Thoughts for June: What it is, isn’t and could be…
Access Director Kirsty Pennycook and actors Richard Kay, Shreya Patel and Kathryn Hanke in the Mother of the Revolution research and development sharing at Leeds Industrial Museum in 2021. Photography by Pishdaad Modaressi Chahardehi.
Right now, we’re on the precipice of a new project, Shirley: An Awakening, a radical gig-musical contemporary retelling of Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Shirley, and we’re back in the place where you have some idea, but by no means a complete vision, of where the work is going…
Deciding to dedicate your vocational life to willing new ideas and perspectives into being, and present them in the form of creative outputs is a really bizarre thing to spend your time doing; it is in equal parts a right, a responsibility and a privilege. Sometimes *read: always*, a blank canvas can be a complicated, interesting and exciting thing to look at. In this post we’re working through and sharing how we frame three fundamental creative considerations we make at the beginning of all of our work:
1. What it is:
Building from what our central pillar of ideas is; alongside what we’ve identified as integral to and with partners, collaborators and funders. Already uniting us all to work towards certainties of theme and form that we’ll eventually commit to.
A nice opportunity for some early wins. We often have some ideas of musical inspiration, themes we’re working towards and at least one key character the narrative pivots around. But fundamentally this is about knowing the feelings we want to evoke; We’re establishing if the work is Hopeful (let’s face it, most work should be hopeful), Joyful, Bold, Reflective etc. etc. This often has minimal or abstract relation to the specifics of form, structure or style but gives a really clear grounding to the intention and ethos behind the work.
Something that could be argued that moved between categories as it was made, was our assertion from the beginning that Santa Must Die! was punk. What started as a musical aesthetic, became much less important when the team for work developed, with electronics and synthesisers everywhere and Robin Ravi bringing contemporary rap to the show. But as the narrative evolved actually punk became much more of the ethos behind the work, a grating against a cynical, commercial culture of making festive theatre; leaning into saying all the things you shouldn’t say (so much we got out poster infamously censored for upsetting children with the title), and delighting in embracing critical division by not serving up a festive show on a purely palatable plate… and smashing things - literally.
2. What it isn’t:
what our ethos as a company and us as artists directs us that we’re not interested in making and/or establishing the critical pitfalls in making the work.
Something that comes up regularly in our work is that it isn’t about answering all the questions, but it is about creating a catalyst of a conversation with our audiences. This particularly came about from making our very first piece An Act of Care.
We collected a huge amount of stories and experiences about the NHS; If you’re from the UK, chances are you have had an interaction with the NHS. Every iteration of sharing of development seemed to endlessly generate more material because the vested interest in the NHS is massive; it’s fundamental and central to its existence that it belongs to everyone and therefore everyone has an opinion about it.
The work began to suffer from choice paradox through the pursuit of trying to include this. Until we realised that this instinct for audiences/artists/individuals to share their experience should be the heart of the work. We started to hone down the stage action to the distinct stories of Nye (where his passion for founding the NHS came from and the challenges in its establishment) and Sam (a nurse on a nightshift, navigating the fragments and vignettes of different patient experiences while dealing with their own challenges, including a hostile environment ruling handed down to them as the grandchild of a Windrush generation immigrant); but the show drove from the off by layering different opinions about the NHS, growing and swelling as the musical underscore built which then crescendoed into a speech given by Nye and punctuated by the first line of the NHS constitution. “The NHS belongs to the people.” This was our statement of intent for the work writ large, “We’re holding this version of the story, but there’s so much more to say, and you own the right to say it all too!”
It was a freeing revelation to not attempt to say all things, but to invite our audience to be a part of a growing and ongoing conversation. Something we now hold at the centre of all of our work.
3. What it could be:
the space for possibility. The bold, exciting, ambitious & scary ideas that we don’t quite know if fit, how they fit or how they could be realised.
This stage of the process is in equal parts daunting and exciting, especially if you’re a transdisciplinary post-structuralist. Something that’s come from experience is the initial acceptance, and creative awareness, of what something can be is a question to be asked of several factors around a creative idea. It can stretch as far as questioning (amongst other things) form, genre, structure and expected outcome.
It’s the part of the process which throws up the most questions, like;
Is this it?
Is it This?
This is it?
And, all too frequently…
Is this shit?
It’s really important to have a grounding in What it is and What it isn’t to fully embrace the What it could be. This enables us to have a solid footing and clarity to dive into the possibility and potential of the work. This doesn’t always come quickly either, and what something can be is realistically in question until it’s in front of people; whether it be collaborators, partners, participants or audiences - All of these groups have the potential and capacity to define what it could be.
If you’ve been in a space with Beth, you might have heard this story a lot - apologies - but the making of A Call to Care was definitely an intense embracing of this concept. In an early session with nurse participants we were working with on Zoom (peak 2021) with our partners the Royal College of Nursing, we did an exercise comparing misconceptions of jobs; both nursing and in the arts. Quickly, one participant said that if nursing lived within our discipline, it’d be a dance.
Really from then the gauntlet was thrown. To truly make this piece representative it had to have dance included. Cut to Beth directing the filmic elements of the piece (her first time ever directing a film or something with dance) on the hottest day of the summer with the incredible team of filmmaker Pishdaad Modaressi Chahardehi and choreographer and dancer Zoe Katsilerou. Zoe developed her movement inspired by the filmed versions of the Zoom meetings we had with participants, before Zia’s text was finalised; with Pish often dancing around Zoe for hours in the blazing heat to capture her amazing art; in what felt like true commitment to following the original inspiration.
We’re so excited to start creatively exploring and interrogating Shirley: An Awakening, and will be sharing what it is, what it isn’t and what it could be over the coming months… We also highly recommend exploring what something is, isn’t and could be as an ideation activity for work within and outside of the creative sector!
In the spirit of collaboration, we' also want to use this as an opportunity to re-state our openness to hear stories, experiences and perspectives. Specifically, we’re exploring the themes of: Relationship to technology, gender expectation and identity, heritage & migration and industry & class experience. We’ll be running workshops and participation events which explore these themes over the summer, but also know that we’re always all ears for people sharing any and all perspectives, so don’t be shy in coming forward through our contact form or social channels!
In other archipelago arts collective news:
R&D Casting
There’s just a few days left to apply for any of the three performer roles we’ve got for our up coming R&D of Shirley: An Awakening. You can find out more and apply here. This call-out closes on Monday 9th June at 9:00AM!
Artist Development Sessions in association with Sheffield Theatres
Keep your eyes open for some really exciting artist development sessions we’ve got coming up this summer in association with Sheffield Theatres and Leeds Industrial Museum. If you want the inside track on these opportunities, you can join our mailing list, or make sure you’re following us on Instagram, Facebook or Bluesky.
Beth recommends:
A read: After cherishing her poetry in how it usually scatters into my life on Instagram or Pinterest, I’ve invested in an on-paper relationship with Mary Oliver by buying her beautiful collection Devotions. ‘Joy is not made to be a crumb’ (an ethos for the rest of my recs too) so I’m going to feed this to my heart daily.
A listen: Call me basic if you want, but Amy Poehler’s Good Hang Podcast is just proper joy served up; lightly featuring some of the most reassuring and enlightening conversations about making art kindly.
A watch: On Amy Poehler, in her good hang with Quinta Brunson, she thanked her for saving the sit-com with Abbott Elementary. It is absolutely that great. One of the best ensemble casts out there (especially worshipping at the altar of Sheryl Lee Ralph).
An event: Speaking of icons, our glorious friend Sarah Bulmer is currently on tour with The HandleBards (who I had the joy of working with when I first moved to Sheff). Please keep this beauty company on our behalf on her June dates of Much Ado About Nothing until we see her at the end of July (and it goes well past that until 18th September too!).
Seán recommends:
A read: In the spirit of starting a new project, The Creative Act by Rick Rubin is my grounding bible at the moment. An extensive collection of musings and meditations on the creative process.
A listen: We went over to Manchester for the launch of Hannah Donelon’s Podcast Series There’s a Lot I Haven’t Asked. This is a really beautiful project exploring post-war Irish migration to Manchester. Episodes are released every Sunday and I’m really looking forward to listening to the stories and histories unfold 🍀
A watch: I was absolutely devastated honestly when Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy was scrapped after two series. Tucci in Italy is basically the same show but now on Nat Geo/Disney+ and it’s already been binged. Not to be watched on an empty stomach…
An event: Sheffield folks, Rivelin Co’s Midsummer Festival is back on June 22nd. This will hands down be one of the better events to happen in Hillsborough Park this summer!