Paul Bourne describes the way Menagerie has woven corporate workshops into its core artistic programme.
I can?t remember if it was the tactical discussion with the Four Star General, the face-off with the journalist or the whisper in the ear from the football manager that had me the most concerned. I had been semi-delusional for a while (I am after all a theatre director), but this was pushing it ? in between directing shows and running a theatre company I found myself leading workshops exploring ?approaches to leadership? with the US government, ?creative thinking? with the BBC and ?motivational tactics? with Liverpool Football Club. This couldn?t be right ? could it?
From early in my tenure as Artistic Director of Menagerie Theatre Company I had been advocating supplementing our core work of commissioning and producing new plays with corporate training. It was meant to be a quick flirt for cash but this was getting ridiculous. In 2001 the company was short-listed for The Financial Times/Arts and Business Award, and then in 2002 we received a prize from the Arts Council as the most creative business in the East of England. This filled us with joy, quickly followed by confusion: we were delighted to be recognised in this way but conscious that it was in an area apparently secondary to our core aims.
It has been a struggle, but over the ensuing years we have managed to find a balance whereby our theatre work remains our primary focus, with our corporate work retaining its value. The challenges we face in commissioning and developing new work have directly inspired our delivery of training to over fifty clients. As an organisation that isn?t core funded, our Dr Jekyll act has been doing its job ? keeping us working! It has been a risky path to follow, but risk is what we do and risk is what we sell, to our audiences and our clients ? without risk there is no market for our work. While we worry about the risk to our identity, HR managers worry about staff querying the value of a theatre company offering training. Our answer to countering these concerns has been simple and effective ? we stick to what we know we can deliver. This means we don?t overstretch our resources or overstate our potential impact. Before we get in too deep with businesses we seek direct support in the areas where we are ignorant ? this means working alongside internal champions or devising training packages with additional business experts.
What Menagerie sells in the corporate marketplace is essentially a version of what we do in the rehearsal room and in performance. The model of ensemble, knowing your audience, finding a character or playing the moment, along with a skills package and an emphasis on spatial and visual awareness, these are all tools which businesses are keen to harness for their staff. What businesses are looking for is an experience that is dynamic and innovative with clear outcomes that are both measurable and applicable.
Essentially, theatre and business work on similar strategies: setting objectives and overcoming obstacles. That?s what it?s all about in the rehearsal room and the boardroom. This translates to us selling clients one of two approaches: workshops that demonstrate the dynamics of our development processes, or performances that highlight the specific challenges they face. In the current world of business there is a definite need for new, innovative approaches to training. Hierarchies in the workplace are being replaced by small, group-based systems and adaptable teams. The emphasis is on innovation, quality and adaptability. We are employing artistic techniques that complement technical and traditional training methods by giving a practical, memorable and tangible insight into the softer skills of communication, presentation, teamwork, problem solving and planning.
Just as different workshops set out to achieve different aims, so each one will work in a different way. For the BBC, for example, the learning outcomes were intended as inspirational rather than directly educational ? opening new avenues of thought and the potential for expanding their staff?s creative lexicon. Our short plays for conferences or the workplace offer another alternative. Here, topics are either specific, including highlighting diversity or literacy and numeracy issues, or more general: focusing on behaviour and communication. Essentially, whether the work entails an actor, director or musician showing how they do it, or the company performing message-based plays, the key is that it is all practical, placing the attendees at the heart of the thinking and the doing.
So who do we think we are? How about: Artistic Facilitators focusing on entertaining and inspiring audiences whoever they are and whatever their goals may be?
Paul Bourne is Artistic Director of Menagerie Theatre Company.
t: 01223 249300;
e: paul@menagerie.uk.com;
w: http://www.menagerie.uk.com