving force and programmers and producers will catch up afterwards
Promote adult puppetry production as a visual theatre piece
Offering 2 versions of the same performance, one for young audience and another for adult audience (Programmers will book the show for young audience)
Programmers see adult puppetry is too risky to book
Not many venues where like to programme visual theatre or adult puppetry piece
Sharing information about venues and theatres who are happy to programme adult puppetry or have audience of adult puppetry.
Maybe through Puppet Centre Trust?
Sharing experiences among adult puppetry companies (eg, funding etc)
Can established theatre companies which use a lot of puppetry offer a help to young companies? (eg; Blind Summit, Improbable, Faulty Optic, Complicite etc)
Scratch performance event only for adult puppetry pieces to order to invite programmers
More integration of puppets with main stream theatre
Showing adult puppetry pieces where you could have direct contacts with audience. (eg; Edinburgh festivals) Audience should be the driving force and programmers and producers will catch up afterwards
Promote adult puppetry production as a visual theatre piece
What is a Puppeteer?
What is a Puppeteer?
Proposed by Mark Down
People who came:
Irena Stratieva
Oleg Shulev
Adrian Kohler
Lie Chen
Phelim McDermot
Kristin Fredrickson
Maria Andrews
What got written:
Who decides who is a puppeteer?
A person who has skill
But also goes deeper
Children / adult
Marginalisation
Revival = end of puppet adult/ child thing
Bulgaria
Building based work
Training as a puppeteer = acting + puppetry
4 years study
Puppeteers more famous than actors
chorus
Puppet /_ directing
- scenography
- writers
You become an actor first – 4 years.
You would not get employed.
No one proposed a discussion group for puppet scenography, direction writing
Is acting and puppeteering different?
Acting has depth of performance? Puppeteering all in the image?
Or puppetry goes very deep instantly – the challenge is staying with it.
Why replace an actor with a puppet? Must justify choice eg. tearing an arm off
But tricks only sustain a short time
How to go deep and stay there
Is object theatre puppetry?
Being a puppeteer means - “Having a puppet ear”
When dancers dance they become objects
Is film animation puppetry?
Do we need a union?
Audiences need training because of film and psychological acting
Why is “puppet making” not a separate thing? Taught separately?
In Bulgaria if a puppeteer does not have acting they cannot be a puppeteer.
Now when you have all the skills – can act, sing, direct, manipulate… then are you a puppeteer? There is something more.
A need to make and do puppets.
Trapped by this need.
What is it? Is this what a puppeteer is? Addiction?
It’s good to be a little bit addicted to something.
Why this urge to give life to objects? - uncanny/ tickle the unconscious.
Puppeteers overcome death.
It’s all about what you can’t do with an orange
Puppetry is like playing an instrument – a piano, a violin. You collaborate with the instrument to make music.
Why is a puppeteer?
- show an idea
- Talking through an object – releases the voice
- T o do violent things – transgress
A puppeteer is someone who disappears on stage.
Perhaps this is why he/ she is so difficult to pin down?
Proposed by Mark Down
People who came:
Irena Stratieva
Oleg Shulev
Adrian Kohler
Lie Chen
Phelim McDermot
Kristin Fredrickson
Maria Andrews
What got written:
Who decides who is a puppeteer?
A person who has skill
But also goes deeper
Children / adult
Marginalisation
Revival = end of puppet adult/ child thing
Bulgaria
Building based work
Training as a puppeteer = acting + puppetry
4 years study
Puppeteers more famous than actors
chorus
Puppet /_ directing
- scenography
- writers
You become an actor first – 4 years.
You would not get employed.
No one proposed a discussion group for puppet scenography, direction writing
Is acting and puppeteering different?
Acting has depth of performance? Puppeteering all in the image?
Or puppetry goes very deep instantly – the challenge is staying with it.
Why replace an actor with a puppet? Must justify choice eg. tearing an arm off
But tricks only sustain a short time
How to go deep and stay there
Is object theatre puppetry?
Being a puppeteer means - “Having a puppet ear”
When dancers dance they become objects
Is film animation puppetry?
Do we need a union?
Audiences need training because of film and psychological acting
Why is “puppet making” not a separate thing? Taught separately?
In Bulgaria if a puppeteer does not have acting they cannot be a puppeteer.
Now when you have all the skills – can act, sing, direct, manipulate… then are you a puppeteer? There is something more.
A need to make and do puppets.
Trapped by this need.
What is it? Is this what a puppeteer is? Addiction?
It’s good to be a little bit addicted to something.
Why this urge to give life to objects? - uncanny/ tickle the unconscious.
Puppeteers overcome death.
It’s all about what you can’t do with an orange
Puppetry is like playing an instrument – a piano, a violin. You collaborate with the instrument to make music.
Why is a puppeteer?
- show an idea
- Talking through an object – releases the voice
- T o do violent things – transgress
A puppeteer is someone who disappears on stage.
Perhaps this is why he/ she is so difficult to pin down?
Why do you want to make an object (or Art) come alive when it is also dead?
Comments:
The outcome of my issue was raised in the group but wasn't discussed in the evening, however, I am still very curious about this issue. Therefore, I decided to put this into an online check box questionnaire as part of an experiment of "I AM YOUR ANTI-MATTER" for anyone who want to share their answer or continuous the conversation.
In one of the other groups, I was very fascinated by Penny Francis' comments, (if I recorded correctly), she said every object has its own life, puppeteers/artists discover life from the object. It is a journey that the artists/puppeteers discover life from the object and bring them into life. Her comment left me more curious about the life of an object and how the others who discovers their life of objects and what their journey of discovery are.
Please find the online check box questionnaire that I set up from http://liechen.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/anti-matter-particles-record-1
The outcome of my issue was raised in the group but wasn't discussed in the evening, however, I am still very curious about this issue. Therefore, I decided to put this into an online check box questionnaire as part of an experiment of "I AM YOUR ANTI-MATTER" for anyone who want to share their answer or continuous the conversation.
In one of the other groups, I was very fascinated by Penny Francis' comments, (if I recorded correctly), she said every object has its own life, puppeteers/artists discover life from the object. It is a journey that the artists/puppeteers discover life from the object and bring them into life. Her comment left me more curious about the life of an object and how the others who discovers their life of objects and what their journey of discovery are.
Please find the online check box questionnaire that I set up from http://liechen.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/anti-matter-particles-record-1
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