As she joins Punchdrunk as Executive Director, Rebecca Dawson looks back on her career so far.
Executive Director, Punchdrunk (2016-present)
Punchdrunk is driven by a mission to pioneer new forms of theatre. It requires astounding creativity to embed audiences in fulfilling, relevant and exciting experiences. These values made me jump at the opportunity to join the team.
There are few obvious career ladders in the cultural sector. However, I have learned that what motivates me is the opportunity to make brilliant work that aligns with my values and ambitions. It’s helpful to have this touchstone to assist in making the right choice when many of my skills and functions are widely applicable.
In my first month at Punchdrunk I’ve been charmed by the keeper of a 314-floor, pop-up library in search of new stories, met teachers animated by the profound impact our Enrichment projects have on their pupils, and encountered devoted audiences swapping show tales, impatient for their next entry to a Punchdrunk world.
The exciting task at Punchdrunk is to lead and ensure growth. The first 15 years of the company have seen remarkable success. Our public profile is considerable and must be sustained while we develop new forms of game-changing theatre, which inevitably carries new creative, public and financial risks. The plans are inspiring and the company is in a strong position to be able to invest in the future programme. Most notable is our new research and development space – Fallow Cross – which provides a fixed home for our nascent ideas and Enrichment projects for the first time.
The challenge is to forecast and deliver the right scale of growth and investment to allow the company to still be at the forefront of British theatre when it celebrates its 30th anniversary.
Executive Director, Candoco Dance Company (2010-2016)
This brilliant opportunity at Candoco came at just the right moment: seven years at Arts Council England felt like the right innings.
The strength of collective vision, the challenging and beautiful work, and the commitment to reframe access and inclusion as part of moving the art form forward, rather than simply being part of a legislative framework, drew me to Candoco. The company has a generous culture: it is committed to learning, questioning itself, developing the people within it and the very essence of dance. That creative drive to lead a fundamental change of mind-set and astound audiences with beauty and challenge made my job a privilege.
The initial shock of not having anyone looking over my shoulder as I made decisions, and realising that I could really frame the direction and impact of the company, was exhilarating and overwhelming. I worked with the fundamental strengths of the company to open up new markets, to move across scales and to embed learning and training across the whole programme. This gave us access to increasingly ambitious projects, new partnerships and income sources, and greater public profile. While the pressure to fundraise was relentless and at times draining, and the Rubik’s Cube-like schedule created many hard decisions, the creative momentum overtook these frustrations.
Two highlights stand out: developing and working with the evolving team even when hard decisions had to be made, and producing Jérôme Bel’s ‘The Show Must Go On’ at Sadler’s Wells – a theatrical highlight of my life. It was a rare moment of pure life-affirming theatrical brilliance that brought spontaneous standing ovations and established Candoco firmly as a leading dance company.
Senior Project Manager, Vision 2012, Arts Council England (2008-2010)
The Arts Council was remarkably forward thinking in its early commitment to delivering a cultural programme for London 2012 – a commitment spearheaded by a group of brilliant women in the London Office. The opportunity to work across art forms, to develop projects that both reflected the brilliant talent of the UK scene and put the public at their heart, was hugely appealing to me. This role also allowed me to move closer to producing work than my previous officer position allowed.
My main focus was the series of major public art commissions, ‘Artists Taking the Lead’. I’m especially proud that unique projects were realised that would not have found funding through established routes. There was a genuine openness to risk and ambition. And as such, it was not plain sailing. Contractual wrangling and rapidly changing risk assessments were common, but it was an excellent lesson in the importance of sticking to your creative guns, allowing artists to lead through practice, effective collaboration and communication.
All these things have been critical to my future roles as Executive Director – alongside a drive for innovation and, rather like air traffic control, an ability to ensure projects and plans are guided safely to landing while keeping the airport moving and avoiding collisions.
Dance Officer, Arts Council England (2003-2008)
I joined Arts Council England following my MA in Arts Management at City University, which followed three years of freelance administrative work. The MA was valuable in giving me confidence around policy and funding structures. I was mid dissertation when I applied for the Arts Council role – initially as Assistant Officer then moving to Officer 18 months later.
The Arts Council was a brilliant foundation. It provided me with an excellent overview of the creative sector; instilled a really important commitment to quality, public value and diversity; and required me to think strategically and to make decisions at both micro and macro levels. I was particularly lucky to join at a moment when the dance team was full of brilliant people and when the roles allowed us to have meaningful relationships with artists and organisations.
Rebecca Dawson is Executive Director for Punchdrunk.
www.punchdrunk.org.uk
 |