News Release – 15 September 2021
Total Theatre Artists as Writers – developing new critical writing
Success in Total Theatre Magazine’s Arts Council England application! The third incarnation of this innovative scheme will start November 2021
Total Theatre Magazine is delighted to announce that, following a successful application to Arts Council England and with the support of a number of key industry partners, a new edition of the Total Theatre Artists as Writers scheme will take place from November 2021 to March 2022.
The Total Theatre Magazine editorial team will offer a series of online workshops and one-to-one mentoring sessions for a new cohort of twelve contemporary theatre/ performance artists interested in exploring writing about their own and other people’s artistic practices.
Participants will have their work published on Total Theatre Magazine, at www.totaltheatre.org.uk and we will also be commissioning a number of new long-form articles from established artist- writers.
The programme will be led by editor Dorothy Max Prior and associate editor Beccy Smith, alongside a number of guest mentors and workshop leaders. We are keen this year to continue our support for critical writing about still-neglected areas of practice such as outdoor arts; to support cross-artform and innovative performance practice; and to reach out to potential artist-writers from neglected or less well represented communities.
Editor Dorothy Max Prior says:
‘Total Theatre Artists as Writers is at the core of our work – celebrating and supporting contemporary theatre and performance, and prioritising the voice of the artist. In our 2021-2022 programme, we intend to include as diverse a range as possible of both emerging and established artists; and our quest is to find participants from all corners of the UK, and all sections of the community.’
Total Theatre Magazine will be appointing suitable mentors/workshop leaders in accord with our aim to diversify the team, and in order to meet the specific needs of chosen participants. – including artists of colour, artists with disabilities, migrant and working class artists, and LGBTQ+ artists.
The call-out to potential participants will go live on Thursday 16 September, with the deadline for applications Monday 18 October.
See: http://totaltheatre.org.uk/total-theatre-artists-as-writers-2/
Our partners in this project are: Out There Arts, Without Walls, London International Mime Festival, Polari LGBTQ+ Literary Salon, and Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance. We thank all of these organisations for their support. We also thank Arts Council England, and National Lottery players, who have made this project possible.
Dorothy Max Prior (editor)
On behalf of the Total Theatre Magazine Editorial Team
Contact the Total Theatre Editorial Team for further information:
Dorothy Max Prior, editor max@totaltheatre.org.uk Tel/WhatsApp + 44 7752 142526 Beccy Smith, associate editor, reviews@totaltheatre.org.uk Tel/WhatsApp +44 7977 511556
www.totaltheatre.org.uk | @TotalTheatreMag | https://www.facebook.com/TotalTheatreMag
Notes for Editors:
More about Total Theatre Magazine
Total Theatre Magazine champions artist-led critical writing, putting the practitioner at the heart of the discourse about their own work and the work of their peers. For more than thirty years the magazine, first in print and now online, has played a crucial role in promoting and championing alternative theatre and performance practice in the UK. The Total Theatre Magazine website can be viewed at www.totaltheatre.org.uk The Total Theatre Magazine Print Archive is at totaltheatre.org.uk/archive
Total Theatre Magazine also runs a number of other projects, including Total Theatre Talks, presented in collaboration with festivals and venues across the UK; Total Theatre Training & The Writing’s On the Streets, offering one-off or short-course writing workshops; and Total Theatre Artists as Writers, a three-month+ scheme mentoring artists who wish to write about their own and other’s work.
Total Theatre Magazine first ran the Total Theatre Artists as Writers training and CPD programme as part of our Total Theatre Print Archive project in 2019. For that incarnation of the programme, participants reflected on their own practice in relation to artists’ work explored through the archive: See http:// totaltheatre.org.uk/archive/artist-writers This went so well that TTM ran the programme again in 2020 (completely online this time). The third iteration runs November 2021 to March 2022. Articles generated from the programme will be posted on the main website: http://totaltheatre.org.uk
More about our partners:
Out There Arts
Out There Arts / National Centre for Outdoor Arts and Circus produces the Out There International Festival in Great Yarmouth each September with one of the largest programmes of circus in the UK, as well as producing other large-scale shows and events, including the new Fire on the Water. They also run the Drill House International Creation Centre – a 20,000 square feet complex for creation, training, fabrication, community activity and events working with UK and International Artists and Companies.
Out There Arts is funded by Arts Council England and supported by Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Norfolk County Council. https://outtherearts.org.uk/
For more information on Out There Festival 17–19 September 2021, see https://outtherearts.org.uk/out- there-festival/
Without Walls
Without Walls is a consortium of over 35 festivals and arts organisations that brings fantastic outdoor arts to people in towns and cities across the UK. Since its formation in 2007, Without Walls has developed and toured over 200 new shows by UK companies and supported the Research and Development of over 75 projects. Without Walls commissions have toured widely both in the UK and internationally across 22 countries.
Without Walls is managed by XTRAX, an independent management and production company based in Manchester with over 20 years’ experience in Outdoor Arts: www.xtrax.org.uk
Without Walls is supported by Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation. www.withoutwalls.uk.com | facebook.com/WithoutWallsUK | @WWconsortium
London International Mime Festival
The London International Mime Festival (LIMF) is an annual theatre event in London. Its directors are Joseph Seelig and Helen Lannaghan, winners of the International Theatre Institute Award for Excellence.
It was established in 1977 by Joseph Seelig and Nola Rae and it is the longest running event of its kind in the world – a month-long showcase for ground-breaking visual/physical theatre, new circus, object theatre and live art.
LIMF returns in 2022 with a full programme of shows at venues across the capital from Wednesday 12 January – Sunday 6 February. In addition to these performances, LIMF will run live and online workshops, after-show discussions with artists, and a new series of short films created by international artists. www.mimelondon.com
Polari
Polari is an award-winning LGBTQ+ literary salon. It was founded by author Paul Burston in 2007, and began in a bar in Soho. Since 2009, Polari have been based at London’s Southbank Centre. They also tour regularly, funded by Arts Council England.
The Polari Prize Tenth Anniversary Tour showcases writers long- and short-listed for the Polari Prize awards for emerging and established LGBTQ+ literary talent, as well as winners from the Prize’s ten year history, dating back to 2011.
Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance
Rose Bruford College, based in Sidcup, south-east London, is a drama school offering degree programmes in acting, directing, and other theatre arts. The college teaching, learning and training ethos is based on artistry, collaboration, community, discovery, diversity, employability, independence, and professionalism. Students and staff work in collaboration across a number of campuses to make and produce over 75 shows a year.
The College mission is to achieve social and cultural impact by delivering the highest quality vocational training and education. Their teaching covers a wide, innovative spectrum of subjects and delivers proactive graduates who are creative, empowered and employable.