Micro-performance, as the name suggests, is not about thinking big. Often put on in tiny spaces (think quaint cafes and living rooms) to small audiences (from two or three to two dozen), the allure of micro-performance is about quick and nimble productions unconstrained by large-scale planning, and free from the pressure to sell hundreds of seats night upon night.
But it's also about attracting new audiences and keeping work experimental and innovative; two things Spain is in desperate need of to remedy a stagnant and underfunded drama scene. As Giles Tremlett wrote last week, austerity measures have taken such a toll on the country's arts funding that many budgets are now half that of pre-recession rates three years ago.
Theatres are closing their doors, leaving producers, writers, actors, and their work, without a home. Sounds familiar, right? Well in response, a can-do collection of micro-theatres in the capital and across the country are keeping the work going.
For Madrid's new self-funding drama scene, it's about survival. Not in a financial sense ("nobody is getting rich," admits Tremlett) but in a last-ditch attempt to keep theatre's head above water. With arts cuts constaining the very lifeblood of British arts, could small-scale productions become a crutch to support our homeless (show-less) producers and performers?
For audiences it's about high quality work at arm's length, but for the makers, could less really be more? What makes good micro-theatre, for example, and does small scale mean small returns? And can the model translate across different artforms, such as stand-up, classical music and live literature?
From coffee shop comedy to immersive opera, if you've found that smaller is better, we want to hear from you. Join us and a panel of experts from 12-2pm on Friday 8 March.
Panel
Clementine Lovell, company director, Pop-up Opera
Clementine is the founder and director/producer of Pop-up Opera, an innovative touring opera company which aims to bring new audiences to opera by performing in intimate and unusual venues, and challenging the ways in which opera is performed. She also works professionally as an opera singer. @PopupOperaUK
Bridget Floyer, producer, Field Trip
Bridget is producer of The Campsite, a pop-up venue made up of a collection of vintage campervans, caravans and tents, all of which become tiny venues for theatre, music gigs, puppet shows, poetry, film and art installations. @bridget_flo
Matt Short, theatre practitioner, Folded Feather
Matt is co-founder and director of Folded Feather, a London based theatre company specialising in puppetry and object theatre. @mattshort8
Dot Howard, artist, Odd Comic
Dot is an artist and performance maker based in Norwich – she is also one half of Odd Comic, creating observational and sometimes humorous performance for intimate audiences in unusual spaces. @DotHoward
Luke Emery, freelance producer
Luke is a freelance producer and curator, fascinated by making things happen, providing people with unique experiences and working on unusual and site specific productions. @luke_m_emery
Jon Armstrong, director, Simply Told
Jon is a director, magician and theatrical consultant – he is co-artistic director of Simply Told theatre. @jonmarmstrong
Alexandra Zierle & Paul Carter, live artists, curators and lecturers
Cornwall-based collaborative performance practitioners, Zierle & Carter's international site and context work examines what it means to be human. Twice recipients of ACE awards, their work has been presented worldwide. @ZierleCarter
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