We want you back!

I recently had the pleasure of seeing the premier performance of Fort Reasoning’s latest offering The Sailor, the spaceman, the scientist and the woodcutter. Fort Reasoning is a company of four young people, two of whom were educated in Trowbridge and went on to study at Dartington College of Arts,   graduating with first class degrees. Having young people successfully developing their talent in Wiltshire then leaving the County to study at a higher level is not an unusual story; however what is unusual are those graduates then returning to the county to develop their career often choosing instead to work and live in larger cities that are perceived to offer greater opportunity.

Helping arts to thrive in such a way that professional artists feel that a fruitful career in Wiltshire is possible is a key objective for TheatreWorks, its partners and all of the arts development agencies working in the county.

Theatreworks has been able to provide some of this ‘professional development’ in its recent appointment of Aimee Holmes as Project Co-ordinator. Aimee grew up in Trowbridge, studied at Wiltshire College before going onto Rose Bruford College, London. As well as working with TheatreWorks Aimee has her own Puppet Theatre Company Smoking Apples that works Nationally and Internationally, and we at TheatreWorks are really thrilled that we can be part of helping her remain and thrive professionally within Wiltshire.

Theatreworks is doing a lot of work to make Wiltshire a more attractive place for both working Arts Professionals, and also for audiences to have the opportunity to experience new work. Practice in partnership with Salisbury Arts Centre and Dialogue with Salisbury Playhouse are two examples of giving new creators of theatre and writing opportunities in Wiltshire.

Practice is a pilot project where companies can apply to share their works in progress with an audience and benefit from an audience’s feedback; this is not restricted to companies or artists from within Wiltshire, but helps Wiltshire to be acknowledged as a County that recognises the importance of supporting the creation of high quality new work. Each artist and company is paid a fee if successful which is also an important reflection of the value we put on the work of artists. Read about a past Practice Here.

Dialogue gives new writers a platform from which their work can be shared and fed back on. The shortlist of scripts (from more than 30 submissions) are shared at an open event at Salisbury Playhouse read by professional actors, then the winning is worked into a full piece. Read about May's Dialogue here.

TheatreWorks is also supporting a group of young theatre makers Assembly in Salisbury to work together and develop their practice as creating new work can often be a rather isolating experience.

Practice, Dialogue and Assembly have proved to be a hugely beneficial opportunities for those involved and are all the more useful if they have a wide variety of audience. So if you are interested in seeing any of these new works please do get in touch with TheatreWorks.

Whilst we are all rather consumed by where we will be as a County and indeed a Country with whichever combination of government it transpires will lead us through the challenging times ahead. What is certain is that there will always be those people in our world who have the gift and talents to be creative, to help us to see things differently, to entertain, to challenge and inspire us and our children. I look forward to a time when Wiltshire is recognised as a capital of creative arts, generating cultural and economic growth through its artists, where the country’s talent flocks to not flees from.

1 Comment | Leave a comment