What is it like being a young theatre-maker starting out? Pretty challenging in the current climate. The explosion of courses in universities means that we are producing more people who want to make theatre and have learned some of the tools necessary to do it, but there is a lack of opportunities that allow them to develop craft, artistic maturity and cross-disciplinary artistic networks.
David Jubb touched upon the problem at the ITC conference a couple of weeks back when he talked about graduating artists turning up at BAC for its excellent Graduates season which this year includes work from students from Dartington, Leeds Met and Glasgow university as well as BAC's own YPT3.
YPT3 have a created a new piece under the direction of Inspector Sands, who had a well deserved hit with Hysteria a couple of years back. Over the last four years the Graduates season has showcased first work from many rising artists. "They arrive bright-eyed," Jubb said, "with backpacks full of artistic intentions and ideas," but went on to suggest that unlike previous generations what they don't have is the time and money to just "hang-out with other artists. Hanging out and meeting other artists is a crucial part of the process of becoming a fully fledged artist."
I think he's right. Hanging out is essential. I suspect the current explosion of work in Bristol, although enormously fragile, has been a lot to do with the mutually supportive environment of Residence, and If you look around at some of the great companies from Forced Entertainment and Complicite to Kneehigh it's clear that playing together, eating together and even, yep, sleeping together is all grist to the artistic mill. Ideas spark, projects are born, creative relationships that may last a lifetime and sustain endeavour are formed. It's why the BAC's idea of offering artists six-month live-in residencies is a good one. But we need other places to get started and further more obvious ladders of progression too.
Of course it's always been tough, but it's harder than ever, and the climate tends to drive youngsters to make and show work sometimes before it's had time to cook properly. If you do get a show together, where do you place it? Venues such as The Arches and BAC only have so many Scratch slots, and many regional theatre programmers are reluctant to programme untried work. Traditional places to showcase work such as the Edinburgh and London fringe are out of reach of anyone who doesn't have £10,000 to spare.
Do we really only want theatre made by those from affluent backgrounds? Grants for the Arts has been slashed, touring has been so decimated that opportunities are dwindling even for the most established companies, and the dole, which during the 1970s and early 80s helped an entire generation of theatre makers develop work, is no longer an option. A pity because as Ursula Martinez once told me, the government has had a jolly good return on its initial investment in her via the benefit system.
Time is a crucial ingredient in the making of great art and one that a funding system that tends to emphasis product over process often doesn't adequately recognise. But if you can't get a foot on the funding system in the first place, that's irrelevant anyway. Is the situation as difficult as I think it is? I'm interested to know how those at an early stages of their career are managing, and what tips for survival more established theatre makers and producers have to offer.
