Newsreel

Arts Council Wales (ACW) has published ‘Identifying the Potential’, research into drama audiences in Wales, carried out by Audiences Wales. It is the most comprehensive analysis of the sector to date, with information on ticket sales, focus groups, and interviews with theatres, production companies, and more than 120 members of the public. Twenty to twenty-five per cent of the population currently go to plays, and Nick Beasley, Chief Executive of Audiences Wales, hopes that “co-operative strategies [can] increase the frequency of current attenders and reach new audiences”. ACW has also launched ‘Working Together’, an agreement between the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) and the voluntary cultural sector.
http://www.artswales.org.uk
 

Junction, a new multi-purpose arts centre, has opened in Goole. It replaces the Gate Theatre and includes a 170-seat main auditorium. Local audiences previously had to travel across the region for theatre and film, and it is hoped that the venue will attract national and international artists and companies.
http://www.junctiongoole.co.uk

The Theatrical Management Association has announced the winners of its 2009 Theatre Awards. The Achievement in Opera Award went to Glyndebourne, and English National Ballet took home the Achievement in Dance Award. The Stage Award for Special Achievement in Regional Theatre went to The Theatre, Chipping Norton, and The Special Award for Individual Achievement to Nicolas Kent of Tricycle Theatre.
http://www.tmauk.org

A programme that enables pairs of artists to enter into new relationships across international borders has been announced by Visiting Arts in partnership with the Delfina Foundation. ‘Artist to Artist International’ allows UK-based artists to invite an artist of their choice to visit the UK for an exchange of ideas and experiences. The deadline for applications is 5 December.
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Sports engineers at Sheffield Hallam University are working with Chol Theatre on a project called ‘Extraordinary Moves’, to challenge perceptions of disability in sport. Movement capture equipment will be used to capture the actions of the dancers, and the footage will then be used to create a series of pieces that showcase the 2012 Olympic Games.

National Theatre Wales (NTW) has been officially launched with a live digital broadcast announcing the first year of work. NTW’s first year of work will consist of 13 new shows taking place across Wales, with one show per month and a finale at the end of the year.
http://www.nationaltheatrewales.org

A Community Interest Company that aims to promote social inclusion through song-writing has been launched. Park Street Music’s first project will be ‘Bird-Songs’, a national competition for prisoners and young offenders which will use song-writing to explore creativity and develop their social and communication skills.
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The Charity Commission is carrying out research to explore what can be done to attract more young people to become charity trustees. The research will learn from current young trustees, and explore different ways of attracting young people who are not yet trustees and how charities can tackle the issues raised. The findings will be published in next year.
http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk

Theatre Resource, an arts organisation which promotes the creativity, culture and heritage of disabled people and socially excluded groups, has secured £25,000 from the Rayne Foundation for the construction of a new performance space. The new space will be part of the £6m development of a Victorian school site at Great Stony in Chipping Ongar, which will open as the UK’s first international centre for arts access and inclusion in 2011.
http://www.theatre-resource.org.uk