On Taking Part in an Open Stages Residency

I have been taking part in the Open Stages workshops. Open Stages is a Royal Shakespeare Company initiative to connect professional theatre to amateur theatre. 

( There is some detailed chat about what I did. Implications will be separate posts and at some point you'll see some of this on stage. )

Then it was time to go home to Edinburgh, to MLW and the Captain who kindly allowed me to play  with him until bath time.

 All through the weekend the folk leading the workshops and the folk running the structure were superbly generous of their time.

 This weekend has been a fabulous opportunity to learn more about theatre, about making theatre and about my experience of theatre.

 It’s also been a great opportunity to be part of the National Theatre of Scotland. I feel proud and joyous about my participation.

On What We Mean When We Say Better Theatre

The exhortation at the end of the Open Stages Open Space event on Sunday afternoon was to go and make better theatre, go and make the best theatre you can.

I liked it. It was trusting us to do good things; to do more good things.  It placed on us a responsibility; to do better. It gave us an aspiration; to do the best we can. Yet it recognised the limitations that non-professional companies have and the difference between professional and amateur theatre. An encouragement, gentle but motivating.

And it set me thinking about what is meant by Better Theatre.

( A long post - on what we mean by Better Theatre. )

There are many ways of making Better Theatre. I think the important thing about the question what do we mean when we say Better Theatre is not that there is a right answer or a wrong answer.  It's that we are sure about what we mean when we say better and that we explore what we mean and why we think it is better. We also need to leave room for everyone else to be right too.