As many groups know, trying to get Arts Lottery funding can be a lottery in itself, writes Garry Churchill. But what happens to a voluntary group, with no paid staff, who strike lucky and find they have won a shiny new £2.3m arts venue?
This is what happened to Louth Playgoers Society in rural Lincolnshire, which celebrated its 70th birthday in March this year with the opening of the new Riverhead Theatre.
Successfully opening a new venue is an exciting and demanding challenge for any arts organisation, but particularly an amateur one. "Quite against expectation, we found the Playgoers to be every bit as competent and supportive in decision-making as our professional clients, and often more able to listen and take the advice we offered" said architect Julian Marsh.
The first step in the transition from entirely voluntary status was to employ a Theatre Manager. Roy Hobson took on the challenge of building organisational capacity so that they were ready to run the new venue. "The task of balancing the wishes of those who have faithfully served the society willingly and voluntarily for so many years with the needs of running an efficient, safe and thriving new venue is particularly challenging", said Roy. It needed the patience, tact and initiative developed in Roy?s previous working life as a community police officer. The other professional is Dave Morris, appointed to plan the new range of programmes. "It?s an exciting opportunity" said Dave. "The major challenge will be balancing the needs of the existing audience with broadening the choices for new audiences."
The success of Louth Playgoers in opening the Riverhead Theatre benefited from being the right opportunity at the right time, with:
? recognition by regional bodies, including East Midlands Arts, that market towns had been neglected and needed a better cultural infrastructure;
? the availability of European Regional Development funding; and
? the local authorities and EMDA (the area?s Regional Development Agency) being ready to invest in the regeneration of the town.
But the real strength was in the vision and leadership of Louth Playgoers, with the board members bringing professional skills from their day jobs to the benefit of the organisation. "We have a very powerful and dynamic team of volunteers, from wide ranging professional backgrounds. In bringing together and managing these skills, we were able to identify and secure substantial elements of outside funding" explained Board member Chris Winney, who in ?real life? is an agricultural consultant.
Katherine West, until recently Arts Officer at East Lindsey District Council, is pleased that the Council?s arts programme has focussed strongly on building the partnership with Louth Playgoers. "We?ve held pilot projects ranging from a Literature Festival, to a Battle of the Bands weekend, to Egyptian dance classes!", said Katherine. The partnership has offered audiences a flavour of wider possibilities. The programme now includes youth theatre, dance, music, and exhibitions as well as plays and musicals. Much of this will be delivered through links with professional arts groups in the region such as the Firebird Trust, Artlink, Lincolnshire Dance, music agency SoundLincs, and New Perspectives Theatre Company.
John Lill, who chaired the development sub-committee, is proud that "The move to the Riverhead Theatre has revolutionised performing arts in an area which was little short of a cultural wilderness. The new complex presents a wonderful opportunity for the arts in Louth". Indeed, Louth Playgoers provides a case study of how much can be achieved by a voluntary group with vision, hard work and determination. It is now gaining the benefits of cautiously introducing a professional management while retaining its ethos as a voluntary group.
Garry Churchill works for Creative Options. He led the team of consultants that worked with Louth Playgoers to realise the project. t: 01785 228099
e: g.churchill@btinternet.com.
For further information on the Riverhead Theatre contact Roy Hobson t:01507 600982 or John Lill t: 01507 603759.