10. Reflections on a Year as an Associate Artist at Nottingham Playhouse

As a year on attachment as an Associate Artist at Nottingham Playhouse arrives, I thought it would be interesting to reflect on the experiences, projects and collaborations I’ve had over the last 12 months, to shed a bit of light on the kind of things a creative associate at a regional theatre does. I’ve loved the last year – I’ve grown a lot in my own creative practice through the meetings and collaborations I’ve enjoyed as a dramaturg and writer, and also thanks to the experience of getting an insight into the workings of a regional theatre. From programming to finances and marketing, I’ve been welcomed into all areas of the organisation to listen and observe and I’d love to extend a thank you to the whole team at the Playhouse who have shared their expertise with me and enabled me to understand a little bit of what it means to be part of a theatre’s ecosystem.

Meetings, Meetings and More Meetings

It probably comes as no shock to anyone working in the creative industries, whether as a freelancer or in a role in-house, that a lot of time is spent getting to meet with other brilliant creatives, both within the Nottingham Playhouse team and with other freelancers in the Midlands. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with five different departments at the Playhouse, having monthly check-ins with Adam Penford (Artistic Director) and regular chats with Beccy d’Souza (Amplify Producer), as well as having over 25 meetings with artists at all stages of their careers regionally and nationally. I’ve been part of Playhouse conversations to discuss programming, new writing initiatives, and upcoming projects as well as planning sessions for various strands of work, from season plans to development workshops. These meetings have been a significant framework to the year, allowing me to contribute ideas and understand the broader ambitions of NP.

New Writing and Dramaturgy

One of the most rewarding aspects of my attachment has been working closely with writers. I spent a lot of time this year reading scripts, feeding back to the artistic team at the Playhouse, writing script reports and offering dramaturgical feedback direct to writers online and in-person.

Part of Amplify Co-Working often involves guest practitioners attending and running tables, or offering 121s, and it was great to have the opportunity as a writer and dramaturg to do this twice over the year, running workshops on form, structure, story and character. I also guested at the Amplify Writers Group, meeting an amazing team of writers at different stages of their career, all working on a full-length script. I’ve been fortunate to continue many of the conversations and relationships that started there throughout the year and I hope beyond.

Women’s Writes and Amplify

One of the big things I was passionate about doing this year was offering a space for female-identifying writers in the region to have their work read and receive feedback. I think this can often be tricky to find these days – understandably so as theatres and companies only have so many resources available to them – but I’m so proud that the Midlands has such a great record for doing this. I’ve been fortunate to work with Jayne and Angharad at New Perspectives, who do an incredible job of reading and feeding back on new plays and ideas, so I was keen to be part of that conversation and support if I could. It was brilliant to receive over 25 submissions to Women’s Writes, and seeing these plays develop and gain traction has been brilliant.

On the theme of development, I was able to work alongside Beccy, working on the admin side of Amplify Festival. October saw Amplify Festival itself, where I worked a day as a Production Assistant to help liaise with artists and the team (and inevitably found myself doing the kind of random jobs you do at festivals, like being asked to stage manage an – amazing – show just five minutes before the show went up!) At the start of this year, I sat on the audition panel for Amplify Actors Collective and the panel for the recent round of Ideas Submissions, reading submissions from a dramaturgical and writer’s perspective, sharing thoughts and discussing with the rest of the team.

The Ugly Duckling

A standout project this year was working on Ugly Duckling, a production that brought together storytelling, song, and live performance. My role as dramaturg involved script development, working with director Laura Ryder and writer Isabella Waldron through the various stages of scripting, before attending rehearsals and being part of the conversations around the story up on its feet. Not only were the whole team absolutely lovely, the end product was a really beautiful celebration of the magic and hope that just exemplify theatre.

Workshops, Events, and Sharings

A big part of my practice as an artist is around skills-sharing – whether that’s in workshops and events or more directly through my university teaching experience. At the Playhouse this year, I spoke at a Club Encore session in the building, discussing my work and exploring my experience of performance and storytelling in a broader sense than just focusing on writing or acting.

Advocating for Work

Something I’ve loved this year is being a position to attend rehearsed readings and workshops of new plays both regionally and in London. I headed down to London on three occasions to attend early stage sharings of work being considered for main house programming, which was a brilliant insight into how other artists are navigating that journey and ambition. I’ve also regularly attended press nights at the Playhouse for in-house and co-productions, which has been brilliant, and also observed Adam in rehearsals for Dear Evan Hanssen, the world of musicals being one that’s pretty fresh to me!

Looking Ahead

After twelve months on attachment, I’m excited to hone the things I’ve learned, as well as continuing to think about the offer creative freelancers on attachment to buildings can put forward. My love of dramaturgy has really grown over this year, and I’ve loved having the unique chance to work with artists at all stages of their careers from emerging to very established. Thank you to everyone at NP for a brilliant year and I’m excited for what’s to come next!