In this episode Naomi talks to the Artistic Director of Strike a Light, Sarah Blowers. Sarah talks about the importance of never underestimating what people want to do. She notices that people are often taking a risk by coming along and getting involved. For Sarah, facilitation skills are really important to try to ensure that people feel safe. It is a tightrope of showing leadership, seeing potential and supporting people. It is really important to have an access budget to facilitate people’s involvement properly.

Sarah talks about how the work is often unpredictable and messy as you don’t know what might come up. She talks about the facilitation skills that she uses as a Producer of co-created work. She describes diving straight into working with a group, but that she builds trust by generating clarity and being super clear with people; she ‘chunks and checks’ what she is communicating. Sarah believes that it is important to use simple, clear language and to check back what has been understood.

When facilitation skills are not present, it is dangerous to attempt co-creative practice. It doesn’t work and people don’t feel safe. With good facilitation people will take really good creative risks. At Strike a Light they have 4 Community Producers on payroll who choose the artists to work with their communities. However, she notes that sometimes artists need to be ambitious about what can be achieved.

Sarah recommends having a lot of resources up your sleeve and play a lot of games. She thinks it's important to be flexible, warm and approachable, particularly when working with people who are vulnerable. This means being prepared to throw your session plan away in order to respond meaningfully to the people who are in the room. It also means taking time out to look after yourself and rest as it is demanding work.

There is a discussion about the need for supervision for practitioners to enable them to process what is happening in the creative process. Sarah talks about the importance of holding your nerve that the facilitation process will deliver the outcome you need, but might never have expected. The community will come up with ideas that the professional artists might never have had. She believes artists need to find the sweet spot where everyone is encouraged and enabled to come forward with their ideas. For her, the process of making is the most important thing.

In this episode Naomi talks to Conrad Murray, Founder and Artistic Director of Battersea Arts Centre’s Beatbox Academy about the importance of leaders of co-creative practice having solid art form skills.

Conrad talks about how important it is for the young people who he works with to see him utilise his art form skills. He has been on his own journey with his art form, saying he used to be the worst, but he really wanted to do it and that has driven him to practice and refine his skills. He also knows his limits art form wise and what he is really good at and encourages young people to find their strengths artistically.

He describes how he breaks down and then scaffolds the learning of beatboxing for the young people he works with. Conrad also talks through the journey from teaching art form skills to enabling people to co-create original material every week. He has complete beginners working alongside people who have been beatboxing for years. He notices that people are supporting and helping each other in the development of their art form skills. He talks about how he has created a culture and ritual that repeats every week.

Conrad describes the importance of being open about his own journey as an artist, so people can see him really trying, so that it might inspire them to do better than him. He feels passionately that artists need to have reached a level of mastery over their art form before they attempt to co-create that art form with anyone else. He argues this mastery is inspiring for young people.

He talks about growing up on a council estate and knowing how to code switch in different contexts. He thinks that artists need to have high aspirations for themselves in order to inspire people that they work with. In order to take co-creation seriously, you need to take your own art seriously. He saw himself as a performer first and then grew into leading co-creative sessions. He sees leading the co-creative sessions as a higher calling, but he combines leadership skills with his pre-existing art form skills.

Naomi Alexander is the CEO and Artistic Director of Brighton People's Theatre . Her AHRC funded research Let's Create: Do we know how to? identified 20 qualities, skills and responsibilities that are important for artists leading co-creative practice. The report and illustrations are available here.
X: https://twitter.com/naomi_ontheatre

IG: https://www.instagram.com/naomi.ontheatre/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomiontheatre/

Conrad Murray is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Beatbox Academy which runs at Battersea Arts Centre

X: https://twitter.com/rODIUMrECORDS
IG: https://www.instagram.com/rodium/ https://www.instagram.com/bac_beatbox_academy/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conrad-murray-a4b4ba183/

#co-creation #theatre #leadership #arts #artist #truetoyourself #letscreate #embodied

In this episode, London based theatre maker, Kane Husbands, discusses the leadership skill of inclusive language and its importance when leading co-creative practice.

Naomi Alexander is the CEO and Artistic Director of Brighton People's Theatre . Her AHRC funded research Let's Create: Do we know how to? identified 20 qualities, skills and responsibilities that are important for artists leading co-creative practice. The report and illustrations are available here.
X: https://twitter.com/naomi_ontheatre

IG: https://www.instagram.com/naomi.ontheatre/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomiontheatre/

Kane Husbands is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Pappy Show.

X: https://twitter.com/Kane_Husbands
IG: https://www.instagram.com/kane_husbands/

#co-creation #theatre #leadership #arts #artist #patient #letscreate #embodied

In this episode Naomi talks to freelance artist Dan Thompson about the skill of listening and communicating when leading co-creative practice.

Dan talks about the importance of listening first before making any artistic decisions, as he notes that a lot of participatory arts practice revolves around the artist's idea and getting people involved in bringing that idea to life. Deep listening when leading co-creative practice involves having no expectation of what you are going to do, not having your ideas formed already.

The discussion explores how social class impacts people's involvement in the arts; Dan has a working class background and has no expectation that he should be an artist or working in the arts. He really wants to satisfy the people that he is working with. He often checks back in with people a few days after the conversation. For the first meeting he doesn't even take notes or make a recording, so that it feels like a genuine conversation. He is open and curious when listening to people.

Dan starts with doing deep research about a place or subject that he is exploring, before he starts work. He then listens with the context of what he has learnt and it helps to inform the questions that he asks. Dan talks about examples of his own co-creative work in places like Swansea and Stoke on Trent. There is also a discussion about the Settlement Movement and the way in which it takes time for an artist to really listen and really understand a community; the importance of building long term relationships if that is possible.

He argues that listening has to be at the heart of co-created art and that it has to be continuous, not a one off consultation. A constant process of listening and shifting what you are doing as a result of what you hear.

Naomi Alexander is the CEO and Artistic Director of Brighton People's Theatre. Her AHRC funded research identified 20 qualities, skills and responsibilities that are important for artists leading co-creative practice. The report and illustrations are available here.
X: https://twitter.com/naomi_ontheatre

IG: https://www.instagram.com/naomi.ontheatre/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomiontheatre/

Dan Thompson is a Freelance Artist. You can find out more about his work here.
X: https://twitter.com/artistsmakers

IG: https://www.instagram.com/danthompson33/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-thompson-397501/

In this episode, Naomi has a conversation with her colleague at Brighton People's Theatre; Jack Parris. Jack talks about how people can suffer if the energy levels in a room are too high or low. He believes managing energy levels is absolutely integral to the process, nurturing an energetic journey that ebbs and flows over a workshop or creative process.

Jack talks about the importance of managing the energy levels in the run up to a co-created performance. They reflect on the potential to unleash a kind of crazy energy and how to then ground this and focus it. In order to manage his own energy levels he plans meticulously and tries to ensure that there is a wide range of activities that might need a different kind of energy level throughout a session. He also notes the importance of observing and taking a breath during the workshop. But even when you are watching and observing you are aware of your energy and the focus that this creates in the room. People want to be seen.

Another thing that Jack does is to model the kind of energy level that might be required for a part of the workshop. He talks about introducing scale in the room, so that a framework can help people to push their energetic boundaries beyond what they might have expected. He also outlines Laban efforts to work energetically in a room and Stanislavsky inspired choices of where to place focus in the space.

If energy levels are not managed properly then it can damage relationships in the room and the quality of the work. There can be less respect and attention given to each other. Jack talks about moments when he hasn't managed his own energy levels so well and the impact of that. He notes the importance of the parasympathetic nervous system to regulate and ground your own energy levels in the room. Jack talks about the need to have mastery over your own energy levels, so that you can be perform the role of leader that is modelling the energy that is needed in the room.

Naomi Alexander is the CEO and Artistic Director of Brighton People's Theatre. Her AHRC funded research Let's Create: Do we know how to? identified 20 qualities, skills and responsibilities that are important for artists leading co-creative practice. The report and illustrations are available here.
X: https://twitter.com/naomi_ontheatre

IG: https://www.instagram.com/naomi.ontheatre/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomiontheatre/

Jack Parris is the Associate Director of Brighton People's Theatre.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/jackparrisd/

In this conversation Naomi talks to Theatre Director Tanushka Marah about how she olds space in the work that she co-creates with young people. Tanushka talks about this skill when co-creating as being like 'foraging in the dark'. She describes the moments of holding space when the energy is potent and not being afraid of emptiness and to hold questions and silence. She talks about the importance of creating a shared vision in advance but not knowing what the content will be. She likes to find the energy, then the content, then the words when co-creating. For her, this is particularly important when working with young people who may be neurodivergent or academically less confident.

Tanushka talks about holding your nerve alongside holding the space. She talks about being incredibly open and receptive to everyone's ideas, almost like having eyes and ears all over your body. She also talks about the importance of being aligned with what is going on in the room - for her to hold the space she needs to be able to let go of her day and be fully present.

If the artist as leader does not hold space, then the group dynamics can take over in an unhealthy way. The artist watching and listening is a safe container for play and exploration to take place. Tanushka talks about how you are hyper aware of everyone in the room simultaneously while you are working creatively. She also talks about how exhausting it can be to hold space, particularly when delivering one off workshops.

Tanushka argues that the skill of holding the space is everything when leading co-creative practice. People need to feel heard, valued and deeply listened to, as that is when we reach our artistry; a playful, brave space where we can awaken all the parts of us. She talks about the way that a culture is established in the space, which lets people know what the norms of behaviour are in that space.

In this episode, London based theatre maker, Kane Husbands, discusses the quality of patience and its importance when leading co-creative practice. He talks about how embodying the quality of patience in his workshops is very different to the often high energy theatre and dance performances that he co-creates. He notices that it requires him to find stillness in the busyness and that often this quiet reflection time enables him to really find the story that is emerging and explore why the choices have been taken.

He talks about the importance of being patient in really enabling everyone who is in the room to be fully present and show up as they choose. And he remembers other artists who he has had the experience of role modelling patience with him and how powerful this can be; a sense that there is all the time in the world.

Kane also explores how patience plays out over the course of a whole co-created project, not just within a workshop. He thinks it is important not to rush people to the next stage of a process, as harm can be done to people by going too fast. He asks who projects are serving, the funder, arts organisation, or the people who are participating. It's okay to say that something is not ready, that more patience and time is needed for something to reach its full potential.

He talks about how important the quality of patience is to him in the choices he makes about the work he takes. Co-creating takes time and rushing it is disrespectful and care is lacking. He talks about the importance of being transparent about the pressures on a producer or commissioning company that might not have got all the money that they needed for a project. Professional and non-professional artists can get on board with the struggle facing a project if they understand the bigger story or context.

Kane also explores how people's personalities show up in the room and how some people might need to learn about how to be more patient when they are either leading or participating in a co-creative process. He talks about the importance of therapy as a support mechanism for artists that lead co-creative processes. Where do artists get support from when leading these processes? And how to artists learn to be patient and learn to be patient with themselves?

Naomi Alexander is the CEO and Artistic Director of Brighton People's Theatre . Her AHRC funded research Let's Create: Do we know how to? identified 20 qualities, skills and responsibilities that are important for artists leading co-creative practice. The report and illustrations are available here.
X: https://twitter.com/naomi_ontheatre

IG: https://www.instagram.com/naomi.ontheatre/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomiontheatre/

Kane Husbands is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Pappy Show.

X: https://twitter.com/Kane_Husbands
IG: https://www.instagram.com/kane_husbands/

#co-creation #theatre #leadership #arts #artist #patient #letscreate #embodied

In this episode, London based theatre-maker Conrad Murray talks about the importance of being true to himself. He asks himself, 'would my younger self like me right now? Would this be real to him?'. He wants to ensure that he hasn't changed himself to adapt to the dominant culture of arts buildings and the culture of the arts world. He wants to make art that appeals to the people he grew up with and to stay grounded in his community. He thinks it is important to be really true to yourself and to really know yourself and your local community.

He reflects on the feedback that he has had over the years and how challenging this has been due to a lack of understanding of what he (or the people he is working with) are bringing into the room. Much of his practice is built around the young people that he co-creates with; their talents and limitations that they bring to the work. He talks about the importance of people being real and true to themselves, not pretending to be something they are not. He noticed a calmness in people who are able to be who they really are and talks about how vital this is for artists leading co-creative processes.

Conrad talks about the importance of being able to reveal something of who he is through the co-creative process. He might write lyrics that say something about his class or ethnic background and knows that this can build trust with the young people he works with. Like many of the artists interviewed in this podcast, he talks about how dangerous this work can be if it is not done properly. If artists do not fully embrace the trust and significance of the work in the lives of the young people he works with. He really cares about the young people he works with and their development and sees this dedication as central to the success of his work. He reflects on the privilege and responsibility of holding these relationships with young people he co-creates with.

He thinks that people are intuitive and can sense when an artist is not true to themselves, or bringing their whole selves to a process. He talks about how important it is for venues to really be a part of their community. For him, being part of his community in Battersea, has been perfect. He doesn't want to leave and 'develop' his career. He has developed deep knowledge and craft through the stability of doing one project for 15 years. He reflects that because of this, his presence at Battersea Arts Centre has changed the venue. It's not easy to be yourself in an institution that has different expectations and speaks a different language. He talks about when he was at youth theatre, some adults gave him a second chance and also really took the time to listen to him and understand who he is.

For years the Beatbox Academy did what is now known as 'relaxed performances' and got criticism for it. But he just did this because he was true to himself and his knowledge of what it takes for people to make it to see a show at the end of the day. Because he had the strength to be true to himself, the impact of this on the whole of Battersea Arts Centre and beyond has been huge. He now goes to deliver workshops at Drama School exercises that he made up in his bedroom. He believes 'Your power is being you.'

Naomi Alexander is the CEO and Artistic Director of Brighton People's Theatre . Her AHRC funded research Let's Create: Do we know how to? identified 20 qualities, skills and responsibilities that are important for artists leading co-creative practice. The report and illustrations are available here.
X: https://twitter.com/naomi_ontheatre

IG: https://www.instagram.com/naomi.ontheatre/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomiontheatre/

Conrad Murray is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Beatbox Academy which runs at Battersea Arts Centre

X: https://twitter.com/rODIUMrECORDS
IG: https://www.instagram.com/rodium/ https://www.instagram.com/bac_beatbox_academy/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conrad-murray-a4b4ba183/

#co-creation #theatre #leadership #arts #artist #truetoyourself #letscreate #embodied