Jennie Jordan sees rural touring as the Cinderella of arts provision - an overlooked, under-funded beauty sitting in the corner waiting for a fairy godmother to reveal it as a key player in the network of arts activity that large sections of the population can access.
The countryside has been rising up the political agenda over the last few years and awareness about the importance of cultural provision in holding communities together has been growing. Where do you meet your friends and neighbours if you have no pub, no village shop and, if you have a bus service at all, it stops running at 5 o?clock? Nationally over one in five people live in the countryside, but the focus of most arts provision, funding and publicity is on venues in cities and towns and the companies that tour to them.
So what makes rural touring different? Partly it?s the structure of rural touring schemes. Unlike most professional touring companies, rural tours are not booked to appear in theatres or concert halls by professional programmers. Rather, they are booked to appear in village halls by a member of the hall committee. These voluntary promoters are then charged with all of the administration and marketing of the show. The ticket income and any profit from the sale of refreshments and programmes are used to offset the costs of booking the show, and then hopefully, they make a profit to put towards the hall?s funds. The voluntary promoters are key to bridging the gap between the company and the communities it works with, becoming ambassadors who spread the message about the company?s work and enthusing others to attend. This means that the touring company has the benefits of an insider in the community.
Community experience
Touring to village halls is also special because it overcomes many of the barriers anyone involved in audience development is constantly running up against. The show is taking place in a venue you know and that you can walk to and your friend or neighbour is promoting. The whole experience, from deciding which shows to book, to meeting up as a village is shared by and owned by the community, an experience that it?s hard to imagine happening regularly in a dedicated professional arts venue. In other words, by using village halls and local promoters, rural touring becomes embedded in the community.
The work of the voluntary promoters means that they are significant partners in the company?s success, and their involvement demands a great deal of commitment. In the arts there has been very little research undertaken into the motivation of volunteers, but the little there is indicates that the volunteers learn organisational skills and gain a sense of achievement and that the promotions help to raise the collective confidence of the community by giving them control. In this respect, rural touring shares some of the benefits of participatory arts.
A village event
The fact that rural touring companies play in small villages where a high proportion of the population can attend is also important as it differentiates the work from companies that tour to urban areas, where those who attend are unlikely to know anyone other than those they attend with. It?s not uncommon for a night out at the village hall to see a show to become an excuse for several generations of families to go out together, or for large groups of friends to meet up and come together. Research amongst people who went to the New Perspectives? show ?Tales from the English Coast? in 2001 indicates that two-thirds of the audience would have stayed at home if they hadn?t gone to the performance. Going to shows around Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire, I regularly saw lively conversations between villagers who hadn?t had a chance to meet up as a group since the last time the company visited several months before. And several people told me that what they love about the experience is the fact that it gives them a shared experience to talk about over the weeks to come.
There?s also a sense of excitement that companies work hard to develop in the communities they visit. On the day of the show, there?s a building sense of anticipation that starts as soon as the company van draws up outside the hall. One village hall promoter told me, ?It?s like the circus coming to town? the whole build up? and I feel part of that.? The company members all arrive in the village in the afternoon to help set up and this gives the promoters and other volunteers a chance to get to know them. Everyone helps to get the set in and the promoters often help out with a meal. Depending on the show, the performers might be able to make personal references to local people or events and audiences love the fact that the performers seem to know them and their village.
Sometimes the actors meet audience members as they arrive and, if appropriate, they also come out during the interval. This gives villagers a chance to talk to them and break down the usual barriers that exist between the performers, technicians and the audience. The effect of this is that a real sense of community can build up between the company and the audience.
Social inclusion
Whilst rural touring is unlikely to do anything to relieve poverty, it does contribute to the social inclusion agenda. By including community members in decision-making about which shows to book and how to promote them; by providing shows everyone can enjoy together; by taking shows out to people without cars or access to buses; and by giving people a shared experience to talk about the next day, companies touring to villages make a real difference to people in isolated communities.
Jennie Jordan is an arts consultant. t: 07941 739553; e: jenniejordan@netscape.net