Opportunities For Somerset Theatre-Makers On The Horizon

30 September 2022

The slight chill in the air must mean that autumn is now here! 

You may, or may not, be aware that the theatre team produces the Cultivate programme, which is where we’ve directed much of our energy over the last couple of months. Cultivate is a creative partnership that brings local food, arts and people together for the benefit of rural communities and the natural environment in South Somerset. Do check out its newsletter here to see what we’ve been up to. 

Somerset Theatre-makers Networking event 

We think it’s time to host another ‘live’ theatre-makers networking event, as we used to do in the good old pre-covid days. The event will provide an informal opportunity for us to get together and share news, plans, collaborative possibilities, training (and other) needs and ideas.  

The event is on Tuesday 1 November, 2 to 5pm at Bow Wharf, Bow Street, Langport, TA10 9PN, and will include the statutory tea, cake and friendly faces. We will send out more information a bit nearer the time. 


The Myth behind the Community 

In October last year we co-produced Journey Exchange, an intergenerational, international project that brought together local people from Burnham and Highbridge, Somerset theatre-makers and artists from Hungary, Germany and Romania. We hosted our European colleagues as part of the RIOTE 3 project that we’re a partner in.

All eight European partners have produced similar community theatre projects over the last 18 months.  A new publication, The Myth Behind the Community, provides an anthology of our collective experiences, including the work in Burnham and Highbridge. The covid pandemic opened up eight very different ways of approaching community theatre and crisis intervention on a social and cultural level.

You can find out more about project and download a pdf of the book on the RIOTE 3 page of our website.


David Glass Ensemble 

We have been collaborating with the David Glass Ensemble to explore the possibility of Somerset being part of the UK iteration of the Lost Child Project, an international project that uses theatre and creativity to empower young people and give voice to the voiceless.

We are potentially hosting two days of practitioner training w/b 28 November in Sedgemoor, venue to be confirmed. David Glass will lead an introduction into the Lost Child Practice, which we hope will be a springboard for future collaboration as the project develops.

Once details are finalised, we will email you further information about this exciting opportunity.


Communication 

We hope you like this new style newsletter, particularly as it gives you the chance to see what else Take Art is up to.

However, we don’t want to lose the ‘theatre’ personal touch, so we will occasionally send out emails, particularly to remind you about events coming up such as the Networking Event and David Glass Ensemble Training. Please note that these emails will come from theatre@takeart.org, so please adjust your email settings to avoid them ending up in your junk!

As ever, if, as a Somerset-based theatre-maker you would like some advice, guidance or support, you can contact Mark, Katy or Ruth via the same email address and we’ll do our best to help.

Next Newsletter 

We can occasionally promote other events and opportunities. So, if you have something that you’d like to be included on the next mail-out, please fill in this link with full details by 14 November 2022. 

Wishing you a wonderful autumn,  

Mark, Katy and Ruth 

Take Art Theatre team


Venue/rehearsal space/classes space available 

The David Hall Arts Centre in South Petherton www.thedavidhall.com is a local, friendly centre for performing arts and community events. With disabled access, stage, lighting, sound, tables and chairs, and bar/kitchen facilities it is available for on a one-off, series or continuous hire basis. 

There are opportunities for discussing joint ventures and projects with you. Please get in touch via community@thedavidhall.org.uk if you would like to discuss your needs or ideas.