Thanks to Arts Council England, I have spent the last ten months ‘developing as a freelance Creative Practitioner’. I have learnt loads of new skills, been to some brilliant towns and cities, formed some fantastic new partnerships, made some wonderful new friends and theatre-making contacts and turned the spare room into an office in the process. Now I’m writing my end of project Activity Report, I’m realising how many amazing arts projects I’ve been lucky enough to work on since February 1st….
An Honest Gentleman (Stuff of Dreams Theatre Company), The Mystery of the Raddlesham Mumps (Murray Lachlan Young and Matthew Linley Creative Projects), Edith – in the Beginning (Stuff of Dreams, National Trust, Bury Theatre Royal, The Garage Norwich, Colchester & Ipswich Museums), Footsteps (tusk. theatre company and Women’s Voices/Women’s Votes Festival), Satellites (Natalie Songer & Colchester Arts Centre), Our White Skoda Octavia (Shamser Sinha & Eastern Angles), English Civil Whore (Play Nicely) and The Numerous and Varied Assassinations of Oliver Cromwell (Mark Finbow/Keeper’s Daughter).
In that time I have also created a website for my work, annoyed the hell out of people with my increased Social Media activity, attended a series of ITC training courses and attended four conferences/symposiums: Family Arts (Liverpool), Theatre & Touring Symposium (London), National Rural Touring Forum (Bangor) & Audience Agency – Making & Measuring Social Impact (Leeds).
My ‘development’ ends on Saturday. Or does it? Every day’s a school day in this job. I’m looking forward to continuing to work, learn and have more developmental theatre-making fun throughout 2020!
Karen Goddard 