Community Theatre and Heritage Seminar

19 Apr 2024

Telling it how it was: How can Community Theatre and Heritage partners collaborate successfully to preserve and relate stories? On June 24, 2020, Tony Horitz was invited by Neil Beddow, Artistic Director of Bristol-based acta (avon community theatre association) to talk about WCT's approach to community theatre and heritage. Tim Bland, Officer for National Lottery Heritage Fund also took part, to express commitment to theatre’s role in revealing cultural heritage. 18 delegates from Great Britain and Ireland participated. Tony Horitz said:  I focused on was how we choose particular stories for WCT’s community plays – and whose stories are they?  I explained our two key criteria for community theatre:

1. our ongoing commitment to working site-specifically – so the place we choose to perform in is almost as important as the material we research - and
2. our devising process, which involves researching widely, talking to and interviewing a cross section of the community in the creative process of finding the stories and making the play bring the past and present – to life.

I identified 4 stages to choosing the best stories or the theme or topic and scripting them, including the ‘drama process’ way of improvising and role-playing ideas. See here See here more about acta’s approach which is more theatre-based, but similar in content.                                                                                                      https://www.acta-bristol.com/seminar-keeping-stories-alive/