Five authors and five composers will work together in this week for peer to peer learning, creating, collaborating and co-authoring work and discussions about musical theatre genre. The finale to the week will be the sharing of work and discussions about the art form. It will provide a supportive “safe space” for artists to explore and development their own practice. Angharad Lee said, “We have seen a positive shift in our attitudes towards musical theatre in Wales recently. But I still feel that we shy away from a genuine grassroots investigations of the genre. The simple question I will be asking the artists over and over is: ‘How do you make a story sing, and not just the artists?’ The approach to the week will be very task driven, much in the same vain as I would work with actors. Roles may be switched and specific tasks will be set by a group of year 5 students I am working with at the moment who are also developing their lyric writing skills. This will hopefully open up a discussion about who exactly are we writing for and why.” The successful writer and director, whose most recent work includes the highly successful To Kill a Machine that had rave reviews in Wales, London and Edinburgh, added, “I am keen to open out the discussions to artists who wouldn’t necessarily find themselves writing musicals. I want to challenge form and our approach when it comes to assembling such productions. It is an age old problem that sometimes artists can feel hugely disempowered when it comes to how work is commissioned in theatre in general. Yes, everyone wants to be commissioned,” she added. “But it is vital that there is playtime and safe spaces to explore one’s own practice as part of an artists continued development. It can sometimes seem like moments of dreams rather than reality. To be able to pay artists to learn from each other and to be inspired by each other is an absolute joy.” The week-long course follows on from a fruitful and inspiring conversation with theatre director Kate Wasserberg at Cardiff’s ground-breaking pub theatre space The Other Room. Lee added, “Kate said she would like to support this project in investigating what writing and composing for musical theatre feels and looks like, and where the genre could and should be heading, for creatives and audiences in Wales.” She said that the project could not have happened without the support of key organisations throughout Wales. Leeway Productions has been speaking with numerous programmers and venues throughout Wales which have confirmed the clear need for this kind of work. Gareth Roberts, Director of Aberystwyth Arts Centre, one of the venue partners, said, ‘The Centre has a long history of producing quality Musical Theatre, but there are few opportunities for new, exciting Welsh voices to be heard. With that in mind, we're delighted to be a part of such a significant and stimulating project that looks to develop the musical theatre talent of the future.” 10 Minute Musicals / Open Space event is in partnership with The Other Room, Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Wales Millennium Centre, Blackwood Miners Institute, RCT Theatres, Sherman Cymru, The Stagecentre, Cardiff & Vales College, Shelley Noton Stage School & Management, Regan Management |
| Leeway Productions web site: www.leewayproductions.com |
| Angharad Lee e-mail: angharad@angharadlee.com |
Monday, June 27, 2016 |
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