I couldn?t believe it when Alan Orme from East England Arts told me that the Junction CDC (Junction and Cambridge Drama Centre) had been awarded £70,000, says Carrie Carruthers.
It forms part of East England Arts? Theatre Plan, which gives additional support to a number of theatres and companies across the region. In our case the award is to enable us to work with new and developing theatre companies and artists in the region. This grant has been so different from our usual experience of angst-ridden applications and potential disappointing rejections. We now have the opportunity to support projects such as Hot Bed, the Cambridge new writing festival with Menagerie Productions, as well as to develop a programme of co-productions across the region, the aim being to encourage new work and to nurture talent in the region. We would like to see companies and artists choose to settle in the region rather than losing them to the draw of London and other urban centres.
The way it works is that companies and artists come to us with ideas for projects. This funding then enables us to support some of these ideas. Applicants complete a simple application form for a £2,000 commission, plus performance opportunities on a split basis with a production day in the venue. We also agree a programme of ITC (Independent Theatre Council) training and marketing, finance and technical advice over the year. However, our remit is not just to work in Cambridge but across the region. The help we can give a company or artist in another town is more limited and with less potential for the future, so we have asked other venues in the region to propose a co-production with a company they wish to support. The company and venue then makes a joint application for £3,000 to £4,000 commission which goes to the company, plus an agreed level of in-kind support from the venue. In addition, we contribute advice if required and allocate places on the ITC training courses.
This programme started in April and so it is early days to assess its impact. But we have had a fantastic variety of proposals and have selected eight companies. One surprising factor is how hard it has been to generate high quality applications from regional venues and companies. I hope this will change as word spreads about the scheme.
Carrie Carruthers is Assistant Director, Programme & Communications at the Junction CDC. t: 01223 578000; e: carrie@junction.co.uk