1: Clun-Birmingham, 2003
The aim of this gathering was to explore the practice of contemporary dramatic writing
in many culturally diverse European contexts, identifying key similarities and differences,
common problems and possible creative solutions, opportunities for further information
and skills exchange. It also operated to raise the profile and status of contemporary
writing for performance in all contexts.
We invited 13 playwrights and organisations that support and develop new playwriting
from different European countries to share practice and look at mobility and exchange
possibilities with 15 UK counterparts. We provided opportunities for information
dissemination/exchange and capacity building focusing on key topics of concern (translation,
publication, agents, rights, articulating points of connection). We emphasised the
skills and thinking necessary for playwrights to be more entrepreneurial and to
think of the contribution their work could make in a range of contexts.
This working group was particularly focused on the role that playwrights play in
countering xenophobia, challenging attitudes to disability and social exclusion;
the role of the playwright as part of a vehicle for social change and tolerance:
From representation - reflecting the mix on the street - to the imaginative engagement
of any individual playwright. We reflected on the contrast between the culturally
specific approach of countries such as the UK and whether this was helpful or could
we learn from other European broader cross or inter-cultural approaches?
In looking at mobility issues we also; facilitated an initial engagement with the
programmers, producers and festival Directors who make up IETM's constituency
and who would be our natural allies in further development.
At this stage we were building The Fence as a person-to-person network, ie discussion
and relationship-building were key. Past experience has taught us that this is what
makes real partnerships at a European level. We recognise that the future of the
network also relies on the input from the institutions and cultural operators who
are working in this field.
This original meeting in the context of IETM enabled The Fence to examine a range
of possibilities and to finally identify the need for a separate network to develop
playwriting.
Throughout this initial exchange we were concerned with gauging:
- the personal profiles and country profiles of those involved, giving us a clear
sense of who the network consists of, and therefore what its strengths and areas
of reach are ( geographical; media – whether radio, television, theatre, puppetry;
cultural; mainstream or outside the mainstream)
- how we could use evaluation and documentation to deal with the notion of process
being on a par with content ie making specific processes clear and developing ways
of working which may be specific to the group
- and posing the question of the need for such a network and how it might be developed
…so as to involve participants from the outset in the network’s growth.