There will be two more free Friday afternoon (1.30 – 4.30pm) seminars before the community theatre festival (actacentre, 13-16 June) focusing on pathways into community theatre practice, and drawing on the experiences of a new generation of workers and companies.
Whose theatre is it anyway?
Join us on 29 January, for a conversation with participants, practitioners and others about ownership in theatre. With artistic facilitators and communities working together, who exactly are the experts, and how does individual and community ownership of theatre happen?
- What do we mean by ownership and why is it important in community theatre?
- How does the theatre facilitator work towards creating that, and do they control the means of production?
- What power relations exist between the participant and practitioner?
- Is there such a thing as collective ownership?
- Do processes always end with collective consensus?
- How does the practitioner facilitate ownership of a theatre piece by the people making it?
The seminar will be chaired by Dr Kerrie Schaefer, and will include presentations from Jonathan Petherbridge, Director of London Bubble, Common Wealth Theatre, acta participants and practitioners, and lots of opportunity to discuss/debate the issues with the speakers and seminar attendees.
Getting in on the act
On 18 March, in a preview to the festival in June, and with community engaged work trending across the UK, we consider what can be learnt from community theatre? An opportunity to meet practitioners who work with communities, and talk about the key issues at the heart of participatory practice:
- Do you wait for an invitation, or do you go and create one?
- Are there any invitations you wouldn’t accept?
- What’s the difference between artist/practitioner-led practice and practice that responds to people?
Both the getting in on the act seminar, and the forthcoming community theatre festival, will respond to the enhanced interest in the work of the sector and the opportunities it offers. Following a fundamental shift in the Arts Council’s approach to diversity, all national funded theatre programmes are working to be more reflective of the communities they serve. A chance for community theatre to share, discuss, learn, celebrate and inspire…
For more information about the community theatre festival, click HERE