Joseph Clowser narrowly avoids falling off stepping stones into the River Noe, supported by Beth Knight. Image Credit: Simon Marshall

Continuing on from July’s ‘Pleasing People: The Joy and Art of Collaboration’, this month’s blog is serving as an immediate reflection on the impact that our inaugural ‘Makers’ Lab’ and our wider Makers’ Month, are having on our approach to working together.

We’re soft landing into ‘back to work’ mode this week following on from our inaugural archipelago makers’ lab, supported by a hugely generous grant from Unlimited Theatre, where we relocated to Hope for a few days to spend time with a rotation of exciting Yorkshire-based artists to explore some specific projects; but also to facilitate space to share ideas, discussions and think without the pressure of productivity.

Here’s what we’ve learned…

Seán: Tending to the Idea

There’s a philosophy on making that, in contemporary art circles, gets attributed to Brian Eno, and discussed by lots of people:

The Hunter ← → The Gardener

The quick version of this is that artists can behave like hunters: out looking for ideas to claim; and gardeners: planting seeds and allowing ideas to percolate. Both of these can be solo or team sports, but often discipline-specific work (writing, composing etc.) is perceived as centering on hunting for ideas and then delivering them.

In reality, the development and delivery of an idea has both elements of the The Hunter ← → The Gardener philosophy…

I’ve felt like this has been writ large in our work recently and have found myself in multiple conversations picking apart these different processes. And so often it comes back to the theme of this blog: collaboration; and how sadly it’s become so devalued. In a world of toxic productivity and silo-ing of creatives for the sake of economy, the fallacy of the hunter being more important, more ‘productive’, is prominent.

When all the evidence from the things I’m most proud of in my practice is how much better they’ve been made through collaboration; this ‘gardening’ with others.

As a case in point I was reminded of this week, below is a very early (quite rubbish) demo of a song which became quite a big set piece in Mother of the Revolution (also below).

In this instance, I hunted quite a simple idea, which didn’t develop or change any further for several months, but was eventually taken into a collaborative R&D space and the collaborative layering process - which took place over the next two years - turned the idea development into much more of a gardening process, to what it eventually became…

Going back to Brian Eno, something else tied to this idea of gardening and collaboration is his constant call to the power of ‘collective intelligence’. That the broadening of collaboration broadens our resources of ideas and creativity. In leading an organisation that proudly holds the name ‘collective’, this is particularly vital to me. What makers’ lab really did for me was seeing the joy of leaning back into the value of a gardening-first approach as, not only just as valuable as hunting the idea, but absolutely central to the process of making anything good.

Beth: The Person in the Process

Something I didn’t quite expect to say on day 3 of makers lab, but I know I’ve been feeling all my creative life, was:

“You shouldn’t have to separate your person from your process.”

This isn’t something massively new to me, but something I was shocked by my own joy in being able to hold so explicitly in our work.

I learnt my directing practice, well actually all my creative practice, through going on the journey from participant (in school workshops and youth theatre) to artist (leading school workshops and youth theatre). It’s something I’m really proud of, especially when the stale hierarchy of theatre opinion often derides it (special shout out to this Michael Billington article that lives rent-free in my deepest inner pit of hatred).

Anyone who works in these spaces knows, powerfully, how they are the spaces where art thrives at its highest. Is its most vital, accessible and meaningful. At the heart of that is that art, in applied spaces, is person-centred. The art is not the nucleus, the person or people being welcomed to be involved in it are.

In 2018 I attended a brilliant workshop with Ned Glasier, formerly of Company Three, which reinforced all of what I think about the vitality of this work but then added one crucial reinforcing block:

That the job of a facilitator/director isn't to sacrifice your skills and self for the want and benefit of everyone else in the space. It’s to bring your whole self to the work and support others to do the same.

I hope everyone I work with feels like this is an ethos I work in. We’ve built so much at archipelago that works that way:

Running actor meetings instead of auditions.

Providing access forms for everything we do.

Being militant on breaks and rest.

And,

hopefully, showing everyone that we work with that we value the people first and the art second.

Makers’ lab brought this into crystal clarity for me. It was a place where we poured into the artists, not the art. With food and walks and chat, and very little pressure for anything else. And, to borrow Sean’s gardening metaphor, that knowing and trusting that this pouring into is the watering of everything that’ll grow next.

Beth Recommends:

A Watch: Nick Offerman can do no wrong in my mind, especially in service of the incredible full force of woman-powered cast in Margot’s Got Money Troubles. The Michelle Pfeiffer-Elle Fanning Mother-Daughter casting and chemistry is particularly chef’s kiss

A Listen: I hold firm in my belief that Dolly Parton is humanity’s greatest ever storyteller. Since her death I’ve raided her canon and found I was absolutely sleeping on her album Joshua. “It Ain’t Fair That it Ain’t Right”? A feminist anthem. “Daddy’s Moonshine Still”? The grooviest and most heartbreaking song about your dad being a criminal. Music for all eventualities really. RIP you wonderful, best-of-us, legend.

A Read: I very quickly tore through Louise Hegarty’s debut novel Fair Play. A tight-rope balance of super playful in form and absolutely heartstopping in grief.

An Event: Makers: In Collaboration, next Friday! Collaboration + A room full of artists = My favourite thing!
But ALSO some of our friends Simon, CJ, Jess, Ellie and Ke Li are also sharing works at Open Works at Sheffield Theatres coming up soon.

Seán recommends:

A Watch: I was worried this was a basic recc, but Ted Lasso is back for Season 4. It’s fun. Go and watch it.

A Listen: After an 11-year hiatus, admittedly broken up by some outstanding Brittany Howard solo work, Alabama Shakes’ ‘I Must Be Dreaming’ came out a couple of weeks ago. Always so exciting to hear how ‘alive’ their studio work sounds!

A Read: Nothing new this month, I’m recommending a book from well over 100 years ago… I picked up a copy of Edward Carpenter’s Towards Democracy (watch this space). In addition to it smelling great (it’s 120 years old), it’s full of hugely valuable, relevant ideas and writings on utopia and democratic thinking. There is also a sneaky full PDF available online.

An Event: Shameless self-promotion here! We’re hosting Makers: In Collaboration next Friday afternoon in the Carpenter Room at Sheffield Central Library; Where we’ll be running workshops and round table discussions on building collaborative networks around new ideas, pitching to programmers and creating with kindness!

Thoughts for September: Pleasing People: The Joy & Art of Collaboration (Pt. 2)