When:
Artistic Development 10 – 14 March 2008
Venue Management 17 – 21 March 2008

Where:
Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre

The role of the performing arts manager falls into two main areas. The first is the most visible – the artistic decisions about the choice of production and artists. The second is more hidden but is equally important – the background management of the theatre or concert hall as a building that is welcoming to both artists and audiences.

These two workshops, organised by Visiting Arts and the British Council in association with Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, will explore the twin disciplines of successful performing arts management with a panel of leading arts managers from the UK sharing their knowledge and experience with colleagues from China.

Both workshops will be led by Roger McCann, an experienced arts manager and trainer who works with Arts Council England and teaches arts management at London Metropolitan University and London South Bank University. He will be joined by specialist practitioners for each workshop.

Workshop One – Artistic Development
The performing arts cannot exist without the writers, directors and performers who create the work in the first place. But they do not appear overnight; they need to be identified, encouraged and nurtured along with the work they create.

This workshop will look at how arts managers can help individual artists to develop their practice. It will examine tried and tested mechanisms for taking initial ideas to full production and explore how audiences have a crucial part to play in the process.

The UK teaching team includes three practitioners who have specialised in developing new work and new artists:

David Jubb is Director of bac in London, one of the UK’s leading organisations for developing new work. Its ‘ladder of development’ takes works from an initial 10 minute ‘scratch’ performance through a structured process to full production.

Julie Ellen is Creative Director of Playwright’s Studio, Scotland, an organisation dedicated to the development of playwrights through dramaturgical support, workshops and mentoring and public readings and performance.

Karena Johnson is a director and producer who has been responsible for programming new work and developing emerging artists at places as diverse as the Oval House in London, Nottingham Playhouse and Contact Theatre in Manchester.

Sioned Hughes, Arts Manager (Professional Development) at Visiting Arts will also attend.

Workshop Two – Venue Management
Put simply, the job of the venue manager is to bring the artist into contact with the artist but within that simple statement is challenging set of tasks. How do you identify the audiences and programme the most appropriate work? How do you reach those audiences with the right message to persuade them to attend? How do you ensure that the whole community feels that the building belongs to them? How do you motivate your staff to provide the best level of customer service?

This workshop will study individual areas of theatre management including programming, marketing and audience development, customer care, fundraising and staff development.

The UK teaching team includes experienced theatre managers who have been responsible for establishing new organisations and refreshing existing ones:

Jane Spiers is Chief Executive of Horsecross in Scotland, a new organisation that has successfully merged two previously separate organisations - Perth Theatre and Perth Concert Hall – and created a new one, a centre for media arts. The organisation also runs an extensive community programme.

Ruth Eastwood is Chief Executive of Leicester Theatre Trust and is currently building a new £55million producing theatre. Previously she managed an arts centre with an 1800 seat concert hall, two theatres, a cinema and a gallery. As well as venue management she has worked with national touring companies.

Nelson Fernandez, Director Cultural Operations at Visiting Arts will also attend.

Who should attend?
The workshop is aimed at performing arts managers in the field of drama, music, dance and live arts with at least two year’s experience although those with less experience who have worked professionally in the performing arts in a more junior position will be considered. You should be in a position where you are able to put into practice the lessons you learn during the programme. It is anticipated that the majority of participants will be between the ages of 25 and 35 years. Participation is restricted to Chinese nationals.

The Chinese version page has more detailed information.

For more information about this workshop, please send your inquiry to the following email address:
artsworkshop@britishcouncil.org.cn