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Newport County Borough Council respond to the Draft Drama Strategy for Wales |
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To Mike Baker: I understand that you have been consulting, amongst other matters, on the future of Theatre in Education. I hope you will be able to take these comments into account. Your proposals are clearly quite radical in their nature and, if implemented, will have far reaching effects It needs to be said , however, that the timescale for responses is unrealistic and allows little time for interested parties to meet, reflect upon and offer measured responses to your proposals . It is also curious that, while other initiatives involving Wales are being deferred until the Welsh Assembly begins its operations, this one is proceeding at considerable speed In the circumstances I feel having raised that objection in principal I would make the following assertions which I have discussed with the Council's Director of Education there is a strong preference within this Authority to retain the concept of Theatre in Education (TIE), both to provide young people with opportunities for participation in live theatre and to support the school curriculum. The Authority also acknowledges the well deserved reputation of our local TIE company for drama in the community We would have grave reservations about the number of TIE companies being reduced to four . A strength of the present system as far as Newport is concerned is the ease with which a relationship has been established and maintained with Gwent Theatre in Education so that local needs can be met. Clearly one theatre company serving a quarter of Wales will not be sufficiently sensitive to local needs and history While there is some merit in strengthening a national touring company, it is unlikely that such a company would serve the large number of small communities which the more local TIE has done. While recognising the need to update the facilities available to present TIE productions, it is difficult to see how the proposed funding for the franchised groups would secure the [ Welsh Arts ] Council's aim to provide an up-to-date resource which would secure 'all Wales coverage'. There is insufficient recognition that TIE companies have evolved. In this respect the concept of the 'status quo' in the proposals has no meaning. Gwent Theatre in Education, for example, does not receive direct 'up front' funding from Newport County Borough since reorganisation but they work regularly in Newport's schools. They have responded directly to the needs of their clients by, for example, meeting with Heads of English and an LEA adviser and supporting them in their work by the construction and delivery of a series of A level workshops on a Shakespeare play and are accordingly funded for the specific work they do on this Given that there is much good in the present system and that it is evolving in response to new patterns of organisation and to the market place, this Authority would urge caution before it is dismantled and replaced with a system that is radically different |
| Newport County Borough Council web site: |
| R D "Sandy" Blair, Chief Executive e-mail: |
Tuesday, March 2, 1999 |
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