DIY 10 Report

DIY 10:2013
Professional Development
BY Artists FOR Artists

July to December 2013

Summary Report

Exhausting, Exhilarating & Affirming.
Participant in Kira OReillys Combating the Body

We continue to see and support and receive support from, the participants
from Morecambe, three of whom joined us again in Wales, and the
participants themselves have formed a network of support for each other. This
closeness, won in an environment of personal risk and honesty in extremely
exposing situations, seems to last beyond the DIY situation and continues to
do so with Probing Elvis.
Nigel Barrett & Louise Mari, lead artists, Probing Elvis (Wales, 2013) and When I
was a little girl (Morecambe, 2012)

I firmly believe that each participant got something valuable from the
experience and made a shift of some sort, whether this be personal,
emotional, performative, artistic
Ursula Martinez, lead artist, Dont Wait Tables

Unanticipated, our water-day spawned new work. A series of Water self-
portraits, in which water makes portraits of itself. Mapping its extreme
sensitivity to surrounding forces. Simone, you and Lucy and all the rest of us
that day pushed this new work along. Huge thanks.
Participant in Simone Kenyon and Lucy Neals Waterproof

And of course, this personal development is one in the same as artistic
development. It was a special experience to share a space with a group of
men and respond to our experiences through performance--together and on
our own. This openness and honesty was of course a part of a
communication that manifested itself through performance, and the blurred
lines--with honesty and authenticity--between everyday communication and
performance, is something that Im trying to carry with me. On the retreat, I
reconnected with a desire to make more honest and authentic performance
work.
Greg Wohead, participant in Peter McMasters Perfoming Men: A Retreat

I thought it was a great model that I'd love to see used more. Such a
refreshing contrast to the solitary writing of proposals and posting to some
unknown and anonymous funding or commissioning person. It's a very nice
idea to have some orientation and contact with other artists and possible
venues before getting down to coming up with an idea. It also made me
think in a general way, how productive it could be to have this group social
side of things, as part of the process, even though the proposals or ideas that
come out of it are basically individual.
Peter Reder Participant in Joshua Sofaers Soho Sideshow

I loved the collective feel, the sharing of meals, the effort, energy and
general wonderfulness put into it by you and Andy. The fact that your
flatmate and neighbours were involved was also important, it made it all real.
Work on estates with living, breathing people who have their worries, stories,
outlooks on life, a view of London from their kitchen window and go
swimming at 7am in the lido.
Ania Bas, Participant in Jordan McKenzies This Is The E(s)tate were In

There were a lot of penny-dropping moments for me in the exercises and in
the workshop as a process in itself, but I also feel that I was introduced to
methodologies and concepts that I can employ long-term both in my artistic
practice and more broadly in life.
Participant in Dickie Beaus Immaculate Perceptions

@GGibson3 Please excuse my language, but what a f**king awesome
weekend that was with @GETINTHEBACK @thisisliveart #DIY10 Thank you.
Participant in GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVANs Calamity Jane

DIY 10: 2013
professional development BY artists FOR artists

Contents:

DIY Project Summaries: short descriptions of the 23 DIY 10:2013 projects and DIY partners.
DIY 10:2013 Review: written by the Live Art Development Agency.
Artists! and Participants! Reports: information and feedback about, and creative responses
to the DIY 10:2013 projects.
The original Call for Proposals: outlining the aims of the initiative, the application and
selection procedure, and the management structure.

The Announcement of DIY Projects is available online at:
http://www.thisisliveart.co.uk/opportunities/diy-10-2013-call-for-participants

This report is available to download from: www.thisisLiveArt.co.uk

Project Summaries

Anja Kanngieser
Tuning In Tuning Out (with Sound &
Music)
Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 September
Conversations, tactics and practices for neuro-
diversity, mental health and communication

Ansuman Biswas
Farplayer (with The Works Performing Arts
Cornwall, University College Falmouth and
Sound & Music)
Friday 2 to Sunday 4 August
An exploration of sound in space, of chains,
links and breaks, of transmission and
reception, of listening and making.

Barby Asante and Delaine Le Bas
To Gypsyland (with Live at LICA)
Friday 6 to Sunday 8 September
A workshop that explores the personal and
political in performative, collaborative and
socially engaged practices.

Dickie Beau
Immaculate Perceptions (with Chelsea
Theatre)
Sunday 29 September and Sunday 6
October
A weekend of spiritual hoovering: clearing the
way for a blissful return to successful creative
release.

Geraldine Pilgrim
No Regrets (with Colchester Arts Centre)
Sunday 22 to Sunday 29 September
Do you regret not having done something you
always wanted to do or wish you could undo
something you regret having done?

GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN
The Deadwood Stage (with Cambridge
Junction)
Saturday 10 to Sunday 11 August
The Live Art community musical!

Gustavo Ciriaco
Where the Horizon Moves (with Yorkshire
Sculpture Park)
Thursday 1 August to Saturday 3 August
A workshop on the horizon as a source of
fiction and performance, with practices and
discussions.

Jesse Darling
Our Bodies, Our Selfies (with Abandon
Normal Devices)
Thursday 3 to Saturday 5 October
Reclaiming Overshare for Its Revolutionary
Potential: a three-day experimental
groupworkshop in radical show (& no-show)
& tell (& don't tell).

Jordan McKenzie
Look At The E(s)tate Were In
Wednesday 11 to Friday 13 September
A three-day summit for artists held on a
council estate in East London examining and
interrogating socially engaged art practice.

Joshua Sofaer
Soho Sideshow (with Artsadmin and The
Soho Society)
Friday 30 August
AND
Friday 11 October
Discover more about the history and current
life of Soho and develop a bespoke proposal
for the area with production support.

Kira O'Reilly
Thinking Through the Body. Combative
Manifestos
Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 August
Learning grappling/Brazillian jiu jitsu
techniques and writing exercises to produce
manifestos from, and of, our bodies.

Lucky Pierre
I Hate America! (I Love America) (With
Platform)
Saturday 24 to Sunday 25 August
AND
Saturday 30 November
An intensive workshop to explore the joining
of performance/Live Art with social practice
using collaboration, technology and activism
to create a community-based 12-hour event

Marcia Farquhar
Taking It Personally (with Norwich Arts
Centre)
Sunday 3 to Monday 4 November
Marcia Farquhar invites you to join her for a
24 hour experience to think about how the
personal can be political, how the truth can be
a lie, and how stories go round and round like
records.

Neil Bartlett
I Live Here (with The Showroom, University
of Chichester)
Saturday 2 November to Sunday 3
November
To take a roomful of young artists through the
process of devising an (auto)biographical
performance from start to finish in the
space of two days.

Nigel Barrett and Louise Mari
Probing Elvis (with National Theatre Wales
and Chapter Arts Centre)
Saturday 28 to Sunday 29 September
AND
Saturday 9 to Sunday 10 November
In which the group reconsider our own
practice by exploring the working methods and
practices of Tribute Artists.

Nomi Lakmaier
Imperfect - Live
September
An online experiment for open minded, risk-
taking, female, disabled artists to explore ideas
around the female disabled body and its
sexuality. Not for wimps or prudes.

Peter McMaster
Performing Men - a Retreat (with Compass
Live Art)
A three-day and three-night rural retreat
exploring the relationship between developing
authenticity as men and making contemporary
performance.

Richard Houguez
Queering hair: A gathering of radical
hairdressers (with Forest Fringe)
2 days between Monday 12 and Sunday
18th August tbc
How can we as hairdressers accommodate the
expression of identity? Is it all about style and
aesthetic? What is it about salons that makes
the hair on our necks tingle with possibility?

Rosana Cade
My Big Sisters Gonna Teach Us To Lap
Dance (with Fierce Festival)
A chance to explore various feminist
discourses on lap dancing, through receiving,
learning and performing a lap dance.

Simone Kenyon and Lucy Neal
Waterproof (with In Between Time)
Saturday 31 August
A day-long event to collectively explore what
makes up our understandings of water.

Susannah Hewlett
Functional Fun! (with BUZZCUT and
Imaginate)
Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th
September 2013
A workshop exploring provocations around
making live art for young(er) audiences.

Tim Etchells and Vlatka Horvat
Slow Sunday
Sunday 27 October
A day of talking, cooking, eating, sharing
followed by an evening of presentations,
performances, more talking and sharing.

Ursula Martinez
Dont Wait Tables (with Duckie)
Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 September
Dont wait tables - make an act!

DIY 10 is a Live Art Development Agency initiative developed in collaboration with the
following partners: Abandon Normal Devices (North
West), Artsadmin (national), Buzzcut with Imaginate(Scotland), Cambridge
Junction (East), Chapter Arts Centre (Wales), Chelsea Theatre (London),Colchester Arts
Centre (East), Compass Live Art (Yorkshire), Duckie (London), Fierce Festival(West
Midlands), Forest Fringe (Scotland), In Between Time (South West), Live at LICA (North
West), National Theatre Wales (Wales), Norwich Arts Centre (East), Platform (national), The
Showroom, University of Chichester (South East), Sound and Music (national), Yorkshire
Sculpture Park (Yorkshire), The Works: Dance and Theatre Cornwall and University College
Falmouth (South West). With additional support from Create (Ireland).
DIY 10:2013 Review
Live Art Development Agency

DIY was set up in response to the specific needs of artists working in Live Art, and particularly
from an understanding that the development of a Live Art practice is as much about the
exploration of ideas and experiences as training in skills and techniques.
Since 2002, DIY has proved to be a unique and influential national initiative supporting artists
to conceive and run unusual professional development projects for other artists.
In 2013, DIY projects took many forms, from body combat intensives in London to sound
explorations in Cornwall, an Elvis Presley pilgrimage in Porthcawl and a lapdancing weekend
in Birmingham. And between them covered diverse subjects of investigation including
America, selfies, masculinity, regrets, personal hauntings, Soho, Calamity Jane, cabaret
turns, tribute artists, gypsy culture and much more.

For the seventh time, DIY took place across the UK, with the support of 21 national DIY
partners - the largest ever number of partners. Twenty-three projects were held between July
and November 2013 - the largest number of DIY projects yet. After pinpointing Wales as a
region with a need for more Live Art opportunities, we were able to get new Wales based
partners on board: Chapter Arts Centre and National Theatre Wales, with a specific calls for
proposals targeting Welsh artists. Additional partners helped further enhance the DIY
experience, with Create Ireland coming on board to offer two bursaries for Irish artists to
travel to take part in DIY projects and The Yard theatre hosting the closing DIY Picnic event.

This pooling of expertise and resources between partners was yet again crucial to DIY!s
success: sharing knowledge, facilities and resources, and turning lots of small budgets into
one big one. The low-cost and high-impact nature of DIY is one of its most distinctive
characteristics, and is a highly effective model for future collaboration and cooperation.

DIY 10 clearly benefited the artistic and professional development of the participating artists
and contributed to the skills and experiences of the artists who led the projects.

Over 250 artists took part in the 23 projects. The responses from the project leaders and the
participants was that DIY 10's emphasis on peer training empowers artists by allowing them
to lead their own professional development; enables artists to develop creative approaches
directly relevant to the needs of their practice; encourages artists to perceive their artistic
output and professional development as inter-related and mutually beneficial components of a
'complete' practice; and inspires artists to take risks and think differently.

As ever, the spectrum of participants in DIY was hugely varied with emerging, mid career and
"legacy! artists coming together to share ideas and experiences, proof that there!s a real thirst
for life long artist development and much value in cross generational working. Backgrounds
of participants and lead artists, like the nature of Live Art practice, were hugely varied. In a
particularly eclectic year we saw projects led by acclaimed body artists, performance artists
turned opera directors, alternative cabaret stars, theatre royalty and social sculptors and in
turn the participants were even more diverse, creating a really exciting melting pot of
influences and interests.

In 2012 a survey of 60 artists was carried out to look at ways we might improve or develop the
DIY model with the findings were fed into DIY 2013. The survey revealed huge respect for
DIY and requested more cross disciplinary opportunities with different kinds of partner
organisations and bigger budgets to realise more complicated projects. It also identified a
number of artists who might lead DIYs, who were encouraged to apply in 2013, many of
whom did.

DIY 10 again demonstrated that artists are extremely good at conceiving and managing
complex and often demanding professional development initiatives. The role of the host
organisations in DIY 10 was to facilitate, advise and support rather than organise and control.

Each DIY 10 lead artist conceived their project, submitted an application detailing their idea,
prepared publicity copy, managed recruitment of participants, handled all relevant
participation fees, booked all necessary venues, facilitated their training day(s), and wrote an
appraisal report.

Each lead artist received 1,000, which covered their fee and all direct project costs, including
venue hire, travel, materials and hospitality. Two artists chose to seek a small fee from
participants which further contributed to their project costs. For the first time we offered an
increased award of 1400 to Kira O!Reilly for a particularly ambitious DIY in body combat.

The Live Art Development Agency and its partners financed and secured additional funding
for the initiative, distributed a Call for Proposals via email, selected the lead artists through an
open submission process, advised lead artists about the logistical and conceptual focus of
their project, publicised the 23 projects under the DIY 10 umbrella through a Call for
Participants, organised a final networking event the "DIY picnic! for all participants, in
collaboration with The Yard, and collated this summary report.

DIY 10 also generated a vast quantity of films and images reflecting and documenting some
of this year!s DIY projects. These can all be found on the DIY 11 webpage, which can be
found here.

DIY future:

Like previous DIY programmes, DIY 10 proved to be a very successful, instrumental, and cost
effective initiative. Plans are already in place for DIY 11: 2014, which will develop the success
of 2013 offering even more DIY awards in collaboration with over 20 DIY partners. It will also
see our first international DIY taking place in partnership with Create, Ireland

Future development and refinement could include:
Access to more tailored advice and guidance for the lead artists (if and when
assistance is required).
The inclusion of travel budgets to enable greater networking between project leaders
and participating artists.
A higher-profile evaluation of the projects, possibly through an event and/or
publication that facilitates the sharing of outcomes and discussion of best practice.
A more generous financial base that provides artists' fees commensurate with the
amount of time required to initiate, manage and evaluate a project, and remuneration
for the host organisations.
Increased networking opportunities for the partner organizations to build
relationships.

DIY 10 focused on professional development within the Live Art sector. It is clear that the
principles and form of the DIY programme would successfully translate to other artform
practices.

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4(5 67 809: ;:0021(<(+

Pow we llsLen and respond Lo each oLher, how we communlcaLe, affecLs our
relaLlonshlps, creaLlve pracLlces and Lhe ways we lnhablL Lhe world. CommunlcaLlon
ls never an easy process of Lransmlsslon and recepLlon, lL ls always enLangled ln our
conLexLs, moods and envlronmenLs - where we are, who we are speaklng wlLh and
why. 1hlngs llke our economlc, pollLlcal, culLural and soclal backgrounds affecL how
we llsLen Lo and undersLand whaL we are hearlng. lor people LhaL are neurodlverse -
LhaL ls, havlng Aspergers, Auu/ AuPu, blpolar dlsorder, 1oureLLes syndrome,
depresslon, dyslexla eLc. - communlcaLlonal processes can be furLher compllcaLed by
dlfflculLles wlLh coherence, pace of speech, paylng aLLenLlon and empaLhlzlng ln
recognlsed ways. Added Lo LhaL, Lhere mlghL be lnsecurlLles around communlcaLlon
due Lo llfelong marglnallzaLlon.

1he workshop 1unlng ln 1unlng CuL provlded an lnLroducLory exploraLlon of some of
Lhe dlfflculLles of llsLenlng and speaklng encounLered by neurodlverse arLlsLs worklng
wlLh sound and volce. lL Look place over SaLurday 7
Lh
and Sunday 8
Lh
SepLember aL
SomerseL Pouse London wlLh Lhe supporL of Sound and Muslc, Lhe uk naLlonal
agency for new muslc. 8aLher Lhan acLlng as some klnd of LherapeuLlc plaLform, or
paLhologlslng Lhe specLrum of communlcaLlon, Lhe workshop was deslgned Lo open
dlalogue abouL Lhe many experlences and sLraLegles people develop Lo navlgaLe
Lhelr lnLerpersonal landscapes. lor four hours, elghL parLlclpanLs gaLhered Lo play
wlLh dlfferenL aspecLs of llsLenlng and speaklng. A condlLlon of Lhe workshop was
LhaL everyone Laklng parL had Lo elLher self-ldenLlfy or have been medlcally
ldenLlfled as neurodlverse. 1hls allowed for some relaLlons of LrusL Lo bulld from Lhe
ouLseL, whlch were necessary for Lhe sharlng of someLlmes qulLe dlfflculL sLorles and
experlences.

1he flrsL day concenLraLed on llsLenlng. LlsLenlng was delegaLed as a separaLe Loplc
because of Lhe predomlnanL aLLenLlon glven Lo Lhe Lransmlsslon of lnformaLlon -
Lhrough speech, wrlLlng eLc. 8aLher Lhan Lhe usual foregroundlng of oplnlons and
asserLlons, we began by parlng back beyond volces and language Lo become aLLuned
Lo Lhe sounds of our envlronmenLs. We wanLed Lo lnvesLlgaLe how sound moved ln
dlfferenL spaces ln order Lo develop a broader senslLlvlLy Lo how sound and
lnfrasLrucLure mlghL lmpacL on one anoLher. WhaL was also lmporLanL was Lhlnklng
abouL how we make moral and eLhlcal [udgmenLs abouL sound - sounds LhaL we flnd
lrrlLaLlng, palnful or pleasurable. ln order Lo begln Lhls process we spenL some Llme
ouLslde, llsLenlng Lo Lhe sounds around Lhe 1hames and 1he SLrand, and
documenLlng how Lhey affecLed us physlcally and emoLlonally. WhaL became
apparenL Lhrough Lhls pracLlce was how dlfferenLly we responded Lo sounds, even
sounds LhaL we had collecLlvely heard - for some people speclflc sounds held far
greaLer slgnlflcance Lhan for oLhers. lrom Lhls experlence we began Lo look aL Lhe
presence of volces wlLhln our soundscapes and how we [udge dlfferenL klnds of
volces dependlng on Lhelr accenLs, plLches, Lones, speeds, volumes (and how Lhose
[udgmenLs have larger resonances and lmpllcaLlons for how we Lhen relaLe Lo
people). We also dlscussed how dlfferenL envlronmenLs and spaces are more and
less conduclve Lo conversaLlon based on Lhelr archlLecLural lnfrasLrucLures - spaces
ln whlch volces carry beLLer or cuL down on Lrafflc nolse could be easler Lo
concenLraLe on a conversaLlon ln.

1he second day began wlLh a reflecLlon on lnLerpersonal communlcaLlon speclflcally
how we speak and respond Lo each oLher. urawlng on Lhe prevlous days awareness
of how we experlence sounds and volces dlfferenLly, and how our dlfferenL ways of
hearlng are connecLed Lo dlfferenL lnLerpreLaLlons, we experlmenLed wlLh pracLlces
deslgned Lo brlng aLLenLlon Lo speech. ln small groups we pracLlced leavlng a gap of
sllence afLer someone had flnlshed before we responded, Lo emphaslze how ofLen
we [ump lnLo conversaLlons, or slmply ldenLlfy our LhoughLs and oplnlons wlLhln
conversaLlon and lose our ablllLy Lo fully llsLen Lo oLher people. We also played (a
llLLle LheaLrlcally and wlLh some sllllness) wlLh Lhe myrlad ways LhaL how we say
someLhlng shapes lLs meanlng, for lnsLance Lhe Lones we use, or how we pace a
cerLaln senLence. 1hrough Lhls we were remlnded of how lmporLanL lL ls Lo be
mlndful of our own dlsposlLlons and lnLenLlons when we are speaklng, especlally
when we are ln momenLs LhaL are a blL Lrlcky, we are feellng burnL ouL or noL
boLhered or when we mlghL be requlred Lo communlcaLe ln ways LhaL we don'L llke
Lo meeL expecLaLlons and deslres.

Concludlng Lhe workshop lL felL as Lhough we had really [usL begun, and as everyone
polnLed ouL, lL would have been ldeal Lo have much more Llme. As an lnLroducLlon Lo
some ldeas on llsLenlng, speaklng and neurodlverslLy lL was buL an lnlLlal brlnglng
LogeLher of llve and sound arLlsLs from boLh wlLhln and ouLslde of Lhe uk. 1hls ls
really whaL Lhe workshop almed Lo do, Lo creaLe a space for neurodlverse llve and
sound arLlsLs Lo meeL and address lssues Lo do wlLh neurodlverslLy and expresslon.
1hls alm was done wlLh Lhe lnLenLlon Lo share skllls and sLraLegles for llsLenlng and
speaklng LhaL can be lnLegraLed lnLo our own arLlsLlc pracLlces, wlLh Lhe hope LhaL
Lhese experlmenLaLlons wlll geL passed on and develop over Llme. ln Lhe fuLure whaL
we hope Lo bulld ls a self-organlsed neLwork of llve and sound arLlsLs LhaL ldenLlfy as
neurodlverse.

'l have gone on Lo use Lhe 3 sec gap beLween Lalklng exerclse ln my pracLlce
and flnd lL really helpful Lo geL Lhe mosL from people.'
'l LhoughL Lhe workshop was greaL. l parLlcularly en[oyed llsLenlng Lo Lhe
sounds oLhers had plcked ouL - LhaL was a greaL momenL of revelaLlon re:
dlverslLy for me. l found LhaL exerclse Lo be a lovely momenL of comparaLlve
lnLrospecLlon.'
'unLll now l have noL glven any LhoughL Lo neurodlverslLy. l am sLlll ln a sLaLe
of awe wlLh whaL neurodlverslLy means Lo undersLandlng myself ablL beLLer'.
'l never experlenced a group seLLlng whlch had no clear rules buL where
everyone felL lncluded and had Lhe power of cholce. l wlll never use Lhe Lerm
cholce Lo be sllence now LhaL l am aware LhaL sllence ls an acLlve cholce'.
'l Lhlnk whaL you've begun ls exclLlng, and could be some sorL of Lhlnk-Lank,
and would deflnlLely encourage you Lo do more and more frequenLly'.

Ansuman Biswas
Farplayer
(with The Works Performing Arts Cornwall, University College
Falmouth and Sound & Music)

Friday 2 to Sunday 4 August
An exploration of sound in space, of chains, links and breaks, of
transmission and reception, of listening and making.

Ansumans project is reflected by a series of videos that can be
found on the DIY 10 report page found here.

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1o Cypsyland ls a pro[ecL by uelalne Le 8as, commlssloned by 198 ConLemporary ArLs and Learnlng and co
curaLed by 8arby AsanLe. !" $%&'%()*+ explores ldeas and myLhs of 'Cypsyland'. ln Lhls pro[ecL Le 8as
reveals sLorles of 'ClLy Cypsles', Laklng a Cypsyland [ourney from London Lo Clasgow Lo 8olLon,
eLerborough Lhen back Lo London. ln !" $%&'%()*+ Lhe hlsLory and myLhs creaLed ln Lhe ma[orlLy from
academlcs ouLslde Lhe communlLy ls open for a new perspecLlve. ldeas of nomadlsm, creaLlvlLy ouL of
necesslLy, a language LhaL has lLs rooLs ln Lhe lar LasL and Lhe dlverslLy of Lhe communlLy ls dlscussed and
re-presenLed. !" $%&'%()*+ explores ways of connecLlng Lhe presenL Lo Lhe pasL and reveals Lhe hlsLory of
communlLles LhaL llve on Lhe frlnges of socleLy LhaL are rendered lnvlslble and are flercely mlsrepresenLed
wlLhln 8rlLlsh culLure. !" $%&'%()*+ presenLs a new and dlverse plcLure of whaL 'Cypsyland' has hlsLorlcally
been seen as, whaL lL currenLly ls and whaL lL can posslbly be.

1o furLher Lhe engagemenL opporLunlLles and conversaLlons around culLural dlfference, represenLaLlon and
worklng wlLh marlglnallsed people, Lhelr personal and soclal experlences and hlsLorles, uelalne and l
LhoughL lL would be really good Lo exLend Lhls work lnLo an acLlve conversaLlon wlLh arLlsLs and Look Lhe
opporLunlLy Lo apply Lo ul? 10. Cur proposal was successful and we worked ln assoclaLlon wlLh LlCA Lo
produce Lhe programme ln LancasLer close Lo Lhe 8olLon Museum and ArL Callery a sLop off polnL for Lhe
1o Cypsyland Lour.

!" $%&'%()*+ ,-.

lL ls lmporLanL Lo say LhaL before uelalne and l began Lhls worklng process we began a dlalogue wlLh our
parLlclpanLs on a blog so LhaL Lhey could geL Lo know our ways of worklng and we would have an ldea of
Lhelrs.

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uelalne and l arrlved ln LancasLer early ln Lhe afLernoon from our Lrlp Merz 8arn ln Cumbrla. We had been
lnvlLed Lo Merz 8arn by lan and Cella Lo see Lhe place and Lo Lhlnk abouL how we mlghL work LogeLher,
explorlng ldeas of ldenLlLy, excluslon, exlle, mlgraLlon and oLher Loplcs LhaL resonaLed wlLh whaL kurL
SchwlLLers would have experlenced as an arLlsL and how Lhey mlghL Lhlnk abouL Lhe Merz 8arn and Lhe
farm as a place LhaL doesn'L [usL memorlallse SchwlLLers buL also provldes and opporLunlLy Lo Lhlnk abouL
Lhe conLexL ln whlch he was worklng ln. 1hls very mush resonaLed wlLh whaL uelalne and l have been Lrylng
Lo do wlLh 1o Cypsyland and Lo expand Lhe conversaLlon beyond Lhe work LhaL ls made, conslderlng Lhe
wlnder conLexL, connecLlons and Lhlnklng abouL Lhe soclal, pollLlcal and hlsLorlc momenL ln whlch Lhe work
sLands.

We meL wlLh Allce ln LancasLer and Lhen we all made our way Lo Lhe unlverslLy where we meL our group
laLe afLernoon aL LlCA. ln Lhe end we had 3 parLlclpanLs alLhough we had sald we would work wlLh up Lo
10. When lL flnally came down Lo lL and people had Lo book accommodaLlon and arrange LransporL lL
posslbly proved qulLe cosLly for some who were keen Lo parLlclpaLe. AlLhough we had selecLed Lo work ln
LancasLer because lL was close Lo Lhe 8olLon museum and ArL Callery, where 1o Cypsyland wlll be Lourlng
ln !anuary many of Lhe people who wanLed Lo [oln us were noL based ln Lancashlre or anywhere very close
Lo Lhere. Cnly one of Lhe flnal parLlclpanLs could noL make Lhls sesslon buL uelalne and l boLh had Lhe
opporLunlLy Lo speak Lo her before Lhls sesslon. 1hls was an opporLunlLy for us Lo meeL Lhe parLlclpanLs,
lnLroduce our work , our ldeas for Lhe weekend and Lo geL Lo know a llLLle abouL our parLlclpanLs Lhelr work
and Lhelr moLlvaLlons for comlng on Lhls parLlcular ul? pro[ecL.

!"#$%& ()* +,-),./," 0123

1hls day was aL Lhe 8olLon Museum and ArL Callery. We had prearranged Lhls vlslL wlLh our conLacLs aL Lhe
museum. ConversaLlons developed from prevlous evenlng on Lhe Lraln and we all goL Lo know each oLher
ln a relaxed way on our [ourney.

We arrlved aL Lhe museum [usL before 11am and our museum conLacL Lrln 8eeLson gave us a Lour of Lhe
space and Lalked abouL Lhe museum and lL's work. CLher people who worked ln Lhe museum also came Lo
[oln and Lalked abouL Lhelr roles ln Lhe museum and some of Lhe hlghllghL lLems ln Lhe collecLlon (Lhere's a
sLuffed elephanLs head, a large WalL WhlLman collecLlon and a loL of LexLlle relaLed lLems lncludlng a
collecLlon of bolL sLamps). 1he Lour was abouL an hour and we Lhen gave space for everyone Lo conslder
Lhe space or flnd an ob[ecL LhaL Lhey wanLed Lo work wlLh.

We had a worklng lunch Lo Lalk Lhrough ldeas and Lrln [olned us whlch was a good way Lo Lalk Lhrough
ldeas and loglsLlcs of uslng Lhe museum spaces, how Lhe publlc mlghL reacL Lo performances and
lnLervenLlons eLc. AfLer lunch we reLurned Lo Lhe museum and had a qulck chaL ln Lhe museums educaLlon
space, collecLed maLerlals needed and parLlclpanLs had an hour and half Lo explore/ experlmenL/ make/
ldenLlfy someLhlng Lhey would make work wlLh. Lrln, uelalne and l were avallable Lo provlde supporL, Lalk
Lhrough ldeas or record anyLhlng Lhe parLlclpanLs wanLed us Lo.

AL 4.00 an announcemenL was made over Lhe museum lnLercom LhaL Lhere were some performances and
lnLervenLlons happenlng around Lhe museum, who we were and an lnvlLaLlon for Lhe publlc Lo wlLness
Lhese and perhaps geL lnvolved, Lhese Look place ln Lhe museum spaces, movemenL and spoken word
performances, a drawlng lnLervenLlon uslng Lhe bolL sLamps as an lnfluence and Lhe archlve where one of
Lhe arLlsLs worked wlLh Lhe archlvlsL Lo presenL an lnLervenLlon/ performance on Lhe lndexlng sysLem, how
lL mlghL be flawed and how you mlghL be able Lo geL around LhaL Lo flnd hldden lnformaLlon wlLhln an
archlve.

+%)4"$%& 5)* +,-),./," 0123

SaLurday was Lhe whole day aL LlCA. We began Lhe day ln a cafe on campus and Lhen we collecLlvely
declded LhaL we needed Lo warm up, really warm up and one of Lhe arLlsLs led us ln a dance relaLed shaklng
warm up, much llke 8allnese shaklng where you sLood and shook from your belly for 13 mlnuLes, focuslng
on movlng from your cenLre and bulldlng up Lhe movemenL Lo warm you from Lhe lnslde ouL, releaslng
Lenslon and energy Lhrough Lhe shaklng and Lhe releaslng of sound.

1he lnLenLlon for Lhe day was Lo Lhlnk abouL engagemenL and belng ouL of you comforL zones. l led
exerclses l has done before Lhe summer before aL Lhe 8arblcan ArLs School Lab Lo explore how l see my
pracLlce engaglng wlLh people, based on some exerclse experlences she has had wlLh Culllermo Comez
ena and how Lhese relaLes Lo Lhe ldea of worklng wlLh people. l lnLroduced physlcal exerclses LhaL lnvolve
explorlng space, geLLlng ln Louch wlLh your senses, maklng conLacL wlLh people, aLLachmenL and leLLlng go,
LrusL and how much you can LrusL or noL, how far are you wllllng Lo explore and rlsk. AfLer Lhe exerclses l
led a dlscusslon abouL how people felL abouL Lhe exerclses. 1hrough Lhe dlscusslons connecLlons were
made from Lhls very lnLlmaLe space lnLo Lhe ouLer pracLlce space of engagemenL and worklng wlLh people
and how Lhe group experlenced Lhelr own ways of worklng wlLh people Lhrough Lhe exerclse. 1hls was a
very reveallng process and allowed us Lo conslder our experlences on a deeper level and explore whaL we
needed Lo sLrengLhen and whaL we needed Lo change.

We had lunch on campus and Lhen reLurned Lo our space Lo reflecL on whaL had whaL had happened Lhe
day before, how everyone felL abouL belng Lhrown lnLo maklng ln Lhe museum. CommenLs were abouL
how you had Lo work wlLhln a flow, worklng wlLh whaL's Lhere and flndlng someLhlng LhaL resonaLes wlLh
you and how Lhls could be someLhlng LhaL you flnd pleaslng or someLhlng LhaL dlsLurbs and golng lnLo LhaL
ln a blL more deLall Lo flnd ouL why.

uelalne shared her experlences of worklng around Lhe world, movlng, how Lhls relaLed Lo her llfe, worklng
wlLh Lhe flow, whaL's around her, found ob[ecLs, llvlng ouL of a sulLcase eLc and how Lhls effecLs her work.
1he dlscusslon developed around how worklng ln Lhls way can faclllLaLe openness, (as ln belng open Lo
whaL's Lhere whaL's happenlng, whaL you are experlenclng) responslveness, (respondlng Lo whaL's Lhere,
how you and oLhers are feellng, and Lhus enhanclng Lhe open dlalogues) and recepLlveness (recelvlng Lhe
place/ people, Lhe feellngs, Lhe experlence as lL comes and worklng from LhaL place raLher Lhan lmposlng or
pro[ecLlng someLhlng onLo LhaL momenL), baslcally Lhlnklng abouL Lhe role of flexlblllLy and chance
especlally when worklng wlLh people from dlverse/ culLurally dlfferenL communlLles, undolng Lhe
expecLaLlon of Lhe arLlsL, Lhe Lop down auLhorlLaLlve arLlsL volce especlally when worklng wlLh people,
glvlng space and allowlng volces Lo emerge beyond your expecLaLlons and experlence.

1he day flnlshed back ln LancasLer aL a pub where we conLlnued Lhe dlscusslon and lnLroduced some of
8oal's ldeas lnLo Lhe mlx and whaL uelalne was golng Lo lead on on Sunday. l lefL as she had Lo reLurn Lo
London for a conference Lhe followlng day.

"#$%&' ()* "+,)+-.+/ 0123

uelalne meL Allce from LlCA and Lhe oLher arLlsLs ln a cafe because lL seemed more approprlaLe Lo as
people were golng Lo leave aL dlfferenL Llmes and lL was warm, Lhe space was more comforLable and Lhe
group was smaller. uelalne wenL Lhrough all LhaL happened over Lhe lasL few days and how people had
reflecLed on Lhls overnlghL. 1he experlence had made people reLhlnk Lhelr expecLaLlons of worklng wlLh
oLhers/ 'oLhers' and whaL Lhey felL Lhey goL ouL of Lhe experlence and whaL lssues had Lhe experlence
broughL up for Lhem. As wlLh Lhe day before Lalk was abouL lf your worklng wlLh people and deallng wlLh
people ln dlfflculL poslLlons, golng wlLh Lhe flow, belng more open, allowlng space, havlng Lo leL go of your
expecLaLlons and how you can'L be a conLrol freak abouL Lhlngs, counLerlng Lhe domlnance of Lhe arLlsLlc
ldea of sole auLhorshlp and how you reference Lhls ln showlng and Lalklng abouL Lhe work and how Lhe
ouLcome can be LhoughL abouL buL noL pre deLermlned.1hls also glves Lhe arLlsL space for dlscovery and
experlmenLaLlon, Lo allow for Lhe unexpecLed. 1hls seemed Lo be a new experlence for Lhe group.
SomeLhlng Lhey hadn'L really consldered ln Lhelr work. uelalne dlscussed wlLh Lhe group how Lhey mlghL go
forward lnLroduclng an adapLed exerclse from 8oal, asklng Lhe arLlsLs Lo respond Lo Lhe workshop Lhrough
Lhese quesLlons, how do you lnLerpreL a sLory, how do you proLecL Lhe person sLory, even lf lL's yourself,
quesLlons of responslblllLy, LruLh marks, keys eLc.

8esponses Lo Lhese quesLlons were made lndlvldually by Lhe arLlsLs on Lhe 1o Cypsyland ul? blog.
hLLp://dlyLogypsyland.blogspoL.co.uk/

4&/.' 56&$)+
7+8+-.+/ 0123
DIY10: IMMACULATE PERCEPTIONS
Dickie Beau partnered with Chelsea Theatre
"I want to grow up but I don't want to stop being me."
A workshop in spiritual hoovering: clearing the way for a blissful return to successful creative
release.
PROJECT DESCRPTON
The idea for this experiential workshop took as its jumping off point that most recognisable of old
tropes: the artist relating to their work as a baby, from the conception of an idea through to the birth
trauma of the creative process. t was aimed at helping participants clean up dysfunctional
attachments that block the path to professional progress, to release suppressed emotion and to
correct perceptions of the worlds they live and work in, so that their performance of life might
acquire renewed energy and authenticity.
Recovery processes we incorporated into this intensive weekend included verbal and written work
on perfectionism, projection, and the appraisal of other pertinent issues, such as self-sabotage,
obsession and jealousy, as well as movement and meditation. We also made sure to have a good
laugh. Both days of the workshop culminated in a
conscious connected breathwork session (also known
as "rebirthing), which is a simple but highly effective
and often extremely intense breathwork technique that
can yield extraordinary results for participants. The
breathwork trainer with whom devised the workshop,
David (aka "Madge) Parker, brought to bear 20+ years'
experience of supportive breathwork on this open-
minded and engaging group of participants. At the end
of the workshop, we collectively burnt the "stuff we
want to release (pictured, right) in a group ritual.
have quoted a few of the participants' responses in the
remainder of this report. Because of the strong
responses we've had to the work and its effects,
we and some of this workshop participants are setting
up further sessions, starting in March 2014.
"During the second days breathing exercise had a . t's easiest described as a dream but
because it came in this moment of hypersensitivity rather than in dulled out sleep it had a very
different feeling. Also t lacked any sense of the absurd or surreal or unexpected, was plainly re-
living a moment that had previously experienced but the context and perspective were exploded...
Thank you for establishing a context in which this experience was able to happen. t really has
helped me understand ... something which had not previously been brave enough to look in the
face without utter panic and impatience.
......................................................
For me the workshop was a really full, enriching experience. At first was anxious about the
number of participants but it felt like we all had space (though a little more physical space would
have been good). 'd have loved to have more time maybe three days, to extend some of the
work.... The space felt clear and held: there were a couple of moments when wasn't sure how
safe it was, but in the end was able to go deep in my own process and really feel held in it, which
'm hugely grateful for. 'd be really keen to continue with this work, if there are possibilities for that.
....................................................
" found it an intensely introspective experience, even more so than last year's workshop which
still consider a bit of a turning point for me. had several 'realisations' during and after the
breathing exercises which have prompted me to change my less productive habits, thought-
processes and activities for the better.
....................................................
"There were a lot of penny-dropping moments for me in the exercises and in the workshop as a
process in itself, but also feel that was introduced to methodologies and concepts that can
employ long-term both in my artistic practice and more broadly in life.... felt Dickie, David and
Diana managed the group beautifully.... They created a safe space for all for us to do away with
our reservations and be very open and eager to share stories and thoughts, which can make one
feel exposed and vulnerable. appreciate Dickie's generosity immensely, both in organising this
workshop and offering this experience to us, but also in being the first person to be open and share
his own very inspiring story story with us.... Admittedly, my preconceptions and reservations would
have come in the way and wouldn't have signed up for this kind of workshop had it been part of
another perhaps more holistic context and not the DY scheme.
"The first breath work session was very intense. became aware that i don't accept nurturing very
well as the lady placed opposite me was looking at me in a truly caring fashion and that made me
so uncomfortable i couldn't look her in the eye. This was a surprising inability on my part to
embrace intimacy, as so much of my work is very intimate. One massive block discovered already
on day one! found both breathing sessions very physical experiences, as opposed to emotional or
mental. responded physically, i struggled to breathe, i got light headed, my hands got pins and
needles,i needed the toilet, but i didn't become aware of emotional or mental processes. This was
actually fantastic as i normally have far too much chaos in my mind so to feel calm and empty was
wonderful. On the second breathing session i was really struggling to fill my lungs, Diana seemed
to notice, came over and put her hand on my shoulder and said very gently but firmly 'you do have
the ability to breathe with the whole of your lungs' or something along those lines. This seemed to
give me permission to do so. then spent the rest of the session just really enjoying being able to
breathe to that extent. n fact when we finished and i returned to normal breathing i felt like i was
barely breathing at all anymore.
"A deeper reflection
Dear D, D, D as referred you as the three D's and four P's!
Monday begins with a fresh smile on my face, a deep sleep been had and all my doors and windows
are open to allow the fresh air flow through the house as breath in the optimism, possibilities and the
sense of being awake.
hadn't really truly thought about what the weekend would bring, and somehow was distracted by other
things, and so the word Re-birthing escaped me, suppose was looking forward to seeing what Dickie
would look like as have only ever seen him in drag, and from friends feedback on working with him in
the past, knew that something will happen but not quite sure what.
That aside and your workshop began found myself on familiar territory, though hadn't done a rebirth
session for a few years, and each session is unique on its own, but the fact here it was not on a field or
in some alternative centre or commune, but within a live art building! That's was refreshing in itself. My
own experience was deep, profound, and challenging, the letting go, facing fear and panic that
surfaced..(to my surprise)
know it was just yesterday and my body and soul is still digesting the information, but to wake up this
morning felt was greeted by an old familiar feeling of myself! t had been lost in thought, emotions,
anxieties, distraction, confusion, hatred, yearning, blame, shame, and a mass of other shit, anyway
here was, me, laying there, feeling my body, feeling my breath, BREATHNG!!!! Yes my breath, the life
source.
For myself it was a wonderful reminder of the life seek, the one that makes me feel alive, to live
everyday breathing in the air around me, breathing in my history, my story, my life, my friends, my family
and the love and healing that am surrounded in. t was like being on a fast fair-ground ride not
knowing what emotions that will surface, but the reminder of my mother, the one that carried me, the
one that fed me, the one who's heart beat felt from inside her body, the woman who gave birth, who
held me, who breast fed me, who heard my first cry, wiped the shit from my arse, bathed me, loved me.
This was a new image of her, one that had never seen. only ever saw the sad life she lived, the
external life around her, not my connection with inside her body, now that was profound. saw for a
moment, whether in my imagination, never the less there was breathing, sweating, my body filled with
intense heat flowing from head to toe, toe to head, and could feel the umbilical cord attached to me,
was floating, could hear a heartbeat, hers, her mothers, her mother's mother and mine, the connection
was strong, pounding on my chest it was extraordinary.
have done many self-growth workshop, pushed many boundaries entered into the places resist,
ignore, fight myself on a continues struggle, but here was with a simple technique that embraced me
with a hug, with gentleness that it introduced me to my mother, it enabled my primal self to let go of the
holding and allow the self to be mothered, to return to a place that never thought would remember,
the place of safety that was born from.
t was a moment with me and my mother, not about hang ups, or frustrations, anxieties and all the other
baggage carry, this was about a mother and a son re-uniting, through a heart-beat, through time,
through love. thank you for this it is one of the most precious gifts that have have been given
recently.
At this point wanted to say how structured and relaxed the whole weekend was, you took care of us,
you reassured us, you fed us, you became our parents, gave us a safe place to become a child, to
become ourselves, to be ourselves. This was really important especially in a theatre for live arts! (A
difficult place to turn into a safe haven and a womb) For me the crossing of my two life styles, bringing
two practices together, helping me to realize it need not be separate. know the fact that you cannot
teach live art, but it is the tools we work
with that can help every individual to
become themselves within their work and
the re-birthing strangely can work,
especially in my own practice, reminding
myself to breath and to stop being bitter
about what think isn't happening, but to
enjoy, embrace, dance, breath, live, love
and appreciate the gift of life.
Thank you
Spike (below is a picture of my mother
holding one of my older brother's,
wasn't in the picture yet! was in the
second five born after.) wanted to share
this. xxxxxxxxxxxx
No Regrets, with Colchester Arts Centre
Led by Geraldine Pilgrim

When I was approached by LADA with an invitation to apply for a DIY10 commission
I didnt think I had an idea, so was about to write back and sadly say no, not this
time. I then heard on a radio Edith Piaf singing Non, Je ne regrette rien, a song I
have always loved.

I have always maintained that I had no regrets in my life but then realised that
actually I did and was kidding myself. There was indeed a regret I wished I could
undo but did not know how I could go about it.

I then imagined how wonderful it would be if I could propose a DIY 10 project that
could result in the participants to have no regrets.

This led me on to think about how as practitioners we use our personal experiences
in our work. I once created a project never realised- that used an intense personal
emotional experience and realised- that it was more of a therapeutic outpouring of
grief than an experience that had been transformed though my artistic practice into a
performance that could be communicated to and experienced by an audience.

I then decided to combine these two aspects to create the No Regrets DIY and
selected 5 participants who I felt would benefit most from the experience due to the
nature of their regret and the feasibility of their no regrets outcome within the 100
individual budget so that the 2
nd
part of the project- the transformation of their
experience through their artistic practice could be fully developed.

St Martins Church was a perfect space a beautiful, peaceful and calm environment
that lent itself to allow 6 individuals- including myself- to express very personal
regrets that were only to be heard by each other. It was important that we all felt a
sense of trust between us and that is why it is a challenge to explain what happened
in that extra ordinary weekend.

It was such a privilege to have spent that time with all of the group and their
commitment and care to the DIY. It was a really emotional weekend and it has
helped me a lot, acknowledging if not quite yet coming to terms with my past.
I did do my No Regrets Task and it eventually resulted in a happy outcome. I want to
thank LADA and my fellow No Regretters for making this possible.
Geraldine Pilgrim

THE DEADWOOD STAGE GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN

The project will couple desire with distaste, stemming from our current explorations into fantasy; the role of the
exotic and the co-option of cultural imagery within fantasy and desire (sexual fantasy, role play, fancy dress,
games and toys) as well as the trend/fashion for retro imagery and the fetishisation of bygone eras.

VS

VS

The Calamity Jane DIY was great. Working with exertion and exhaustion really stayed
with me. A great mix analyzing the gender and race politics of the film and getting to sing
and dance and be ridiculously silly Katie Baird DIY10 participant

@EilidhUkulele
@garethcutter: The DIY live art musical can and DOES exist. Thanks
@GETINTHEBACK #DIY10 And it's beautiful!

@GGibson3
Please excuse my language, but what a f**king awesome weekend that was with
@GETINTHEBACK @thisisliveart #DIY10 Thank you.

Exploring the idea of the live art community musical with
GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN has been one of the most exciting and creatively liberating
projects I've had the pleasure of being involved in Gareth Cutter DIY10 participant

VS

VS

Cast list (which aims to record the approximate and plural iterations and evolutions)

Calamity Jane: Katy Baird, Gareth Cutter, Emma Moller, Mary Osborn, Day Sheehan, Ellie Stamp
Wild Bill Hickok: Rachael Clerke, Morven Mulgrew
Katie Brown: Lucy Hutson, Lucy McCormick, Louise Orwin
Lieutenant Danny Gilmartin: No one. That darn cheatin' son of a gun!
Francis Fryer: Gareth Cutter, Grace Gibson, Dina Gordon, Vanessa Hammick, Eilidh MacAskill, Morven
Mulgrew,
Adelaide Adams: Grace Gibson, Dina Gordon, Vanessa Hammick, Lucy Hutson, Lucy McCormick, Emma
Moller, Mary Osborn, Ellie Stamp
Henry Miller: Thomas Martin, Jennifer Pick, Day Sheehan
Rattlesnake: Grace Gibson, Thomas Martin
Susan: Lucy Hutson, Thomas Martin
Injuns: Katy Baird, Gareth Cutter, Eilidh MacAskill, Thomas Martin, Emma Moller, Louise Orwin
Horse: Dina Gordon, Eilidh MacAskill, Jennifer Pick,
Drunk Painter: Thomas Martin

Local types: Katy Baird, Hester Chillingworth, Rachael Clerke, Gareth Cutter, Grace Gibson, Dina Gordon,
Vanessa Hammick, Joe Hood, Lucy Hutson, Eilidh MacAskill, Thomas Martin, Lucy McCormick, Emma
Moller, Morven Mulgrew, Louise Orwin, Mary Osborn, Jennifer Pick, Day Sheehan, Ellie Stamp

Audience: Katy Baird, Hester Chillingworth, Rachael Clerke, Gareth Cutter, Grace Gibson, Dina Gordon,
Vanessa Hammick, Joe Hood, Lucy Hutson, Eilidh MacAskill, Thomas Martin, Lucy McCormick, Emma Moller,
Morven Mulgrew, Louise Orwin, Mary Osborn, Jennifer Pick, Day Sheehan, Ellie Stamp

Direction: Hester Chillingworth
Musical Direction: Joe Hood

Walking bench, a proposal by Martha King, photo by Natasha Vicars.

Where the horizon moves | workshop

Gustavo Ciraco

Where the horizon moves | workshop

Gustavo Ciraco

This workshop was part of an open-air performance project on landscapes as a
shared fictional field and site of action. It took the form of a 3-day creative
workshop for performing and visual artists interested in public interventions in
nature. As main aims stood initially the promotion of a vivid discussion on
horizon as a theme and its history and then later the use of the specific landscape
of Yorkshire Sculpture Park as common ground for the proposals of the
participants.

The workshop took the following stages:
a) presentation of the projects history
b) introduction to the theme of the workshop
c) presentation of each of the participantss relation to the theme in their
works and interests
d) theoretical discussion on the history around horizon and lanscape
e) production of individual dioramas in the studio, portraying the home
landscape of the participants, followed by group analysis and discussion
f) practice orientated visits and discussions around the park
g) development and sharing of 7 different individual proposals, which
were performed/experienced by all the attending participants and
followed by feedback sessions

I wanted to offer the participants the possibility of conceiving actions and visual
interventions that interrogated and rendered visible contextual aspects of a place,
using the horizon as a field of action and imagination.

It was an intensive and rewarding experience with a group of interesting and
critically engaged group of artists. Despite the restricted time for a longer process
of try-outs and discussion sessions, the group was very good to retain
information, receive feedback and pro-actively improve their proposals. It was
since the beginning, a group that was supportive and curious about each others
processes, ideas and working frame.

The Yorkshire Sculpture Park offered a sublime and instigating environment for
our experiences. The staff was very cool and welcoming about what we were
doing and with the precious accompaniment and support of Damon Waldock, we
felt welcome to be, see and imagine possible researches and partnerships. An
inspiring place to be.

Diy particpants feedback:

I found the workshop one of the warmest, most productive and inclusive I've
ever participated in. It never felt like we were rushing towards an end goal and
a good amount of space was given to discussion and reflection as well as
exploration of the park. It was a great group of people and it felt just the right
size. () The workshop has inspired a lot of new thoughts for me. I left feeling
invigorated and spurred on to continue exploring what making work in parks/
landscapes could mean.
Martha King

The 'Where the Horizon Moves' workshop in the Sculputure Park was an
intensive and enriching experience. I enjoyed the talking, walking, and
experimenting, and especially how these three modes overlapped very smoothly
as we explored the park and ideas on the horizon. Also, it was great to have time
towards the end of the workshop for our own experiments - although I wish
there had been more time for this. Overall, Gustavo was a brilliant, focused
facilitator. I really appreciated his ideas, comments and ways of working with
us. Thank you!
Katja Nyqvist

The workshop was really productive for me, helping me think again about
previous work and it's starting points, and developing something new in
response. The workshop gave us time and openness to explore making work in
the setting, learn about each other's work, and gain insights and inspiration
from Gustavo's practice. It always felt like we had plenty of time to talk and
explore ideas - but still had enough structure that it built up to everyone making
something new and showing it (to each other). I hope we do find opportunity
to work together again as a group.
Natasha Vicars

'wherethehorizonmoves' is a pertinent exploration in a time where globalization
and shifting concerns over where to to be in thew world is under current debate.
My Phd explores the idea of 'otherhorizon' in terms of horizon not as line but as
plane and from standing in a subjective perceived horizon. The YSP project
enabled e to challenge how I was to undo the ideological ideas of horizon
including the masculine representations of it in art practices. Most importantly
it enabled me to explore how the body can be site, agent for the horizon. This has
developed my Kite project as anti-hierarchical non-permanent architecture to
capture shifting horizons in sites defined by edge.
Joanna Geldart

Other horizon, a proposal by Joana Geldart

higher, higher, a proposal by Hanna Sullivan

Hedge-rove, a proposal by Sheila Ghelani

diorama exercise

..........................................................................................CONTACTS

e-mails
gustavociriaco@gmail.com
wherethehorizonmoves@gmail.com

website

gustavociria.co
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I!ve worried a lot about how to present the "findings! of this workshop in a way that
doesn!t replicate some of the problems we were trying to solve, or at least address. I
think I learned some things in our time together and I think others felt the same way. I
could tell you what happened but it!s hard to describe. A lot happened and nothing
happened. We took over the back room of a beautiful pub and sang karaoke one
time because "karaoke is the opposite of facebook.! We made movies of each other
and we photographed each other. We photographed ourselves. We ate lunch. We
drank beers. Drank coffee. There were moments of connection and disconnection,
arguments or disagreements, black holes of awkwardness that opened up inside us,
and by us I mean any one of us at a given time: the individual who finds [her]self
suddenly experiencing a feeling of nonbelonging in the group. There were places we
couldn!t all go together. There were ways in which we tried to find one another again.
I like to think we were all pretty much committed to trying.
Many of the DIY Reports read like this, which is fine because there ought to be a
place for unproductive research and aimless non-collaboration. Relatedly, the point is
that some things cannot be, and should not be, documented or performed for an
audience. But in a visual culture and the creeping performativity of social media
we!re all increasingly in the position of having to decide which images and which
aspects of ourselves will make the cut as we curate and create? our lives in
public.
The other issue, which of course is more complex, is one of external representation:
what does it mean to signify or to exist for those of us whose bodies have been
documented largely through the gaze of others? For women, queer bodies, and for
nonwhite people in a colonial context, there is a lot of reparation to make in order to
start redressing the balance of how we have been represented. The selfie is not and
has never been a self-portrait in the art-historical or conventional sense. The portrait
is supposed, at best, to reveal the essence or the aura of the sitter; a self-portrait is a
form of radical disclosure. The selfie seems rather to be an incantatory device, a
marker in a map, a way of manifesting your existence in the world as you yourself
would like to see it.
We created a closed circle and safe space that was also, of course, an audience in
contrast to the various publics (from one!s employer to one!s lover to the seven
circles of hell separation of facebook) we "perform! for every day. We explored the
spaces in between performing (also in the sense of "high performance!, i.e., being a
functional human being in the world) and being. Most of this will remain intentionally
undocumented.
The photographs that follow juxtapose everyone!s "selfie! with a photograph taken by
someone else in the group. Everyone took turns to photograph each other and as
such there were 10 photos of each participant to choose from. We looked through
them all together, on the projector. And despite not knowing one another well, it was
unanimous when we agreed that "yeah, that!s the one, that!s totally you.!
The you as seen by others doesn!t look like the me we chose to represent ourselves;
this may or may not be a dichotomy.

JD 2014
DIY Report Look At The E(s)tate We Are In

Look At The E(s)tate We Are In was an excellent event that brought together some really
exciting and thoughtful practitioners. Covering a wide and diverse range of approaches to
practice, these five selected artists represented a broad overview of the ways in which artists
have chosen to engage with working in a social context. I do not wish to break confidentiality
so I will not be referring to the artists by name as some of the topics we discussed and
autobiography shared was of an extremely personal nature.

There were many discussions that broached the subject of ethics and responsibility in relation
to socially engaged art. Some of the questions posed by the group were extremely complex
and invested. For example, we questioned that if one does not live within the community that
the artist is working in how can any kind of intervention be more than just parachuting in and
doing social engagement without any long-term impact. What are the responsibilities of the
artist when representing the interests of the group they are working with to a wider public?
This was an extremely important question to pose as one of the artists had been accused of
representing the estate in Sheffield that she had been commissioned to work on in a negative
way by its residents with incredibly dire and upsetting consequences for both her and a
resident of the estate who later committed suicide. Also, how do we balance our own need for
artistic excellence with the needs of the community that we are working within and how
useful is it to keep framing these practices as art (referencing John Jordans eventual
abandonment of the term within his own work).

The curatorship of the event was also extremely successful. For example, it was only when I
came to read the applications that I realised that I had not considered the role of digital
technology in this area of work. This was because one of the practitioners that I selected
worked with digital technologies within her practice. I made sure that I invited The Drawing
Shed (a collective who have been working on an estate in East London) to present their work
mainly because they use Twitter as a tool for exploring and making work.

The balance between academic presentations and practical ones worked well and nether
seemed to dominate the other. Professor Nic Rideout from Queen Mary unpicked the term
participation and the neo-liberal assumptions that often underpin it while Katie Beswick from
Leeds University discussed representations of the estate in popular culture/press and proposed
how notions of the hood (a term borrowed from North American slang) were positive ways
through which members of estates could re-frame the negative positioning of their lives by
others beyond the estate.

In terms of practice based presentations Barby Asanty was incredible, talking about place,
identity and context as well as Michael Needham who has successfully run a company on the
estate where he lives just off the Hackney Rd called Neighbourhood Watching. Having run
this for seven years he has now decided to close the company and leave the estate. He was
asking what exit strategies need to be put in place and what responsibilities he has to the
estate residents. The overall mix complimented each other and allowed the participants to
think about estates and the complexities of social engagement in expansive and subtle ways.

One element of the DIY that was particularly successful was the meet the neighbours.
Originally I worried that this would seem a little tokenistic as each participant would only be
spending two hours with the residents that were selected by me. I attempted to ensure a good
level of representation in terms of who lives on the estate, choosing Diane, a resident in her
seventies who has lived on the estate for most of her life, Mumtaz, a Muslim lady with two
daughters, Mark, an ex-gangster who now runs a fishing club charity and Harry, a middle
class architect who has bought his own flat and involves himself in community projects and
sustainability. Both the residents and the participants loved this part of the DIY. In terms of
residents, Diane in particular enjoyed it, saying that she would love to meet them again and
that it had made her month talking to such lovely people!

Deciding to host the event in my flat was both rewarding and exhausting. As well as the
residents there would also be some of the presenters that would want to stay so I would be
cooking for up to ten people each day! I have to admit that by the third day I was relieved that
I no longer had to do this! It was important that it was hosted in my flat as the mechanics of
conviviality, sharing, being in someone elses private space (in terms of the participants)
needed to be experienced in an invested way by all parties involved.

There is still much to think about and the event posed as many questions as it did answers.
The Drawing Shed have invited applications from the artists involved to participate in a
residency on their estate so this may mean that this DIY has a life beyond the summit meeting
which is fantastic. Katie Beswick has also agreed to write a review of the summit meeting for
a-n magazine and we may also be collaborating on a longer article looking at art, estates and
specific audiences, but this is still in the pipeline.

The books on loan from LADA were devoured and served as yet another departure point for
discussions. I think that we all left this event feeling stimulated, exhausted, inspired and even
more determined to keep finding new approaches to working in this area of cultural
production.

I have entered here a series of responses and quotes from the artists involved in the event:

Ania Bas:

The summit had an incredibly interesting structure. Meeting on the estate in the living room
and treating your leaving space as our research base was interesting in itself. Made me think
about all this talk surrounding social practises that puts hospitality at the forefront. The
intensity of the summit was also great. I wish on one level it wasn't in London so I cold
extract myself from 'everyday' and commitment and be solely in it, pretending the rest of my
life doesn't exist (at least for three days).

I enjoyed the mix of speakers and artists taking part - coming from so different angles,
starting points, levels of understanding and commitment to working in a certain way in a
certain place.

Nic's talk was incredible. Left me gobsmacked. He wasn't selling his research, or talking
about himself (as we artists tend to) but was problematising the field. He made me think. I
keep quoting him to over people. He opened the area that I don't have much knowledge of and
I like when it happens, you get a window into a different way of thinking.

I was very tired by Friday and by Friday I felt as we are repeating ourselves, nothing new was
being said, that we turned back to quick-fix answers to questions that shouldn't have quick fix
solutions applied to them. I felt that we didn't use it as an opportunity to talk about structural
changes that are within our reach.

I loved the collective feel, the sharing of meals, the effort, energy and general wonderfulness
put into it by you and Andy. The fact that your flatmate and neighbours were involved was
also important, it made it all real. Work on estates with living, breathing people who have
their worries, stories, outlooks on life, a view of London from their kitchen window and go
swimming at 7am in the lido.

Louise Brodie:

I was initially apprehensive about attending Jordan's DIY. I don't consider myself to be
someone who sits comfortably within an academic dialogue. Upon arrival at Jordan's flat I
was immediately set at ease. His choice to frame the 3 days as a summit and host it in his own
flat couldn't have worked better. It set a precedent for the convivial nature of the 3 days and
spoke volumes of Jordan's own artistic practice.

The structure of the 3 days was fantastically varied and for me offered a great dynamic to the
discussion and dialogue that insued. I was inspried but each new encounter and encouraged
by the diversity of people. The 3 days really opened me up to a new community of
practitioners and bodies of work. Jordan held and hosted the group with an honest and
authentic energy which I think allowed a lovely openness to exist between us all. I have been
left with much to think about, talk about and read. I'm incredibly excited about how this 3 day
encounter with impact upon my own artistic and teaching practice.

Jonathan Grieve:

My thoughts about the diy summit were unexpected to say the least. My position was slightly
different compared to the other participants in that I had a history of work in the community
and that I currently lived in social housing but was not currently engaged in delivering art-
work in that context. I thought the structure of three days was really well planned and thought
through, and that the academics and artist who visited were absolutely the right people to be
there. The 3 days made me reflect on the work I do and have done, something I haven't had
the privilege to do in many years. And it was amazing hear about the kind of work that other
artists are doing. However my feelings toward this kind of work is ambivalent. I feel that
there is a tendency to use artists as a cheap way of a community selling itself and trying shrug
off a bad image or reinforce a positive image. I have a feeling that the legacy of neo
liberalism is that somehow the function of art is to be an extension of a local councils
marketing department. In some of the accounts of the work that people have done there was
an element of avoiding difficult issues that come up instead preferring to just something 'nice'
instead. Having said that I was impressed with your approach with lupa, where you had
succeeded in putting performance art in amongst the everyday world of your council estate
without compromise, allowing people to make up their own minds whether they liked it or not
or whether they wanted to participate. I think this is a testament to your personality and
ability to talk anyone and everyone, meeting Diane was the proof really, her descriptions of
the work made me realize that what people find inspirational about art is that they see other
people willing to express themselves and this somehow gives them courage to do it
themselves. However, I found myself wondering what kind of art I would want to participate
in on my council estate in Hornsey, rather than having a project for other people to participate
in. I also felt that people's needs on an estate are to do with dealing with isolation and meeting
each other and consequently doing things together. Although art can help with that it isn't a
primary function of art to make that happen. All in all I found the 3 days very interesting and
that it caused me to re-think my attitudes to art in this context. And I had no idea that so much
of this kind of work was being done. Haringey needs some.

Anna Bosworth:

LADA & The Estate that we're living in symposium / gathering / conference / meeting of
minds was a chance for me to reflect as a practitioner on the nuances and issues thrown up
when working (for me as a digital theatre practitioner) with young people who live in and
around Estates in inner city London. As a freelancer, I often work on my own within a
participatory session and don't necessarily get to reflect on learning that occurs during
projects, particularly in difficult sessions. A recent project I undertook involved the
presentation of an Estate through a piece of theatre and then the subsequent writing of a new
piece of work by the participants, about the Estate. It was interesting to reflect on this with the
other members of Jordan's symposium and unpick parts of the project.

The blend of speakers and the process of inhabiting Jordan's Estate in Bethnal Green
provoked lively debate and discussion across the 3 days. It was interesting to compare ideas
and thoughts from members of the local council, housing association, academics and artists
alike and I felt like Jordan provided a balanced yet provocative blend of speakers. My
absolute favourite part was spending an afternoon with one of the local residents who took me
on a personal tour of Bethnal Green and introduced me to her family. This part for me, really
opened up a space for reflection upon what stereotypes exist around Estates and their
inhabitants, and in particular, how I view different parts of the city as a whole. This micro to
macro reflection continued for me particularly in the delivery of Katie's PhD paper, which
focused on SPID and applied theatre practices in particular. Her references to the
'fetishization' of Estates within culture particularly resonated with me across some of my own
practice particularly in London and Harlem (NYC) where I have worked in 'hood' settings
with 'hood' kids. It was great to meet and network with Katie and hear about her practice.

Although personally, some of the Live Art references were a little vague / foreign to me (my
own background in academia is very digitally theatre orientates so some of the art references
were a little lost on me) I really enjoyed sharing practice cross sector and learning + engaging
with other professionals in this setting. Jordan was an amazing host and I hope I can now call
him a friend. I will encourage more of my friends to participate with any events from LADA
as it was a fantastic experience. Thank you!

Soho Sideshow
Artsadmin and The Soho Society

Joshua SOFAER
with
Stacy MAKISHI
George CHAKRAVARTHI
Nigel BARRETT and Louise MARI
Peter REDER
Susannah HEWLETT

hosted by
The Soho Society
supported by
Manick Govinda, Artsadmin

Soho Sideshow was an opportunity to discover more about the history and current life in
Soho and to develop a bespoke proposal for the area with production support. 6 mid-
career artists working under the umbrella of Live Art spent a day visiting places and
meeting people. They formed proposals which were then presented to key stake holders.

The visit on Friday 30
th
August included:
an introduction to The Soho Society
lunch at the oldest Chinese restaurant in Soho
visit to China Town and the Chinese Community Centre
information about Event Licensing
a visit to The Academy Club
a visit to The House of St Barnabas
information about Planning Law
meeting with the Vicar of Soho
a historical tour of Soho, Vintage 1950s and Roots of the Swinging Sixties

The proposals were presented on Friday 11
th
October and included:
Stacy Makishis binaural tour from St. Annes to the Chapel of the House of St.
Barnabas
George Chakravarthis cover version of Lola by the Kinks with a community music
video
Peter Reders one-to-one tours of Soho by local residents
Susannah Hewletts Soho Soap Opera and Sex workers in Soho
Nigel Barrett and Louise Maris immersive intergenerational Tudor masque through
the streets of Soho
Joshua Sofaers Banner Gallery on flagpoles of Soho, and Little Museum in
unused business windows

It is hoped and imagined that these proposals will lead to productive working
relationships between these artists and Soho.

[A] brilliant project. It has been really revelatory and we've met some wonderful people.

This DIY project was filled with the most inspirational and generous artists. There were
many opportunities to cross-fertilize ideas, exchange thoughts and share inspiration. As
a facilitator, Joshua is a consummate professional who is also warm, generous,
experienced and insightful. We were spoon-fed research, inspiration, networks,
production support and even a 9 course Chinese dinner! I am confident that many of our
proposals will blossom to fruition in Soho. The Soho Sideshow did everything it could to
help our projects get through the door.
Stacy Makishi

I am unaware of a similar project in the past that involved the Soho Society, so yours was
a very interesting, unexpected way to have us engage not only with the process of
selection and commission but also with contemporary media. To have practical
experience of the commissioning process was quite new. I'd be delighted if any of the
projects happened. Just to have such events happening in the neighbourhood would be
lots of fun.
David Gleeson, Soho Society

I thought it was a great model that I'd love to see used more. Such a refreshing contrast
to the solitary writing of proposals and posting to some unknown and anonymous
funding or commissioning person. It's a very nice idea to have some orientation and
contact with other artists and possible venues before getting down to coming up with an
idea. It also made me think in a general way, how productive it could be to have this
group social side of things, as part of the process, even though the proposals or ideas
that come out of it are basically individual.
Peter Reder

A brilliantly planned creative experience with developmental time for ideas as well as a
more than handy introduction to the Soho Society (and beyond) in order that these
projects may actually be realised in the future. Personally it provoked a wealth of ideas in
me - and at this stage I'd be excited to pursue the realisation of any of them.
Susannah Hewlett

it's been fun for me to have been part of the project, especially as more people in the
Soho Society were drawn in. There's been a sense of enthusiasm in the office and when
the topic arises at Exec meetings. I'm sure that will continue as things begin to happen.
It's a good way to bring people together, cutting across the usual lines. And for the Soho
Society it's good to have a part in something that's (for us at least) fun, rather than a
problem (or routine).
Bob ODell, Soho Society

impeccably organised, educational and inspirational. It was great to meet the other
artists and the various organisations, societies and patrons of Soho. The historical tour of
Soho was particularly interesting and inspirational in navigating my proposal. I am now
better informed about the past and present history of Soho, have been enabled to
conceive a new piece of work, and have eaten in the oldest Chinese restaurant in Soho!
George Chakravarthi

I thought it was a brilliant DIY project. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing time with the well
chosen group of mid-career artists on the reconnaissance trip to Soho, to discover
aspects that I hadn't known about the area, to meet the passionate and committed
members of the Soho Society. The event certainly inspired some wonderfully good
proposals from the participating artists. The presentations by the artists of their
proposed idea for making work was diverse, unusual, unique and in all cases imbued
with humour, warmth and joy. I really hope that they will all be realised and I am more
than happy to continue advising them to encourage further development and realisation.
Manick Govinda, Artsadmin

COMBATIVE MANIFESTOS THINKING THROUGH THE BODY
Led by Kira OReilly

Attendance
The call had a good response, I was happily surprised. From the applications 14
were selected. One had to withdraw due to other commitments and another could
only come along as an observer on the final day due to a previous injury.
Interestingly far more women applied, normally grappling is dominated by men.
The majority was London based but someone else came from Bristol and Brighton,
some one came from Italy, another from Ireland.

I had some knowledge of practice and previous connection with some but by no
means all, so it was a delightful unfolding, meeting and engaging with some new
practitioners. I was also concerned to draw on a range or experiences and
background, allowing some overlap of association (eg three people who had been on
Jamie Lewis Hadleys Breaking Kayfabe DIY in 2011) to input as well as people
coming from entirely other backgrounds.

Each and ever participant was 100% on board every second, in a challenging and
demanding environment. I was astonished and thrilled with their gutsy engagement
and meeting with ideas and activities. The success of the workshop was really the
willingness of the group to be so open, willing and generous.

Space
Using one of the studio spaces at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) worked
well to a large extent. It was a fairly corporate looking room, normally used for
seminars but it was large enough for our number and purposes. It lacked ventilation
and the florescence lights were not fabulous but the gym I had in mind would of not
been much better. I hired mats from James Duncalf, our grappling instructor, which
covered almost the entire space so that we occupied them for all grappling, writing,
reading and discussion activities.
I felt that it was exciting and valuable to position grappling practices within this type
of academic space and to consider what it produced, just as interesting as if we had
been producing texts, readings and writings on the mats of the gym.

Instruction:
The ethos drew on some key inspirations and principles:
Safety and boundaries: Annie Sprinkles dont do anything you dont want to do
Goat Islands democratizing of material ownership, i.e. anything that is generated in
the workshop is owned by everyone, any of the methods that I introduce are for
anyone to take on and make their own.
Naljorpa Chhimed Kunzang: a Buddhist teacher who first brought me into direct
combat with fighting and writing.

In my facilitation of the workshop I wanted to keep things safe and on track with a
certain amount of formal structure and discipline but in such a way that responded
and supported the groups own suggestions and emerging ideas. This seemed to
work, including the group suggesting developments that I was considering but didnt
want to impose on them.

We learnt grabbling techniques with James for about three hours a day, normally in
two sections, on the last day in one. He also stayed with us for a lot longer and was
very generous with his time, energy and input into other areas, for example we did a
circuit that involved martial arts conditioning exercise and writing exercises so that
the writing was embedded within strenuous physicality. This developed into sparring/
writing sessions so that the two activities could interpenetrate. On the final afternoon,
the conclusions phase was mostly dedicated to quick experiments and trial with
performance ideas, again strongly requested by the group, with my trying to
encourage them to not talk too much but to simply do, so that people could leap in,
maximize having a ready audience to feedback and nurture the ideas. Some
beautiful texts were produced individually and collectively. Considerable research on
manifestos was presented formally and informally which in turn fed into a shared
learning and forming.

This idea of working with the body can sometimes seem like a hackneyed and
unquestioned trope in performance circles and academia, so many concepts and
experiences of Body and body, it can sound somewhat meaningless, flat and not
really urgent, imperative or vital. Additionally different models produce many
learnings, knowledges and indeed many bodies, its always multiple, complex and
often subtle.
It seemed that the shared experience of this workshop was a concrete method to
approach some of these questions. Limits were definitely met, new experiences
engaged with and knowledges encountered.

Budget
The budget worked out very well. All costs were adequately covered. The in kind
support from QMUL was invaluable in realising this as was the mat hire which was
inexpensive thanks to James.

Length of workshop
3 days, 10 5 with an hour break for lunch. From my point of view, for a first
experiment with this kind of workshop 3 days was an optimum amount of time. Also
the budget would not of been adequate for anything longer without compromising
costs. Some of the feedback from the group has been that they wish it had been
longer, which is encouraging and promising but I am not convinced that many could
of sustained the physical demands of the workshop for a longer duration.

Feedback
Good
There was lots of very positive feedback given verbally from everyone, which I was
delighted with.
9 out of 13 completed feedback forms that were also overwhelmingly positive.
There was a lot of excitement and pleasure at being given challenging, moderately
tough physical demands and rising to them at the same time as writing and looking at
manifesto forms was being also woven in.

Not so good
Injury:

Over all a very helpful learning curve for me. I write this as I nurse a wrestling injury.
When involved in martial arts on an ongoing basis, injury and recovering from it
becomes part of the landscape, albeit a frustrating aspect, however it is an altogether
different situation during a three day arts workshop when expectations are
knowledges are varied and not adjusted to this.

There were some participants with considerable dance and other body discipline
practices. I wrongly assumed a greater proficiency and awareness of how to keep
ones body safe. I was wrong. One dancer misunderstood how to take care of her
head and neck in a grappling context and came away with a bad headache and pain
that lasted several days try to and caused her distress. I learnt about this from her
feedback form and phoned her immediately to check in with her and discuss it. She
was fine but rightly wanted to let me know. It was extremely helpful and her
willingness to highlight it and talk helped me identify some blind spots and gave me
some ideas about how to avoid this or at least further militate against this in the
future.
1. Marital arts are a risk activity, establish expectations from the beginning.
Injury happened and can be minimised.
2. Have a form that people sign acknowledging this. This brings the message
home and is a common convention in horse riding.
3. Have an injury report procedure and discuss with a group how when one is
hurt one often doesnt want to bother or worry anyone. Understandable but
perhaps something to try and ignore.
4. Reinforce these ideas when learning wrestling, break falls etc.

James instruction was impeccable in all of these areas, he carefully taught break
falls, which is how you fall safely, BUT I think I could have perhaps had a pause to
discuss safety and a reminder to folks not to go at 100%.

Over all there was nothing too serious and certainly nothing that seemed to require
any medical attention, I did check in with people continually so I appreciated it when
one other person mentioned an upper back/neck problem and managed her
involvement accordingly, stepping in and out as needed. From knowing about it I was
able to monitor it and she seemed fine.

Over all a very helpful learning curve for me. I write this as I nurse a wrestling injury.
When involved in martial arts on an ongoing basis, injury and recovering from it
becomes part of the landscape, albeit frustrating, however it is an altogether different
situation during a three day arts workshop when expectations are knowledges are
varied and not adjusted to this.

CONCLUSIONS:
I am absolutely thrilled that the feedback has been so positive, that people so
obviously has such a productive and enjoyable time. I found this really validating, to
make the transition from harbouring a passion, a questions and an obsession within
my own private practice to opening it up with a bunch of questions to a larger, keen
and willing group and to find a positive and affirming proof of concept.

It encourages me to find ways and means to continue and to develop this line of
investigation and I have ideas for several intertwining tiers of how to do so.

I am very happy that some of the participants are already developing their own
artistic ideas from starting points the discovered during the workshop and am
interested in seeing how these evolve. They are very different from my own ideas,
rushing to be presented/cooked where as I take a longer, more process based,
emergent view. This suggests to me that longer workshops could be really valuable,
and also perhaps another format, including sessions spaced out over weeks and
even months would be interesting. I can imagine a group who regularly take
conventional grappling training but who also meet in unconventional grappling
scenarios to experiment with ideas towards development.

Attendance was made possible by this being a funded venture and so made freely
available. It is doubtful that a great many of the participants could of otherwise done
it.

I am entirely delighted that I took the plunge and the risk to submit and realize this
within a DIY context. Thanks to Live Art Development Agency for approaching and
encouraging me to apply, I not sure that I would of otherwise. The workshop was
exactly what I imagine a DIY could or should be, skills sharing, empowering
development creating all kinds of artistic autonomies, alliances and new, ribald life
forms.

Quotes from the feedback forms:

Excellent in general. I found the entire three days stimulating, challenging, scary,
fun, transformative (now I know I'm a little fighter!!) physically and mentally toning,
well organised, inclusive of everyone (especially me being the oldest and not the
fittest!) creative, good humoured and friendly.

I did enjoy the feeling that words are coming out from tip of pen in my had out of
nowhere.

Grapple bodies and Grab words..

. . . learning things like the choke hold do make you feel a little more empowered
when in intimidating situations.

An incredible experience to work in a variety of physical and mental states to
achieve a significant understanding of use of the body and manifestos in art.

Exhausting, Exhilarating & Affirming.

, it was a great experience between theory and practice, with a beautiful
collaborative way.

I found useful the concept of relation of bodies during fight, where one is always
searching for the other and vice versa, they are in conflict and they need each other
at the same time.

Writing under exhaustion, thinking under exhaustion, teaching your body new ways
of interacting with one another.

I was about precision, repetition, awareness of your body and your mind and the
ones of others.

I loved the combination of activities, the vigour with which we were encouraged to
do everything. The juxtaposition between conversation, ideas, and writing was in
good ratio with the physical work we were doing. I got a huge amount out of it
partly in affirming some ideas I had, partly in introducing me to a whole new world of
MA which I never would have encountered, and also for sparking new insight,
inspiration, conversation etc. I found the whole group dynamic was extremely
supportive and cohesive.

I think it's a great way of opening up practices and dialogue between artists, and a
wonderful opportunity to have a small look into someone else's line of enquiry. I
would definitely apply to some more next time round.

DIY10 - FINAL REPORT
LUCKY PIERRE

Workshop Website
Event Website
Lucky Pierre Website

DIY10 WORKSHOP SUMMARY- Saturday 24 to Sunday 25 August from 10:00 to 17:00

Everyone hates America. Everyone loves America. Or everyone both loves and hates America.
America has caused wars, economic destruction, and environmental disaster. America has
preserved democracy, generously given to others, elected a black president, come to the aid of
Britain. In this project, we will create a forum for non-American presenters to research and
dissect, explore, discuss, protest, celebrate, and/or argue about America.

With the American project as our subject matter - and using tools developed by Lucky Pierre -
the core workshop group will research, discuss, and problematize the use of aesthetic
techniques, activism, protest, and training/education to address complex issues through hybrid
forms. We will explore ideas of collaboration, authorship, ownership, and moving from research
to action while using technology for organizing, outreach and distribution. This collaborative
project will include readings, presentations, and on-line meetings and prompts throughout the
summer leading to the London workshop in August.

WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS

Samantha Comelli (London)
Alastair Flindall (Birmingham)
Gary Gardiner (Glasgow)
Lola Godoy (London)
Alisa Leimane (London)
Laura McDermott (Birmingham)
Anni Movsisyan (London)
Laura Rosemary Murphy (Bristol)
Sophie Nathan (London)
Ian Nulty (Glasgow)
Albert Smith (Birmingham)

EVENT SUMMARY

Ownership means acquiring, maintaining, and wielding power (the power to define, select,
include, and exclude). What are the sources of American ownership? What is the history of
American power? How is that power exercised today?

I Hate America! (I Love America): Who Owns Myth, Pop, Money, Race, and Terror in the
Land of the Free? is a six-month collaboration and conversation between artists in the UK and
the US - culminating on November 30, 2013 in concurrent daylong events in London and
Chicago. Through presentations, conversation and video, the 10-hour event features artists,
activists, scholars, and volunteers who will research, dissect, explore, discuss, protest,
celebrate, and argue about the United States.

UK and US events will take place simultaneously on Saturday, November 30, 2013 at the Glass
Factory in London (from 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.) and Defibrillator Gallery in Chicago (from 7:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).

I Hate America! (I Love America): Who Owns Myth, Pop, Money, Race, and Terror in the
Land of the Free? is supported by DIY 10: 2013, a Live Art Development Agency initiative in
collaboration with Platform. Additional funding for the project provided by the Foundation for
Contemporary Arts, New York.

The work is produced by Lucky Pierre and is created, organized and realized with 31
collaborating UK and US artists. Community may or may not be built, but action will be
attempted through discussions between former empire and shaky empire.

EVENTS ON NOVEMBER 30, 2013

1- Live Presentations: A 10-hour live event in London with 20 presentations responding to the
question: Who owns myth, pop, race, money, and terror in the Land of the Free?
Each presentation will respond to one of the topics in the form of an historical re-enactment.
The presentations may be performance, film, music, or lecture; however the presenter chooses
to interpret topic and form. Presenters will be members of the core group of UK and US artists,
and invited guest presenters.

2 - Conversation between Chicago and London: A live 10-hour conversation will take place
between volunteers in Chicago and London responding to Who owns myth, pop, race, money,
and terror in the Land of the Free? The video-conferenced conversation will be broadcast live
on the Internet.

3 - Video Channel: 10 hours of video programming relating to the question Who owns myth,
pop, race, money, or terror in the land of the free? The program will include curated film and
video as well as found material from YouTube. The program will presented at both the London
and Chicago venues (single channel video projection) while simultaneously being broadcast
online.

PARTICIPANTS:

Holly Abney
Catalina Acosta-Carrizosa
Hiba Ali
Teresa Albor
Jen Blair
Robin Cline
Samantha Comelli
Cupola Bobber
Alex Eisenberg
Lucy Ellinson
Everything is Terrible
Soren Evinson
Alastair Flindall
Richard Fox
Melinda Fries
Lola Godoy
Craig Paul Green
Travis Hale
Mairin Hartt
Aaron Henderson
David Isaacson
Chuck Jones
Kevin Kaempf
Nancy Klehm
David Kodeski
Jeff Kowalkowski
Felicia Lang
Alisa Leimane
Heather Lindahl
Lora Lode
James Marriott
Laura McDermott
Linda Garcia Merchant
Robert Metrick
Jason McInnes
Ross Middleton
Harun Morrison
Anni Movsisyan
Emily Mulenga
Laura Rosemary Murphy
Sophie Nathan
Matthew Nicholas
M Ryan Noble
Ian Nulty
Chloe Perkis
Chris Schoen
Antonis Sideras
Albert Smith
Kate Spence
Randy Stearns
Laura Stempel
N'Tanya' Davina Stewart
Alison Stokes
Piers Storey
Bill Talsma
Michael Thomas
Edward Thomas-Herrera
Fereshteh Toosi
Jane Trowell
Don Washington
Emmit X. Wright
Mary Zerkel

Marcia Farquhar
Taking It Personally
(with Norwich Arts Centre)

Sunday 3 to Monday 4 November
Marcia Farquhar invites you to join her for a 24 hour experience
to think about how the personal can be political, how the truth
can be a lie, and how stories go round and round like records.

Marcias project is represented by a film made by Reynir Hutber
that can be found on the DIY 10 report page here.

Neil Bartlett
I Live Here
(with The Showroom, University of Chichester)

Saturday 2 November to Sunday 3 November
To take a roomful of young artists through the process of
devising an (auto)biographical performance from start to
finish in the space of two days.

Participant responses:

I found the time constraint of having a public performance after 16 hours of making both nerve-racking
and exciting.

It was refreshing to make decisions quickly and to not obsess too much over the details by just letting
things present themselves naturally in this fast moving process. Setting myself artificially short
deadlines and presenting stuff to an audience is something I think that could be beneficial to my
practice, which sometimes moves (painfully) slowly.

I had worked with the idea of putting my words directly into another performers mouth a bit before, but
the weekend really expanded my sense of what was achievable as a performer that has primarily
worked solo. The process of using a chorus to articulate a unified I and at other time distort it,
changed my thinking.
David Sheppeard

Ive always been a bit cautious of making autobiographical performance. I worried that my own life
might not be interesting for an audience, or might seem self-indulgent. This opinion has shifted over
the weekend, however, through the realization that autobiographical performance is as much about its
audience as it is about the performer. This shift in thinking was initiated by something Neil talked
about. It was the idea that we almost always go to a performance hoping to see something of ourselves.
For example, we wont go to see Macbeth and be affected by how much we liked watching Macbeths
story. Instead, well go and be most engaged when were able to say about the performance, thats
me! Ive felt that! We love it when someone elses story articulates something about ourselves that we
might not have known. This is why autobiographical performance can be particularly potent: the
performer is speaking from real experience; making their connection with the audience and their
experiences all the more direct.
Anonymous

Ive always found autobiography a difficult place to start, so it was great to step out of my comfort
zone and confront some things about myself including the how awkward I felt about myself at 13.
After the first day, I was really motivated to start writing my own autobiographical show.
Allan Taylor

As an artist who tends to avoid apparent autobiographical content in devising and presenting work, I
saw how through working with other people, Neil managed to tell his story through our words and our
experiences, therefore, not telling his story at all. What seemed like quite a personal experience
actually became a shared experience, where each performer and the audience had their own narrative
to focus on, their story. Thinking into my practice, where I have the task of creating a solo
performance, I am now keen to try some of Neils devising techniques, to generate material that may or
may not be autobiographical. I am very humbled to have worked with Neil and feel like his wisdom
and strength as an artist and a person will resonate within me.

Anthony Pothecary

DIY 10 Report
Probing Elvis
Supported by LADA, NTW and Chapter Arts Centre.
In which the group reconsider our own practice by exploring the working
methods and practices of Tribute Artists.

Project Dates : 27
th
-29
th
Sept / 8
th
-10
th
November 2013

Location : 10
th
Anniversary Elvis Festival, Porthcawl,
Wales. / Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff.

Participants :

Part 1 : Nicki Hobday, Amelia Stubbersfield, Greg
Wohead, Haitch Plewis, Ellie Stamp, Eleanor Fogg, Laura
Hemming-Lowe, Sara Davies, Sarah Punshon, Daniel
Bye, Beth Richards, Matt Boyle, Racheal Clerke.

Part 2 : Nicki Hobday, Amelia Stubbersfield, Greg
Wohead, Haitch Plewis, Ellie Stamp, Eleanor Fogg, Sara
Davies, Sarah Punshon, Daniel Bye, Beth Richards,
Racheal Clerke, Siobhan Grice, Daniel Evans, Robert
Minhinnik.

Budget :
Travel for reconnaissance trip 150
Travel Porthcawl and Cardiff: 220
Fee for Nigel and Louise : 100
Fee for Juan Lazano for workshop : 100
Hire of workspaces for 2 days in YMCA in Wales : 150
Accommodation : 280

= 1000

The Project :

Every year, for one weekend only, the small seaside town of Porthcawl, in
South Wales, is invaded by 30,000 people, who come for the world's largest
Elvis Presley Festival and Tribute Artist competition.
It's the same amount of people that attend the Latitude Festival.
It is 3 days of adoration, hagiography, and joyful tribute that is fuelled by
alcoholic consumption on an industrial scale and fancy dress.
We took 13 artists for the weekend there.
They applied for very different reasons : to find a lost brother, to explore family
mental heath issues, confused identity, to think about their home town, to
meet up with fiends who they met on our DIY9 trip to Morecambe, to push
forward ideas which seemed related to the workshop, curiosity.
The idea was to immerse them in the hysteria of the weekend, to study the
practice and discipline of the Tribute Artists and to use this as an opportunity
to gain a new perspective on their own practice, to make friends, share ideas
and have fun.
The artists would use the atmosphere of the whole town, the event, the people
and the Tributes themselves to create a new piece of work or idea. Six weeks
later the group would meet up again for an intensive weekend working to
show their discoveries at the Experimentica Festival of Live Art in Cardiff.
Everything we hoped would happen happened and lots of brilliant things we
never even anticipated happened. The festival itself was, for most of us, the
weirdest weekend of our lives.

Part 1 The Elvis Festival

In the first stage the group was asked to arrive on the Friday evening or
Saturday morning and just wander the town and take it all in.
When we proposed the idea for the DIY we had not anticipated that the whole
town would be booked up a year in advance, so we put a call out to locals
who very generously put us up. Three of us stayed with Nigels mum and dad,
all the girls with a local beach artist, Siobhan, and the boys stayed with local
nurse, Andrea.
The pubs and nighclubs were open from 9am and every venue has a PA
and a queue of Elvis Tribute Artists waiting to show their talents ( or, more
commonly, not)
The main events take place in the Official Festival in the Grand Pavilion, on
the seafront, and then the more alternative and hedonistic aspects take place
towards the funfair in the east of the town. We had made contact with the
festival organiser on a reconnaissance trip earlier in the month and he very
generously got us in to all add on events in the Pavillion and after parties for
free.
Our artists embedded themselves excellently well in the Saturday mornings
festivities and it took quite a while to round them up and get them to the room
in the local YMCA in the high street we had hired

The purpose of the 2pm meeting was get to know each other, share our
interests and reasons for wanting to come on the workshop.
This went very well probably helped by the fact that before we got them
around the table they had all had a few pints, a singalong and a bag of chips,
in the spirit of the weekend.
After a couple of hours discussion, the rest of the day was spent simply
watching people paying tribute to Elvis.
-An important distinction that we learned from Darren (Graceland) Jones, who
won first prize in the best Welsh Elvis category, is that no one there is an
impersonator, they are Tribute Artists because " You cannot impersonate
perfection. You can only pay tribute "
The night culminated in attending The Elvies. This is the official competition,
the Oscars of the festival.
There are categories in Best Movie, Vegas, Female, GI ,Welsh, 68 Special
and Best Festival Elvis.
All of our participants sang and danced and fell in love with Gordon Elvis from
Malta who won Best Vegas Elvis.
Then we got invited to the after party. The Elvis Tribute Artist after party.
Everyone there had sideburns. It couldn't have been better.

On Sunday morning we met up again at the Pavillion to witness all the
different Elvis's all on stage at the same time performing gospel songs around
a grand piano. Elvis church.
Then at 2pm the weekend culminated in a workshop with Juan Lazano, a
highly skilled musician and tribute artist from Merthyr Tydfil. He has won pretty
much every Elvis category at some point in his career.
We were joined by Andrea and Siobhan our beautiful hosts and their children.
Everyone loved it. How can you not love a two hour workshop on how to be
Elvis Presley from a tribute artist at the top of their game.
Juan talked for an hour about why he loves Elvis, how he works, what he
thinks is important, the difference between him and other ETAs, what he
brings of himself to the act, the danger of getting lost in your tribute.
Then he led a workshop taking us through Elvis evolving physicality from the
wide stance hip thrusting of his early years, his fidgeting, his leading left side,
the bow, the twist, the clicks, to the closed stance minimal movements of the
later Vegas years.
It was a revelation.

So that was Porthcawl. everyone left very excited, hungover and full of chips
and ideas.

The Second Part : Experimentica

Six weeks later we met up on the Saturday morning at Chapter in Cardiff
The staff and other artists at Experimentica could not have been more
welcoming and hospitable or more helpful
The participants came ready with a notfully-formed idea of a piece of work
they wanted to make and we had 36 hours before we opened the Stwdio in
Chapter to an audience.
We started by biting the bullet and showing what we had.
Then we all helped each other to be ready, adding an outside eye, making
costume, directing each other, rehearsing, learning songs.
Richard, one of the invigilators from the gallery, played the guitar for Amelia,
we all learnt a dance to perform as part of Gregs idea, Sarah ran the tech
with the amazing technicians who fell over backwards to help us.
We got there, just.
it was an incredible 36 hours of eyebleeding creativity that resulted in a two
and half hour long show/sharing.
We filled the Stwudio with tables and chairs and candles.
We had an Elvis hairstyling salon, film, Hamlet, Freddie Mercury, Madonna
and Lou Reed tributes, poetry, dancing, singing, some inspired comparing,
autobiography and some gags.
It was great.
Our favourite part of the night was the contributions from the local people we
had collected along the way - Siobhan the beach artist showed an amazing
film of her work, Daniel Evans, who we met in a hotel in Porthcawl and is
writing his PhD on Porthcawl, class and the Elvis Festival, put his written
speech in his pocket and spoke eloquently and insightfully, contextualising the
whole evening beautifully. The evening ended when Robert Minhinnick, the
award winning local poet who we met on the beach, read his forty minute
searing poetic paean to the Elvis festival to the astonishment of all.

What we all got out of Probing Elvis

This DIY was very different from our DIY in Morecambe last year in that this
time the stimuli were all very external. It was not an inward journey but very
much an outward one. It was about immersing yourself in a (for most) very
unfamiliar culture, an extreme environment, facing new skill challenges and
working hard and fast. And yet the results for us and lessons learnt have
seemed similarly impressive and profound.
For Nigel and I, I think the friendships we have made have been the lasting
benefit of the DIY projects. We continue to see and support and receive
support from, the participants from Morecambe, three of whom joined us
again in Wales, and the participants themselves have formed a network of
support for each other. This closeness, won in an environment of personal
risk and honesty in extremely exposing situations, seems to last beyond the
DIY situation and continues to do so with Probing Elvis.
Already invitations to join each other in seeing each others work are flying
around and offers of collaboration and places to stay and things to do together
have been coming thick and fast since we left Porthcawl in September.
Professionally Nigel and I were able to explore a new idea about producing a
version of Hamlet where all the characters are played by Elvis at different
times in his life, which we would not have been able to do otherwise. As a
direct result of this we now have a meeting with John McGrath of National
Theatre Wales to see how we might take the idea further.
We have all made brilliant contacts with the amazing people at Chapter, which
will hopefully lead to further collaborations in the future.
This has been another amazing opportunity to push ourselves as artists and
enter new and unfamiliar worlds, which we would never have the chance to do
otherwise.
We would like to thank you again wholeheartedly for continuing to run the DIY
scheme, which is fast establishing itself as the highlight of our year.

"Probing Elvis was an inspiring couple of weekends in Wales spent watching,
listening, experiencing, imitating, responding, making, developing, shaking,
pointing, singing, dancing, collaborating and performing. A group of suspicious
minds, some conversations, and a lot of action. I had a wonderful time"

Xx nicki

Lovely seeing you all again. Stay in touch with all your performances. You
know where we are if you're passing by this way. Wishing you every success
and happiness and all your creative pursuits. Much love. Siobhan, Rose and
Yinka Xxx

Yep, great weekend guys. Had a great time and really enjoyed how
supportive, focused, creative and lovely everyone was. And loved the night of
performance . My mum and dad loved it too.
Amelia

Thank you all for a wonderful weekend.
So nice getting to know you all better.
Ellie xxx

It was so good to meet you all if youre ever in Devon or Cornwall let me
know, and if you need a squishy sofa to stay on in the area its yours! Hope to
keep in touch, let me know about your upcoming performances etc.
Hope to see you in the not too far distant future
Beth x

What Beth said! Total privilege to meet you all and get to work with you and
see your work. Please do let's keep each other posted on shows / scratches /
stuff...
lots of love
Sarah xx

I just wanted to say what an extraordinarily powerful experience the whole
thing was for me.
As a theatre director who mainly directs "proper plays", and also does soap on
telly, and for various reasons including the death of my mother ended up
spending very little of the last three years making work and quite a lot
producing the work of others, I've been suffering from a bad dose of imposter
syndrome. You could even call it a crisis. I'm not an artist, I'm not creative,
blah blah blah. Boring to tell to people, but very real for me.
To have two people whom I enormously respect let me join this project on
equal terms with proper artists, and give me stuff to do, and brilliant people to
do it with - pairing me up with Nicki in that Hamlet scene, generously letting us
play with such a wonderful idea; letting me play with my ideas and other
people's, supporting us all so wonderfully, making our ideas better, getting me
to act, dance and sing on stage in front of an audience - in front of John
bleedin' McGrath no less - that's been amazing. I'm still processing it all. But I
am so so grateful for that opportunity. And tell LADA I definitely learned a hell
of a lot. About how to create a kind of work I don't often get to make -
enormously useful to have glimpses into so many different people's making
processes - but also what I'm capable of personally. I'm not going to claim that
it cured me of my imposter syndrome, but it was definitely a shot in the arm.
Anyway. It was a wonderful amazing project to be part of, and I'm so very
grateful for the opportunity, and your generous support and kindness and
amazing backing singing and EVERYTHING. And please tell LADA I'm
enormously grateful to them, too

Sarah x

DIY 10 - IMPERFECT - LIVE
Nomi Lakmaier

EVALUATION

Imperfect live was an online professional development project conceived
specifically to give disabled, female live artists a space to experiment with
ideas around the female disabled body and its sexuality.

Original Intents and Aims

- To select 8 12 female, disabled live artists via an open call, with
myself as lead artist.
- To create a private password protected online space (trough a
combination of tumblr and Ustream) were we could experiment with
and explore ideas in a supportive non-judgmental context.
- To do this intensely over the period of one month, with each artists
making contributions at least once a week
- To decide together which material we shared (if any) could be made
public and shared with a wider audience.

How the project actually progressed and developed

Open Call artist selection

I put out an open call via, twitter, facebook, Live Art mailing list, a-n as well as
the mailing lists of various Live Art and/or disability focused organisations e.g.:
Artsadmin, Live Arts Development Agency, Shape, DASH, Arts and Disability
Ireland etc., as well as through my own mailing list.

While I had been aware that as I was looking for a very narrow group of
people (female, disabled live artists interested in addressing femininity and
sexuality) I wouldnt be inundated by applications, I was surprised that I was
receiving hardly any expressions of interests at all.

Instead I started receiving a number of threats on twitter, via email and one by
phone (which was particularly disturbing as my mobile number had not been
on any of the open calls) All threats were accusing me of recruiting vulnerable
adults for sexual exploitations.

While this was worrying it was also interesting, and indicative of the wider
populations view on disability and sexuality, which is something that was later
on discussed in our online discussions.

In the end I received four applications (I accepted all of them) and invited two
additional people to participate directly. Participants were from the UK, USA
and Iran.

The Online Space

This turned out a little trickier than I had initially thought, as it was very
important to all women involved that the space and all that was discussed or
shown on it would be totally private and password protected. I had originally
intended to set up a tumblr and in bed Ustream content into it. I could
however not find a way of making a tumblr totally secure, which lead to my
decision to work directly on Ustream instead.

The Project Itself Sharing and Discussions

While all participating artists were fully committed to the project, it soon
became apparent that the intended rigorous structure of making a minimum of
one active contribution a week and contribute to discussion of other peoples
work, was not realistic in real life, due to peoples other commitments ect.

Consequently we loosened the structure to enable people to make
contributions whenever they want and have time to, thus excepting that the
project was likely to run for longer than a month, but in a less intense way.

Communications also ended up stretching beyond the dedicated ustream
space.

In fact the project stretched way beyond one month and is in fact still ongoing
to some extent. There have been quiet periods where nobody contributed
anything, alternating with periods of intense activity, consisting of anything
from Ustream posts to postcards to emails.

Privacy and Public Sharing

We all agreed that all content we shared would be totally confidential until the
project is totally finished. At that point we would decide which parts (if any) we
are all happy to be made public. As the project is still ongoing content is still
confidential and no decision has been made yet if and when any parts of it will
be made public.

Outcomes

- 7 female, disabled live artists from three different countries where able
to meet and to intimately get to know each other and each others
work.
- The project turned into a valuable and (at the moment) ongoing
opportunity for a tight peer group to discuss work and ideas in a secure
and non-judgmental space.
- New work has been developed as part of this project, and as far as I
am aware versions of this work have already been shown publically.
- The project holds potential to become an ongoing professional
development group that may work together again in the future also on
other project on- as well as offline.

Conclusion

DIY as been a unique and invaluable opportunity for open exploration, without
pressure for definite and provable outcomes. This afforded Imperfect live the
confidentially it needed to work and also allowed the project to flow and
develop in unexpected ways and to grow into what it needed to be. Without
DIY some of the artists would not have the opportunity to share their work with
others the way they could with Imperfect live.

BIY1u- Peifoiming Nen, A Repoit.
By Petei NcNastei

This uocument is the only piece of uocumentation fiom the Peifoiming Nen
ietieat that happeneu as pait of LABA's BIY1u. Bue to the natuie of the ietieat,
no photogiaphy was useu, nobouy useu a laptop anu the natuie of the cieative
tasks weie ephemeial anu, at times peisonal anu quite sensitive. The iuea was
nevei to cieate anything foi ie-piouuction oi viewing beyonu the context of the
ietieat. With this in minu, this iepoit of the expeiience will be maue up of my
own expeiiences anu iecollection of the ietieat fiom the peispective of being the
facilitatoi, with ietiospective contiibutions fiom some of the paiticipants. I will
outline some of the activities we engageu with anu also some peisonal
ieflections on the expeiiences of uoing these activities. I hope foi this uocument
to give a sense of the woik we began togethei anu the potential leaining that
occuiieu, iathei than being something that only attempts to valiuate the piocess
that happeneu. This expeiience foi me was a chance to exploie my inteiest in
facilitating anu leaining moie about what it is to be like in a situation wheie
making peifoimance ait can happen outsiue of the confines of my noimal, uay-
to-uay fast paceu, expensive often compiomiseu moue of being. I wanteu to
invite othei men into this piocess as a means of gioup anu peei leaining. Wheie
I unueistanu theie was a uiffeience between my iole anu my co-facilitatoi uaiy
uaiuinei's iole to the iest of the gioup, it still cleaily aimeu to be an expeiience
wheie eveiybouy was tianspaient about the fact that we weie all theii to leain
in oui own capacities anu ioles.
It's woith mentioning also, that a laige pait of the ietieat centieu aiounu the
expeiience of being in silence. Almost eveiy exeicise hau this element to it,
which, whilst not being able to expiess fully in this uocument hau a huge impact
on the way we all existeu foi those S uays anu S nights togethei.

The fiist evening
The fiist evening was spent meeting each othei- foi some of us foi the fiist time-
anu then going on an unplanneu, unguiueu walk on the top of Ilkley mooi. Aftei
walking in the iain anu the winu foi appioximately 2 houis, we ietuineu to the
bain wheie we woulu spenu all of oui meal times anu oui some of oui checking
in times togethei. We sat in a ciicle in the gloaming anu I bioke the silence by
asking eveiybouy in tuin to answei the following question:
!"#$% '()*+#% ,)* #-(-./
When someone was speaking, the guiuelines weie that the expeiience was one of
uninteiiupteu listening anu talking. Theie woulu be no nou of the heau, no
mumble of affiimation fiom anyone who was not speaking. Theie shoulu be only
silence apait fiom the speakeis voice. If you weie not speaking, you piacticeu
listening. In keeping with confiuentiality issues I cannot uisclose what anybouy
saiu in these moments. Bowevei, this initial silence, both in the walking anu
suiiounuing someone speaking, fiist piesenteu itself to me as a challenge.
Initially the silence was veiy, veiy louu. I coulu heai all the thoughts in my heau
because I gave them space. I askeu myself to listen to them, anu leain fiom them.

What!s alive for me right now is a sense of quiet and stillness--or at
least a sense of looking for that--that has lingered with me in the time
since the end of the retreat. I found a new appreciation and sense of
permission for quiet time and space to listen.
!"#$ &'(#)*+

Aftei this moment, expectations began to iuminate thiough my minu conceining
what might happen ovei the next thiee uays anu nights. In tiying to auuiess
these anxieties fiom within a silence, an opening happeneu insiue me; the
uifficulty, awkwaiuness, the questions about the uiffeience between whethei we
weie ok in this new heavy silence oi whethei the silence was painful stuck in my
awaieness like a boy tiying to keep a seciet. This piessuie ciackeu any kinu of
containei that helu expectation anu I founu myself in a new open space, both
bioken anu helu by the men with me. We ate uinnei anu sat with each othei
aiounu the fiie, acknowleuging the pievailing new awkwaiuness of being in an
intentionally all male space foi the puiposes of what has been calleu both
peisonal anu aitistic uevelopment. We finisheu the evening aiounu the fiie, anu
some of us slept in a teepee while otheis slept insiue the bain
The seconu uay
The silence was caiiieu thiough into the seconu uay as a holuing foim foi uuet
woiks that happeneu stiaight thiough until the evening. Foi pait of this time, the
men weie askeu to exploie theii male-male ielationship with each othei. They
weie inviteu to uesign a two houi peiiou of time spent with each othei, which
may oi may not incluue holuing each otheis hanus, looking into each otheis eyes
anu moving togethei.
I iemembei beautiful images fiom the peifoimances that weie shaieu uuiing
that evening's sunset, in paiticulai, two men waving gooubye then iunning uown
a ioau out of sight.

" #$% &%' ()*
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0nueistanuing the effect of these silences, I believe, can only happen when one
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aitists, anu alloweu me to extiact moie meaning fiom what I was
seeingwitnessingpaiticipating in.
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Bay Thiee

Bay thiee was centieu aiounu the expeiience of 'uoing a solo' in the lanuscape.
This involveu each membei of the gioup finuing a small space in the natuial
lanuscape outsiue of the ietieat centie anu staying in it foi 4 houis, in silence
away fiom eveiybouy else. Bespite tiepiuations amongst some of the men to
engage in this way of being, eveiybouy paiticipateu, anu fiom my peispective, it
felt like a uay of ieal shifting.
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Befoie the paiticipants went on theii solo, we paiteu ways by stanuing shouluei
to shouluei in a ciicle outsiue anu each peison was inviteu to walk away fiom
the ciicle when they felt ieauy. Ny expeiience of this, uown to the last peison
leaving, felt painful anu I huit at the sepaiation of the gioup as eveiybouy went
on theii own jouiney. What we hau expeiiences befoie this point hau been a
bonuing- a coming closei togethei, a getting useu to being (in silence) with each
othei anu ouiselves.
4 houis pass.
As people ietuineu they weie askeu to iemain in silence thioughout the iest of
the exeicises which involveu making peifoimance iesponses in a solo capacity to
theii time in the lanuscape. The accumulative expeiience of witnessing all the
peifoimances left me in a heighteneu state of engagement anu emotional
investment, to the point of teais at the last peifoimance. The silence, which we
hau moveu fiom being uncomfoitable within to knowing quite well, helu an
intensity which facilitateu me seeing ueep meaning in the woik. This silence was
bioken at the enu of the solo peifoimances, anu afteiwaius the men weie askeu
to foim gioups baseu on who they felt a iesonance with fiom witnessing each
otheis peifoimances. In these gioups, new peifoimances weie maue which
attempteu to holu the uays' jouineys. They weie incieuibly beautiful. I
iemembei the sun going uown as a fiie was lit; men clapping woou togethei in
ieplacement of gunfiie as the night ciept in.

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The Last Noining

We left on the 4
th
moining of being togethei. The sun hau shone consistently
thioughout the weekenu apait fiom the fiist evening anu continueu to shine as
we left the centie. This light hau became symbolic foi me- maybe not in a way
that I can fully explain, but it hau become to feel like the whole ietieat, within the
silence anu compounueu by the ieflective, intiospective natuie of the woik
helpeu shine a light on anu unueistanu the symbolism of the woilu aiounu anu
within us. Fiom lighting a fiie to the pickeu ieu beiiies of a iowan tiee; fiom a
man holuing up laige bianches outsiue of a closeu builuing to the manipulation
of plants to look like they aie uancing, to a man looking off into the uistance anu
a blackbiiu flying past, they all shone with meaning. It felt like the piocess
togethei hau honeu in a way of looking at the things that weie alieauy theie. Anu
with a willingness to uo so, maue me feel like I coulu also unueistanu 'what was
alieauy theie' about us as men, togethei anu alone- this piocess, ueepening my
unueistanuing of myself as a man anu an aitist.
The ciicle as a symbol ietuineu once again, as we sat aiounu the sofas anu finally
'checkeu out'.
Theie was a hesitation when the ietieat officially enueu- I felt within both myself
anu the gioup, an un-knowness about how to leave. I iemembei one man saying
that he felt like he wanteu to walk home, but it was a long way anu simply
coulun't be uone. This was the stait of ieintegiation. We spoke about tians-
maiginal stiesses anu about keeping the woik alive by staying in touch with each
othei. In many ways, I unueistanu leaving as the beginning of the piocess. That
actually, the woik on the ietieat is only evei piepaiation foi ietuining to ones
eveiy uay life with a newei awaieness, anu this I still caiiy with me.

Afteithoughts fiom Ian Nulty anu Will Bickie.

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What happened on the retreat?

Peter, Paul, Peter, Greg, Ian, Gary, Adam,
Will and Mark met one another.

They walked around in silence in the rain.

They created spaces.
Spaces to hear each other. Spaces to hear
themselves. Spaces to hear here.

After the sunrise they did some cleaning
and went home,
and the memories are holding my hands.
Will Dickie
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8eLween Lhe 13
Lh
-13
Lh
SepLember 2013 a group of nlne women came LogeLher ln 8lrmlngham Lo lnvesLlgaLe lap
danclng. 1wo of Lhem had worked as sLrlppers before. Cne of Lhem had performed a lap dance as a plece of llve
arL. Some of Lhem had never been naked ln publlc before. none of Lhem had ever been Lo a lap danclng club as a
cusLomer.

1hey goL Lo know each oLher a blL and shared Lhelr lnlLlal vlews on lap danclng aL Lhe beglnnlng. 1hey looked aL
dlfferenL LexLs LogeLher lnvesLlgaLlng varlous femlnlsL dlscourses around Lhe Loplc. 1hese were:

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1hey wenL ouL for dlnner. 1hey all dld a shoL.
1hen Lhey wenL Lo Legs 11 lap danclng club and all boughL aL leasL one prlvaLe dance.
1hey reflecLed.
1hey sLreLched.
1hey played danclng games.
1hey learnL a lap dance and performed lL Lo each oLher ln Lhe shape of a naked flower.
1hey wore hlgh heels and bras and knlckers. Some of Lhem wore wlgs.
1hey reflecLed.
1hey checked ln and Lhey checked ouL.
Some of Lhem crled.
1hey all laughed a loL.
1hey grew LogeLher, closer and sLronger.
1hey reflecLed.
1hey donned Lhelr flnesL ouLflLs, Lhe cloLhes LhaL make Lhem feel good.
1hey shared Lhelr favourlLe songs, Lhe Lunes LhaL make Lhem feel good.
1hey experlmenLed.
1hey made Lhemselves vulnerable and became powerful.
1hey revealed Lhemselves, unleashed hldden sexual urges and deslres.
1hey danced solo ln a dark room for a sLranger.
1hey reflecLed.
Cver Lhe course of Lhe weekend, Lhey all dld someLhlng Lhey have never done before.
WhaL has been seen cannoL be unseen!

AL Lhe end, Lhey all wroLe a sLaLemenL abouL how Lhey felL abouL lap danclng Lhen. 1hese are Lhe sLaLemenLs ln
no parLlcular order:

1.
l feel reconnecLed Lo a dlfferenL body. Cne LhaL l had lnhablLed ln a dlfferenL llfe, ln a dlfferenL age,
a lap danclng body. Lap danclng ls lnLegral Lo who l am. lL ls a parLlcular embodlmenL of power and of my
sexuallLy LhaL l absoluLely fucklng adore. l resenL Lhe shame - l don'L remember who Lhe mechanlc of Lhls Lerrlble
shackle was. erhaps lL was me, myself. 8uL now, Lhe shame ls llfLlng - and wlLh lL, of course, comes a rlver. A
rlver of faL, hoL Lears LhaL wanL Lo wash and cleanse and release so very many Lhlngs.
8eclalmed.
no less problemaLlc.
8uL owned.
And rewrlLLen.
And made avallable -
as Lhe named source, Lhe sLrengLh, and now, Lhe maLerlal, of my work Loday.
And Loday, lL ls Lhe blLLersweeL grace and naLure of Lhe glorlous posslblllLles of slsLerhood LhaL l am remlnded of.
1he glorlous posslblllLles LhaL lap danclng LaughL me ln Lhe flrsL place.

2.
Pow do l feel abouL lap danclng now?
l feel LhaL lap danclng ls [usL anoLher form of sexual expresslon. l am curlous how lL would feel Lo recelve a lap
dance from a man!
l Lhlnk lap danclng as a commerclal enLerprlse, a [ob done for money, ls complex because Lhe caplLallsL and
commerclal sLrucLures LhaL domlnaLe socleLy Loday are sLlll run by and domlnaLed by men. Lven Lhough
caplLallsm and paLrlarchy are separaLe, Lhey are sLlll connecLed Loo. lf caplLallsm l.e moneLary exchange, ls
domlnaLed by maLrlarchy, would LhaL make Lhlngs dlfferenL? l Lhlnk ChlcabonlLa ls women's aLLempL Lo Lake over
a commerclal lndusLry Lo empower women. l Lhlnk Lhelr eLhlcs are sound. Powever, Lhe dancers sLlll seem Lo
conform Lo sLereoLypes. l am looklng forward Lo seelng female sexuallLy lnfllLraLe and lnfluence Lhe markeL place
and be a source of empowermenL Lo women. 8uL we sLlll have a long road Lo Lravel.
8uL l loved Lhe lap dances l have performed and recelved ln Lhls workshop and lL's Lhe sLarL of a new self-
exploraLlon for me as a sexual woman.

3.
l Lhlnk LhaL lap danclng ls someLhlng LhaL can be en[oyed by women as a way of celebraLlng Lhelr sexual selves, a
celebraLlon of Lhelr bodles, and Lhelr own deslre Lo be wanLed and admlred for Lhelr bravery, Lhelr boldness and
Lhe facL LhaL Lhey are a woman. l Lhlnk lL ls a cholce for some women who wanL Lo express Lhemselves. l don'L
Lhlnk lL's necessarlly abouL men.
Women ofLen geL unwanLed aLLenLlon from men, belng asked Lhelr number and lf you have a boyfrlend and can l
buy you a drlnk. unwanLed aLLenLlon ls annoylng and l personally haLe lL. 8uL Lo be able Lo be ln a space where aL
Lhls Llme, l do wanL Lo celebraLe my sexual self and my womanhood, ln a conLrolled envlronmenL, where l can seL
boundarles, and Lhere are rules and people around Lo proLecL you, can be a llberaLlng experlence.
eople who lap dance ouL of flnanclal necesslLy, or lack of oLher opLlons l Lhlnk ls Lraglc. l also Lhlnk sLacklng
selves or worklng ln Macuonald's as a full Llme [ob ouL of necesslLy or lack of opLlons, ls also Lraglc, as well as noL
belng saLlsfylng or flnanclally rewardlng.
8y Lhe way, you can also puL lnLo Lhe reporL LhaL lL has changed my llfe.
l am unlverslLy educaLed, and a moLher, and a daughLer and have been llvlng wlLh all Lhe consLralnLs LhaL socleLy
says ls 'accepLable' behavlour. And on Lhls weekend, l felL llberaLed, and for Lhe 1sL Llme ln my llfe l goL Lhe space
Lo Lruly express myself ln an unbrldled way, experlenclng Lhe wlldness and sensuallLy and [oy of performlng ln a
way LhaL exhllaraLed me. 1here ls no where else ln my llfeLlme, LhaL l would have, as a femlnlsL, found Lhe space
Lo do LhaL ln a nurLurlng space, where my lnLellecL and creaLlvlLy were also valued, and where my deslres were
celebraLed.

4.
l feel. l feel. l feel LhaL lapdanclng ls an acL of consLanL movemenL beLween exLerlor and lnLerlor places ln myself -
a raw, [oyous performaLlvlLy and an excruclaLlng acL of dlsplay. ower ls a baLon, consLanLly belng passed back
and forLh beLween audlence and performer.
8uL also, Lhere ls beauLy ln Lhe genLleness here.
l noLlced LhaL ln Lhe formal acL of performlng for a sLranger, lL felL LhaL only one person can have Lhe power,
raLher Lhan Lhe feellng of muLually sharlng power ln our prevlous dances for each oLher.
Also: Lhe dancer (ln a club) has more power Lhan l expecLed.
l sLlll wonder how money changes everyLhlng - Lhe power ln holdlng Lhe blll. 1he feellng of gambllng when you
pay flrsL, beLrayal lf lL's noL enough.
A movemenL Lowards en[oylng recelvlng, succumblng Lo Lhe sensory momenL. SomeLhlng qulLe rock and roll
abouL Lhls occupylng of a range of poslLlons.
l feel more of an lnformed respecL for Lhe women who do Lhls as Lhelr [ob - Lhe emoLlonal labour and navlgaLlng
of adrenallzed boundarles.
Lapdanclng ls a meeLlng polnL for a consLellaLlon of elemenLs: eros, exhlblLlonlsm, cruelLy, manlpulaLlon, caplLal,
and [oy. l Lhlnk LhaL parslng ouL Lhe dlfferences beLween eroLlc dance as a celebraLory, chosen acL and Lhe
reglmenLed, conLrolled labour belng sold as 'freelance' agency ls cruclal here. l also Lhlnk LhaL our collecLlve
shame around en[oylng sex - en[oylng waLchlng, en[oylng belng, en[oylng slLLlng back and drlnklng ln a body - ls
more poLenL Lhan l'd reallzed. l Lhlnk remalnlng embodled ln Lhe acL of lapdanclng ls an exLremely dlfflculL and
brave Lhlng Lo do, and has Lhe poLenLlal Lo be a subverslve acL. l mlghL [usL keep Lrylng.
And a prlvaLe addendum: never forgeL: "urop 8oobs ln lace."

3.
l feel llke Lhere ls no place for slmple or more parLlcularly moral [udgemenL when lL comes Lo lap danclng. 1he
words 'good' and 'bad' should never be broughL lnLo Lhe debaLe. lor me, Lhe words 'poLenLlal' and 'dlfflculLy' are
much more approprlaLe.
Pere, ln Lhls room, lap danclng has Lhe poLenLlal Lo release someLhlng LhaL has been repressed ln women noL
necessarlly by men buL by oLher women - by Lhe so called 'femlnlsL' call Lo arms LhaL ln lLself has forced women
Lo feel Lhey have Lo perform anoLher klnd of role LhaL can be as represslng of sexuallLy as Lhe male fanLasy of
female sexuallLy.

Powever, l also sLlll flnd lL dlfflculL LhaL lap danclng can presenL an lmage of female sexuallLy LhaL Lhen presenLs
an expecLaLlon or ldeal LhaL ls ofLen unaLLalnable.
lor me, Lhe quesLlon of power ls also a dlfflculL one because l Lhlnk LhaL Lhe power lles nelLher ln Lhe lap of Lhe
male(specLaLor) or Lhe female (performer) buL ln Lhe hands of Lhe money and LhaL Lhe money ls ln many ways
responslble for Lhe pleasure LhaL ls experlenced by boLh parLles. 1hls makes me quesLlon wheLher
caplLallsm/consumerlsm ls anoLher klnd of 'paLrlarchal' sLrucLure LhaL exceeds any gender speclflcs?
l feel llke lap danclng ls an lmporLanL parL of Lhe way deslre funcLlons - and deslre ls compllcaLed because lL ls
boLh soclal/pollLlcal and somehow blologlcal - boLh an affecL of exLernal and lnLernal lnfluences - and LhaL feellng
llke we have Lo prlvaLlse our deslres or hlde Lhem away or leL money Lake conLrol of Lhem ls dlfflculL. l Lhlnk lap
danclng has Lhe poLenLlal Lo boLh overcome and supporL Lhls problem.
1hls weekend l have boLh been lncredlbly Lurned on and equally Lurned off by Lhe acL of lap danclng. lL has boLh
made me feel wlLhln and wlLhouL my body and, aL Lhe rlsk of uslng Lhose words l sald we should never use, boLh
good and bad.

6.
Pow do l feel abouL lap danclng?
l feel angry LhaL Lhe culLure of lap danclng and porn, and how lL ls percelved, has made me feel up unLll now (and
ls probably how mosL women feel) ashamed of performlng eroLlcally , en[oylng an eroLlc dance and Laklng
pleasure ln recelvlng one. l feel boLh men and women are Lo blame for Lhls percepLlon.
l sLlll feel bad for Lhe women ln Lhe clubs. l wanL Lhem Lo only be danclng for nlce women llke us. l know mosL of
Lhem don'L feel llke Lhls (and l'm probably belng very nalve), buL l feel proLecLlve of Lhe women ln Lhls lndusLry. l
don'L wanL Lhem Lo ever have a '8ad nlghL', because whaL Lhey are dolng ls glorlous.
l wanL lap danlng Lo be accepLed.

7.
l know l have a problemaLlc relaLlonshlp wlLh my body.
l know l have a problemaLlc relaLlonshlp Lo my femlnlnlLy.
l know LhaL boLh of Lhese Lhlngs have goL me lnLo Lrouble ln Lhe pasL, and lL has Laken me years Lo reallse LhaL
LhaL lsn'L my faulL.
l know LhaL LhaL makes me angry.
l know LhaL Loday l felL empowered danclng naked for a woman.
[l know l wondered how LhaL mlghL be dlfferenL had l been danclng for a man.]
l know LhaL l en[oyed my dance on lrlday nlghL and LhaL lL awakened someLhlng ln me, and l know l wanLed
more, and l know l wanLed Lo [oln ln, and l know l dldn'L wanL lL Lo sLop.
l know l felL uncomforLable glvlng her money, noL because she dldnL deserve lL, buL because l wanLed lL Lo be so
much more Lhan LhaL.
l know LhaL l felL proLecLlve of her afLerwards, and l know LhaL Lhe LhoughL of Amanda, 22 years old, from
8lrmlngham, danclng for a pervy old man made me uncomforLable.
WhaL l donL know ls wheLher lL would have made her feel LhaL Loo, whaL l donL know ls LhaL maybe she would
have en[oyed lL.
l know LhaL l felL she was ln conLrol.
l know LhaL she was shaved down below, and l donL know wheLher LhaL was her cholce, or socleLy's, or Lhe
club's, or her lover's.
l know LhaL LhaL ls [usL Amanda's [ob. l hope LhaL she ls proud of her body.
l know l have wondered wheLher lf l was more proud of mlne l mlghL Lhlnk dlfferenLly abouL her [ob.
l know my mlnd has changed. 8uL l don'L know qulLe how.
l know l'd raLher LhaL lapdanclng was embraced by Lhe malnsLream more equally. l don'L know how LhaL would
work.
l know LhaL men wlll always vlslL lapdanclng clubs and LhaL for some of Lhose men lL wlll relnforce Lhelr lnherenL
and unLhlnklng mlsogyny, lL wlll relnforce Lhelr feellngs LhaL women are only Lhere for Lhem, LhaL all women can
be boughL, LhaL all women are falr game.
l know l would raLher women danced on Lhelr own Lerms: l would llke Lo see a sexual dance of female sensuallLy
re-clalmed by Lhe bodles LhaL dance, raLher Lhan belng owned by Lhe class of passlve observers LhaL Lhose bodles
serve.
[l know LhaL Lhls weekend, and whaL l have learnL and experlenced of lapdanclng, has helped me feel beLLer
abouL havlng a femlnlne, and should l choose lL, sexy body.]

8.
l sLlll feel confused and confllcLed. More clear and less. WhaL do l know?
1. We are a group of women who don'L wanL Lo be ob[ecLlfled
2. We are a brave, klnd, sLrong, deep Lhlnklng, open mlnded, empaLheLlc, lnLelllgenL, creaLlve group of
people
3. Lveryone deserves Lo have sexual pleasure
4. Lveryone has a dlfferenL sexuallLy
3. lL ls lmporLanL for women Lo be able Lo perform or acL sexually lf Lhey wanL Lo
6. l en[oyed our nlghL aL Legs 11
7. l felL boLh sub[ecL and ob[ecL and nelLher and boLh. Sexy, powerful, powerless, a voyeur, ln place and an
ouLslder, a game player
SexuallLy ls boLh publlc and prlvaLe and Lhe lnLersecLlons are confused and blurrlng. 1he club felL llke a safe space
for a speclal game, where, as Mary sald, Lhe real power lay ln Lhe money.
l feel prlvlleged Lo have spenL Lhls Llme wlLh you all. l feel prlvlleged Lo have such an open mlnded lndlvldual as
an older slsLer. l wanL Lo sum up by saylng: '8ebel 8ebel.' l wanL you all Lo rebel.

9.
l had forgoLLen Lhe Lhrllllng Lenslon of lap danclng. l wanLed Lo perform, l wanLed Lo be Lhe glrl on Lhe pole,
wearlng Lhe ouLflLs, locklng eyes, wlnklng, Leaslng and performlng.
Would l wanL Lo work ln a lap danclng club agaln? no!
uo l wanL Lo dance around a pole or on Lhe lap of sLrangers? ?es!
1herefore perhaps lL ls Lhe naLure of Lhe lndusLry as opposed Lo Lhe physlcal acL lLself LhaL deLers me and
presenLs problems Lo me personally. ls Lhere a remedy? lL ls beauLlful Lo see a performance of sexuallLy by an
empowered woman. Maybe women can clalm Lhelr sexuallLy for Lhemselves and Lake prlde ln belng sexual, be
recognlsed as sexual belngs wlLh deslres feLlshes and fanLasles. Maybe some of Lhese wlll lnclude performlng
Lhelr sexuallLles ln publlc or Lo sLrangers for money. Maybe we can Lake ownershlp of Lhe ever flucLuaLlng
specLrum of whaL lL ls Lo be sexy. Maybe we all have a lap dance Lo glve ln some form or anoLher. Maybe we'd all
llke Lo recelve anoLher one. l know l would. lf we accepL LhaL Lhls ls a form of pleasure LhaL can be en[oyed
perhaps we can help lmprove Lhe worklng condlLlons and help dancers galn Lhe respecL Lhey deserve raLher Lhan
sLlgma and shame.

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DIY 10
Waterproof
Led by Simone Kenyon and Lucy Neal

The River Avon, Saltford
31
st
August 2013

This DIY 10 was a one- day event that gathered participants to a natural place of water near Bristol.
We stayed in a location to experience a body of water in a variety of ways and as a collective, attempt
to consider what the third thing that makes up this element could be.
The day involved walking, paddling, swimming, reflection, action, open questions, food, warmth and
being in your bathing suit.
Together with a group of 18 people including those working as artists, activists, doctors, environmental
and conservation workers, writers and producers. Participants were a mixture of regional/Bristol based
whilst others travelled from afar as Cornwall, Devon and London.
We physically explored and discussed throughout the day how water can and does inform a creative
and philosophical starting point for creative action.

As facilitators of the event we were interested in initiating a spacious framing for action, thought and
conversation about art and the art of resilience, ecology, activism, access and the political act of
swimming and bathing. This was not a wild swimming adventure excursion, but a chance to reflect
upon, discuss and physically submerge ourselves through explorations of this element and natural
condition.

Thoughts on the The Third Thing

Water is H2O, hydrogen two parts, oxygen one,
but there is also a third thing, that makes it water
And nobody knows what that is.

D.H Lawrence, The Third Thing

Participants thoughts on application to the event

Water softens my edges, The 'third thing' is my physical body.

Perhaps the thing that makes what is, is, is always a third thing (third mind, third person, the third
things is always held 'in question').
The 'Third Thing' is why people are drawn to it and feel they have to see it every so often. Water is
powerful and its power is impossible to explain.

Water's 'Third Thing' is the memories it endlessly carries: passing through so many bodies and places
something must remain; there must be a space somewhere in that sticky polar molecule for more than
the purely chemical to dissolve and reside.

When I get out of the water after a long hard swim I feel like I am still floating, almost high maybe that
is also memory, of a different state of consciousness, of being truly free. Is it possible that the third
element is memory?
The third thing that makes up water could be consciousnessWater is able to absolve memory,
constantly moving forward/backward, shape shifting, circulating through everything on the planet
outside the terrestrial constraints and values we live by. How we regard the ocean/water and our
relationship to it can potentially tell us a lot about how we regard the land.
Nobody knows, but how about everybody? Between us and water, theres something that isn't
'knowledge', I think, but more like recognition. Like a face you know but cant place. Limitations like
this show us who we are. We can be fully aware and alert but simply at the limits of our capacity,
where well never be able to say. Even when we name water and name its parts, move in it, consume it,
confine it, force it through industries and imagine we understand, water still lives beyond the threshold
of knowledge. Water shows us that this is where we live.

The Day

Dialogue, Swimming, Mindfulness, Aesthetic openness, Water -active meditation and working with
water, exercises, storytelling, play, exercises, openness to the enquiry and in schedule, hosting, finding
your inner fish.

The Meeting
The Crossing
The Sharing (meditation, food, stories)
The Making
Crossing Back
Departure
The Memory

Participants thoughts since we met by the River

For me, water's 'third thing' has not changed since our day together. I've thought long and hard about
it and it is still the memories it must carry between its hydrogen bonds and molecules. People placed
stones and wishes in the water I was carrying around Herefordshire and it felt precious: I felt
responsible for it. As soon as a wish had been made, I carried it differently.

Unanticipated, our water-day spawned new work. A series of Water self-portraits, in which water
makes portraits of itself. Mapping its extreme sensitivity to surrounding forces.
Simone, you and Lucy and all the rest of us that day pushed this new work along. Huge thanks.

The DIY10 project with Simone and Lucy was a wonderful experience for me. The process of
organizing, running and participating in the event was extremely positive and harmonious. The event
itself offered a space for discussion, collaboration, reflection and adventure. The experience of
swimming together was a deeply moving and a personal highlight of the year.

The day of swimming, jumping and being together reminded me of something really important- that we
can be serious about things we care about without needing to act seriously.

Future Thoughts and Action
Playing For Time- Making Art As If The World Mattered, a book written collectively by 60 artists and
authored by Lucy Neal (to be published in 2014) will include the experience of Waterproof. Supported
by the Arts Council of England, Transition Network and the Arvon Foundation, Playing for Time looks at
the foundational role artists play in re-imagining a viable future of the planet.

Notes towards instructions for organizing a Waterproof day, to include:

Preparations for The Day
Expeditions to locate a Body of Water- easy to access on both bank sides, near public transport/beautiful,
tranquility v toilets etc.
Selection Process of participants that offer a wide range of interests to the theme of water.

Schedule
8-8.45 Arrival, boats, mats, food, cool bags, cakes, teas.
8.45 Move to island meeting point near the Lock and Weir.
9.9.30 Welcome: check needs/toilets/H & S/Head up breaststroke/buddy for day/change/summoned by flute/bell
9.30: The Crossing PASSAGE Intention of day
10-10.15 Gather on picnic mats/check in/Intentions/Shape of Day and Our intentions
11. -11.20 Attention to Water meditation
11.20-12.00 Field: How might we know this place? Explore space on their own. How are we drawn in? Keep eye on
buddy
12.00-12.30 Discussion about this river, activism, knowledge of thing and place.
12.30 -1.30 LUNCH. Film throughout: One thing I know about water/ One thing I dont know about water.
1.30-2.30 With buddy-action and witness. Divide time.
2.30-3.15 Nuts and chocolates and re gathering. Not pushing to produce.
Someone sang! The River is flowing, growing, down to the sea.
Finding your Inner fish- visualization and relaxation.
3.15-3.30 Thanks and One Thing I will take Away SK/LN speak last.
3.30: Farewell and Passage Back Across
4pm/END!

Process and Materials
People (6), First Aider, Transport, Bag Looker After, Photographer, Cars, Kayaks, Food, Sunshine, Toilets, Mats and
Rugs, Rope swing, Protection from Sun/Cold/Water and Wind.

Photographer: Paul Blakemore

DIY Report: Functional Fun Susannah Hewlett with Buzzcut, Imaginate and LADA
A workshop for 8 artists which sought to explore provocations around making live art for younger audiences.
I was surprised to be asked to take on the opportunity of devising a DIY which would explore live art and younger audiences - initially scrutinising my own practise, it's relevance to
younger people, my own interest in this and more importantly my knowledge of this. It was a challenge certainly. Lots of interesting explorations and conversations were to be had over
the next few months and luckily as is the way of the DIYs, it is a journey you all make together as a group. I wasn't the leader imparting truths rather a spirit guide of sorts (be it one
from a Smiffy's joke shop). I knew some things and the rest we discovered together - (ie I knew where to buy the cheapest best quality whoopee cushions online - they knew more
about 'theatre' and it's relevance to youth education).
How it worked:
A call out was made and artists and theatre makers were selected through application to see shows at Edinburgh Festival and then spend 2 days at a thinking and doing workshop with
me in Glasgow.
I chose 4 shows in Edinburgh which we saw together. The shows were selected as a spectrum of work appropriate for or having been made specifically for younger audiences which
would form the basis for our discussions in the practical workshops. The Edinburgh Festival shows were: Daydream by Inne Goris and Dominique Pauwels / LOD, Titus By Jan
Sobrie this new English version by Oliver Emanuel, l'Aprs-midi d'un Foehn - Version 1 by Non Nova, Credible Likeable Superstar Rolemodel by Bryony Kimmings. We watched the
shows, laughed, cried and sighed but held out tongues, saving up the discussions until we met again in Glasgow over 2 days in September.
Workshop Day 1 at Pearce Institute, Govan
I am always keen to break down the constructs we work within (and of course add my own impeccable taste to such occasions) - so created a kid's party atmosphere to welcome the
participants into the rather large, grand room we found ourselves in; balloons, streamers, decorations and a whoopee cushion on everyone's chair as an ice breaker. Once you've farted in
front of a group of strangers there's nothing left to feel embarrassed about.
Everyone donned a party a hat and we introduced ourselves revealing our hopes for the workshop. I then gave a presentation of my work followed by an quick evacuation of the
participants for an early lunch so as not to ruin the arrival of a surprise guest.
After lunch the participants were invited to sit on the floor and enjoy a hour long show by hired children's entertainer Magic Muddles. I had been in discussion with Gary from Magic
Muddles leading up to the event and was really grateful that he was up for the quite peculiar experimental challenge of doing his show for a small group of adults. I was interested in
exposing our discomfort as adults, as well as the possibility of analysing his show for the creative venture that it was. It was a really funny and strange experience with participation
being a big part of it. Magic, mess, pantomime style chanting and balloon making culminated in a conga line leading up to hugs with a life size Sponge Bob Square Pants - inside which
Gary's more than relieved assistant hid behind Spongebob's toothy smile.

Unnerved and excited we returned to the individual presentations which carried on for the rest of the afternoon. The day ended with an E Number Banquet enjoyed by all.
Workshop Day 2
Day 2 encompassed mostly talking interspersed with short breaks to disco dance and play some games. We spent the first part of the day discussing the Edinburgh shows and a
myriad of topics that sprung from these conversations.
The question of What is live art? was battered about and shaped by some themes I instigated: The Body public space and private parts. Functional Fun humour, meaning and
purpose. Joining in and Acting up - participation and collaboration and Tactics and Tic-tacs - deployment of language and allusion in voicing political messages. (Subsequently I put
together a document to share with references to the artists and the topics we discussed).
It was brilliant that the diversity of the group meant that the conversation flowed endlessly and we could have happily spent much more time together. We played some games I devised
to stimulate conversation a version of Pass the Parcel with written provocations within each layer and another game designed to make you question the boundaries around making
shows for young audiences. Suggestions for Topic, Age group & Location were mixed up and then re-selected to show possible new shows. Some of my favourites are in the pictures
below:
Some feedback from the day from participants :-
Functional Fun was a fantastic and supportive platform to discuss, debate and explore our individual ideas and concerns about the children's theatre sector. It was a playful approach to
questioning our own practice, and witnessing others at work - opening our eyes to what is currently being made, and the potential network and collaboration opportunities available in
Scotland. I had a magical weekend, full of fun, frivolity and fake farts!
I would have liked some physical /workshop exploration of ideas and to take advantage of all the experience of different participants to try out ways of making 'live art' and I think that
would be an excellent Part 2 follow up to this workshop!
Participants were: Claire Willouby, Emma Nutland, Greg Sinclair, Heather Marshall, Louise Mari, Maria Giergiel, Sarah Hopfinger, Skye Renolds. Functional Fun Part 2 is definitely
something I am considering. Until then........The End.
!"#$ !&'()*
A ul?10 pro[ecL by 1lm LLchells and vlaLka PorvaL

uaLe: Sunday, 27 CcLober 2013
1lme: 10am Lll laLe
LocaLlon: Cur converLed warehouse ln SLoke newlngLon, London

arLlclpanLs

Anla 8as, Ansuman 8lswas, AugusLo Corrlerl, lsolde Codfrey, !eff !ames, !usLyna Scheurlng, klra
C'8ellly, Leo kay, Madelelne 8oLeL de Lacaze, Mlke knowlden, Mlscha 1wlLchln, nell Slmon 8owes,
8achel Mars, 8achel orLer, 8a[nl Shah, Season 8uLler, 1lna Cverovlc, 1lm LLchells, vlaLka PorvaL

1he pro[ecL

!"#$ !&'()*+ organlzed and hosLed by 1lm LLchells and vlaLka PorvaL, was envlsloned as a one-day
arLlsL developmenL and exchange pro[ecL, cenLred around spendlng a day and an evenlng wlLh a
group of people - creaLlng a dynamlc lnformal space for dlscusslon, knowledge exchange,
neLworklng and conversaLlon. 1he guldlng prlnclple of Lhe pro[ecL came from our experlence as
arLlsLs - our sense LhaL lL's Lhe mlx of flowlng and organlc exchanges ln a loosely organlzed soclal
space and Lhe more formal presenLaLlon of ldeas, LhaL creaLes Lhe besL opporLunlLles for learnlng
and growLh.
lor Lhe pro[ecL we were [olned by 17 arLlsLs: a dynamlc group of pracLlLloners and wrlLers aL varlous
polnLs ln Lhelr careers, and worklng across several dlfferenL modes: performance and llve arL,
phoLography, lnsLallaLlon, vldeo, LexL, as well as soclally engaged and research-based pracLlces. ln
Lhlnklng up Lhe plan for Lhe day, we were consclous Lo avold any klnd of 'Leachers/sLudenLs'
dynamlcs among Lhe parLlclpanLs, buL Lrled lnsLead Lo creaLe a space where Lhe early-career arLlsLs
and Lhose wlLh more experlence could exchange and learn from each oLher on equal Lerms.
ln preparlng Lhe plan for !"#$ !&'()*, we (vlaLka and 1lm) creaLed a slmple sLrucLure of Lhe day's
acLlvlLles, whlch we hoped would geL us all Lhlnklng and Lalklng - buL we Lrled Lo leave a loL of space
ln lL Lo allow ourselves Lo follow our noses on Lhe day, and Lo respond Lo Lhe energles and dlrecLlons
Lhe day would Lake when all Lhe parLlclpanLs were ln Lhe same space LogeLher. We Lended Lo
lnLroduce Lhe exchange sLrucLures we had prepared, leavlng lL Lhen Lo Lhe parLlclpanLs worklng ln
smaller groups Lo flnd Lhelr own way Lhrough and ln Lhem. As hosLs and organlzers of Lhe pro[ecL,
we dldn'L wanL Lo ln any way moderaLe" Lhe day's lnLeracLlons - Lo lead" or sLlr Lhe dlscusslons -
nor Lo ln any way consolldaLe, summarlze or draw 'concluslons' aL Lhe end of Lhe day's encounLers.
Consclous LhaL such aLLempLs mlghL have somehow aLLempLed Lo unlfy or resolve dlfferenL and
ofLen dlvergenL poslLlons and approaches ralsed Lhrough varlous exchanges, dlscusslons were
mosLly lefL unflnlshed, wlLh quesLlons hanglng, as openlngs for furLher Lhlnklng and furLher
ponderlng.
1hlngs Lo brlng

rlor Lo meeLlng, we asked everyone Lo prepare a few Lhlngs ahead of Llme:

1. Choose and send ln an lmage - a slngle lmage - whlch ralses some quesLlons abouL Lhlngs
relaLed Lo your pracLlce, Lhlnklng, ways of worklng... 1he lmage and whaL conLexL lL geLs pulled
from ls open and can lnclude lmages you have Laken or made Lhemselves, alongslde found
lmages, phone lmages, lmages from Lhe lnLerneL. 1he lmage you choose can be one of your
own work, one of somebody else's work, or lL can slmply be an lmage of someLhlng you found
compelllng or Lroubllng - an lmage noL of 'work' aL all, someLhlng LhaL drew your aLLenLlon...
1he lmages you chose ls noL meanL Lo represenL" or speak ln an all-encompasslng way abouL or
of anyone's work - we are Lhlnklng LhaL Lhls collecLlon of lmages wlll flag some ldeas, or
concerns, or polnLs of lnLeresL relaLed Lo people's pracLlces, or Lo Lhe conLexL / frameworks /
wlder fleld of culLural producLlon and recepLlon around lL.

2. repare (or aL leasL be prepared Lo glve!) a slmple 3-mln presenLaLlon abouL one of your pro[ecLs
- focuslng on a slngle pro[ecL/work whlch you would wanL Lo share and dlscuss. lL's up Lo you
wheLher you wanL Lo Lalk abouL an exlsLlng pro[ecL, abouL someLhlng you are worklng on aL Lhe
momenL, abouL someLhlng you are [usL sLarLlng Lo Lhlnk abouL, or abouL someLhlng LhaL you've
been wanLlng Lo do buL for whaLever reason haven'L done yeL.

3. 8rlng wlLh you a book LhaL's lmporLanL Lo you ln relaLlon Lo you work - someLhlng you conslder
lnsplrlng or lnfluenLlal Lo your Lhlnklng or approaches, someLhlng you ofLen reLurn Lo. 8ookmark
ln some way a page or pages or passages you would llke Lo share wlLh oLhers.

Cn Lhe day, we had a deslgnaLed area on Lop of Lhe plano for all Lhe books people broughL ln -
Lhls became a klnd of a mlnl llbrary, or a resource area of LexLs LhaL people could browse
LhroughouL Lhe day.

We also asked everyone Lo Lhlnk ln advance abouL quesLlons, concerns, lssues LhaL lnLeresL or bug Lhem
rlghL now, or abouL Lhe more ongolng concerns and quesLlons LhaL Lhey keep revlslLlng or Lackllng.

Cn Lhe day

Cn Sunday, 27 CcLober, everyone arrlved aL our place aL 10 o'clock ln Lhe mornlng for breakfasL. We
Lalked over food - lnformally meeLlng each oLher as everyone lnLroduced Lhemselves and whaL Lhey
dld. AfLer breakfasL, we moved Lhrough Lhese more formal sLrucLures, consLanLly reshuffllng and
alLerlng comblnaLlons of people engaglng wlLh each oLher ln smaller groups, or ln palrs. ln Lhe early
afLernoon, we made a plan for dlnner, wlLh people spllLLlng lnLo Lhree groups, each decldlng on Lhelr
parL of Lhe menu and golng ouL Lo buy lngredlenLs. 1hroughouL Lhese soclal acLlvlLles of shopplng,
chopplng, cooklng and eaLlng, people conLlnued Lo Lalk - collecLlvely, ln small groups, ln palrs...
AfLer dlnner we were [olned by Adrlan PeaLhfleld, whom we've lnvlLed Lo screen hls fllm - a
conversaLlon wlLh Lhe phllosopher Alfonso Llngls - made ln collaboraLlon wlLh Pugo Clendlnnlng.
1he day ended slowly, wlLh people llngerlng Lo chaL, or [usL hang ouL, llsLenlng Lo muslc, slowly
cleanlng up, and packlng loads of lefLovers lnLo Lakeaway conLalners for people Lo Lake home.

8ough !"#$ !&'()* schedule (Llmes lndlcaLed are ballpark!)

10:00 - 11.30
88unCP + lnLros around Lhe Lable - ALL

11.30 - 12.30
ulscusslons of lmages people senL ln and quesLlons Lhey ralse - ln 4 groups of 3
12.30 - 1.30
llnd a person from a dlfferenL group, whom you haven'L meL unLll Loday (or whom you don'L
know well) and go for a walk for an hour - ln palrs
1.30 - 2.13
CCllLL / 1LA + wrlLe on lndex cards some problems relaLed Lo maklng or presenLlng work,
polnLs of sLucknesses, lssues you grapple wlLh, blockages, burnlng quesLlons, eLc. -
lndlvldually

2.13 - 4.00
SpllL lnLo Lhree groups for maklng dlnner - sldes / maln dlsh / deserL + booze. Make a menu
wlLh your group and go on a SPClnC LxLul1lCn - followed by SAnuWlCPLS

4:00 - 3.13
3-mlnuLe pro[ecL presenLaLlons + dlscusslons - ln 3 groups of 4
3.13 - 6.13
osslble reLurn / revlslL Lo prevlous Lhlngs - ALL
1he wall of cards - people can ralse / pull ouL burnlng lssues for a look by Lhe group
6.13 - 8.00
CCCklnC
8.00 - 10.00
ulnnL8

10.00 - 11.00
Screenlng of Adrlan PeaLhfleld and Pugo Clendlnnlng's fllm porLralL of Alfonso Llngls
11.00 -
Panglng ouL

Some of Lhe quesLlons / noLes / concerns posLed on Lhe wall:

llLLlng lnLo conLexLs / sLreams vs. ueLermlnlng own paLhs
ersonal arLlsLlc freedom vs. LveryLhlng LhaL seems Lo be Lhe rlghL Lhlng Lo do
Where does Lhe work exlsL
Where does lL lmpacL
Where does lL maLLer
Where does lL perslsL
Am l maklng work for me or an audlence?
WhaL are Lhe eLhlcs of Lurnlng shared experlence lnLo arL?
Money + Space (and lack Lhereof)
Self-doubL: Cnce you've esLabllshed a worklng meLhod, once you've named your lnLeresLs
and glven lL a concreLe form, whaL nexL? uo you have Lo keep maklng arL, or do you sLlck Lo
LhaL ln Lhe same way LhaL people sLlck Lo a [ob?
My mlnd ls sLuck - could l Lry oLher medlum of expresslon?
Pow Lo wrlLe dally?
knowlng l wanL Lo grow Lhe company buL haLlng Lhe compromlses you seem Lo have Lo do (l
seem Lo have) promlsed Lhe arLs councll. knowlng l am movlng closer Lo Lhe cenLre of a
sysLem l don'L agree wlLh.
?ou became an arLlsL because you dldn'L wanL Lo be 'a professlonal' - creaLe a fecund
alLernaLlve.
lannlng vs. CpporLunlsm / ragmaLlsm / 8esponslveness
CurloslLy vs. lnerLla
ls lL lmporLanL LhaL Lhls Sunday ls so lovely?
Pow Lo produce and susLaln Lhe creaLlve process?
Am l [usL a really preLenLlous sLrlpper?
Why do we become bound Lo a parLlcular form / aesLheLlc / way of worklng, and how can
we break away from lL?
lf l dldn'L have lack of Llme as an excuse, and my work dldn'L lmprove, would l be able Lo
face lL?
LnCLAnu
Should l work somewhere else?
llndlng Llme and space for a conslsLenL creaLlve pracLlce amongsL Lhe admlnlsLraLlve,
organlzaLlonal and producL lead dally Lasks of developlng a susLalnable performance
company
Why do we fear noL saylng Lhe 'rlghL' Lhlng?
uo men always Lake up more space?
l am a blL sLuck movlng from commlsslon Lo commlsslon and noL worklng on my own ldeas.
Pow Lo be vlslble when noL markeLed?
lf Lhere was more Llme, would l be more - or less - lnsplred / producLlve?
ls Lhere anyLhlng wrong wlLh popularlsm?
1he Lhlng you Lhlnk you are maklng / wanL Lo make vs WhaL Lhe Lhlng wanLs Lo be (or also:
WhaL lL lsn'L and doesn'L wanL Lo be)
AlmosL someLhlng / AlmosL noLhlng
When ls lL flnlshed?
?ou are a good Lhlef and a passable llar. Skllls Lo be used wlLh dlscreLlon, [usLly.
lf you are feellng resLless, Lurn lL lnLo someLhlng.
Am l repeaLlng myself?
1he sense of conversaLlon / conLexL / conLlnulLy / deep engagemenL ! Pow do you
reconclle Lhls wlLh Lhe demand for someLhlng nLW all Lhe Llme?

Ursula Martinez
Dont wait tables with Duckie
DIY report

My DIY workshop was born from from a very simple and positive impetus.
One day, whilst in the LADA office, Lois mentioned that they had recently put a call
out/survey to artists asking them who they would like to see carry out a DIY workshop.
My name had come up in a number of responses.

The obvious thing to do with this information was to propose a DIY workshop!

I thought about what elements of my work I could bring to a workshop. I came up with
a few ideas such as the power of nudity on stage, and the use of self/autobiography in
performance. The ideas were all good, and I may do them one day. But then I had a
better idea.

It is common knowledge that most live artists struggle to make a decent living and
often have to take on paid work that is not only unfulfilling, but also undermines their
art, by taking time and energy away from their practice.

I realised that one of the successes of my career as an artists/performer/theatre
practitioner (whatever you want to call it), has been my ability to earn money and make
a decent living. This has come about primarily through my cross-over performance
work into commercial entertainment, which could most simply be described as
cabaret.

I decided that the most useful workshop I could do would be to help live artists to
create a cabaret act from which they could potentially earn money, thereby improving
their lives in some way.

And so, Dont Wait Tables Make an Act! was born.

Myself and Dicky chose the participants independently and we melded our individual
choices together.

I gave the participants some preparation homework. I wanted them all to come in with
a starting point, a potential seed from which to develop an act. This could be a
track/pop song/piece of music, a prop, a visual idea, a desire to do something on stage
that theyd never done before.

This preparation turned out to be extremely useful as it immediately gave everyone
something to share and talk about from the start.

I wont give a detailed blow by blow account of what we did, but basically, on the first
day we watched some videos of a selection of different cabaret work. We talked about
what made these pieces good and successful. Each participant then shared with the
group their ideas/interests/starting point. At the end of the first day each participant
was given a bit of homework, either some practical prep or something to think about for
the following day. The next day we all got up and presented something to the group
and talked about it a bit afterwards

The workshop participants all had varying degrees of experience as performers and
naturally their success in making an act was also varied . A couple of people were
nearly there already. Others had great ideas that just needed work/practice/rehearsing
to make them ready. Some of the participants had never experienced performing
without a forth wall or being open and honest in front of an audience and were simply
exploring this for the first time.

I firmly believe that each participant got something valuable from the experience and
made a shift of some sort, whether this be personal, emotional, performative, artistic
etc. I would even include in this the one participant who didnt come back the second
day.

This was more than I had bargained for and a really satisfying result.
I can honestly say that it was one of the most rewarding things I have done in a long
time.

At the end of the session we went to another space to talk about follow up support. I
have offered all of the participants my feedback on any recorded material of
gigs/rehearsals etc. as well as practical, tangible advice on how and where to get gigs.

The participants have also started a facebook page/support group.

We all went to the pub after and had a great social.

Dickys support in the room, technically, administratively and time-keepingly was
invaluable.

The space at Soho Theatre was perfect for our needs.

I believe 10 participants instead of 12 would have been the perfect number, as we
were a little stretched for time.

Here are some responses from the workshopees.

Thanks so much for the weekend. It has got my juices flowing again and it's been good to
revisit morning pages too. I know I can be a quiet bird but I really enjoyed working with
such a lovely group.
Hooray for us and thanks again!

Dont wait tables was a brilliant workshop. It has been massively useful for my practice.
Giving me an enormous amount of inspiration and the chance to push my personal
boundaries in a supportive environment. Im really pleased I had the chance to do it.

Thank you so much for your inspiration and support through the workshop. I am really
happy to have taken part. It opened up a whole new avenue of work I am interested in
making, that I had never considered before. Now it all seems very possible. And what really
exceeded my expectations, was the suggestion of post workshop support by you and dicky.
Generally workshop leaders are not that bothered about what happens after. I appreciate
that as you said this serves you guys as well, but it is still something I found special. I also
wanted to thank you and dicky for the selection of the group who were warm open and
supportive in a way a group of near strangers rarely are. I saw great potential in everyone
and am really keen to see their work develop. I hope we can keep regular contact and
continue to be a sounding board for each other's ideas.

This was the first Cabaret workshop I have been involved in. It was incredibly useful in
learning the 'triggers' that inspire an act and what can grow from the smallest seed into a
filly developed idea which is the starting point to creating an act. I was lucky to already
have a solid idea, however I had no idea how to move forward into the creating stage. I got
invaluable feedback and the opportunity to experiment in front of people in a safe,
unpressurised environment.

Most inspiring & game changing weekend workshop for me playing with cabaret ideas with
the incredibly talented, hilarious & insightful Ursula Martinez & Duckie producer Dicky
Eton. Am in love with all my fellow participants & can't wait to cheer them on again 'in a
theatre near you' quite soon!

One last thing. I think it was Aaron who had the brilliant idea that I should set myself
the same challenge as the workshop participants.

I embraced the idea and also came into the workshop with a track and a visual image
which I shared with the group. It was a great way of putting us all on an equal level and
blurring the student/teacher boundary, which in this context I found very useful.

I also may have a great new act in the making!

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