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Derek Cobley responds to the proposed Drama strategy for Wales |
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A detailed response to individual proposals contained in the Drama Strategy document follows below. However I am of the opinion that the consultation period allowed has been too short for the wide-ranging and thoughtful consideration that such an important document deserves. It has not been possible, for example, for meetings to be convened and responses collated from all the schools and community groups that will be affected by the proposed changes. Clarification was needed on several issues and the meeting with A.C.W. officers was only held on the 23rd February. I would therefore endorse the proposal from Carmarthen, Pembroke, Swansea and other County Councils that a final decision on the proposals is postponed for twelve months in order that detailed discussions can be held. Responses to the Proposals regarding Theatre For Young People contained in paragraphs, 5.1 - 5.10. 1.1 It is of concern that the new proposals do not seem to have been based on the good practice of some LEA areas where funding and standards of performance have been maintained. In the old West Glamorgan area it is not true that the local Theatre Company has failed to respond the changes in Education. Rather, as the separate response of its professional reference group shows, it has responded because it has been working with its audiences not on the outside. The strategy seeks to construct a system that will make such local authority and school involvement much more problematic. While there may be the need for changes in the old eight county /eight company format, the proposal for four companies would seem to remove the possibility of true local involvement. Schools have valued a play about Swansea in the Blitz not a generalised TIE play on the second world war that is able to be played across a quarter of Wales in both rural and city schools By not examining structures and working relationships, established over many years, it does not seek to build on what has been successful. Rather it seeks to look at where things have not been as fruitful and work from there. As such the report is inherently flawed and its proposals are likely to produce a less effective ‘service’ for the Communities and schools of the City and County of Swansea. 1.2 If the local link was lost something much more important is likely to be lost. At present such is the trust and relationship between schools and the local Company that they are prepared to pay for a performance that is tailored to just one age range however small this number is. They know that the theatrical experience will justify the expense. This gives these children a unique experience and has been maintained for succeeding groups of children each year. This ensures that schools can offer a theatrical experience to each of their year groups in turn. The relationship between the Company and the schools is seen as a long term one. If the proposals are accepted it is possible that a school would judge all company marketing on an equal footing where-ever they are based. They are just as likely to buy a product from England as one from another part of Wales if they judge in terms of price per pupils in an audience. The strategy will therefore reduce standards. 1.3 Schools at the moment are prepared to release teachers to serve on a professional reference group. This close relationship, that allows two-way discussion of future plans, workshops and the testing of proposals, would be inevitably diluted if a company was not committed to an area or the individual schools could see little benefit to their own school from the release of one of their teachers. 1.4 Similarly, it would be difficult for the relationship with the Educational Development service to be maintained. At the moment despite financial constraint, the City and County of Swansea has a teacher adviser who is able to ensure teaching packs and associated materials and the educational content of the shows is both suitable and of a high standard. It nominates observers to sit on the Theatre Companies Board of management. All this could vanish under the proposed structures. 1.5 By only looking at the Arts Council and theatre company side of the equation it omits from its considerations the contribution the schools and teacher adviser can make to the work. The proposed structures envisage no formal relationships with Companies by local authorities; no continuing professional inputs from schools and communities. The schools are seen only as audience rather than part of the creative team producing the work. A company that attempts to serve a wider area would increase the likely hood of a return to the sort of ‘hit and run work’ that Theatre West Glamorgan has spent so long campaigning against. Schools are able to plan whole terms of work around the company’s performances. This long term relationship is likely to vanish and we will return to the groups coming in ‘doing a play ‘ and leaving with no real long term residue of learning stemming from the experience. 1.6 If the relationship with a local area is broken, if the local authority is seen as not having a role in creating the climate and structures for successful work, then it could well be seen by elected members that there is no need for them to support a Company financially. They could explore other ways in which the present funding could be used to support the Arts and Theatre in their local area. There is no guarantee that present funding local authority levels would continue if the elected members were dissatisfied with a new structure. Indeed the document seems to envisage them falling. This seems both defeatist and gives little recognition to those who have argued for and maintained a healthy and creative relationship. The document envisages Companies devoted solely to Young Peoples Theatre. 2.1 There seems to have been no wide discussion of what the term Young People’s Theatre refers to. Does it include TIE work at all? Will it be in venues rather than schools or museums or communities? It is impossible to make a considered response to such a vague or all encompassing term. Deferment would allow greater elucidation and discussion with those who are going to be the audience and pay for the work. 2.2 The strength of the present structure is that high quality actors, directors and designers have been able to work on a schools tour or in touring shows but also appear on TV. The company has not been full of inexperienced actors who have little knowledge or interest in TIE, treating it as just a first job. A company that was just for young people, is likely to be marginalised unless the actors can easily move into the more lucrative film and TV world and have a reason to come back again. If you are working on an adult show you usually work at night, leaving the days free for film and TV, voice-overs etc. to supplement the lower salaries of live theatre - a TIE tour or even a young people’s theatre performing morning and afternoon leaves no time for other work. It is unlikely to attract the sort of committed, talented and experienced actors that theatre West Glamorgan has enjoyed over many years. A strenuous six month TIE tour away from home across large parts of Wales is unlikely to attract experienced actors unless they have other reasons for being part of the company. Indeed I know of talented young actors who have refused the firm offer of a six month Clwyd Theatr Cymru school’s tour for just such reasons. If young actors are refusing what chance older actors with families and mortgages working in the field? 2.3 Conversely, the community and touring performances have gained from the TIE work. Plays have grown out of the research done for a schools show, have been developments of work originally seen in schools. The reputation of the schools work has helped sell the community work. The direct style has influenced the adult performance style. 2.4 At the information briefing by A.C.W. officers it was stated that Young Peoples Theatre is seen as being theatre for young people up to 25 years. It is my view that good theatre should be for all not labelled or put into a ghetto. In a climate of the Government’s commitment to lifelong learning it seems a retrograde step to put in artificial divisions. Is there to be a separate theatre for the aged as well? Anything worth encouraging a group of 16 plus young people to attend should be worthy of attention by those of thirty or fifty. Or is the proposed National Theatre condemned to playing just to the old or those not excited by radical experimental theatre, because “it is the young people’s companies who are doing that work” ? 2.5 At the moment we understand that the requirements of the four franchises that are proposed are not to be defined. (para 5.6 and briefing ) Rather A.C.W. is expecting to receive bids and will choose the most interesting or exciting rather than laying down guidelines to which the Companies must bid. This could mean that a Company could put forward a brilliant programme of work that ignores the needs of the early years or infant schools and for the life of the franchise no work is accessible to the youngest children. 2.6 The lack of definition for a franchise is worrying. It is difficult to understand how an entitlement to access for work, in both Welsh and English, available to all young people, in all districts, would be obtainable by the schools and colleges without a clear definition for Companies to bid against. 3.0 At the moment the City and County of Swansea is proud of its local Company, it has not been hard to argue for funding to be maintained . Under the new structures envisaged, this may not be possible in the future. Indeed, as a County that has shown its commitment to the work by maintaining its funding despite financial constraints, it would expect to play a leading part in discussions about the allocation of a franchise covering its area. There is nothing in the strategy that envisages such involvement. 4.0 The strategy suggests four companies but gives no rationale for four rather than five or three or one. All we know is that eight are un- sustainable. It is difficult to make a response until the areas of the Companies’ work are to be defined. A company that performed in the Bridgend to Carmarthen Corridor is likely to be very different in its work from one that stretched from Swansea to Pembroke. Defined on just square miles there would be no rationale for the work within a quadrant. Perhaps however, the area is to be defined on population spread? In which case the role of the company working in the thinly spread populations of the mid Wales area, much greater in acreage than that of Theatre Powys now, would be an impossible one. Or perhaps there could be a case, although I would not argue it, for four companies with different specialisms, Welsh, early years, TIE, Children’s Theatre for instance working across the whole of Wales. Once again the point is that there has been no real debate of what is wanted with the audiences of such proposed Companies. Again this is a reason for deferment. 5.0 There seems to be a discrepancy. For the four Young People’s Companies A.C.W. is ignoring the strong local authority involvement and asking for a clean slate to rebuild a new system. This is the opposite of other areas of the document where the long term commitment of authorities is part of the reasons given at briefings for maintaining and increasing finance. Thus the commitment of Flintshire is given as one of the reasons for the support of Clwyd Theatr Cymru. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Establishment of Two National Companies There was no hint in the July document of the establishment of a National Theatre let alone two Companies. Six weeks seems a perilously short time to consider such proposals. This seems to be a prime reason for the deferment of a decision for twelve months. 6.0 Once again there seems to be false divisions being drawn between different forms of Theatre. There seems to be no reason for there to be separate Companies responsible for the two languages. One of the strengths of local experience has been the bi-lingual approach. The National Youth Theatre of Wales had to abandon a separate Company for the Welsh language due to constant comparisons and unfounded accusations of unequal treatment. Both the Welsh language and English language work was strengthened by the combining of the two companies. 6.1 One of the strengths of the Royal National Theatre in London and the Royal Shakespeare Company, recognised by educational establishments across the County, is the integration of their education and young people’s work, new writing, experimental theatre into the mainstream work. For several schools (with drama departments of over 70 pupils taking GCSE drama and 20 plus taking A-level) the relationship is with the local company and these truly national companies. They occasionally visit Cardiff or elsewhere for one off performances by other Companies but long term relationships are being built and paid for where there is a total range of work. Schools more often organise trips to London or Stratford than Cardiff. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other aspects of the Strategy 7.0 There is no mention of Community Theatre in the Strategy and this would seem to disenfranchise whole areas of Wales to whom in the past this has been the only live theatre available. It is my view that all companies in Wales should have a community remit beyond that to small, large and mid-scale venues. 8.0 New Writing seems to be consigned to yet another ghetto of a special New writing company. It is my view that all Companies in Wales should have a commitment to new writing across all genres. If this is so, there does not need to be a special company to which new writing is banished. Again a company of actors that only works on classic texts will soon grow stale. 9.0 The document seems to be support Youth Theatre in the Sherman Theatre. There is no recognition of other Youth Theatre work, building based or otherwise LEA supported across Wales. It is difficult to understand the rationale that singles out one group for support, rather than allowing for developmental bids by all. Youth Theatre seems to be the concern of the ‘access’ division rather than the ‘art form’ development section. Youth Theatres function across Wales in a theatre building or their local authority provides funding for them to hire venues. The debate about the role of the Sherman should not be influenced by the presence of a Youth Theatre. 10.0 The West Glamorgan Youth Theatre and Dance Companies have a unique record in Wales of young people moving on into professional training both as technicians and performers in the theatre and other media. There is nothing in the proposals that would encourage these young people to remain in the area. The haemorrhaging of talent will therefore continue, more probably to the advantage of London than Cardiff. 10.1 The strategy recognises that there is ‘a gap in Swansea’ but does not address how this might be filled. It also states that it is ‘inconceivable that there shouldn’t be a range of theatre available in Cardiff’. It should be ‘inconceivable ‘ that a range of theatre is not available to the population of Swansea or any other area of Wales. Because there is no clear published criteria for touring and range of work put forward against the increase of funding to Clwyd Theatr Cymru it is impossible to decide how such a range of touring or product will be achieved. At the moment there seems to be the view that there is Cardiff and then the rest of Wales that will be looked after by Clwyd Theatr Cymru and the Torch Theatre. Nothing in the document dispels such a view. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Project Grants 11.0 The remaining theatre companies in Wales are consigned to applying for project grants. No clear idea is given of how much funding is available for this part of the strategy. In other media areas the Visual Arts and Literature, such schemes have been delegated to outside agencies. The strategies make no reference to whether this is intended or, if not, why theatre is considered differently. Unless there are clear published criteria and financial details it is difficult to decide how fair such a scheme would be or how it compares with the present system. Once again, unless there is funding for several years, one off projects with little long term building of relationships with an audience and community seems inevitable. I can see no indication from the strategy how a new company might come into existence and grow. Nor how, or who, would ensure there was equality of provision in both languages across the whole of Wales. What happens if all the proposals are for work in South Wales or for experimental work in site specific venues? The strategy makes no proposals as to how such situations will be dealt with or the structures and people that would be responsible for ensuring equality of provision. I am aware that the present situation involves a specially convened committee but if the project grant is to be so important it would seem sensible that the criteria against which bids are to be judged is spelt out publicly and the process for bid’s consideration and reasons for rejection be a public matter built into the strategy. Conclusion 12.0 There are many in the area of Swansea and West Wales who would welcome opportunities to discuss the future of theatre for young people and TIE with the Arts Council. The County and its predecessor West Glamorgan have never seen the relationship as one of providing funding alone. Rather it has been a partnership between schools, communities and the Council at all levels. The quality of the theatre seen, is reflected in these relationships that have produced some of the most exciting award winning theatre for both the community and young people seen in Wales. That future generations of young people should have the opportunities to enjoy and grow from an engagement in a whole range of theatre should be the basis of the discussions that need more than six weeks to consult with all interested parties. Derek Cobley 26th February 1999 Derek Cobley was Principal Teacher Adviser, Drama and Dance for the old West Glamorgan Education Authority and education officer for the year of literature. He now runs a freelance consultancy, Arts Collaboration and Swansea's Wordplay Festival and is Taliesin's education coordinator, amongst other things. He is Artistic Director of the West Glamorgan County Youth Theatre and is the City of Swansea's Education Department's observer on the board of Theatre West Glamorgan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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Sunday, February 28, 1999 |
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