How can we support artists to take theatre to Edinburgh?
- Convenor:
- Olivia Winteringham
- Attendees:
- David Bennett Ed Collier Jake Oldershaw Chris Gunter Jo Carr
- Description:
The example of Escalator East to Edinburgh was indentified as 1 way that has affectively supported artists to take work to Edinburgh for wider exposure.
We recognised that Edinburgh is the/one of the largest meeting points of theatre makers in the region and it is important for makers to take work up there if we want to raise profile, invite interest for tour of work, trial material, engage audience.
We spoke about ways in which artists could support this:
• Mutual artistic support
• Shared marketing of event
• Share production needsCan regional venues support this. MAC as “a place where stuff is made”- therefore should regional venues such as MAC see the merits of supporting work prior to its run in Edinburgh and how can this be mutually beneficial for artist and venue?
We spoke about ways in which we can reduce costs:
• Performing work at The Forrest Fringe. They don’t take money from audience to attend shows so don’t charge a hire fee for artists showing work.
• Hiring spaces - setting them up as venues. Ed Collier gave the example of Fuel programme 2009 where Edinburgh University spaces were hired and transformed into studios. Lower hire cost but would have to put in technical apparatus.We spoke about being part of British Council Showcase and being part of it facilitates tour of work post Edinburgh
• Invite representatives to see the work by lobbying them.
• Introduction to representatives through venues prior to Edinburgh.
We spoke about the function of Edinburgh for those who have limited finances:
• Launch of work so The Forrest Fringe might be useful. It has links with Battersea Arts Centre where they offer scratch and development opportunities so work may get picked up post Edinburgh. High impact, flexible programming, free space.
• Remounting of previously tested work so it would be worth getting representation from British Council.A person to produce
It was suggested that it could be strenuous to take work to Edinburgh and produce it yourself. One answer to this was to get a producer/ designated friend/ performer allocated to this task who is happy to talk with promoters.Taking work to other festivals which may cost less?
• Buxton – particular to engaging lots of audience
• Latitude and Bestival – raising profile but there may be less focus on your performances as you might be competing with bands and revelers.Branding work as a West Midlands Escalator East to Edinburgh
• As PILOT or Bite-size, this would be similar to the Fuel model where work is promoted under one name.
• As Mid point – could they support a group of artists by providing a producer.Organisation of Fuel in Edinburgh:
Distribution of labor across company
Centralised production manager
All artists had own technical team
Hire of University space to reduce hire fees.
Distribution of tickets through Pleasance.
All artists on same marketing material.
How can we achieve these things?
Talk about branding work at Midpoint ‘In Answers’ to gauge interest from artists and venues.
Pool resources – marketing, technical equipment and staff.
3 comments on this issue so far...
On Thu 14 January 2010 at 6:38 pm Olivia said…
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We are having a meeting tomorrow at 12 noon in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery coffee shop in the centre of Birmingham, chamberlain square, B3 3DH
I have been doing a bit of research into Escalator East to Edinburgh and how this acclaimed initaive has supported artists working in East of England to take work to Edinburgh. I hope we can dicuss how we can start to create a mechanism to showcase work that comes from the region at the festival.
Perhaps there can be some cross over with the discussions and action that is already happening with the ‘theatre birmingham’ and creative producers / enablers meetings.
On Sat 27 March 2010 at 1:04 pm Olivia said…
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Here are the notes from that meeting:
Midlands to Edinburgh: notes from meeting 1. 15/01/2010
Present: David Bennett, Ed Collier, Jane Packman, Olivia Winteringham.
Topic: Initial discussion on how we can take a programme of Midlands work to Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
We opened the discussion by looking at the model of Escalator East to Edinburgh which, since 2003 has been supporting artists working in the East of England to taking their work to Edinburgh and has grown in reputation and scale. It is an A.C.E initiative. It supports artists in the following ways:
• Application writing: gfa.
• Publicists: writes press release, invites critics, advises in selecting & negotiating with venues, offers do’s & don’t of Edinburgh.
• Print Distribution: Organisation and distribution of artist’s material.
• Advertising: Generic advertising publication to promote artists & the scheme.
• Venue Managers / Production Liaison: national promotion of artists to network of venues & producers to see work before & during Edinburgh. Organising their comp tickets and supply contacts after.
• Network Socials and Contacts: Weekly socials where artists exchange notes, meet producers, arts council officers & enjoy feedback.
We discussed why Edinburgh is an important arena for us as artists and a producer.
As Artists.
• It is a trade fair opportunity- showcasing work:
• Opportunity to raise profile of work to get national and international press coverage.
• To engage potential venue managers to take work for future seasons.
• To develop reputation of artists and region.
• A shorter, high impact run of work would be desirable to reduce the financial burden artists tend to take on if visiting for the entire run.
As Producer:
• To develop a reputable scheme that supports a programme of good quality work in Edinburgh
• To capitalise on tested resources the Midlands currently has in place and export these to Edinburgh. Such as PILOT / IT CAME FROM PILOT @ Edinburgh.
We discussed what we would like to see happen:
• We would like to explore what a PLIOT/ IT CAME FROM… would look like.
• We would take up 1 or 2 works as a trial.
• Speak with venues that would take a PILOT/ IT CAME FROM… such as Forest Fringe where there is no hire fee, but no box office and the run opportunity can be 1 or 2 nights rather than the entire festival.
• Artists supported work- assist one another with our time, equipment, transport and energy in Edinburgh.
• Midlands ambassadors to Edinburgh: take emerging artists and companies to Edinburgh who have not experienced the festival to see what it is like, how it works and to meet promoters, performers, venues managers and to create a Midlands presence at the Fringe.
• Producer surgeries (30 min) Q &A sessions to ask speak about Edinburgh queries over a cup of coffee and get advice prior to taking work to Edinburgh.
We drafted an initial budget, speculating £9,140 could fund an initial trial of PILOT/ IT CAME FROM… showcasing the work of 2 artists/ companies.
SPECULATED:
Marketing:
Design fee: £400
flyers & posters: £300
(Mobius) P.R fee: £500
Distribution: £100
Entertainment: £100
Documentation of event: (photo & film) £400
Subtotal: £1,900
Fees:
Artists (to include travel, accommodation, and sustenance) x 2 @ £1000 per artist/company: £2,000
Production Manager: £1000
Producer (2 weeks prep): £2,000
Subtotal: £5,000
Travel:
Production Manager (return train) £120
Producer ( return train) £120
Subtotal: £240
Accommodation:
Production Manager & Producer (2weeks): £2,000
Subtotal: £2,000
Grand total: £9,140
Funding avenues:
As this is an opportunity to market Midlands work at the festival we will explore the following:
• Business link
• Birmingham city council
• Institute of creative enterprise
• PILOT Nights programme
What other organisations can explore a mechanism for taking work to Edinburgh and assist in creating ground-swell around the scheme:
• Mid-point committee.
• Meeting group of creative producers discussion currently taking place.
• China plate.
• PILOT Nightscommittee.
Action:
• Conversation with PILOT committee (Olivia) to explore how an extension of this existing platform can work in Edinburgh for 2010/2011
• Contact Forest Fringe -through PILOT about room for a PILOT night (2 nights) for their 2010 programme.
• Conversation with potential funding bodies identified: Business Link (ed), I.C.E (David) and B.C.C (Jane) about raising funds (£9,140) for initial trial.
• Share Midlands to Edinburgh with ‘creative producers’ meeting on 23rd Jan and explore how we our objective link up.
On Sat 27 March 2010 at 1:07 pm Olivia said…
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After that meeting Ed and I met with Lara at Business Link to explore possible ways to fund a pilot scheme for 2010.
So, here are the proposals.
2010: Invite 10 artists/ representatives of companies to participate in a week long subsidised trip to Edinburgh Festival to meet with programmers, venues, and other artists… Enabling West Midlands artists to have a presence at the Festival and develop ground swell (hideous phrase) around what is happening and coming out of the West Midlands.
2011: Fund 2 companies/ artists to do targeted performances at Edinburgh (2 nights). This will be supported by a production, marketing and technical team so as to give maximum visibility along with experienced producer support. Forest Fringe is interested in how this may contribute to their programme. Those funded to Edinburgh could be selected through a programme similar to PILOT or First Bite.
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