As the summer wanes and Autumn sets in good and proper, its been a promising start with the fantastic news that I have been awarded a WMCA Activate skills development grant, commonwealth games legacy funds assigned to local Midlands artists for continued professional development.
Perfect timing, this news came in the same week that I was finally able to confirm Arts Council funding to develop and tour Dance in the Dark, a new show for children and familes.
I have chosen to attend Baboró International Arts Festival for Children in Galway, Ireland, a festival with a wonderful reputation that I have wanted to attend for years. A quick glance at the delegate programme which was packed with lectures, discussions, workshops and networking events, as well as a brilliant mix of international programming of theatre for young audiences and I knew this was where I was meant to be. Timing wise, all the stars seem to have aligned themselves, flights, buses and hotels were booked and I was off!!!
I'm planning to blog my experiences in Southern Ireland whilst I'm here for 6 days, so I can capture some memories and share them with you all.
Braving a short flight from Birmingham to Dublin (I am terrified of flying), followed by a 2 1/2 hour coach trip to Galway with a jolly coach driver who cracked jokes about taking all your belonging including your children when we arrived, I eventually landed at my hotel on the outskirts of Galway in the dark, without a hitch.
Day 1 (Friday) of Baboró and I am attending a symposium hosted by TYA Talking Research network. Consulting googlemaps I decided to walk to the university venue so I could orientate myself. There was a chill in the air but the sun was shining, perfect for a brisk walk. I was later reliably informed that in Galway its always best to walk in the morning as this is when the weather is usually finer.
After wandering around the university campus and a panicked phone call to the Baboró office I eventually found my way to todays venue only to discover I was 1 1/2 hours early due to the delegate programme having the wrong start time listed. No pasa nada (no worries) as they say in Spain, this would give me time to walk into Galway and pick up my delegate pass. Off I trotted along the river and into Galway town centre, a gorgeous walk in the sunshine to the Mick Lally Theatre, only to discover that the theatre was closed. Another phonecall to the office revealed that the delegate office would not open until tommorow and a lovely lady offered to come and meet me with my delegate pass.
First impressions.... lovely friendly polite people, beautiful scenery and slightly chaotic. This, I'm told is Galway!!!!
Now for the symposium.... a packed programme of panal discussions, a workshop and a keynote speech from Proffessor Helen Nicholson where we "took an idea for a walk". So much to digest and so much resonated with my own practice and as always, so much more to learn.
During the day there was a workshop with Dr Gill Brigg who shared her extensive experience as both an artist/actor and teacher working in special education settings. Her practice resonated with me in the way she placed emotions at the heart of what she was delivering, giving me much food for though as someone who works from a starting point of movement, albeit often linked to emotion but not articulated verbally. I loved the way she was able to create drama in a simple and non-threatening but impactful way.
Here are a few key takeaways from the rest of the day;
The arts provide a time to connect with who you are in the world, connection is so important,
All children have a right to creativity and the arts, the new curriculum in Ireland actually recognises this and is at the heart of their new policy WOW come on England!
How is TYA (theatre for young audiences) different to TIE (theatre in education)? or is it just an evolution of practice?
How can we articulate and define a practice (TYA) without crushing its inherent creativity?
How can we embrace YouTube as a place to reach young audiences as its not going away?
Play is at the centre of everything
Theatre should always be driven by the art even though it has other functions such as wellbeing benefits or delivering a curriculum aim
Participation overload and the schoolfication of childhood (time to be is so needed)
Atmosphere - is this what TYA does really well as it is an artform which always considers its audience who are more firmly at the centre of the experience. "Atmosphere is contageous, it has the capacity to overwhelm and seduce"
Tired but excited for the days ahead.... more to come tomorrow.
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