Arts Professional - issue 205 (November 2009) by PAUL VATER

Issue 205 | 2 November 2009 | £4.25 www.artsprofessional.co.uk

We must not concede ground before the battle has commenced The NCA calls for a united front p4

Government injects cash into creative industries’ apprenticeship scheme. Up to 1,125 new apprenticeships will be established in the creative and cultural industries, thanks to funding granted to the National Skills Academy (NSA) by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The NSA was one of 12 organisations to win an 8% share of £7m of Government funding to set up new Apprenticeship Training Associations (ATAs) and Group Training Associations (GTAs). The announcement of the funding, which will support a total of over 14,000 apprenticeships for 16–24 year-olds, places the creative sector among industries recognised as “vital for the country’s economic growth”. Other winners come from the environmental, engineering, manufacturing, logistics and business administration sectors. The NSA, which is based in Thurrock and has close links with 19 Founder Colleges and a network of industry member organisations from the cultural sector across England, has hailed the funding as “a significant step forward in the creative and cultural sector’s campaign to provide more mainstream training opportunities”. It will establish an Apprenticeship Service and manage the new programme from April 2010, and take responsibility for recruiting, employing and training apprentices, and for supporting the organisations and education providers involved. The agency will be called Creative and Cultural Apprenticeships and will function as an ATA, placing apprentices with host employers in the creative sector. However, the funding will not subsidise the wages of apprentices.

A spokesperson for the NSA said the organisation has always recommended, through its Creative Apprentices scheme, that cultural sector businesses should pay apprentices the national minimum wage (between £125 and £203 per week, depending on age), although the national minimum for apprentices is £95 a week. If the host business is unable to continue supporting an apprentice, the trainee will return to the ATA and be reassigned to another business. The NSA’s scheme will cover theatre, live music, craft, cultural heritage, design, literature, and the performing and visual arts.

any proposal to create job opportunities is very welcome The NSA is a subsidiary of Creative & Cultural Skills (CCSkills), the Sector Skills Council for the creative industries, which has estimated that by 2017 there will be a shortage of 30,000 skilled offstage and backstage workers. Tom Bewick, Group Chief Executive of CCSkills, said the new scheme was “one step towards ensuring that we have the skilled workforce we need to remain the largest cultural economy in the world as a proportion of GDP”. Martin Bright, founder of New Deal of the Mind, told AP that “any proposal to create job opportunities in these difficult times is very welcome... The sector now needs to match this initiative with some imaginative schemes for creative entrepreneurs.” Bendy Ashfield, the Apprenticeships Manager for the Royal Opera House, said the announcement “will open up the possibility of apprenticeships to smaller scale organisations” and lessen both the risk and the administrative burden.

NSA lands training cash VAT victory Arts organisations will be able to claim partial exemption from VAT on production costs, and reclaim past overpayment of VAT, following a ruling by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in response to an appeal earlier this year by Garsington Opera (AP194). The company maintained that HMRC was wrong to link its income solely to ticket prices, which are exempt from VAT. The revised policy agrees with Garsington that there is also a direct link to “taxable supplies such as corporate sponsorship, touring, programmes, CDs, intellectual property rights, and the occasional supplies of production props and equipment”. HMRC has identified touring, recording and projectspecific sponsorship as examples of “when production costs relate to taxable supplies”, though this does not include general corporate sponsorship. HMRC confirmed to AP that arts organisations will now be able to reclaim VAT paid on such costs for a period going back at least three years. Clare Adams of Garsington Opera told AP that the organisation was delighted. “We know that a lot of arts organisations were watching our case, and the fact that they have changed the ruling is very beneficial,” she said.

02 Licensing Act demonstration

Business plan for Creative Scotland A simplified structure and a commitment to “invest, take risks and make connections where other organisations cannot” has been proposed in Creative Scotland’s (CS) new business model, which sets out the structure and aims of the new body. The number of people to be employed by CS under these plans is 113, including a staff of 97, the existing 13-strong external funding teams of Scottish Arts Council (SAC) and Scottish Screen (SS), and three international development staff. This compares with the total of 146 staff in SAC and SS currently. CS Chair Ewan Brown said that “there will be no compulsory redundancies”. The model lays emphasis on the organisation being unique, asserting that it “should not duplicate other organisations’ remits”. This addresses concerns previously expressed about the clarity of the new organisation’s role in relation to Enterprise Scotland (AP169). There is also heavy stress laid on the organisation having a role in representing Scotland in international relations, a task largely within the remit of a communications department of nine. A new chief executive will be recruited shortly, and will be supported by three creative development directors, a director of communications and a director of finance and operations. A team of 14 portfolio managers will hold senior roles with special expertise in artforms, geographical or policy areas, some of which may be temporary (such as the 2012 Olympics). A team of 30 development officers will be “available to work on any project in any artform or policy area”. Two portfolio managers and four development officers will be deployed in CS’s new function to support the creative industries. As well as promoting and developing the arts and creative industries, the new body should build partnerships with other organisations and stakeholders, particularly local government, and should be “skilled at influencing” Government, local government and other partners. Minister for Culture Michael Russell welcomed the progress made on the business model, and said the structure was well suited to “providing strong, responsive support for the sector”.

More than 100 members of actor’s union Equity, together with the Musicians’ Union, have held a demonstration outside Parliament to urge the government to undo the damage to live entertainment being perpetrated by the current licensing regime. Both unions are asking for a licensing exemption for venues putting on events with fewer than 200 people in the audience, and Equity argues that the Government needs to reconsider its rejection of the DCMS Select Committee’s recommendations for improvements to the Licensing Act (AP195). Equity is highly critical of the government’s “piecemeal” response to the Select Committee report, saying that its failure to implement key recommendations “has had a detrimental effect on small venues”. According to the DCMS’s Statistical Bulletin on Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment Licensing for England and Wales, 8,000 more premises are now licensed to put on live music than in 2007, despite the fact that the number of surrendered and lapsed premises licences is also higher than in previous years. DCMS Minister Gerry Sutcliffe has stated that “licensees are widening their customer appeal by putting on live music”. However, when questioned by AP, a DCMS spokesperson conceded that the growth in uptake of entertainment licences could be attributed to the wider scope of the licensing law and the dropping of the ‘two-ina-bar’ licensing exemption, which means that premises that previously did not need a licence now require one. The DCMS has proposed new measures to make it possible to apply online for a licence to put on live music and other arts, saying that online applications could save businesses and voluntary organisations up to £1.5m per year.

NEWS

www.equity.org.uk

ACW regional plans The Arts Council of Wales has published its biennial regional plans for North Wales, South Wales and Mid and West Wales, developing priorities revealed in its recent vision statement ‘Strive to Excel’ (AP203). The documents include an overview of arts provision and attendance, and identify strengths and challenges. All regions identify working with National Theatre Wales as a high artistic priority, and there is also an emphasis on support for individual artists and promoting bilingualism in all three regions. ISSUE 205 2 NOVEMBER 2009

Crocheted lions, a spinning column of cloud and light and a travelling wingless silver bird are among the 12 commissions which have won a share of the £5.4m Artists Taking the Lead fund. From over 2,000 entries, independent panels of artists and producers have selected 12 projects, one for each of the nine English regions and one each for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Each of them is directly inspired by their location and will celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games across the UK. The winning commissions will be developed across 2010 and 2011, and all 12 will then take part in a final celebration prior to the opening of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Moira Sinclair, Executive Director of Arts Council England, London, hoped that the projects would “redefine what public art will mean in 2012”, while London 2012 Chairman Sebastian Coe called the commissions “the catalyst for a truly national showcase of culture”. www.artsprofessional.co.uk

NEWSREEL © PHOTO karl andre photography

Tories invoke local laws Arts centres could be subject to local referendums, and local people could be given more control over how central government funding is spent in their area, according to Shadow Culture Minister Ed Vaizey. Speaking at a conference exploring what culture policy might look like under a Tory government, Vaizey referred to a Conservative Green Paper, ‘Control Shift: Returning Power to Local Communities’, published in February this year. It proposes that local referendums could be triggered if at least 5% of ‘local citizens’ sign a petition over a period of six months. Vaizey said this could bring “both opportunities and threats for the cultural organisations funded by local authorities”, as those with strong links to their local communities could use it to protect their funding, while others could be vulnerable to attack. In England and Wales, the existing legislation of the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 would allow local government to intervene in unpopular or costly projects funded by central agencies including arts councils, and recommend redirecting the funding if they feel there are “ways in which it could be better spent”. www.shadowdcms.co.uk

Mayor refuses to back down London Mayor Boris Johnson has decided to readvertise and rerun the recruitment process for the post of London Chair at Arts Council England (ACE), following Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw’s veto of the appointment of Veronica Wadley (AP204). He has written to Bradshaw, defending his conclusion that Wadley was the best candidate for the job, and accusing Bradshaw of being “politically motivated”. A DCMS spokesperson told AP that “Ben Bradshaw rejected the Mayor’s favoured candidate because the process had not followed Nolan principles,” a charge that the Mayor’s office strongly denies, claiming that the process was “completely transparent”. The DCMS said that “keeping this important post unfilled risks damaging the arts in London. The Mayor is subject to a legal requirement to fill it as soon as possible and should do so.” Johnson agrees that the work of ACE in London must not be allowed to drift, but refuses to put forward an alternative nominee for the post. ISSUE 205 2 NOVEMBER 2009

A new website, ‘Never Seen Live’, has been launched by audience development agency Audiences South, to allow Hampshire residents a chance to ‘test drive’ culture free of charge. Twenty venues are already offering free tickets, including the Salisbury Playhouse, New Theatre Royal Portsmouth, the Anvil in Basingstoke and the Lights in Andover. www.neverseenlive.com

The York Theatre Royal’s site-specific production of The Railway Children at the National Rail Museum has been named ‘Best Tourism Experience of the Year’ at the 2009 White Rose Awards for Tourism. The production won ‘Best Visitor Experience’ at the York Tourism Awards for Excellence earlier this year, and sold over 26,000 tickets in 2008/09.

Arts About Manchester and the Audience Alliance are in the process of becoming the new audience development agency for the North West. The new agency will support arts and cultural organisations across the five North West sub-regions to develop their audiences. www.aam.org.uk

The Crafts Council has launched ‘Crafts Council Collective’, a programme of support for craft makers. It will provide makers with a range of opportunities and resources, including an award scheme that will make a maximum of five awards of up to £10,000 (plus a compulsory 25% investment by the recipient) each year to makers who submit proposals to change or further their craft practice. www.craftscouncil.org.uk

Reality TV shows searching for a star for West End musicals have encouraged theatre-going amongst television viewers, according to research into the ‘Saturday Night TV Effect’ by The Society of London Theatre (SOLT). A second piece of research from SOLT, which analysed audiences for West End productions that have and have not been featured in such TV casting shows, found that audiences for productions featured on TV remain demographically similar to those for other West End shows. www.solttma.co.uk

A lack of continuity, transport barriers, and a lack of useful one-to-one support and mentoring, are the main issues affecting how Deaf and disabled artists in the South West access professional development, according to ‘Here and Now’, a new report from Arts Council England. Forty-four per cent of Deaf or disabled respondents spent more than £200 a year on their professional development, but 24% spent nothing, reflecting the constraints of travel and finance.

A review of stage managers’ tax status is being undertaken by HM Revenue and Customs. Equity is asking its stage management members to complete a short survey by 30 November. Most of Equity’s stage management members are self-employed taxpayers, which enables the deduction of expenses from gross profits, thereby reducing taxable income.

Fundraisers worldwide predict that arts, heritage and culture organisations will suffer “the most severe negative impact” as a result of the recession, according to a survey conducted by The Management Centre. The survey explores the views of 126 leading fundraising directors and sector experts across the world about the impact of the financial crisis on the not-for-profit sector. Fifty per cent of respondents reported a decline in income over the past year, and only 33% saw an increase.

www.tinyurl.com/yzvtfll

www.managementcentre.co.uk

West End theatre members of media and entertainment union BECTU have agreed to an interim pay deal. From October, rates of pay for staff covered by the Society of London Theatre’s agreement with BECTU will increase by 2.5%.

A new venue, the Cardiff Arts Institute, will open in November, to host live music, club nights and arts events. The Institute is a collaboration between 508 Limited, creators of the Field Day Festival and Cardiff’s Something Creatives.

www.bectu.org.uk

www.cardiffartsinstitute.org www.artsprofessional.co.uk

04 The Puppet Centre Trust has appointed LINDA LEWIS as Director and EMMA LEISHMAN as Administrator. Lewis has been Director of the Visions festival (an international festival of visual theatre, puppetry and object theatre in Brighton) and South East Arts Drama Officer. Leishman was formerly Information Officer at the Museum of Brisbane. The Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds has a new Head of External Relations, CHRIS GRADY. He ran Musical Theatre Matters, a producing network, and continues to run a programme of courses for writers of Musical Theatre.

CHANGING FACES

ROB NASH is the new chair of the National Association of Music Educators. He is currently manager of the Music Service for Cheshire East Council. CHRIS ADAMS, KAT HODGKINSON, KARL BEVIS, HANNAH MARSHALL and LAURA PALMER have all left Youth Music Theatre. Bevis has moved to Bath Festivals, Marshall is now at the BBC and Palmer works for City University. JANET LEE is the new Editor of The Culture Show. She is currently Editor of the BBC’s Imagine, and was previously Commissioning Editor for Arts at Channel Four.

The Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund, the trade charity of the UK film and television industries, has appointed MICHAEL G. WILSON and BARBARA BROCCOLI as Vice Patrons of the Fund. DAVID WILLING has been elected as a Trustee, and ANNE BENNETT has been elected Vice President. Baker Richards Consulting has appointed CLARE KERRISON as Administrator. She joins from BATS Theatre in New Zealand, where she was Business Manager. Bea Grist is leaving the Polka Theatre to become Marketing and Communications Officer at New Perspectives Theatre Company in Nottingham.

news comment Louise de Winter suggests that the coherent lobbying that John Nicholls called for in the last issue of ArtsProfessional has already begun, and calls for the arts sector to organise itself to present a united front. John Nicholls is quite right that the arts sector needs to muster its arguments and resources in anticipation of the General Election and a new Government (AP204). We need to be clear that we have done all we can to secure the best possible policies and funding basis for arts and culture. Now is not the time to resign ourselves to the inevitable, which the Arts Quarter survey findings seem to suggest. John wrote about the need for active intervention by the arts community, and that is what the National Campaign for the Arts (NCA) intends. The publication of the Manifesto for the Arts was the first step in what we hope will become a nationwide campaigning platform for the arts. John is right to point out that any lobbying needs to be conducted in a unified and co-ordinated way: we are encouraging our members to help us take positive messages about the arts directly to politicians. Many politicians do not see the arts as a key electioneering issue. It is up to all of us to ensure that they do. The NCA also resists the view that cuts to the arts and culture budgets are inevitable. We must not concede ground before the battle has commenced. Yes, politicians of all hues are saying that there will be cuts, but we should ISSUE 205 2 NOVEMBER 2009

seek to influence how and where those cuts might fall. We need to make the distinction between good spending and bad spending, good cuts and bad cuts, jobs and job losses. For the comparatively little funding that the arts receive, the sector makes huge differences to positive outcomes in health, the criminal justice system, education and communities.

I do not sense a collective surrender, although we must not be complacent It is tempting for any politician to balance the arts against health, education or housing, and decree that they are not as necessary, but shaving £10m or even £20m off the arts budgets will not make a difference to our national debt, and will be hugely detrimental. We need to get behind the manifesto’s arguments to ensure that the value of the arts in education and its link to the creativity of our workforce is understood and retained; that our local politicians recognise the positive benefits the arts make to their communities; and that whoever forms the next Government wholly

supports the role of the arts in our society. Everyone I speak to believes that we have an opportunity to make a positive case and demonstrate the value of what the arts and culture bring to the UK as a whole. I do not sense a collective surrender, although we must not be complacent either. A recent editorial in the Belfast Telegraph summed up the value of public investment in our arts and culture: “Culture is not something divorced from everyday life, but rather the expression of it and as such should be treasured as much as life itself.” It is something worth fighting for.

Louise de Winter is Director of the National Campaign for the Arts. w www.artscampaign.org.uk

www.artsprofessional.co.uk

hotspot

Need to Know

Nick Beasley considers impending changes for the arts in Wales and how they will help redefine excellence.

AP brings you expert advice from across the sector. This issue, how to deal with an unbearable Chair.

In recent months the Welsh Assembly Government has begun the process of establishing the right to make the arts a statutory responsibility for local governments in Wales, and the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) has embarked on a comprehensive investment review. Both initiatives could bring about significant change to the arts sector in Wales. With local authority arts funding estimated as equivalent to the Arts Council’s annual budget, there is an opportunity to establish cultural entitlement for the people of Wales and bring together the two main forces of public funding both strategically and practically. The Arts Council review is partly defined by the current economic climate and a reduction public funding. But it is also informed by the political will to support the pursuit of excellence and revitalise the sector, where too many organisations receive ‘guaranteed’ revenue funding with limited scope to grow and innovate. While we must fund and support arts activity of the highest quality, and trust our arts managers to deliver it effectively, excellence will be found when an experience

I am a Chief Executive and my relationship with the Chair is doing my head in. He has only been with us a year (I have been here three), and depending on the subject he is either completely hands-on (unbearably so), or doesn’t want to know. I am finding that it is taking up increasing amounts of my time to manage this relationship, and other areas of the organisation are starting to suffer. At the moment, I feel that one of us needs to leave. Are there any other options?

is relevant to its audience. To be excellent, therefore, publicly funded arts organisations must be equipped to understand their actual and potential audiences, and to employ a well-resourced public engagement and audience development strategy that communicates value. At the time of writing ACW is still to publish its vision for the future. With limited references to audiences in its current Corporate or Artform Plans, I hope the opportunity is taken to underline the importance of the arts across central government departments and local authorities in Wales, to establish the importance of public engagement, and to ensure that our pursuit of excellence is a pursuit for the needs of our audiences

NICK BEASLEY is Chief Executive of Audiences Wales, the arts marketing and audience development agency for Wales. E nick@audienceswales.co.uk w www.audienceswales.co.uk © PHOTO Neil Bennett

I’m sure you’re not alone. I hope some of my suggestions may help you to determine a range of appropriate actions. Incidentally, don’t resign! In answering your concerns, I’ve drawn on ‘Your Chair and Board – A survival guide and toolkit for CEOs’ published by Acevo, which I highly recommend. • He has only been Chair for a year – and you may have got off on the wrong foot from the start. Have you both made time to understand each other’s personal motivation and communication preferences – to create a more positive working relationship? • You need mutual respect and trust – best achieved through regular communication. If you only meet whenever there is a problem, this sets the relationship as one based upon conflict. • What induction did you each have in managing the Chair-CEO relationship, expectations and responsibilities? Does your chair have a job description, i.e. are there clearly understood lines of demarcation? Can you agree ways to form a relationship that has a positive impact on the organisation – rather than one based on your personal relationship? • Don’t take disagreements personally – you’re a professional. Respond to the issue, not the person and/or their position. • Are you or your Chair neglecting agreed channels of communication – especially if things are rough? Less communication could lead to further deterioration. • Is your Chair able to scrutinise the organisation’s performance properly? Perhaps he is choosing to be so hands on because it’s the only way he can understand how things work. Ask the Board what they need to know. • Have other trustees noted that there is an issue? It might be helpful to have a trustee to whom you could speak in confidence accept responsibility for personnel issues. • Think carefully before you resign. You may give yourself the reputation of being leader unable to resolve HR problems, preferring to walk away instead. Don’t insist that your Chair resigns. This is a matter for trustees. They may be reluctant to assume the role of the Chair if there is any sense that they may be forced to resign if they don’t enjoy a good relationship with the CEO. This week’s question was answered by RICK BOND, Director of The Complete Works (UK) Ltd, which specialises in facilitating management insights, solutions and learning for arts and cultural organisations. E rick@thecompleteworks.org.uk T 01598 710698 w www.thecompleteworks.org.uk

What’s driving you round the bend? Send us your work-related problem and we’ll find an expert to offer you advice. editors@artsprofessional.co.uk ISSUE 205 2 NOVEMBER 2009

www.artsprofessional.co.uk

OBSERVATIONS hires happened between April and June 2008 and made it look as if 2008/09 was going to be a boom year. As it was, the excess in the first quarter was offset by poor performance in the following three quarters of the year. The worry is that, as clients’ 2008/09 budgets have been set in the midst of a slump, even when this recession ends, venues won’t see the benefit until the next financial year. Bishop confirms, “We have had more enquiries for 2010. This is because people will have spent their 2009/10 budgets and are looking to use next year’s spends.”

Hire? Lower! The Albany uses its space for a diverse range of activities

Arts venues’ income from hires has taken a pasting in the recession. Miles Eady shares some survival tactics in the current climate, and suggests we stop blaming the credit crunch. When we came up with a liltingly alliterative term for the subprime mortgages crisis – the credit crunch – we could blame it for anything, even when we don’t understand what it is. Essentially, the banks won’t give any loans and want to play it safe. Does spending at arts venues increase during this time or is it thrown aside with the mange tout, the latest fashions and the LCD TVs? Kate Sarley, Chief Executive Officer of Jacksons Lane (a multi-arts venue in London), says, “We haven’t noticed any particular difference – managing an arts venue is always hard.” So is the credit crunch a handy scapegoat for a struggling sector? “Once there was a perception that there was a financial problem, it became a problem”, says Sarley, adding that West End companies have lately been attracted to Jacksons Lane “whereas they would previously have gone to more pricy centre-of-town venues”. On the flip side, Charles McKenzie, Head of Business Development at North London’s gleaming Artsdepot says that “spaces in the centre of town have been offering discounts and the big companies have been attracted to them. We’ve found that we’re down about 15% on what we were expecting.” McKenzie confirms what we at the Albany ISSUE 205 2 NOVEMBER 2009

have also found – that whilst we have the same volume of bookings, the profit margin has lowered due to the amount of discounts being offered to attract clients. MAKING THE STRETCH It’s not just London venues which are suffering. Shelley Bishop, Events Manager of Bristol’s Watershed, confirms Conference Bristol’s findings that there have been 30% fewer conferences in 2009/10: “Bookings are coming in at shorter notice and those that do come in have fewer delegates.” She adds that “Clients need to make their budgets stretch. They’re shopping between venues for the best deals and asking for more reductions.” McKenzie confirms that “The regular bookers are cutting costs wherever they can… there is a lower spend on catering.” Most venues have found that even though penury was a known factor by the end of 2008, the first quarter of 2008/09 reaped bumper profits. This is because the 2007/08 budgets of typical events clients were set before it had kicked in. Clients who hadn’t spent their 2007/08 budgets needed to finish their spend by the close of the period, even if the event wasn’t until the new financial year. Most of those

PASTURES NEW So where do the new clients come from to fill the gap? Are they last year’s clients reborn? A strong starting point for finding new business is to look for clients with similar profiles to the ones who have booked before. McKenzie says that to try and balance the lower number of enquiries coming in, he is “looking not only for corporate clients, but also for corporate sponsorship”. He adds, “There has been an increase in bookings from community groups, council-run departments, schools and local groups.” As these kind of events usually sell out, maybe it’s a good idea to engage in box office splits with this kind of client. A good way to attract new clients is to get mentioned in a specialist publication, such as a market specialist magazine. And just as drugs companies give away free mugs to doctors to get them to plug their latest laxative, arts venues can give free tickets to potential clients. Reciprocation is an important part of decision making. If the venue gives out something first, the client will be more responsive to suggestions that they hire the space. Another way to ride out the recession might be to diversify what a venue offers. Many venues define ‘events’ as being only conferences. But why not hire out the spaces to theatre companies, film makers and for classes, workshops and rehearsals? I have a feeling that the answer may be more simple. Maybe it’s that we need to be less amateur, in the best sense. We in the arts tend to do things for the love of the art and maybe we need to train ourselves to be harder-nosed professionals.

Miles Eady is Events Manager at the Albany Theatre. e miles.eady@thealbany.org.uk w www.thealbany.org.uk This week Miles has been reading the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, has discovered the saxophone of Leo Parker, has had a 24 marathon (and dreamt that his niece had Keifer Sutherland’s head), and is looking forward to watching legendary tap hoofer Will Gaines.

www.artsprofessional.co.uk

JOB LADDER Paul Cutts reveals the route he has taken to reach his current role. Chief executive Exhibition Road Cultural Group (May 2009–present) I still can’t believe my luck: a new post, based at the Natural History Museum (my favourite London building), working with some of the world’s most iconic cultural organisations, staging public projects and developing collaborative working. With 16 institutions – including the V&A, Science Museum, Royal Albert Hall, Serpentine Gallery, Royal Parks and Kensington Palace – as well as two local authorities, it’s a brain-fryingly complex and politically intense role. But with the whole of Exhibition Road undergoing development, and with 2012 Olympic events happening in Hyde Park, it’s an amazing opportunity to help reshape Britain’s original cultural quarter. Who wouldn’t want the job? nesta fellow Clore Leadership Programme (Sept 2008–July 2009) As mid-life crises go, spending a year exploring your self and your future is a pretty good one. Two placements (with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in my native Cardiff, and with the Cleveland Orchestra in Ohio) gave me experience of very different organisations in vastly different cultures. Clore was life-changing, transforming my personal, cultural, intellectual and professional horizons.

Editorial Director Impromptu Publishing (Oct 2002–June 2008) Having created and launched Muso (a classical music magazine for young people) for Impromptu Publishing, Managing Director Marcus Netherwood offered me a stake in his fledgling business. Six years, countless late nights, many pressurised days, wonderful staff, five new magazine titles (including Gig) and an annual turnover of £1m later, I left the north to pursue a nagging dream: to stop talking about the arts and start delivering them. News and Online Editor Gramophone magazine (Feb 1999–June 2000) I owe this job to a boat trip: a fellow sailor was Gramophone editor James Jolly and, in my freelance enthusiasm, I pitched a story to him. Six months later, I was the magazine’s first news editor and launching its daily news and reviews website. Editor International Arts Manager (1992–1993) I’m a former choral scholar and a trained pianist, but it was business that shaped my early journalism career. I covered the European oil business for a trade mag and wrote about telecoms for Financial Times newsletters. International Arts Manager represented the perfect meld of my arts and business backgrounds. I spent a frantic 18 months mostly on aeroplanes, reporting on the arts globally. Journalism was a fantastic way to see the world and its diverse audiences and cultures. And the skills I gained – processing information rapidly, networking and how to contextualise – are proving invaluable in my new life.

paul cutts is Chief Executive of the Exhibition Road Cultural Group.

The Bond Company offers sympathetic, professionally managed accommodation in historic canal side buildings in Birmingham’s Eastside including:

Tender opportunity CapeUK and Hull College run Creative Partnerships in Yorkshire in over 200 schools. Work with us to devise and run a great 2 year CPD programme for our Creative Agents so they can help their schools turn good work into great work. Budget: c. £35K. Closing date: 16th November. Visit: www.capeuk.org and click ‘Invitations to tender’ for more information. Contact: Pete McGuigan at Cape (0845 450 3700; pete@capeuk.org) if you want to discuss it further.

ISSUE 205 2 NOVEMBER 2009

• • • • •

Boardrooms and Meeting Rooms Offices On site Café 24 hour security Parking

We particularly welcome enquiries from Arts Organisations and Creative Enterprises, discounts available for registered charities and first time users. For further information please contact: Jackie Marwaha or Hannah Mullarkey The Bond Company 180 - 182 Fazeley Street • Digbeth • Birmingham B5 5SE Tel: 0121 766 7400 • Email: Jackie@thebondco.net Visit our website: www.thebondco.net

www.artsprofessional.co.uk

FEATURE:

Trends in touring

Talking touring As traditional patterns become increasingly difficult to maintain, ITC members are concerned about the challenges facing the touring sector. Charlotte Jones explains some of their fears. The main concerns of the Independent Theatre Council’s (ITC) members have recently been about touring. Eighty per cent of our members tour, to a wide range of places from village halls in the Hebrides to community centres in inner city housing estates, from prisons, schools, parks and hospitals to traditional theatre venues. Touring is the life blood of the independent theatre sector and the best way to extend the reach of the arts to people who would not otherwise have access. Touring in the current economic climate is increasingly difficult and companies are facing serious challenges. THE SECTOR SPEAKS An ITC member from the Midlands said, “We are getting the same fees from venues as we were 10 years ago.” A member from the North West explained that “The costs of travel and accommodation have risen hugely – at the same time we have a principle… of paying performers above the union minimum and providing the best possible conditions. Our income has not risen in line with our increasing production costs.” A Yorkshire member said “touring is a hard enough existence for artists… We must not fall into the trap of exploitation by compromising on touring conditions. We find it hard to make the case for our production costs.” One company manager commented that “venues are becoming even more risk averse – offering lower and lower guarantees. This is one of the reasons we have moved to more box office split deals than fees. We’re taking the risk ourselves.” Another rural touring company stated that “venues’ fear of the unknown is holding companies back. We have been relatively successful booking our normal circuit but the Arts Council has required us to broaden our geographical reach. The new relationships have been very difficult to build. We have had to use our funding to offer free performances to get our work seen.” A touring company from the North West said that “venues only want to book us for one night”, and this was echoed by one of our companies in the Eastern region: “We have had to cancel our national tour because we can not get enough dates. Venues are only prepared to book us for one or two nights at the most.” Jan ISSUE 205 2 NOVEMBER 2009

Ryan, from UK Arts International, observed the following trend: “Smaller arts centres are programming much less theatre work – as a result there is no critical mass of work and the audiences for it are lost.” One company sadly reflected that “venues are claiming there is no audience for drama at the moment. We are losing out to tribute bands and amateur musicals.” John Spooner, Artistic Director of Unlimited Theatre Company, suggested that “venues ought to be thinking about how they can make their second/ studio space work for their bigger space. There is more work available for these spaces and, relatively speaking, less risk.”

We are losing out to tribute bands and amateur musicals DWINDLING RESOURCES One experienced tour booker commented, “It is so much harder to access Arts Council funding for touring. We have been shocked at the number of applications we have had turned down for work which would normally have had a successful touring life… there is not enough money in the Grants for the Arts pot. Meanwhile most of the Sustain money has gone into buildings, yet companies are the ones taking all the risks.” Jill Streatfeild, General Manager of Eastern Angles, suggested that “it would help touring companies enormously if Grants for the Arts was more flexible. Currently… you can’t get the grant without the tour list and you can’t book the tour if the majority of the funding isn’t in place… People have to be encouraged to start taking risks again.” Many members also raised the problem of dwindling local authority money. Amanda Rigali from Arts Council England stated that “the key to successful touring is the relationship between the producer and promoter”, and many companies talked about the importance of building good, co-operative relationships with venues. Jane Claire, from English Touring Theatre, was keen to stress that “the key to success is not seeing venues as the enemy”. This view was expanded by John Spooner, who said, “we put a lot of work into

Unlimited Theatre’s ‘The Moon, The Moon’

our relationships with venues – encouraging trust, developing additional programmes, trying to arrive well-equipped… We enjoy touring most where there is an effective partnership – recognising that reaching the audience is a shared responsibility.” John Spooner continued, “there needs to be a major cultural shift. Audiences are more open to challenge and new experiences than venues give them credit for.” A final observation came from Nathan Curry, Artistic Director of Tangled Feet: “With our recent piece (‘Home’) we were interested in creating something that could work anywhere – we took it to night clubs, fields, a bus, a boat, a forest. We were reaching very different audiences – it liberated us and changed the way we think about making theatre.” As traditional touring patterns become increasingly difficult to sustain, many more companies are following Tangled Feet’s example and focusing on how to take the work to people in new ways. We found most of our members were meeting the challenges with imagination and flexibility – determined to continue but adapting their practice.

Charlotte Jones is Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Theatre Council. t 020 7403 1727 w www.itc-arts.org.uk

www.artsprofessional.co.uk

09 © PHOTO Bill Cooper

CASE STUDIES

Thinking ahead Touring can be an important part of a survival strategy. Phil Gibby lays out three important lessons that WNO has learned. This year has taught Welsh National Opera three lessons. Firstly, the loyalty of our audiences and donors made the difference between a financially tough year and a financially impossible one. Audiences dropped 4% yearon-year, but a bigger fall was anticipated. The shortfalls came on productions where we probably staged too many performances. Our philanthropic partnership scheme currently has more members than ever before, contributing more funds than ever before. Donations from our Friends reached record levels. These were critical results in a year when corporate support for the arts outside London collapsed, and trusts and foundations elected to favour organisations facing more brutal short-term challenges than our own. Did being a touring company make a difference to this? I think so. Having clusters of support in many places means we have more marketplaces to grow. Being rooted in one

recession-hit hotspot could have been extremely tricky. We’re lucky that we can retain loyalty but keep on moving. The second thing we learned was that the Arts Councils of England (ACE) and Wales (ACW) have appreciated the impact of recent events on their clients. They have delivered financial support: Sustain funding from ACE, coupled with equivalent funding from ACW, has positioned Welsh National Opera to exit the recession with free reserves intact. Without this support, those reserves would have been depleted to dangerous levels. They have delivered on-the-ground intelligence – ACE’s quarterly tracking survey of key RFOs has been enormously reassuring. The best way to ride out this recession has been to sit back, take stock and avoid the hasty decisions. Not being pressured into kneejerk reactions has been important, and we’re grateful for funders who are shrewd enough to play the long game. The third thing we’ve learned is that large touring arts organisations need to start questioning their operating models. WNO has come through the past 12 months with the books still balanced, and artistic programming unaffected. But the recession may turn out to

be the least of our worries. We expect that the 2010 public spending round will be savage. We know that the digital age will cause the next generation of arts audiences to be incomparably different to their predecessors. We’re aware that high fixed costs and stringent touring patterns compromise our ability to deliver the shock of the new as often we might like. We are ready to face up to these challenges. The real threat lies ahead for the organisations who genuinely believe that the worst is over, and life should carry on as before. That way madness lies.

PHIL GIBBY is Director of Development and Communications at Welsh National Opera. e phil.gibby@wno.org.uk t 029 2063 5041 W www.wno.org.uk

Let them all come Networking and new ideas are essential when trying to get the right balance of touring work in a venue, writes Simon Hollingworth. Lincoln Drill Hall is a multi-purpose, regularlyfunded arts venue owned by a registered charity. We are currently run and funded by the local council, but in April 2010 a new Trust will take over the management of the venue and a Service Level Agreement (SLA) will be established with the Council. This new SLA is set to coincide with a substantial increase in the level of support from the Council, at a time when it is facing huge cuts and has disinvested in a number of initiatives. It will allow the Council to consolidate its cultural offer through one (adequately funded) organisation and also, we like to think, indicates some level of satisfaction with the service we ISSUE 205 2 NOVEMBER 2009

have been providing. We offer people a mix of what they want, and what they don’t know they want because they haven’t had it yet. Every event is broadly categorised as ‘popular culture’, ‘core programme’ or ‘challenging work’, and our challenge is to encourage people to try something new. I recall an audience member who came to see a dance piece because she had seen the poster on one of our comedy nights and been intrigued. She arrived on the night nervous, sceptical and unsure, but came out in tears because she had “never seen anything like it”. The venue has a flexible auditorium which enables us to stage a range of events, and the popular culture entry point events such comedy nights, club nights and the annual panto are a vital way of bringing in new audiences. Our occasional open mic night for 13–19 year-olds, ‘YoungPlugged’, regularly sells out and has had a huge impact on our reputation amongst young people. Tickets are cheap, but the benefits to us, are almost unimaginable.

Finding the right balance of touring work is difficult as we have so little capacity to go out and look for it. Local and regional networking is essential. We have recently been able to co-produce a show, Precarious Theatre’s ‘Anomie’, which is currently touring the UK. This has been an excellent experience that has taught us a great deal, and given us a thirst for more. But times are tough and, like many, we have to batten down the hatches and weather the recession storm. Our challenge is to do so not by retreating to ‘safer’ programming, but by celebrating the range of what we offer, highlighting our value for money, ensuring our customer care is as good as it can be and trying to keep convincing people to try something new. Wish us luck.

Simon Hollingworth is Manager of the Lincoln Drill Hall. W www.lincolndrillhall.com

www.artsprofessional.co.uk

FEATURE:

Trends in touring

On the road Rural touring is a well kept secret, but one that the National Rural Touring Forum doesn’t want to keep, writes Ralph Lister. A recent study by Katherine West into ‘The Impact of Rural and Community Touring on Performers and Companies in England and Wales’, found that many performers and companies did not know that rural touring existed. Discussions within the dance policymaking world suggest that there is a lack of identifiable touring circuits for dance, especially on the small scale. And yet at last count, the 37 touring schemes that sit under the National Rural Touring Forum (NRTF) umbrella worked with 1,600 communities over 12 months, promoting over 5,500 performances with £1.5m artistic expenditure. The same study indicated overriding support for rural touring from performers, not least for financial reasons: “One of the key factors respondents raise is that the guaranteed fee offered by schemes makes a huge difference and allows them to plan and budget.” Over 50% of those involved in rural touring received no funding, and rural touring provides a core part of their livelihood. SUCCESS STORY Arts Council England’s (ACE) 2009 Theatre Assessment states that “rural touring has been one of the success stories… with a marked increase in confidence, skills and profile”. The

quality and range of work within rural touring both complements and contrasts with other UK touring activity, with new companies and major performers from across the arts relishing the creative and performing challenges. The Portico Quartet, shortlisted for a Mercury Prize in 2008, has recently undertaken an eight date tour of Somerset villages. At the recent NRTF AGM, held in Manchester to coincide with Decibel, there were readings from new scripts produced by black writers, and the NRTF hopes to co-commission at least one full production in partnership with regional rural touring companies and the Theatre Writing Partnership for a national rural tour. The NRTF has established new links with international partners and artists such as the Riksteatern in Sweden, as a result of our recent International Village of Culture Conference. We reach audiences of over 250,000 every year and can claim through François Matarasso’s seminal study into rural touring, ‘Only Connect’, that a third of audience members in village halls had not attended other arts events in the previous year. Rural touring also challenges the perceptions of regular arts attenders as to how and where they can explore the arts. This is achieved because of partnerships between the local volunteers who choose and promote the events and the professional expertise provided by the scheme managers and the performers. Beyond the arts and audience development outcomes, rural touring develops the capacity of participating communities to be more effective, inclusive and forward looking and increases opportunities for lifelong learning, creativity and personal

development – thereby meeting a range of local authority targets. From an environmental perspective, rural touring makes a valuable contribution the sustainability and climate change agendas. We work with local promoters to add richness to community life, and it is better for the environment to take one vehicle accommodating a theatre company into a village than to ask 80 or 90 people to drive to their local arts centre or theatre. Rural touring provides new audiences for the arts, offers financial benefit to artists and performers, is a platform for new writing, meets local strategic targets and offers a communal and intimate experience for both performer and artist. At its best it stays in the memory and adds to the social ties that bind us.

LOOKING FORWARD The arguments for rural touring have been made. We now need to ensure that we get the message across. The Independent Theatre Council now runs workshops for companies interested in rural touring, and at our AGM 20 companies and artists dropped in to find out more about what we do. We also publish a number of user-friendly documents including ‘Eyes Wide Open’, an introduction to rural touring for companies and artists. Difficult times lie ahead. The principal funders of rural touring are local authorities and ACE. Rural touring support across the regions is uneven, with schemes in the East and South East not recognised as regularly funded clients by the Arts Council of England. Local authorities will be scrutinising their discretionary budgets – so we will have to be on top of our game to survive. On the plus side, ACE has recognised that a fresh strategic approach to touring is needed, which should bring fresh opportunities for NRTF member schemes. We are a broad church and are open to developing ideas, projects and possibilities – so whether you are an artist, a village promoter, a policymaker or a funder, if you want to share the secret then do get in touch.

Ralph Lister is Development Director of the National Rural Touring Forum. e ralph@takeart.org W www.nrtf.org.uk

Tango Siempre tours to rural venues

ISSUE 205 2 NOVEMBER 2009

This week A recent highlight was sitting in the front row at a Portico Quartet ‘gig’ at Stoke St. Gregory Village Hall with my 12 year-old son – what a coup, what a concert, what an audience!

www.artsprofessional.co.uk

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

New ears Contemporary music does not enjoy the same accessibility as contemporary art. Hannah Bujic suggests some ways to change this.

NEW CONTEXTS The idea of creating new contexts by moving classical music into factories, cafes, pubs, clubs and even branches of Ikea, has been particularly ISSUE 205 2 NOVEMBER 2009

significant for contemporary classical music because it exposes for the audience the links with other elements of contemporary culture. “We are increasingly looking at projects that take us out of the concert hall,” says Andrew Burke, Chief Executive of the London Sinfonietta. “We have performed Steve Reich’s music in the Oskar Schindler factory in Krakow, and there is a young audience which comes because they are in an evocative space, as well as then listening intently to the music.” In London the monthly Kämmer Klang series attracts a wide audience to a cafe in Dalston with its mix of jazz, improvisation and classics of contemporary repertoire alongside works by emerging composers. “The huge majority of the audience are much younger than typical concertgoers, interested in electronica and the club scene,” says Kämmer Klang series programmer and cellist Lucy Railton. Tapping into the idea that young people are open to engaging with contemporary classical music in this way, the London Sinfonietta’s Culture Collective/Street Genius initiative (as part of the ‘Sowf’ project, involving a group of arts organisations on the South Bank and Bankside Cultural Quarter) has shifted the function of an audience from listeners to curators. Next June the London Sinfonietta hands over the Queen Elizabeth Hall for a night to its own Culture Collective, a group whose previous membership of 17–22 year-olds successfully programmed the Royal Philharmonic Society award-nominated ‘LDNSNF_40’ event at Southbank Centre’s Spirit Level in December 2008. New entrances Does the programming of contemporary classical music therefore have to cross genres or link to other artforms to attract audiences? Monographic concerts can provide a way in for a new audience, while still drawing in the aficionados. “People are fascinated by discovering new sounds and inspiration – and

yet it’s hard for anyone to take in many different new things at one sitting,” says Andrew Burke. Making these concerts attractive to people who know nothing about the music being presented, however, is still the key. “Very few people who come to contemporary music events at Southbank Centre are those who go to traditional classical music concerts,” says the venue’s Head of Contemporary Culture, Gillian Moore. “The way forward is programming boldly for people who are interested in edgy and new work.” This inevitably means the audiences who seek out new work regardless of its genre, and who are not afraid of being provoked into having a strong reaction, be it good or bad. Lucy Railton believes part of the success of the Kämmer Klang events lies in these strong emotions: “Some people really hate some of the music, which is good because at least it means that the evening doesn’t wash over people”. The essence of what turns many would-be audience members off contemporary music seems to be the very thing that makes it attractive to others. The encouraging signs are that by moving contemporary music out from under the weight of classical music tradition, it is finally emerging into its own spotlight.

Hannah Bujic is Concerts and Touring Administrator for London Sinfonietta, a contemporary classical ensemble resident at Southbank Centre with headquarters at Kings Place. w www.londonsinfonietta.org.uk

www.artsprofessional.co.uk

It is widely quoted that Tate Modern is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the UK, usually when assurance is needed that ‘real culture’ can be attractive in a world enslaved by instantaccess entertainment and the flat-screen TV. Not every contemporary art gallery can replicate Tate’s success, but it highlights the disparities within reactions to contemporary artforms. The level at which contemporary art, together with literature, theatre and film, is considered widely accessible and relevant can only be dreamt about by promoters of contemporary classical music. The London Sinfonietta has always looked for ways to reach out to new audiences. The American composer John Adams has said that “there is a genuine hostility that exists between the average concertgoer and the present day composer that doesn’t seem to occur in most other arts”. So how can perceptions of contemporary music be changed to bring in new audiences? An immediate way to go about this is through the obligatory new media. Online marketing is no longer radical, but making the sounds and ideas of new music more familiar by creating podcasts, videos and recordings online can intrigue and inspire an audience. This gives people more ways in for listening and more reasons to attend concerts, as London Sinfonietta has established through its new digital strategies. Redefining the contexts in which music is listened to also has a big impact. Since London Sinfonietta’s collaborations with Warp Records, programming contemporary classical music in collaboration with ‘cross-over’ artists, DJs and video artists has developed new audiences worldwide. The concept has been taken up by successful series and festivals including Wordless Music in New York and Sacrum Profanum in Krakow.

London Sinfonietta at the Sacrum Profanum Festival in Krakow, September 2009

big ideas: ireland

Island of theatre Siobhán Bourke, Jane Daly and Pádraig Ó Siadhail explain how a new catalogue of Irish plays will seek to bridge the gap between Irish-language theatre and English-language theatre in Ireland.

AN IMPORTANT RESOURCE Mapping the new Irish writing repertoire for the island of Ireland is important to practitioners, theatre audiences and to ITI itself. As an information and research resource, it is valuable for practitioners seeking rights information and script availability (an increasing number of unpublished scripts are currently available for download and purchase). Playography Ireland is widely used by academic scholars and students of Irish drama, and by journalists and cultural ISSUE 205 2 NOVEMBER 2009

The Irish Theatre Institute (ITI) began developing its ‘Playography’ in 2001. In 2006, it launched its first element, ‘Irish Playography’, an online searchable catalogue of all new Irish plays written since 1904 in English and professionally produced in Ireland or abroad. It currently contains almost 2,500 play entries with information on the writer and details of the premiere, including cast lists and cast size, crew, creative and production personnel, and script availability and rights information. ITI produced a findings report in conjunction with completion of the work back to 1904, which provides details in a statistical format on topics such as the number of new plays produced each year, the most prolific writers, cast size, a chart of the evolution of production companies in Ireland, region, gender breakdown, play type, plays for children or young people, and translations. Early next year ITI will launch the first phase of Playography Ireland’s second resource, ‘Playography na Gaeilge’ – a catalogue of all new plays written in Irish and professionally or semi-professionally produced from 1975 to the present (approximately 250). Each entry will contain the same information as for the English language plays, thus creating a complementary resource charting playwriting in both Irish and English. The additional Irish language repertoire 1900–1974 will be completed over the next few years. A Findings Report on Irish language plays from 1975 to the present will be published to coincide with the launch, and will provide statistical information on the writers, production companies and venues involved in producing Irish language drama. The research for Playography na Gaeilge commenced in 2006 and is led by Anna Bale and Pádraig Ó Siadhail.

commentators. Producing new drama in the Irish language is confined to certain companies, venues and regions such as Aisling Ghear in Belfast; Axis Theatre in Ballymun, Dublin; and in Galway, as well as the Taibhdhearc Theatre in Galway city, there are a few companies and theatre artists dedicated to producing work for adult audiences in Irish. Most Irish language drama on the island is funded by Foras na Gaeilge (the North-South Implementation Body for the Irish Language), and the Arts Council/An Choimhairle Ealaíon funds plays in Irish produced by some theatre in education companies. Many Irish language drama writers working in theatre today also write for the national Irish language television station (TG4). Phase one of Playography na Gaeilge begins to fill in a gap in the history and historiography of theatre in Ireland. It makes detailed information on Irish language productions that was inaccessible for those with little or no Irish available for the first time. It highlights the quality, vitality and thematic range of original plays in Irish by talented dramatists such as Eoghan Ó Tuairisc, Seán Ó Tuama and Antoine Ó Flatharta, and demonstrates that Amharclann an Damer (the Damer Theatre), the late-lamented Dublin Irish-language project, was both imaginative and innovative in promoting translations of plays that had not been performed previously in English in Ireland. BRIDGING THE GAPS Playography na Gaeilge bridges the worlds of Irish language theatre and theatre in English in Ireland by providing compelling evidence of

fraternisation, collaboration, and downright linguistic bed-hopping on a scale not previously recognised. It shows that, from the beginnings of modern Irish theatre, there have been many dramatists, actors, designers, technical staff and directors who have worked in both languages. For example Cyril Cusack, the renowned stage and screen actor, regularly directed plays for An Comhar Drámuíochta (Dublin Gaelic Players), the Dublin-based Irish language company and he wrote a play, Tar Éis an Aifrinn (‘After the Mass’), for An Comhar in 1942. Walter Macken was not just an Abbey actor and novelist: he was a prolific Taibhdhearc dramatist and producer. Tomás Mac Anna’s credits include a long list of productions not just in English at the Abbey Theatre, but also in Irish in the Damer. Playography na Gaeilge allows us to see and to make such connections. ITI will complete its research in order to examine these links. Of particular interest is the role played by translation in introducing European theatre writers to Ireland. ITI is involved in ongoing editing and revision of the databases in an effort to maintain the highest standards of information provision. ITI has also created two other up-to-date searchable web resources containing detailed information on Irish (North and South) theatre, dance and opera companies, venues and festivals, and a database of freelance Irish theatre artists.

Siobhán Bourke and Jane Daly are Co-Directors of the Irish Theatre Institute (ITI). ITI was founded in 1994 to research and promote Irish theatre and theatre makers in a national and international context through online databases and information resources, and a programme of international networking and showcasing. Pádraig Ó Siadhail holds the D’Arcy McGee Chair of Irish Studies at Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has published extensively on Irish language theatre and is Consultant Editor of Playography na Gaeilge. w www.irishplayography.com; www.irishtheatreinstitute.ie

www.artsprofessional.co.uk

MY GURUS

bookshop Learning Disability and Contemporary Theatre Jon Palmer and Richard Hayhow This important book reveals the authors’ insider view on a unique and marginalised theatre practice over a 20-year-period. It is, to my knowledge, the only book that explores theatre involving learning disabled artists as theatre rather than social care or therapy. For this reason it is a vital document that contributes to a growing interest in the field and will introduce students of theatre to a rich and provocative art practice. The book is particularly strong in highlighting the “vast misperceptions around learning disability… which tend to emphasise ‘lacks’ (and) failures’ rather than ‘difference (or) individuality’”, and the lack of appropriate performer training available to the vast majority of learning disabled actors, which the authors point to as unacceptable discrimination. This is a deeply felt book which makes a case for what the authors refer to as an “authentic” theatre. Conceived in the work of their respective companies (The Shysters and Full Body And the Voice), this notion has driven their work. Broadly, they refer to the learning disabled person as inhabiting a different place socially and culturally, a place which troubles the norms and control mechanisms of our world. They translate this notion of difference into performance: they advocate work that “arises from the needs and abilities of the individual performer on the grounds that an authentic performance will never come from imposing alien theatrical models on the actor”. ‘Authenticity’ is a complex and highly subjective terrain. This is a highly partial book, which often works in its favour but eventually leaves the reader craving greater multiplicity of perspective. The title itself implies a breadth of reference and context that is not present: no mention here of Australian company Back to Back’s genre-defying ‘Small Metal Objects’. Bradford-based Mind the Gap also receives scant attention. Both these companies would have added to the aesthetic reach of the book – and offered a contrast to the kind of authenticity conceived by the authors. I would have welcomed a little more gritty realism, too. Presumably, theirs has been a struggle for artistic recognition, full of incident, misunderstanding and hard-earned reward. The tone of the book is polite, often reserved – and I would have welcomed a little more raw stuff: glimpses of private rehearsal, the voices of the actors themselves, audience response, reflections on the collaborations with actors not defined as ‘different’. Frantic Assembly’s new manual charts the development of the company’s aesthetic by detailing various techniques that the student or practitioner can put to immediate use. Palmer and Hayhow eschew such directness because they feel that “other books do this”. I would have welcomed an attempt to describe their emergent voice through the shows. This is, however, a significant book that should kick-start debates not just about authenticity but also the ethics and aesthetics of socially engaged art practice. Palmer and Hayhow have done the sector a great service, not just in the publication of this book but in their respective bodies of performance work and a number of collaborative symposia in recent years. This book should encourage far greater critical interest in performance involving the collaboration of learning disabled actors: not as clients or participants but as artists in their own right. Review by Matt Hargrave, Senior Lecturer, Department of Arts, University of Northumbria, and recipient of an AHRC doctoral award in theatre and learning disability. e matt.hargrave@northumbria.ac.uk

ISSUE 205 2 NOVEMBER 2009

Patrick Spottiswoode names those who have inspired him most. Martin Wright I would have dropped out of the University of Warwick at the end of my first year had it not been for Martin. His teaching sparked and then developed my interest in Elizabethan and Jacobean literature and drama. He taught me how to ‘read’ plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. His courses inspired me to embark on the Globe’s current 30 year project to stage performances with scripts of all the plays published between 1567 and 1660. I haven’t seen him for many years, but he remains a major influence. Sam Wanamaker Sam dedicated the last 23 years of his life to building the Shakespeare Globe Centre, working tirelessly even when he knew he would not live to see it completed. He taught me that no one owns Shakespeare; that everyone should have the opportunity to meet his plays and can do so in a number of different ways. He established Globe Education eight years before the theatre opened so that it would help the Globe to become open to all. He believed the Globe would bring crowds back into the theatre for Shakespeare. I think and hope we are proving him right. Ronald Watkins Ronnie converted the Speech Room at Harrow School into an indoor Globe in 1941 for an annual Shakespeare production – a tradition that still continues. I met him 20 years after he had retired when he gave a talk about the relationship of Shakespeare’s plays to the Globe playhouse. I was enthralled by his ‘Globolatry’ and became a Globe missionary. I visited him once a month for dinner and animated sermon-conversation until his death in 2001. Glynne Wickham Glynne founded the UK’s first university drama department at Bristol. His books on Medieval and Elizabethan theatres were required reading at university. He cut a dashing figure even in his 70s and I was starstruck when I met him at the Globe in 1984. He was one of the first scholars to champion Sam’s project. He asked me to assist him with teaching the Globe’s first undergraduate course. I agreed on condition that I took the course with the students. His combination of theatre history, textual study and performance has provided the model for our undergraduate and MA courses at the Globe. Stanley Wells CBE One scholar has called him “Shakespeare’s advocate on earth”. He deserves a knighthood. He is one of the most distinguished and generous Shakespeare scholars in the business. He celebrates Shakespeare on stage as much as on the page, and cares for buildings as well as books. Former Director of the Shakespeare Institute, Trustee of the Globe, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Rose, he is now Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. He is always at the end of a phone or e-mail, ready to offer advice, support and encouragement. He spoke at the Globe this summer and a hundred 16 year-olds switched off their mobile phones.

Patrick Spottiswoode is is founding Director of Globe Education. A new Globe Education and Rehearsal Centre will open in 2010. e patrick.s@shakespearesglobe.com w www.shakespeares-globe.org

www.artsprofessional.co.uk

14 Development Manager

General Manager – The Venue Stocksbridge, Sheffield

DIRECTOR (0.6 P/T)

Salary circa £35,000 plus O.T.E.

Salary £20,000 - £22,000 pro rata depending on qualifications & experience

The Venue is a thriving Community & Performing Arts hub in Stockbridge offering the people of the town and surrounding area a wide range of performing arts and entertainment facilities. More information can be found at www. thevenuestocksbridge.co.uk A dynamic and motivated Manager is required for this challenging role. You will need to demonstrate a successful track record in venue management with a flair for programming and promoting a range of creative and performing arts, and developing a strong and diverse audience base. You should also be able to demonstrate strong networking and partnership building skills including a proactive method of community engagement and community focus for The Venue. A key part of this role is developing the business on a sound sustainable basis, through effective commercial management and fund raising and providing high levels of quality and customer service. Previous venue management experience, preferably in a start-up or reopening phase, is essential. Application forms and information pack can be obtained by contacting Hazel Powell, HR Manager on tel: 0114 2888808, or by email: hazel.powell@step-online.org.uk For an informal discussion about the role please contact our interim venue manager, Steve Bagnall on 0114 2838692 Closing date: Thursday 12th November 2009 Interviews scheduled: W/c 23rd November 2009

Theatre Manager,

The Little Theatre, Leicester.

The Theatre Manager is the key professional and public face of The Little Theatre and will assume overall responsibility for the day-to-day running of the Theatre and Leicester Drama Society. We are looking for an experienced administrator who can thrive in a challenging role, respond positively in a rewarding environment and work well as a team member with artistic and other administrative staff be they paid or voluntary. Salary: £23,000-£28,000 (dependent on experience) For further information and application form, please email lthirlby@lds-mail.net or telephone 01509 267295. Closing date: 13th November 2009

Leading independent arts charity specialising in community music in Norfolk seeks a new Director. From planning, fundraising, through to delivery and evaluation this role offers creative and strategic opportunities within an innovative arts organisation. This exciting and challenging post requires excellent management, communication and development skills, alongside a sound knowledge of music-making in a community setting.

ADMINISTRATOR (P/T)

£30,000 pa (pro rata) 21 hours per week For further details please visit www.thecircusspace.co.uk or contact tamsin@thecircusspace.co.uk 020 7613 8230. Deadline for applications: 20th Nov 2009

Salary £13,500 - £15,500 pro rata depending on qualifications & experience Administrator required to undertake office management and support for the Artistic Programme including database, marketing and financial duties.

For Application packs call 01485 609009 or e-mail info@musicworks.org.uk Closing Date for both positions: 21st November 2009

Norfolk Music Works, The Old Booking Office, 31 Station Road, Roydon, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, PE32 1AW. Registered Charity No: 803279. www.musicworks.org.uk

The MAC (Belfast)

Director of Programmes MARKETING MANAGER £23,000 to £26,000 Based in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire We are seeking an experienced, talented and enthusiastic marketing professional to promote all aspects of our work.

Temp for 9 months starting asap. For an application pack phone Erika on 028 9023 5053 or email erika@oldmuseumartscentre.org Closing date: 09/11/09

This is a key role within a small team leading one of the UK’s foremost dance theatre companies. Full details and application packs are available to download at www.motionhouse.co.uk/news.htm Tel: 01926 887052 Closing Date for applications: Midday 9th November 2009 First Interviews: 17th November 2009 Final interviews: 20th November 2009 Motionhouse champions equality and aims to create a culture that respects and values diversity.

We are inviting our audiences to programme the theatre from January through to July 2012 and are looking for a Head of ‘Open Stage’ to lead this new initiative. We need a self-starter with a proven track record of engaging with existing audiences and developing new ones. This is a fantastic opportunity to deliver a ground-breaking project and to be a part of the team heading up TRSE’s work in the run up to 2012 and beyond. Fixed term contract: Jan 2010 to Aug 2012 Salary: circa £27,000 pa (pro rata) Deadline for applications: 13 November 2009. Application packs available on http://www.stratfordeast.com/ the_theatre/working_with_us.shtml or by phoning 020 8279 1134

The next issue will be published on Monday, 16 November Book your advertising by noon Tuesday, 10 November

Call 01223 200200

Passionate about public engagement with culture? Shape the debate, and take us to the next level. Chief Executive / up to £50,000 Flexible location Network is the membership body of the twelve audience development agencies that cover the UK. Our vision is to create a passion for audiences and champion consistent, high quality audience development practices across the cultural landscape. We need a leader with superlative influencing and interpersonal skills. Someone who can both challenge the status quo, and build productive relationships. An individual who can work collaboratively with partners across the sector, and strengthen the membership and services of Network. For the right person, this is an opportunity to bring about real change in the UK cultural sector. For more information visit our micro-site www.networkceo.co.uk or www.artsintelligence.co.uk. For an informal and confidential discussion please call Pam Henderson on 01223 200200 or 07814 970154. Closing date for applications: 13th November. Selection day: Leeds, 2nd December. Network strives to be an equal opportunities employer.

ISSUE 205 2 NOVEMBER 2009

www.artsprofessional.co.uk

RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING 01223 200200 Project Co-ordinator:

Animating Southampton’s Cultural Quarter

£25,623 per annum pro rata (16 hrs per week equivalent); 9 months fixed term contract in the first instance From 2010, a programme of activity to animate Southampton’s new Cultural Quarter will be led by Southampton City Council, in partnership with four of the city’s major arts organisations - Art Asia, City Eye, John Hansard Gallery and The Nuffield Theatre. An experienced arts professional is sought to co-ordinate this multi agency team in the delivery of the project and ensure that it meets timescale, budget and quality targets. The Co-ordinator will be based at John Hansard Gallery, part of the University of Southampton Closing date is 12 November 2009 at 12 noon. For more information and to apply online visit www.jobs.soton.ac.uk quoting ref. 3942-09-P. For further information about the Cultural Quarter go to www.southampton.gov.uk/culturalquarter

The Festival and King’s Theatres Edinburgh THEATRE MANAGER (fixed terms for 6 months) Festival City Theatres Trust is Scotland’s largest independent theatre management, running two of the country’s major presenting venues; the King’s and Festival Theatre, Edinburgh. The Trust now seeks to appoint a Theatre Manager to oversee the work of the Front of House, Bars and Catering, and Housekeeping functions. This post will focus on the day to day management along with work on the development of these departments to enhance customer care and commercial opportunities.

Creative Programme Manager £28-£36,000 FT Can you lead and inspire a team of three, taking a central role in the design and delivery of a challenging year-round artistic programme?

For further details visit www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk/jobs or call 01603 877177. Closing Date: 5pm, November 9th

Looking to start your career in arts administration? The City of London Festival offers a great opportunity to take your first steps on the arts career ladder. 4 voluntary traineeships from January – July 2010 in:• Marketing • Events Management • Outdoor Events & Education • Arts Management For further details see

www.colf.org Deadline for applications: 13 November 2009

For more information, please contact Colin George HR Advisor, at hr@eft.co.uk or call 0131 622 8095.

TEMPORARY MARKETING CO-ORDINATOR 3 days per week, 6 month contract initially Central London. Salary £16,200 p.a. (£27,000 pro rata) The Arvon Foundation has, for 40 years, been inspiring, encouraging and guiding writers of all ages at all stages of their writing lives, using our life-changing creative writing courses. The Marketing Co-ordinator will contribute to our marketing strategy, initiate marketing campaigns, and co-ordinate our 2010 International Poetry Competition and other events. Closing date: 18/11/09, interviews 23/11/09. For an application pack please call 020 7324 2554 or download from www.arvonfoundation.org/jobs Arvon is committed to equal and open access and opportunity. Registered charity No. 306694

creativeislington connecting cultural communities

Stakeholder Research Invitation to tender Audiences London is looking for experienced researchers to undertake a consultation process with its clients and stakeholders. The results of the research will inform AL’s business planning, service offering and CRM. Fee: £10 – 15,000 inclusive Deadline: Tuesday 17 Nov, 6pm

The closing date for applications is Wednesday 11 November 2009.

For full details: www.audienceslondon. org/jobs or contact Emma McLean at emma@audienceslondon.org, 020 7367 0816.

Supported by

Festival City Theatres Trust registered Scottish Charity SCO 18605

Director

30 hours at £40,625 pa Pro-rata Creative Islington, the recently re-formed networking and development agency for Islington’s cultural and creative sector, is recruiting a Director (re-advertisement due to revised terms and conditions). This is an exciting and challenging role which requires strong experience of working within the creative and cultural sector, combined with effective leadership and management skills. For further information please contact rosalyn@tfconsultancy.co.uk Deadline: 20th November 2009

DrAke musIc

Artistic Director

Initial period of 6 months fee: £6,400 (32 days, to be worked flexibly) This is a wonderful opportunity for someone with real artistic flair to drive and shape Drake Music’s learning & participation programme and remove disabling barriers to great music and art. You will be able to access mentoring and coaching support from experienced artist-mentors familiar with our work. The people we interview will • be original and capable musicians/ artists with a record of original work in their field • have personal experience of disability, of facing disabling barriers • possess a good level of music literacy and practical skills • have a keen interest in and be excited by the possibilities of AMT (assistive music technology) and new technologies • have startlingly original and at first sight often completely crazy and impossible to realise ideas • have the realism, drive and fanatic attention to detail required to then make those ideas happen • passionately believe that within every human being lies a potential Beethoven, George Eliot or Leonardo For further information please contact carienmeijer@drakemusicproject.org, phone 020 7739 5444 or visit our website www.drakemusicproject.org Application deadline: 27 Nov 2009 Interviews: 10/11 Dec 2009

Creative Programmer (2 posts available, one based in Leeds, one based in Sheffield. Fixed term to 31 March 2011) Cape UK improves the lives of children and young people by promoting creativity in all learning environments. We are looking for two exceptional creative programmers who can effectively lead on the delivery of the Creative Partnerships programme. You will have at least 2 years experience of managing programmes from within the education or creative and cultural sector that promote creative learning and participation. You will have exceptional project management skills, be a skilled negotiator and a confident communicator. You’ll be able to demonstrate a track record in managing partnerships with a range of stakeholders. In return you’ll get a competitive salary and benefits package working from modern city centre offices. If you want to join a friendly team of staff that really make a difference to the lives of young people please email cape@capeuk.org for an application pack. The closing date is 6 November and interviews will be held in Sheffield on 19 November and in Leeds on 18 November.

ISSUE 205 2 NOVEMBER 2009

MARKETING MANAGER BCMG is one of the world’s leading classical contemporary music groups with a diverse programme of activity including concerts, tours, new music commissions and a host of learning and audience development projects. We are looking for a highly motivated individual to run and develop BCMG’s marketing function, with responsibility for strategic planning, website/ digital development and tactical implementation, online/social media and e-marketing, design and print, copywriting and publicity. You have a passion for music and the arts; a keen eye for design; knowledge of social media networks, excellent copywriting, managerial, communication and networking skills. You relish responsibility and also working as part of a team. You have good budget management and you are enthusiastic about bringing BCMG’s work to a wide audience. Previous marketing experience is essential. Salary: £23,000 Location: Birmingham Closing date: Fri 13 November 5pm Interview date: Wed 25 November For application details see website: www.bcmg.org.uk/jobs BCMG is committed to equal opportunities and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Reg charity no: 1001474

Programme Manager £25,825 Located: Burnley, Lancashire Curious Minds is a new and exciting charity working to make a difference in children and young people’s lives by improving participation in creative and cultural learning programmes. We are seeking an experienced Programme Manager to ensure the practical development and delivery of our programmes of work, which includes the national Creative Partnerships programme. Educated to degree level or equivalent, you will have a minimum of two years experience of working within educational and creative settings and will be an experienced project manager. You will have a proven track record in partnership working, communicating effectively in person and in writing, and you will understand the importance of evaluation and reflective practice. Download the full job description and application form at www.curiousminds.org.uk or call 01282 435835 for more information. Closing date: Noon on Wednesday 18th November 2009 Interview date: Friday 27th November 2009

www.artsprofessional.co.uk

LAST WORD

Catherine Rose, Editor

Shoulder to shoulder? The balance between policy-making, influencing policy and carrying out policy is an ever-changing kaleidoscope in arts council life across the UK. Wales has apparently been able to reach a kind of stability for the time being – that may all change when the funding review comes around next year. Compared with its past difficulties, the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) seems now to have a quiet confidence – and if this is a mistaken impression, readers will no doubt put us right. Scotland is still feeling its way towards that happy state, as the recently launched business model for Creative Scotland (CS) shows (p2). There is a sense of rush and tear about the proceedings, though, which is manifested in the unkempt prose. It gives the impression that it hasn’t had time to dress properly, and its petticoat is showing. (The contrast with the rather beautifully-produced ACW regional plans is stark.) But let us turn to substance rather than presentation. The Scottish Government is currently pro-arts, pro-cultural industries, and, as we have pointed out before, alive to the possibilities of tourism and international profile. So the fact that the business model shows CS standing shoulder to shoulder with the Government is not surprising. However, there is a conspicuous lack of reference in the business plan to a lobbying role for CS – even a suggestion that they’re beyond all that. While this might feel like a comfortable and indeed positive relationship, warning bells are tinkling far off in the glens. What happens if a less sympathetic administration takes over? CS won’t want to find itself toothless in the fight.

The Tories are also keen to develop a new kind of relationship with Arts Council England (ACE), should they find themselves forming a government next year. Ed Vaizey, the energetic Shadow Arts Minister, is already working with his colleagues to explore the relationship between ACE and the DCMS. They clearly think that the DCMS should make policy and ACE should be one of the agencies that carries it out – albeit at arm’s length. ACE has been trying to reinvent itself as a policy and development agency ever since the regional arts boards were subsumed into a single organisation. It remains to be seen whether the Tories’ plans would provoke a battle royal over the available turf, or a reordering of priorities backstage.

Pay up The National Skills Academy (NSA) should be preening itself on gaining a very big feather in its cap. Bagging an 8% share of the latest Department for Business, Innovation and Skills funding is a measure of recognition of the potential and importance of the cultural and creative industries. However, the NSA’s keenness for employers to pay the National Minimum Wage rather than the lower Apprentices’ Minimum may prevent some organisations from taking up the scheme, particularly in a recession. Certainly, the scheme should not be cheap labour, but large numbers of people running small arts organisations – some of them at quite senior levels – would probably already classify themselves as such.

This week Catherine thrilled to the mixed mediaeval and modern vocals of The Clerks in concert, and is trying to focus on the content of Alain de Botton’s ‘The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work’ despite itching to wield her editorial red pen on it.

Opinions expressed in ArtsProfessional, Ape-mail and ArtsJobFinder are not necessarily those of the publishers and no responsibility is accepted for advertising content. Any material submitted for publication may be edited for reasons of style, content or available space.

ISSUE 205 2 NOVEMBER 2009

Meanings will not be intentionally altered without permission from the author.

Chief Executive Pam Henderson

Design templates Sugarfreedesign.co.uk

Subscriptions and Accounts Administrator Jo Cherrie

Editor Catherine Rose Editorial Co-ordinator Eleanor Turney Consultant Editor Liz Hill

Publisher Brian Whitehead Designer Isla Jordan Sales Executive Tricia Bush Sales and Operations Manager Paul Minett

WRITE FOR US eyes and ears Long before the likes of Facebook and Twitter made ‘social networking’ the buzz-word of the decade, ArtsProfessional set out to provide those who work in the arts sector with a forum for talking to each other, sharing best practice and exploring new ideas. Almost all our features are written by people on the front line – you are the eyes and ears of the sector, and when you tell us what you see and hear, we can make sure that the word gets out. If you’re struggling, chances are that others are too, and have ideas about how to cope. If you’re flying, share your secrets so that the magic can rub off on others. Tell us what’s hot and we can build a feature around it. Someone written something you disagree with? A news story directly affects you? Got something to get off your chest? Tell us all about it. It’s your magazine. editors@artsprofessional.co.uk

All correspondence ArtsProfessional PO Box 1010 Histon Cambridge CB24 9WH Tel 01223 200200 Fax 01223 200201 Skype ArtsProfessional Twitter @ArtsPro Email editors@artsprofessional.co.uk

Web Manager Katie Atkinson Printed by Labute Distribution first mailing company