Today’s blog is brought to you in association with my autumn diary – I suppose it should be subtitle Lett’s Do It. The summer has been a glorious adventure with 22 shows seen in Edinburgh, around 15 people having CGO surgeries up there with me, bookended with the amazing Quintasensual festival and the very wet, very first Queer Spirit Festival. I met many friends, and made some lovely new ones.
In one week’s time the second cohort of producers arrive to study for their MA at Mountview, and I am juggling diaries and invitations so they have around 40 teachers/mentors/guides along the year. The more voices they hear, and people they meet, the richer will be their experience. We will once again develop a Mosaic festival of new work so they have real “stuff” to create and take forward into the real world. It is lovely hearing from my premier cohort as they make partnerships and projects happen.
I’ve been two years as a (they say “qualified”) creative and business life support coach and in that time have had a wonderful array of face-to-face and skype sessions. My clients range, at the moment, around two main sectors – the arts (film, theatre, circus, music etc) and wellness (healers, therapists, and those working in areas of sexual and spiritual truth). It has been fascinating coaching legal, marketing, and serial entrepreneurs in suits – but arts and wellness seem to be the focus. Do let me know if I can help because I have some slots available for a 6 series starting October 2016.
I’m teaming up with coach Nicky Raby for a half day group workshop around coaching and personal empowerment. Nicky and I both come from an arts world, but her client focus is on mothers, home, and juggling child/portfolio careers. We are working with up people who wish to join us on Tue 4th October in Highbury and Islington area, London. Here’s a link to book a place. Please spread the word. It could be a useful introduction to some of the tools of coaching which can help re-focus your attention on life so well.
Alongside this I continue with my monthly invitation for creatives to meet with me for one off surgeries (next dates 20th Sept & 11th Nov or by arrangement) and I facilitate the growing network of independent theatre producers who choose to connect together through The Producers Pool. In September we welcome a new gathering of international emerging producers who have come to study here in London from as far afield as Thailand and Scotland, Iran and Wood Green. I can’t wait to meet them, connect them with other producers, and then step back and see what collaborations begin to bubble. If you wonder why you don’t know about this, and you are a producer of theatre commercially or professionally, then do get in touch.
And my other autumn exploration is the continuing planning of the research project around the question “How do we choose to reveal our bodies through life, performance and art?” Another clothing optional conference is planned for Sunday November 13th. Two of us are running workshops at the annual meeting of the British Naturists, and continuing to consult with venues who wish to explore the best practice for engaging with naked performance, and naked participation/audience. Once again, if you read this and wonder why I have not spoken to you about this, then please get in touch. I am reaching out to people I know who have an interest in these areas, but I may not realise I should be talking with you.
My thanks to Kath Burlinson, my wonderful life partner and creative colleague, for our amazing diary sessions where we try and integrate and balance our lives as workers, supporters, lovers and friends. We’ve done every day till Christmas and already plotted some major events for 2017. My diary looks as it has been attacked by inky worms – but its all in the theme of saying yes, lett’s do it. And my thanks to artist Fran Gifford who introduced me to another way to use the pages of a diary…check out her website with many more images like the one above.
PS For those of a younger disposition Letts make the old paper things I still call a diary. It never needs charging. Enjoy your tablets.