Fortnight Publications Ltd

Bridging the Gaps

Author(s): Jan Branch
Source: Fortnight, No. 377, Supplement: Theatre in the North (Mar., 1999), pp. 7-8
Published by: Fortnight Publications Ltd
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25559672
Accessed: 27/11/2010 11:21

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at a community level can offer the best
perspective on all arts activity-from the
broadest mainstream productions or
exhibitions through to the most refined
outposts of the avant-garde.
To fund all this we will seek the usual
financial mixture: try tomaximise box office
income, seek revenue funding for
programming from the Arts Council of
Northern Ireland, commercial sponsorship
and partnership with relevant bodies. For
community-based work, we will seek funding
from trusts and the National Lottery Arts
Fund which has a new emphasis on people
rather than capital spending. The potential
of the premises for commercial hire (where
itdoes not compromise the artistic work) will
also augment income. Armagh City and
District Council will be employing a full-time
fundraiser for the Centre in the near future
to help finance programme development.
With an increasingly competitive funding
environment it is critical that theArts Council
of Northern Ireland assesses and realistically
addresses the very real problems of revenue
funding for venues that the National Lottery
capital spend has created. Vision and
commitment in providing for the arts need
to be adequately rewarded financially. To
be sustainable, these venues (particularly in
areas of deprivation) require core support
for programming and audience
development (such as Glasgow Citizen's
Theatre receives) to enable them to offer
programmes at very low concessionary rates.
In awider North/South context itwould
significantly improve the sustainability of
most (if not all) venues if there was a
recognition of the need formarket research
into audiences and audience development
in the arts. Far too little isknown, other than
anecdotally, about who is attending arts
events and who isnot - a lack of information
that necessarily inhibits strategic audience
development. This was one of the issues
identified by the Theatre Exchange day held
for the first time inMarch 1998. One of the
other worries of thejoint organisers, theArts
Managers' Group and the Theatre
Producers' Group, is that several new
performing arts venues are coming into
existence when the pool of Irish produced,
touring theatre, isalready overstretched. This
situation will lead to programmers seeking
more material from further afield. Urgently
then, more resources need to be invested in
local producing companies wishing to tour.
To develop a vibrant theatre culture in the
regions there is an onus on local promoters
to develop audiences for theatre and on the
theatre companies to be committed
working in local areas to the same ends. The
ongoing challenge is to search for ways in
which theatre can be made accessible and
relevant to people and become a more
meaningful part of local community life.
Kate Bond isArts Officerwith Armagh City and
District Council
Free with Fortnight 377
Talent and skillmust be nurtured and trained. Jan Branch offersher
personal agendafor developinga sustainable theatreculturein thenorth
Bridging the gaps
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Relay theatre-in-education company have beengetting it right since 1988
In the new Northern Ireland which we are development'. Successful, that is, if the
currently building, theatre must not only quality of the work is of the highest
reflect and interpret the new order and its standard-children are a critical and honest
needs. It will also be expected to hold its audience, and young people can be
own within the new Culture, Arts and remorseless if bored. Replay, Northern
Leisure Ministry against not only other art Ireland's theatre-in-education company, has
forms but also museums, galleries and sport, been consistently getting it right since 1988
not to mention inland waterways. As a and other professional companies,
cultural industry, how does theatre shape including Kabosh and Big Telly, take some
up? And what are the gaps in provision of their productions into schools.
which we should be flagging up for Limitations in resources in most schools
attention and action in this brave new world mean hard choices-how does a school
we are entering? principal, accountable to a Board of
Other contributors to this supplement Governors, make the choice between
explore the challenge of new forms, new building repairs, books and a visit by a
theatre spaces and new audiences. The theatre company? With the arts about to
'Review of Touring Theatre in Northern be separated from education, we must
Ireland' (ACNI 1998) identified the gaps ensure that communication between the
in supply for promoters' demands for their two ministries continues to emphasise the
audiences-children's theatre was high on need for resources inmutual areas.
that list of demands. We have inNorthern For some young people, audience
Ireland no children's theatre company and participation leads to more active
no children's theatre space. Since the engagement in the arts. Youth theatre and
Common Ground Consortium failed in its youth drama flourish inNorthern Ireland,
three-year attempt to secure part of the and the setting up of the Ulster Association
Gasworks site for the Northern Ireland of Youth Drama in 1998 gives a framework
to Millennium Landmark Project, no other and a focus for the work. But more training
space/opportunity has been identified. for tutors and group leaders must be put in
Surely this is now an obvious possibility for place to strengthen the overall structure
Northside, Laganside's developing cultural and consolidate the work.
quarter? We also need to train more theatre
'Catch'em young' always works, and technicians. Even before the new Lottery
taking theatre into schools is the most financed venues open in 1999/2000, there
successful way of carrying out what is now is already more work than there are trained
vogue-ishly labelled 'audience technicians, so that case is easily made. As
we have no School of Performing Arts, as
proposed by the Deane Report (1991)
training for performers, directors,
administrators, designers and technical staff
is geographically scattered and highly
variable in availability and levels of
accreditation. The theatre sectors need to
actively engage in discussion with the Belfast
Institute of Further and Higher Education,
Queens University and the University of
Ulster about new courses and additional
modules. The Higher National Diploma in
Performing Arts at Belfast Institute must
eventually expand to degree level so that
students wanting to top up the diploma to
degree level can do so here, instead of
having to do their third year in England as
happens now. This is the third year of the
course, so the first set of diploma graduates
from it are currently completing their third
year at the University of Suffolk at Ipswich.
Will any of them come back here when their
training is completed? We wait to see...
And for those who graduate from the
Higher National Diploma course and are
available for work here, there are no 'half
way house' schemes to allow them to top
up their training by working with fully
qualified theatre workers. The Comedia
Report(1995) recommended five bursaries
a year, based on placements with
professional theatre companies
regrettably the recommendation has not
progressed into action.
'Art for art's sake' remains as valid as
'business for business's sake', but does not
preclude efficiency. In the competitive and
accountable structures in which we work,
theatre companies are businesses with legal,
financial and social responsibilities to their with training providers who to date have not
employees, audiences, funding bodies. included the arts in their provision.
Students in performing arts face the The needs identified here are not new;
'Business in theArts' module with reluctance, and there are many people working in
but gradually come to acknowledge the need theatre inNorthern Ireland who have already
to know about contracts, funding sources, put much thought time and energy into these
health and safety, fair employment, etc. as areas. But the old cliche remains true, that
well as how and why to make friends with gaps are bridged by building bridges and new
the Inland Revenue and the local Fire opportunities are being offered to do so.
Officer. But do those outside the sector This is the time to take stock, re-plan and
respect us as businesses? Recently in New make the case-and, if we do it well, to
Zealand, I visited the new purpose built achieve.
venue shared by the New Zealand Schools
of Dance 'andDrama. Half of the funding Jan Branch is a freelance arts producer!
came from the Lottery, with the remaining administratorwho also teachesbusiness in thearts
half (about ?700,000) made up of two loans, part-time infurthereducation. She had worked in
one long term from the New Zealand thearts inNorthern Ireland for 26 years.
Government one from a bank. That could
not happen here-I was once told by the bank
manager for the arts organisation I was
heading that we were the financial
Acknowledgements
responsibility of the Arts Council-but we
need towork towards it. This supplement has been
As part of that move to signal serious produced with thefinancial
business intentions and to demand the
training investments appropriate for one of
assistance of The Arts
the identified growth areas, a group set up Council of Northern Ireland.
by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland in Special thanks toOphelia
1997 has now separately constituted itself as Byrne, Theatre Arciive
the Arts Training Network. Amongst ATN's
aims are the setting up of a database to act as
Curator at The Linen Hall
an information resource on any and every Library, Belfastfor help with
course providing training for and relevant research.
to the arts from the half day course to the
three year degree. The collecting of that
information will in turn identify the gaps, and
Fortnight Educational Trust
ATN will lobby to remedy these. Resources 7 Lower Crescent
are limited, and progress slower than hoped, Belfast BT7 1HR
but theATN in 1999 will enter into discussion

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