Projects by nine individuals or groups of artists will receive financial and other support through the North East Artist Development Network (NEADN).
The chosen artists will undertake a residency at one of the host venues and will work with a mentor from the steering group to develop their ideas. They will also receive up to £2,000 financial support, space for research and development, the opportunity to showcase their work at a regional scratch event as well as a chance to present their ideas at Meet the Programmers, a twice-yearly event which brings together artists and theatre companies with programmers from the major NE venues.
The residencies are designed to support artists and companies at the earliest stages of developing their work, providing an opportunity to work up an idea, with the support of a venue, to the point where is it commission ready so that they are in a position to seek funding or other support to realise the work.
The NEADN venues:
- Alnwick Playhouse
- Alphabetti Theatre Newcastle
- Arts Centre Washington
- Bishop Auckland Town Hall
- Caedmon Hall Gateshead
- Gala Durham
- Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre
- Saltburn Arts Theatre
- Sunderland MACQ
- The Witham, Barnard Castle
The Steering Group members who will act as mentors are:
- Anthony Baker (Dance City)
- Gez Casey (Live Theatre)
- Katie Catling (Northern Stage)
- Kate Craddock (GIFT)
- Jo Cundall (Gala Durham)
- Helen Green (The Fire Station, Sunderland)
- Jo Potts (Alnwick Playhouse)
- Annabel Turpin (ARC Stockton)
The award recipients are:
- Theatre company Bonnie and the Bonnettes
- Maria Crocker and Ross Millard, most recently working with Unfolding Theatre on Putting the Ban Back Together
- Debbie Harbin
- Matt Miller, writer and performer
- Kitchen Zoo, who recently toured The Owl and the Pussycat round the region
- Kristin Kelly-Abbott, choreographer and artistic director of Kelly-Abbott Dance Theatre
- Mike Edwards, writer and performer
- Ruth Johnson, actor and director specialising in theatre for children
- Sian Armstrong & Helen Ferguson, members of Mortal Fools
Annabel Turpin said, “the Residency Programme offers an invaluable opportunity for artists in this region to develop early stage ideas to a level where they can go on and secure other support to realise them. The selected companies and artists for this year's residency have presented some really interesting proposals, with many different exciting and relevant themes for a wide range of audiences. It is fantastic to be able to invest in them at this stage.”
“We're delighted to have been selected for an NEADN residency,” Maria Crocker said. “It is such a luxury to be given time and space to develop a new idea, and for us, a new writing partnership as well. We felt very strongly that we wanted to make this show in our local area, surrounded by the North East's distinctive landscape.”
Ruth Johnson primarily makes shows for families and will be focussing on developing ideas for a musical show inspired by a classic children's tale. She said, “I am really delighted to be taking part in the NEAD Residency Scheme. It is invaluable to be able to have time, space and resources to take a spark of an idea and build and cultivate it in such a supported way.”