Posts in category: News

We were part of an exciting night of new work at the Derby theatre, scratching some new material alongside other associates of In Good Company.

After Tobacco Factory Theatres in Bristol and Maia Creative Nights in Birmingham, we scratched new material from our project in development The Fatherhood Project.

Here are some feedbacks from the audience:

Loved it! Loved the hoover stuff! Very true to my experience and being a new family.

Really interesting seeing the subject matter from the male perspective as generally used to seeing it from the female perspective.

Loved the element of mirroring the show and the hoover advert.

It’s very interesting, not like anything I’ve seen before.

Enjoyed the research and the hoover documentation. Really interesting to look at it from the male perspective and see where your female voice sits in it.

Really great scratch – loved it! Can’t wait to see the work’s development.

Nice balance of comedy and sincerity.

Great to see this angle on parenthood. So far the piece feels warm-hearted, light, accessible. Definitely interested to see where it goes from here and how the story develops.

Felt beautifully honest.

We are over the moon to announce that we have been selected as one of the associate companies for In Good Company. And this means 2 very, very exciting years ahead.

In Good Company is a professional development program for artists making work in the East Midlands which aims to engage, develop and inspire, and is led by Creative Producer, Ruby Glaskin. The scheme was launched in 2014 by three partner venues, Derby Theatre, Create Theatre in Mansfield and Attenborough Arts Centre in Leicester, with the support of Arts Council England. It has now developed into a 5-venue partnership to include: Mansfield Venues (Old Library, Palace Theatre), Lincolnshire One Venues (Lincoln Drill Hall, South Holland Centre, Guildhall Arts Centre) and The Brewhouse, Burton.

In Good Company has been a vital addition to the artistic landscape of the East Midlands, receiving a second grant from Arts Council England of £116,000 in July 2016.

Numerous applications were received, 12 companies were invited to pitch and following in-depth interviews, we are now delighted to announce that the associate companies, artists and graduates for 2016-18 are:

Flickbook Theatre, a Lincoln-based company who are intent on devising vibrant and brave theatre. They are experimental and multi-disciplinary theatre makers who glory in the little absurdities of real life. Their philosophy is ‘Whatever floats your boat’ (but doesn’t sink anyone else’s).

notnow Collective, founded by two regionally-based Croatian artists, Tina Hofman and Kristina Gavran out of necessity to make their caring roles visible and explore ways of integrating parenthood into both professional practice and quality theatre experiences.

Louise White, an artist who is passionate about theatre without a fourth wall and whose work is highly interactive and creates a sense of community – devised theatre with participation at its heart, a mix of autobiography, social contexts and a pinch of the ridiculous.

David Ralfe, an artist who trained at the Jacques Lecoq Theatre School and on the National Theatre Director’s Course. For the past five years, David has been creating and touring shows with his company On The Run, and he is currently working on international projects in China and Georgia with the British Council. Over the coming months, he’ll be setting up a brand new company, based in the East Midlands.

you can find more information about In Good Company here

On Sunday 23rd October at Tobacco Factory Theatre in Bristol we are part of Prototype program: experiments in theatre. With other wonderful artists we will be sharing new materials from our new piece focusing on fatherhood.

The Father

On stage is Father. He is rushing to pick up his Daughter from school. Last night his Wife gave birth to their Son. His wife is Croatian and Father is not. He has to organise a celebration in honour of his Son’s birth. It usually involves lots of drinking.  He doesn’t feel like doing it, but this is a tradition in Croatia when a male child is born. We hear interjections from Wife. We never see her, only hear her voice. We want to focus on the subject of fatherhood. Our aim is to investigate in what way we can orchestrate  an exciting  dramatic journey through the interruptions and instructions.

This is an invitation to come along to the new Birmingham-based branch of Mothers who Make, a growing national initiative aimed at supporting mothers who are creative practitioners – professional and/or passionate – writers, painters, actors, dancers, musicians, film-makers, producers, designers,….every kind of maker welcome, and every kind of mother. Also please feel free to bring along your children, of any age, whether they are inside you, beside you or running round the room. Mothers of older children are also extremely welcome.

• When: Friday 17^th June 12-1.30pm
• Where: Randle Studio, mac birmingham
• Why: Read on below….

If you would like to attend please email us at: notnowcollect@gmail.com

Mothers Who Make was founded by Matilda Leyser, a London based performer and a writer. notnow Collective teamed up with her wanting to support mothers makers in our local area.

notnow Collective was founded by Tina Hofman (theatre maker) and Kristina Gavran (writer) with the aim to explore how to continue professional career whilst being a parent. Our first show Wonderwoman: The Naked Truth just finished the run at mac Birmingham, and are booking a tour for 2017.  It looks into different sides of motherhood, career and multitasking, and was inspired by Lyn Gardner’s article “Parents in the Arts Need To Stage a Revolution”.

Initially we thought we were the only mothers- artists struggling to keep it all going, but with the research and networking over the past year, we found out there are so many facing similar questions, uncertainties, joys and frustrations. Being a mother is regularly accompanied by feeling of missing out, guilt or feeling of letting someone down, whether this is within our family, or our career. However, our work as individual artists, as well as notnow Collective, is profoundly influenced by our mothering and caring role, with all the order and chaos that comes with it.

“How to carry our creative selves and our children, our work of mothering and of making, is the focus of this group. If you are a mother and a maker, and if you wonder how to do both these things with fullness, I would love you to come.” Matilda Leyser

Join the national community of Mothers who Make on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1484128908536006/

And use our Twitter handle: #motherswhomake