MACROBERT ARTS CENTRE 2012-13 YEAR END BRIEFING
Stirling’s Arts Centre Wins Major Awards And Tours Its Productions Worldwide 400 6 864 10,000 933 7,943 7 6 7
LIVE PERFORMANCES BRING THEATRE, DANCE, OPERA, COMEDY AND FAMILY SHOWS TO STIRLING
EXHIBITIONS
FILM SCREENINGS PEOPLE LEARN, TAKE PART, CREATE
PARTICIPATION EVENTS YOUNG PEOPLE PERFORM IN THE MAIN THEATRE
NEW PRODUCTIONS MACROBERT PRODUCTIONS TOUR IN THE UK AND ABROAD
PERFORMANCES CREATED BY ARTISTS WITH YOUNG PEOPLE
‘macrobert, the arts venue on the University of Stirling campus, has become the national centre of excellence for work for children and young people, as well as providing a full programme of entertainment for adults’ Keith Bruce, The Herald
macrobert arts centre University of Stirling Stirling Scotland FK9 4LA Web: www.macrobert.org macrobert arts centre limited is a Scottish charity, no SC039546
macrobert - in brief macrobert is the arts centre for Stirling and the Forth Valley and a cultural hub for Scotland. ‘To be a thriving arts centre for everyone’, is macrobert’s mission. Our vision is to promote and develop participation in, and enjoyment of the arts. We are proud to be a Creative Scotland Foundation Organisation selected for our contribution to a creative Scotland in terms of talent, quality production, access, audience development and participation. The diversity of arts at macrobert is unrivalled in Scotland. Last year over 200,000 people enjoyed 400 live performances of drama, comedy, opera, dance, music, musical theatre and 6 art exhibitions. The Norman McLaren Filmhouse screened 202 blockbusters, arthouse movies, classics, and children’s films. macrobert produces and co-produces new work. In 2012, shows made in Stirling won major awards, and toured to leading venues in the UK and internationally. Christmas is a special time at macrobert - it is the only venue in Scotland to offer three shows that cater for all ages including the very young. Commissioned and produced in-house, macrobert’s pantomime Cinderella played to 4 star reviews, was enjoyed by 27,000 people, and gave 30 young people the chance to learn and perform with a professional cast. At the heart of the University of Stirling campus, macrobert’s research and academic collaborations exert a lasting impact on our communities. We worked with the Dementia Services Development Centre and the Luminate Festival to explore dementia and the arts; and engaged with the School of Education to research creativity and the new Curriculum for Excellence. Over 10,000 people - mostly young people - learned new skills, created and performed on-site and out in the community last year. Dance artists, choreographers, actors and directors worked directly with young people. macrobert took high quality performances and workshops out to schools and nurseries, and to some of Stirling’s most deprived communities. Last year 7,943 young people experienced the thrill of performing on our stages and young people created 7 new works with professional artists.
macrobert is committed to widening access to the arts. In 2012 macrobert was selected as a partner in Creative Scotland’s Promoting Equalities Programme. This two year programme explores how to embed best practice into organisations: findings will be shared across the cultural sector.
Too Many Penguins ‘theatrical magic’ The Scotsman
macrobert - bringing the best in live entertainment & cinema to Stirling
Cinderella - over 27,000 people enjoyed one of Scotland始s leading pantomimes
The Steamie - a sell-out week of the classic Scottish drama
Michael Clark - dazzling contemporary dance from one of the world始s leading choreographers
Chris Addison - top stand-up from the BBC star
La Traviata - a capacity crowd applauded Scottish Opera始s return
The Hobbit - our filmhouse screened an exclusive preview of the year始s biggest blockbuster, before any other cinema in the area
macrobert - producing awardwinning work in Stirling that tours in the UK and abroad
Too Many Penguins - “Adults and children left with smiles on their faces and a warm feeling in their heart” **** TimeOut London | Produced with Frozen Charlotte
macrobert produced seven new works last year which were seen by 48,000 people in Scotland and at leading venues in the UK and Europe. We are increasingly recognised as a creative hub producing world-class productions for young audiences - placing Stirling firmly on the international cultural map. Educating Ronnie - Winner of a Scotsman Fringe First Award 2012 Premiered as part of the Made In Scotland 2012 Showcase at the Edinburgh Fringe; touring across Scotland in Autumn 2013. Too Many Penguins - Winner Best Production For Children And Young People 2012, Critics Awards For Theatre In Scotland Enjoyed sell-out seasons at the UK’s leading theatre for children Polka Theatre in London and Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre. Invited to Los Angeles and Perth, Australia. Sonata For A Man And A Boy - Winner Best Production For Children And Young People 2013, Critics Awards For Theatre In Scotland Completed a hat-trick of prestigious awards for macrobert. Performed at the Imaginate Festival, Edinburgh and Outskirts Festival, Glasgow.
Educating Ronnie - “As thoughtprovoking as they come” **** The Independent | Written and performed by Joe Douglas, directed by Gareth Nicholls
The Polar Bears Go Wild - “Charming, imaginative show” **** The List | Produced with Fish & Game
Mikey & Addie premiered at the Imaginate Festival in Edinburgh and subsequently toured across Scotland. Invited to Sydney Opera House, Melbourne, Brisbane. Titus, the first English translation of one of Europe’s foremost plays for young people. Our version toured in Austria, Norway, Belfast and England; selected as part of the Made In Scotland Showcase for the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe, invited to Hong Kong and Singapore. The Polar Bears Go Wild will be performed at England’s largest Festival for children - Take Off Festival - in Durham and has been selected as the Traverse Theatre’s 2013 Christmas show for young audiences.
Mikey & Addie - “Charmingly performed and beautifully designed” **** The Guardian | Commissioned by the London 2012 Festival and supported by the Scottish Government's Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund. Co-produced with Andy Manley, co-created with Rob Evans
macrobert’s pantomime, written and directed by Johnny McKnight, ‘Scotland’s King of Panto’ according to The Guardian, received four star reviews and played to an audience of 27,000.
macrobert - tours and invitations from around the world Titus
Mikey & Addie
Too Many Penguins
Sonata For A Man And A Boy “Genuinely profound” **** The Herald | Created by Greg Sinclair, Michael Sherin and Karen Tennent
Titus - “A completely compelling piece of theatre” **** The Scotsman | Directed by Lu Kemp, written by Oliver Emmanuel
macrobert - inspiring a new generation macrobert brings a new generation to the arts by giving children and young people opportunities to create new work and to perform alongside some of Scotland’s greatest artists. The Take Part programme is run by theatre makers, film makers, dance artists and choreographers.
2012-13 HIGHLIGHTS LET’S DANCE FESTIVAL macrobert led the national Get Scotland Dancing programme for the Stirling region. Dance Artists, macrobert’s education team, Scottish Ballet, Ballet LORENT and Scottish Dance Theatre worked in schools, nurseries, in communities and on campus at macrobert. In all, 657 children and young people learned new dance skills, choreographed their own works, joined professional companies, developed performances and staged them in the community and at macrobert. The project culminated in a week long Let’s Dance Festival.
Do Not Feed The Trolls performed at THAT Festival
‘macrobert was a great place to put on our end of year show. The staff were extremely helpful and supportive and always very friendly, and the technicians particularly patient and accommodating. The facilities are incredible. Thank you to everyone involved in helping us to make a successful show!” Stirling University Dance Society PICK ‘N’ MIX WEEKEND Pick ‘n’ Mix presented a weekend of sketches and short performance pieces by macrobert’s young people fused with professional performances of dance and theatre. MACROBERT YOUNG COMPANIES macrobert’s Youth Dance and Theatre Companies have built up a reputation for high quality, original, contemporary work. They tour throughout Scotland and collaborate with other youth companies. One of the companies was chosen to perform at the South Bank Centre in London at the national UDance Festival, part of the London 2012 Festival.
Outreach workshops in nursery schools, and a performance of Innocence by Scottish Dance Theatre.
‘It’s been the best thing we’ve done! Since the children enjoyed it so much, Cornton Nursery are now going to develop performance into the nursery itinerary and will be making a small stage on the wall of the nursery where the pupils can perform!’ Teacher THAT FESTIVAL October’s THAT Festival presented work for, with and by students and young people up to 25 years. Professional productions showcased alongside work by young people, experimental performance events, film and emergent professional bands.
‘I joined the group about a year ago. Now, because of the opportunities - like going to see dance performance and our own performances - I have much more confidence. I’ve seen the same changes in other people. Dance is something I can call on now. It’s something I love.’ Eleanor, 16
macrobert Youth Dance Company
macrobert - making the arts accessible to all macrobert welcomes all visitors. Our premises, including the theatres, filmhouse, café bar, restaurant and gallery are accessible. Concession tickets are available for disabled people and their carer and there are hearing loops at the box office and bar. macrobert signed, audio-described and captioned performances at Christmas so that those with visual and hearing impairment could experience the fun of the Pantomime. We provided on-stage ‘touch tours’ so that people who have limited or no sight could feel and understand the set, and get a sense of the stage before the performance.
macrobert believes that arts should be for everyone. Through our outreach programme we strive to break down barriers that prevent young people from experiencing the arts. Last year we took free dance and drama workshops, and professional performances, to schools, nurseries and communities across the Forth Valley. ‘Some children shined through the creative learning which they had not done through other means.’ Teacher Research shows that taking part in the arts stimulates cognitive ability across all subject areas, and that young people are more likely to volunteer, to vote, to get a degree, and to stay in employment.
‘Relaxed’ film screenings supported those with learning disabilities such as autism - and their family carers - and those with caring responsibilities for young children to enjoy a film without worrying about having to stay still and quiet. Children and adults with hearing loss enjoyed subtitled films, and those with visual impairment used our audio-description headphones free of charge. Family carers also benefitted because a shared outing with their loved one is often difficult to achieve. ‘TAKE PART’ SUBSIDIES AND BURSARIES FOR THOSE ON LOW INCOMES macrobert provided subsidies and full bursaries to families on low incomes so that cost was not a barrier to participation in our classes, or projects. Ewan*, 14, a member of the Panto Young Cast received a subsidy of £200. He says: “It’s an amazing experience to have. I am learning more and more each year about working on the stage – the adult cast have been a huge inspiration to me, especially as I want to apply to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to study drama in a few years time.” TRANSPORT SUBSIDY GIVES MORE SCHOOL CHILDREN THE CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE ARTS macrobert provided a transport subsidy of £5,000 for schools so that more children could experience high quality arts. The cost of transport is the main barrier preventing school children from coming to live performance and on-site workshops. FREE, LOW AND SUBSIDISED PRICES BELOW COMMERCIAL RATES macrobert keeps ticket prices low, often well below comparable commercial prices, so that arts are affordable for more people. Kids Film Club tickets started at £1.50 and live production tickets started at £4. Many events were free, for example the regular Family Days. *Name changed for privacy
CREATIVITY AND A BREAK FOR YOUNG CARERS macrobert worked with 12 young carers aged 10 to 12 years, on a 10 week film and performance project. The young carers were supported by macrobert’s Film and Media Development Officer and two Drama Artists. They learned performance skills, how to storyboard a script and how to shoot and edit their own short. The culmination of the project saw the young carers’ film being screened in macrobert’s cinema.
macrobert - exploring academia and the arts macrobert’s location at the heart of the University of Stirling’s campus, creates unique opportunities to explore the connections between art and academia. Our aim is to expand the boundaries of collective knowledge and exert a positive and lasting impact on communities. In 2012, inspired by the University’s world leading Dementia Services Development Centre, macrobert worked with dance artist Janice Parker and people with dementia and their carers at Town Break Centres in Stirling. Building on this, macrobert hosted a Symposium about Dementia Friendly Arts as part of Luminate, the national Creative Ageing Festival. An action research project with the School of Education and Stirling Council has been developing understanding about the role that creativity plays in education in the context of the Curriculum for Excellence. We collaborated with colleagues in the Art Collection to research a new piece of sculpture that is influenced by children and families’ experiences of the campus and sculpture. macrobert’s presence on the University site helps to animate the campus and enriches the experience of student, academics and visitors alike.
MACROBERT - SUPPORTERS We thank our supporters who have helped deliver macrobert’s arts programme: Creative Scotland University of Stirling Stirling Council Trusts and Foundations The Foyle Foundation The MacRobert Trust The Gannochy Trust Ambition Scotland JTH Charitable Trust Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust Souter Charitable Trust Sponsors and donors Buchanan McPherson Colour Printers eventsdecor Luminate Festival Mackie’s of Scotland Morrisons Garage So Precious Janice and Tom Ward Wood Winters
‘You Shall Go to the Ball’ Christmas Appeal HSBC - Lead Sponsor Gold Central Produce Gogar Logistics Silver Bruce Tait Associates Clark Electronics Denvir Marketing Callander Round Table Carse of Stirling Rotary Club Bronze University of Stirling Innovation Park Supporter Alison Archibald ASDA ASM Recovery Maureen Blenkharn Caledonian Marts (Stirling) Ltd
Kate Eastwood Forth Plumbing and Heating HK Mortgages Jim Johnston W & P Longreach Patricia MacDonald Mr David Rhodes Alastair Thornley Mr Ian Whyte
Here at macrobert we are passionate about what we do - about inspiring young people; about creating new work that tours in the UK and abroad; about equality that helps everyone to share in the arts regardless of their circumstances. Whilst macrobert will receive grant funding from Creative Scotland and the University of Stirling in the coming year, the rest of our income - over 60% - must be raised from other sources. People are often surprised to learn that on average we only keep 25% of the ticket price (most of it pays the performer or producer): this means that even if we sold every ticket to every show, we would still need to find a way of covering a gap in our funding. That is why macrobert relies on the support of individuals, companies and charitable trusts to keep its quality arts programmes going. There are many interesting and rewarding ways to get closer the arts with macrobert. To find out more please contact Development Manager alex.duncan@macrobert.org or call 01786 467152 or you can go to www.macrobert.org/support-us
Expenditure ÂŁ1.748m Programme fees Participation fees Marketing Staff costs Production & technical costs Overheads
Income ÂŁ1.781m
Fundraising costs Ticket sales Restricted project costs Donations, sponsorships, core grants Restricted grants Participation Facility hire Food & beverage contribution Project fees Other Creative Scotland University of Stirling
MACROBERT, UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING FK9 4LA | WWW.MACROBERT.ORG | 01786 466666
Stirling Council