Boost! Touring Lab

As part of our ongoing commitment to support global majority led performance and broaden the range of work currently on offer for small-scale touring environments Applause/101 Creation Space with support from Creative Estuary and Queens Theatre Hornchurch delivered a free, two-day residential training and development Lab to upskill and prepare artists working in contemporary dance or circus, who are interested in extending their work to outdoors or developing their understanding of the outdoor touring sector. 

Priority was given to artists from minority ethnic and migrant backgrounds and underrepresented artists. 

Call out info – HERE 

The two-and-a-half-day Lab included a varied programme of workshops in order to expand participants’ development and thinking in different contexts. It featured contributions from sector organisations and theatre, dance and circus companies successfully making work for these contexts. Including: 

Danielle Corbishley – Head of 101 Creation Space and Sally Lampitt – Programme Lead/Deputy Director, Applause – Lead facilitators – providing an overview of the rural touring sector, opportunities for artists, barriers to creating work and how to ensure your work is accessible and inclusive. 

Lou Cope – exploring the principles of Dramaturgy: What is it and how can it be usefully applied to the making of outdoor work? Lou Cope is a Performance Dramaturg with over 15 years’ experience in working with artists, organisations and academic institutions to creatively and collaboratively develop both their processes and productions. 

Matt Pang – Matt is a performer and teacher (Circomedia) specialising in circus, street theatre and physical comedy and an inventor of props and contraptions to use in performances. He delivered two sessions that focussed on providing practical advice on how to take your show on the road and tips on sustainable prop making. 

Fatina Cummings– Just More Productions is a community engagement company that produce vibrant and friendly educational performances bringing cultures and communities together. Fatina focussed on using practical techniques to connect to audiences in community settings. 

Ed Stephen – Ed is Co-Director of Nearly There Yet and has been making and performing dance and circus work for over 15 years. Ed’s session covered approaches to making small scale circus for outdoor spaces. 

Joe Garbett – Joe is a freelance dance artist, performer, choreographer and teacher. Joe’s session covered approaches to making dance for outdoor touring. 

Arts Council England– a session on funding and grant support. 

7 Artists were selected via an open call out and 3 went on to successfully apply to our seed funding programme.