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Nov 16
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Am I a writer? – Retrospective thoughts from Tom Wells’ writer’s group from Jenni

By | Uncategorised

There’s something humbling about reading the words on a page you had just madly written down minutes prior during a 2-minute freewriting exercise. I can still hear my voice tripping over the phrases and my cheeks burning. I was so confident of the short story of a man driving home from his sister’s Christmas meal and facing the consequences of what he had done that morning when marking it on paper that I hadn’t steadied myself for an entire room of people to hear it. It was terrifying.

I’ve been forced to ask myself, am I a writer?

This was a question I was asking myself the entire time I was contemplating applying for Tom Well’s writing group with Middle Child. When I had first heard of the opportunity, I didn’t think too deeply into it honestly, I just knew I wanted to be involved, but when I read the application, imposter syndrome smacked me in the face.

To backtrack, anyone who reads my experience with writing would be confused as to why I wouldn’t consider myself a writer. I’ve written about uncountable short-stories, poetry pieces, short-film scripts, articles, blogs, reviews, lyrics, essays for my short-lived YouTube career, alongside copywriting for social media and various company websites, and I’ve probably overlooked many other examples, but most of these surprisingly isn’t for the sake of writing.

Despite myself, I applied and I got in. Over the course of the weeks we met in a room, I poured my brain onto the page for the first time and when reading that first piece, I panicked. Everyone else was so funny, so quick, so clever, and I felt I was wading through a clumsy chunk of an idea. After I had read out loud, I analysed the room and the reactions, and honestly, there could have been a million positive comments, but they would never have shined through a twitch in a mouth corner which I had translated into shame.

a woman writes in an A5 notebook with a silver mechanical pencil on a wooden desk

Creative writing, an idea from your brain, is very personal. Compared to well-researched essays, reports or even an album review, for me, it feels like a world away. I can spend hours of energy constructing an incredibly insightful piece for a company blog and happily stand in front of a crowd of hundreds and confidently read aloud. My heart is safely tucked behind my ribcage and nowhere near my sleeve. But then I reach into myself and pull out something fictional, explorative, use my imagination, my knees give way at the idea of letting another person see.

The thing about practice, surprisingly, is that the thing you practice generally gets easier. Over the weeks sat in that room with the brilliant group of writers, sharing our ideas and our work throughout Tom’s exercises, something clicked. I wasn’t consistently confident, but I noticed that feedback that was constructive and useful no longer felt like an attack on my soul. You’ll be happy to hear, by the last week, I was volunteering to go first in sharing my ideas, and with a smile on my face, I shared my thoughts around where I wanted to take my final piece. I feel I am prepared to hear my own writing performed by another on stage in front of an audience, not only that, I think I’m thrilled by the concept.

As most of the past attendees of Tom’s writing group will say: If you have any consideration of trying out the writer’s group, then bloody well apply.

Jenni Harrison, Events/Media Producer and Manager (and writer)

Oct 08
0
10th Birthday Party artwork

Celebrating 10 years of making a noise

By | Uncategorised
10th Birthday Party artwork

Middle Child turned 10 years old on Wednesday 6 October.

That’s a full decade of making a noise from our home in Hull, since a group of University of Hull graduates decided to return to the city in 2011 and start a company.

To celebrate the landmark anniversary, we’re doing what we do best – putting on a good night out, with a big old birthday party down at Social on Humber Street in Hull.

Performers from past shows, including The Canary and the Crow, All We Ever Wanted Was Everything and Us Against Whatever, will reunite to play scratch-style songs and scenes from previous performances.

There will also be a fundraising raffle, the obligatory speeches and sets from the Make Noise Collective DJs.

Doors open at 7pm and the entertainment kicks off at 7.30pm, running until late.

Tickets cost £15 and are on-sale now.

Aug 04
0
Michelle stands pointing off camera, standing behind a screen during our Recover, Restart and Reimagine project

Paradox, permission and play – a reflection by Michelle Dee

By | Uncategorised

by Michelle Dee (she/her) – writer and performer

This piece was written in June 2021 as a reflection on our Recover, Restart and Reimagine programme

As I look back on the past three weeks participating on Middle Child Theatre’s unique Recover, Restart and Reimagine programme, an initiative unique to this city and perhaps to the sector, that recognised the precarity of being a freelancer not just here and now in 2021 as we try to emerge from a global pandemic, but at any point in a career, and decided to do something real and meaningful about it.

Picturing the twelve artists in a space – an empty shop unit in the city centre – some known to each other, others not so, I am struck by the paradoxical nature of having a bespoke place to play, indeed the emphasis on play was one of the things that prompted me to apply back in May, but not to interact in a pre-pandemic way.

Within RRR we felt like family one day, comrades the next, freedom fighters the third. Somewhat shielded from the reality of the outside world we were given time dedicated to the important things like thinking, dreaming, planning, growing. Within our bubble of creative sparks and personal revelations and breakthroughs we felt completely safe, freed from the pressures of everyday processing of the impact of the pandemic, despite the four-day covid testing regime; strict adherence to social distancing; mask-wearing while moving in the space, and the ubiquitous hand sanitising.

Over time all these behaviours become normalised. What never does though nor should it, is the lack of human touch, the desperate feeling of wanting to reach out knowing that you cannot, when the person beside you needs a hand to hold, or a supportive shoulder: crossing your wrists over your chest like some bemused cartoon superhero doesn’t cut it.

During one of the yoga sessions, I remember the accompanying music took on a Lynchian quality think Twin Peaks ‘Roadhouse Singer’ Julee Cruise, as the moment and the music moved me, transported me I lay quietly sobbing, at the beauty of the music and at the sudden and rapid decline of my body over the last two years as it succumbs to the rigours of rheumatoid arthritis. I lay there weeping for all the things I wanted to do post-pandemic but now seemingly will not. And little did I know in the immediate future I would experience a flare-up in my left hip that would leave me struggling to walk, to sit, to do anything really: so it hasn’t all been a jolly old time.

When people ask me what it was like I will say that it has been tough, for myriad reasons, but that I am so grateful to Middle Child for inviting me to take part. Needless to say the theatre company’s response to seeing my struggle was to offer every support they physically could, and warm genuine words of support… I have never met a more caring organisation, I’m not sure if one could even exist.

Likewise, my RRR family offered support to, lifting and carrying for me during the peak of the episode.

One more thing on Middle Child’s approach to working: never have I been invited to share my pronouns quite so much as I have done in the last three weeks. Middle Child do this as a matter of course, not to jump on a gender identity bandwagon, but just as a matter of course, as a sign of respect, to show that they actually care about who they are talking to, working and interacting with.

It hasn’t been all heavy sessions reflecting on traumas and pain pandemic related or not, there was much joy in the room and laughter, lots of it coupled with a luminous spirit of sharing and openness, not in a wanky way but in the way everyone had the opportunity to be heard – some more than others, being shut in your flat for a year will do that to a person – and how each speaker, workshop deliverer gave of their knowledge and insight so generously. We all have a little bible now filled with notes to reflect upon in the coming weeks as we search for clues, answers and solutions to better deal with the challenges to come.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the shutter’s starring role during Zoom sessions and the bemused look on the screen, as they try to work where the hell we are, announcing they have never done Zoom when the ‘audience’ are all together in the one-room: neither had any of us up until three weeks ago.

Before I leave you with a few notes to scroll through below from my now bible, that will hopefully lend an insight into the experience. I’d like to call on all disciplines, not just theatre, but dance and music and visual arts who work with freelancers to learn from Middle Child, and devise a programme that shows you recognise and value the work they do to keep your sector alive.

“…crippling imposter syndrome as I walk in on day one, surprised to see from the fears on the wall I’m not the only one. Why am I here? Do I belong? These people are better than me… these people aren’t looking at me like I’ve got two heads, maybe I’m going to like it here. I think I’m going to like it here.” – General scribblings

“If you are not the biggest fan of your work then who else is going to be?” – Communication and Marketing Session

“It’s not feasible to serve the world and save the sector, it’s difficult to dream outside of the isms and schisms” – On ‘Restarting’

“Feedback is a kind thing to do” – Difficult Conversations Session

“The onslaught of place-based policy is affecting cultural production” – On collaboration not competition

“It makes about as much sense as a dream which means, yes I’m having fun and I’m giving you permission to put worries aside and join me on my wild ride, we can just sit on stage and commune with the dead.” – On my next project

“In Poland we make punk rock theatre – in the UK you are still making Wind in the Willows” – Political Theatre Session

“This paper has been headlined as the solution to the trauma felt by the theatre industry and that of the those who work in it caused by the pandemic, but really it is the germ of an idea that might begin to address the inequalities that persist across the sector” – WATCH THIS SPACE Session

Michelle stands pointing off camera, standing behind a screen during our Recover, Restart and Reimagine project
Jul 14
1
A montage of headshots of the eight writers

Behind the writing – “we used to be closer than this”

By | News, Shows, Uncategorised
A montage of headshots of the eight writers

If you’ve been keeping up with us, you’ll know that we are celebrating togetherness by being back on the stage Friday 16th – Sunday 18th July with a live audience with ‘we used to be closer than this’, a cabaret of songs written by 8 talented writers from Hull and across the UK.

Not too long ago, we sent a brief to writers asking them to respond to the idea of coming together again through writing a music-led piece of writing which is celebratory, hopeful and challenging in equal measure. But what can you expect from each piece? We’ve asked our writers to tell us more about their song:

Use the arrows to scroll through all of our writer’s stories-behind-the-songs

Behind the songs:

  • Something Really Good’s About To Happen by Tom Wells

    “My mate’s mum took some diet pills once that (it turned out, much to everyone’s surprise) were laced with speed. He asked her what it was like and she told him it felt, all the time, like something brilliant was about to happen. Which, I think anyway, is quite a helpful approach to have to life and the world and the future, especially at the moment. The sense that stuff’s about to change, to get better, to get fairer. So: it sounds a bit naff but what inspired the story behind my song is, um, hope.

    “The song is about three people who are all on the cusp of something new in their lives. They’ve struggled a bit, but I think they’re all determined to make sure that, post-pandemic, the world is a bit fairer, kinder, and huggier than it has been in the last year and a half.

    “It’s lovely to be making theatre again with Middle Child, who are my heroes and who have supported the Hull theatre community so much, through such a tough time. And it’s lovely to be in such a brilliant gang of artists – I can’t wait to see and hear what everyone has come up with.”

  • The Biggest Bestest Summer Of Our Lives by Kobby Taylor

    “The Biggest Bestest Summer Of Our Lives is really about a mum, a dad, a daughter and the pandemic and how the members of the family navigate the difficulties of lockdown, whilst trying to remain positive. The title may suggest it’s the happiest song in the world, but actually, the song is about hope. Hoping that this summer is amazing is what is holding this family together as lockdown has been tough on all of them.

    “I think my writing tries to touch on the fact that this could be a hugely positive summer when restrictions are lifted and the masks come off. It tries to show that parents and families have done their absolute best to remain positive despite the very negative nature of the pandemic.
    “It’s been so, so important for me to be back in the room writing and playing with Middle Child. It’s no secret they have guided me from a complete novice, to having the opportunity to act and compose music and now the opportunity to write a song has allowed me to extend my experience. The rehearsal room felt so safe and so covid secure that it felt ‘normal’. Obviously, there were numerous restrictions on contact, but everyone has rigidly stuck to the rules and it allowed us to create an amazing cabaret show about connection.
    “I wouldn’t say any further reading is required after watching my song, but certainly connecting with your family, household and close circle is so important. Just having brutally honest conversations about how we feel pre-, mid- and post-pandemic can certainly be the best therapy. The aim isn’t to try and ‘fix’ our problems; it’s merely to listen and understand, as in many cases, simply understanding is enough to heal.”

  • Lockdown Baby by Abbi Greenland (RashDash)

    “Helen and I (RashDash) both had babies during the last year and have been negotiating lockdown pregnancies, births and babies. My babe was born before Christmas when we had lockdowns two and three and we couldn’t get together with friends and family. Since we’ve been able to see friends again and touch friends again, it’s been incredible to introduce babe to his family – those that he’s related to by blood and those that will just always be in his life.

    “The day he met my oldest friend for the first time – having only facetimed and waved from a distance for months – was a very special day and I wanted to write about that and celebrate it. This song is about the first time my oldest friend got to hold my new baby for the first time. Just a really important moment that we had to be so patient and wait so long for.

    “I went to university in Hull with Middle Child and we were all really close and made a lot of work together while we were studying, and a bit after we graduated too. It’s really special to be working with the company again, and to be making work for a Hull audience.”

  • Am I Ready (Steady Go) by Tabby Lamb

    “Back in March 2020, when covid first hit, I was about to go on a big holiday for my 30th – visiting friends in America, who I haven’t seen for years, and of course that trip was cancelled. But I still spent most of the pandemic planning dream trips to far off places. It was my escape from the monotony of lockdown. I wanted to imagine a time when I felt safe enough to travel and the horrors of the past 18 months were long behind us.

    “This song is all about new experiences, something none of us have been lucky enough have for the past year and a half. It’s about feeling safe enough to travel and explore a brand new location. It’s about having the option to go out or stay in.

    “Middle Child are one of my favourite companies of all time, so to work with them at all is an honour – but to work with them on a project of this scale, with [pay what you can] tickets is even more special. It’s such an accessible project and after a year plus of online work making accessibility key, it’s great to see Middle Child continue that.”

  • I bet that we look bad on the dancefloor By Jay Mitra

    “I had a literal nightmare during the pandemic about being at a club and it being incredibly awkward due to everyone forgetting how to dance during lockdown. Isolation has caused a lot of people’s social skills to suffer – particularly those who, like myself, have been shielding for over a year due to underlying health conditions.

    “When I had my first public appearance after isolating I felt hypersensitive to my surroundings; it was a struggle engaging with people again. After speaking to other people who endured the same level of isolation, I quickly realised I am not alone in my anxiety of having to relearn in-person communication skills. Slowly but surely, we will have to recharge our social batteries.

    “Clubs have been the last on the agenda to reopen and I know a lot of young people in particular are looking forward to this restriction being lifted. I miss the reckless and euphoric unity of dancers in a club, the feeling of being surrounded by strangers yet simultaneously feeling connected through music, the immense support from random drunk girls in the club toilets – I miss it all. I’m so excited to come together with people in clubs and re-emerge as a terrible, yet incredibly happy dancer. I want to be just another grinning face on a sticky dancefloor.

    “This is such a fantastic opportunity and I’m so happy I got a chance to voice some of the anxieties a lot of people are probably feeling right now – especially those with disabilities, who have had limited contact with the outside world out of fear of contracting a virus that could potentially kill them.

    “‘We used to be closer than this’ is an opportunity to voice a certain revival of culture. I used the brief to explore my personal experiences of suffering socially and my anxieties surrounding returning to relative normalcy. Though a lot of us will struggle in adapting again after long periods of isolation, being able to see our friends and family again will give many of us the strength to keep pushing through.

    “Hannah Hodgson (a fellow Writing Squad member) is a brilliant poet whose work surrounding her own experiences with disability are particularly important to read right now. I have become enthralled with her work recently. It’s witty, honest, provocative, and she truly is a poet to keep an eye on. As restrictions lift, many people will soon forget about those who still have to shield but Hannah’s poetry is truly unforgettable. If anyone else is feeling isolated or anxious about the world slowly reverting back to ‘normalcy’, Hannah’s poetry is a great source of solace, comfort and reflection.”

  • Now’s The Time For Dancing by Leo Skilbeck

    “I wanted the song to be rooted in cabaret and queer forms and also to be something accessible and uplifting. I was aiming for pride meets Eurovision meets cabaret down your local. I wanted to write something that didn’t shy away from challenges life throws up, but also something that was fun.

    “I imagined Love, Hindsight, Envy, Death, Pride and Hope and they arrived as these very rounded and very queer entities – Pride on a motorbike and Hope in the sidecar clutching champagne; Death singing by the bins; Envy with his cheesy chips; and I imagined this big party where it’s possible to let them all be free, to let them all go.

    “I was really pleased to be asked to write a song for Middle Child and for this in particular. Cabaret and queer performance are fantastic ways of bringing people together, finding community and having a laugh, which let’s face it, we could all do with.”

  • FIRST KISS by Natasha Brown

    “I got into a relationship a few months before the first lockdown and it was such awkward timing. Here you are in the honeymoon period, where you desperately want to spend every time with this new, interesting person and then – BOOM! – just like that, you can’t be in the same room as them anymore. That situation inspired this song: what if two people met right before lockdown and they never even got to have their first kiss? It’d suck! But the anticipation of that kiss would keep you going.

    “The song takes place in a nightclub, where there are loads of other people around, the music is loud, everyone is dancing. It’s an experience many of us haven’t had over the past year. An actual nightclub!

    “It’s important to me [to be a part of this show] for a couple of reasons. Firstly, this is my first time being commissioned to write a song (just call me Beyoncé now) which was a really enjoyable experience. It’s always rewarding to be pushed as a writer. And, secondly, I really love the idea. It’s important to cultivate as much collective joy as possible coming out of this pandemic. It’s been a rough time, to say the least, and people need opportunities to reconnect.”

  • Now/Then by Angelo Irving

    “Now then is a phrase that powerfully reminds me of Hull. A term of greeting and one that because of the pandemic, I hadn’t heard for a long time. We’ve lost a lot during the last year and a half; the ability to hear such a small but beautiful phrase inspired me to write the song. It took me a while to think about what coming together again meant to me and what the new normal would look like.

    “The more I thought, the more I realised that one of the beautiful things about reconnecting with the people was the chance to tell new stories and reminisce over old ones. Being with people that you love is therapy and now/then explores how those that love you can heal you.

    “Like many people, the last year and a half has afforded me a lot of time to reflect and one of the things I have tried committing to is being around people that nourish me. Working with Middle Child is always a highlight and working on this show, in particular, has been a real honour. It put me in a creative space where I could respond to the events that have changed the world in a creative way. That has been healing for me and, I hope, will provide something to those that watch it.

    “I have so many influences. The words of Kae Tempest; the work of local artist Emma Crick; the music of Chiedu Oraka. I wrote this at the same time as reading The Secret Commonwealth, the fifth book in the His Dark Materials series and the lengths that people go to to reconnect was a true inspiration”

Jul 05
0

A Free Writing Response to ‘Misty’

By | Artist Development, Blog, Uncategorised

Each week as part of Recover, Restart and Reimagine, there is a set play text to read, which is then discussed at length in a session led by Middle Child’s Matthew May. During the second week of Restart the group had the spoken word play Misty by British playwright and actor Arinzé Kene to unpick and respond to. Michelle, one of the spoken word artists on the project, felt inspired to respond with this creative free writing response to the work.    

 

Misty by Arinzé Kene a creative response by Michelle Dee  

 It’s a play about race but it is not a black play 

cos the stuff that goes on is due to poverty 

and lack of opportunity it is not speaking 

about the black experience per se but the 

crisis in masculinity in the UK a lack of role 

models the scales tipped against success 

he says some things about gentrification 

fitting in adapting throughout the work 

Arinzé is told he should be changing his 

words how he couldn’t tell this story 

because it predicated a stereotype he 

tells it in patois in yardie speak dutty 

lingo in a ‘featre’ he paints a dangerous 

dynamic picture his world is full of characters 

who challenge his views like an argument 

on a social news feed echo chamber 

baiting the base scoring hit points on 

how society should think about race 

it is not Arinzé’s responsibility not to to 

offend there’s a great line maybe the best 

line page 56 ‘If the audience aint ready to 

be challenged maybe they shouldn’t come 

to the theatre…’ then there is a the Sixth 

Sense Fight Club return seats to the upright 

position moment and I’ve not mentioned the 

virus and blood cell ting I wonder how much 

struggle he really has had with the Rebecca’s 

and the Producers in this world to make  

this show happen: it begs the question.  

Jul 05
0
Two women walk and chat

Working Better Together

By | Artist Development, Blog, Uncategorised

Last week, the Recover, Restart and Reimagine group joined Steve O’Smotherly to learn about a useful tool for teams to more openly communicate about getting the best out of each other.

Most of us have worked with people who, despite all the will in the world, we feel we struggle to mesh with. I’ve worked with many teams, adapting to various working environments and systems, and I can pinpoint where it’s been a breeze or where I have had to exert a lot of energy to be at my peak. Interestingly, until listening in on Recover, Restart and Reimagine’s Four Season Profiling session, I had considered this to be a ‘me’ problem. Turns out that often where things don’t mesh can be related to the personalities in the room, and with reflection and communication, barriers can become significantly smaller. 

Four Seasons profiling encourages reflection on the impact we may have on the people around us. Based on traits and preferences at work, we fit into four different categories: Spring, Summer, Winter and Autumn. Each season has an opposite (Spring/Autumn and Winter/Summer) to how they naturally engage with the task at hand, with strengths and weaknesses in all. The model encourages a team to communicate their preferences and what they need from other seasons to get the best out of them. 

For me, the biggest lightbulb moment in this session was the concept that the better the day an individual is having, the more they lean into their season tendencies, which can naturally have a negative impact on their opposite seasons. Look at it like this: as a Spring, I am a ‘blue skies thinking’, big ideas person with an enthusiasm for new projects, problem-solving as we move, but this ‘go with the flow’ mentality is the foil of an Autumn. Autumns prefer a cautious approach, moving with purpose to avoid errors. They prepare, research and analyse, carefully planning every move until a project is complete. So if I’ve got a big idea, I’m moving existing projects and meetings around, raring to go THAT DAY on a shiny new passion project, so an Autumn is going to get hella frustrated with me. Equally, an empathetic people-oriented Summer, who prefers consensus and considering others to alleviate stress, is going to clash with an efficiency-focused Winter who wants quick and effective results – very ‘work now, feelings later’. 

Two women walk and chat

Our Recover, Restart and Reimagine group were made up of mostly Summers (9 people) with the remainder being Springs (4 people). With being only a small sample, this figures when we compare this to a typical organisation or groups of cultural leaders.

From the group, actor and writer Angelo Irving is a Summer. He had the opportunity to discuss various points with other Summers around strengths, weaknesses and preferences. The Summer group identified themselves as friendly, stable, laid back and authentic, being good sources of morale through comedy and understanding, although admitted that where they may negatively impact other seasons is resistance to getting stuck into a task and struggling to focus, finding themselves juggling a lot at once. Facilitator Steve encouraged the groups to communicate openly and honestly, giving prompt questions for each group of seasons to explore, something that comes naturally to Summers but other seasons may have had more difficulty with. 

The biggest take away from this session is that with good communication and clarity, polar opposites do not mean that there is chaos in a room when put together on a project. Rather, knowing your seasons and acknowledging your preferences can help start a preparation to better communicate an effective way of working with each other with understanding. And it works! In the past, I have been in a two-person team with an Autumn before, and as we had brilliant communication of what we both needed to be effective on the project, we played into our strengths with consideration of what we both needed from each other. 

If you’d like to explore the following season descriptions and think about which one you most identify with, then use the prompts at the bottom to think deeper into how we can better work with others. 

Spring – Is a preference for blue-skies ideas, creativity and spontaneity. A Spring is resilient under stress, being an adaptable ‘go with the flow’ personality. Seen as ‘fire starters’ they are enthusiastic about new projects and enjoy change, but certainly aren’t completer-finishers, causing other seasons stress by changing goal-posts and shifting focus often. With their passion, they are emotionally driven resourceful members of a team and offer much value through harnessing their wide network and skill base. 

Autumn – The opposite of a Spring, Autumns are evidence-based thinkers and act cautiously with purpose to avoid errors. Rarely taking things at face value (‘Don’t tell me you’re funny, make me laugh’-types), they prefer to establish the facts, looking for clarity and information. Autumns are perfectionists and use a thoughtful approach to work, enthusiastically research and analyse. With being detail-oriented, they can get bogged down and over-analyse, and can be very sensitive to feedback because of the energy they put into a project. 

Summer – Being the largest represented season according to Steve’s research (49% of thousands of participants across various sectors), Summers are people-oriented. They lead through consensus, promoting harmony and balanced, often talking of the collective success of a team (“We” achieved X, rather than “I”). Warm and easy-going, they have a calm approach to stress, putting others first thinking of the impact on the team, but often become stress-sponges putting other’s problems on their shoulders. A Summer can have a lack of self-belief and undervalue themselves, struggling to take positive feedback, with an approach of ‘I am just doing my job’. 

Winter – The opposite of a Summer, a Winter leads through compliance. They like efficiency and focus and are extremely hard working with a preference for action, competition, achievement and results. They have high levels of self-belief and confidence, and some may define this season as the typical ‘Alpha work culture’ stereotype. Often seen to handle stress well, they may perceive a pressured work environment as an ideal which can result in a lack of empathy for others. Their output and work ethic is exemplary but can struggle to know when to stop at the cost of their own personal needs. A Winter won’t use 25 words if 5 is enough, and with that can be impatient, seeing their way as the only way. sometimes coming across as insensitive. 

  1. What do you bring to the workplace?
  2. What do you struggle with? 
  3. How do you like to communicate? 
  4. What does someone with a different season need to do to get the best out of you? 
Jun 24
1
A white woman in white vest and black leggings, and orange scarf, sat in a chair with her right arm held up

Invitation of Structure and the Stress Bucket

By | Artist Development, Blog, Uncategorised

Michelle Dee, writer and performer, is one of our participants for the Recover, Restart and Reimagine programme and she has taken some time to reflect on thoughts after the group’s first week, with a focus on recovering.

When you’ve spent the last 16 months on and off with your doorstep as your full stop, the invitation of structure is either just what you need or maybe tempting fate. The line ‘invitation of structure’ came from one of the other participants in the programme but it resonated with me, it landed in my lap like a warning.

During the three lockdowns, I quickly fell into a routine of getting up each day, eating breakfast switching on or avoiding the news depending on my mood. I moved around my flat like a robot from one space to the other, finding different ways to pass the time. I found I couldn’t bring myself to focus on reading an entire book, so read bits of poetry, articles online, the minute details of how to shield that fell through my letterbox on a regular basis.

The Recover, Restart and Reimagine programme demanded the attendance of each candidate 9am to 6pm, four days a week. That has come as quite a challenge but so far so good. I have got through the first week and not been late.

As a freelancer in the before times I didn’t have regular hours, that’s not to say I didn’t work hard, but it would be at irregular hours, forever changing and some weeks would be intense, whereas others would stretch out: empty as my bank balance.

We artists have to be able to adapt to different situations, some projects demand more from us than others, sometimes this is dependent on whatever fee we have managed to negotiate. With the Recover, Restart and Reimagine project the fee is set, the rules have been negotiated by each one of us, we all understand. I wasn’t prepared for how it would feel to be in a space, day on day with the same group, each one passionate about their work, each wondering how they can ever get back to how they expressed themselves creatively before. It has felt quite overwhelming at times and emotional. I have come to recognise how much I need this is in my life, the chance to connect with new and familiar faces, talking, laughing the ebb and flow of conversation, without a screen between us.

Another idea introduced by a participant on Recover, Restart and Reimagine programme was the idea of a Stress Bucket. They described how we all have a stress bucket and how it might contain a manageable level of stress-inducing things. With the lockdowns and Covid paralysing many of our lives, the levels of stress have increased. They talked about each of us having a background stress level before Covid, and how new stresses wouldn’t necessarily tip the balance. With Covid and all the different ways that has impacted and changed our every day the background stress levels have increased significantly so that a seemingly insignificant incident or issue can now fill the stress bucket so it overflows much more than it ever would before.

Recover, Restart and Reimagine has been designed not to add to that stress bucket but to try to understand and find new ways to counter the stress feelings, to lower the background stress levels to a manageable level. It does this in a number of ways, one of which is the introduction of Yoga sessions every morning. I have found I have had to adapt some of the moves to meet my own abilities, while some are in downward dog others are in tabletop or when warrior pose is called for I’m managing waving at seagulls.

The necessity of taking time out to breathe has never been more important or rewarding. I have been reminded once again that I have spent the last forty years breathing incorrectly, instead of filling the belly with air when breathing in, I have always pulled the stomach in creating a hollow, then releasing the breath. After these sessions, there is a wonderful sense of calm in the room, that before I might have disregarded as new age nonsense, but now I think there might just be something in it after all.

A white woman in white vest and black leggings, and orange scarf, sat in a chair with her right arm held up
Jun 15
0
Recover Restart Reimagine Artwork

Recover, Restart and Reimagine programme launches

By | Artist Development, News, Uncategorised

Today sees the start of our gently radical Recover, Restart and Reimagine programme, in which 13 Hull theatre workers will be paid to come together to think, breathe and play.

Those involved will be able to participate in organised activities and self-led time to inspire, stretch and develop creative muscles after a year of lockdown and theatre closures.

Recover, Restart and Reimagine combines masterclasses and workshops with skill-sharing and self-development and time to play, with sessions by Tabby Lamb, Nastazja Domaradzka, Tobi Kyeremateng, Mick Ord, Sagar Shah, Jon Beney and many more.

The first week will focus on recovery, wellbeing and reflection. Week two is dedicated to restarting, with opportunities to refresh skills, plan and try new things and week three is all about reimagining, with time to dream about what the future should look like – and put actions in place to make that future happen.

The programme will also form a crucial theatre worker support network in Hull as we ease out of lockdown.

The 13 participants, who were chosen by a selection panel of freelancers after applying last month, include two parents who are sharing a place around childcare.

Follow Middle Child on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the programme.

Recover, Restart and Reimagine is made possible by the Cultural Recovery Fund and Smile Foundation I Am Fund. Thanks also go to Princes Quay for providing us with a space for three weeks.

Alice Beaumont

Actor and theatre maker

Ellen Brammar

Writer

Emma Bright

Actor and theatre maker

Rachel Dale

Actor and writer/comedian

Michelle Dee

Writer and performer

Adam Foley

Lighting and video designer

Headshot of a smiling Black man in a yellow t-shirt
Angelo Irving

Writer, theatre maker and artist

Kerrie Marsh

Writer and performer

Freya Noman

Actor and theatre maker

Josh Overton

Theatre maker

Alice Palmer

Actor, theatre maker and facilitator

Alex Parker

Theatre maker and poet

Lizi Perry

Theatre maker

May 12
12
Recover Restart Reimagine Artwork

Why we’re supporting Hull theatre workers to Recover, Restart and Reimagine

By | Artist Development, Artistic Director, Blog, Uncategorised
Recover Restart Reimagine Artwork

Artwork by Joseph Cox

By Paul Smith, artistic director

This time last year I wrote about how Middle Child were going quiet for a bit so that we could make more noise in future. A lot has happened since then, with more uncertainty crammed into a 12 month period than I can remember at any other point in my 34 years. During that period Middle Child, like all of us in the arts, have had to try new things, find new ways of working and try to keep hold of our purpose as the world twists and turns. It has been, without doubt, the hardest period in our company’s 10 year history as we – a company who exist to bring people together, celebrate liveness and fight for the underdog – lost projects, lost our home and, truthfully, lost everything we knew how to do. Speaking personally, the year has taken its toll, leading to a crisis of confidence, of purpose and of “is theatre really the best way we can put something good into the world?”

But with this introspection and amidst all of this uncertainty comes a unique kind of clarity. A clarity around values. Around why we do what we do. Around the decisions we need to make. And it is these core values that have guided the way for Middle Child throughout this entire pandemic and which have led us to each and every decision we have made along the way. They were central to our decision to start a fundraiser for freelancers who had lost income, our choice to introduce flexible working to our organisation and our decision to continue employing freelancers and investing in people throughout the pandemic.

They are also the cause of areas of hesitancy, caution and nervousness. They tangle us up in knots as we try to navigate complex issues and they dominate our conscience as we try to grow as a company in a way that feels “us”. Our values are what we return to when balancing creative ambition, financial sustainability, politics, morality, health and safety, work-life balance and straight-up uncomplicated ego. They are there when we consider whether to apply for the Cultural Recovery Fund, whether to put the panto online, whether to take over this new building or that one. When all else is dark it is these values that light the way and lead us onwards. And so, in deciding what to do next and how we ‘re-emerge’ from the pandemic we must do so guided by our values. 

As a company whose guiding vision is for a fair and equitable world, where anyone’s story can be told and heard, it is clear that we simply cannot stand by and risk losing a generation of theatre workers either as a result of a pandemic or because of an industry that continues to be built to work only for a select few. And so we got to work.

On 11 March this year we hosted a day online, which we called Imagine the Future, that brought together a group of brilliant freelancers from theatre and further afield to help us consider four questions:

  1. What do you need post-pandemic?
  2. How do we better support freelancers?
  3. How can we be more inclusive as a city and a sector?
  4. What should an arts hub look like, feel like, what should happen there?

It was an incredible day, full of brilliant ideas, generosity and a conviction that things can be better. We listened, learnt and were left with an overwhelming number of great ideas for what the future could look like. We felt the weight of those conversations, and also of those that weren’t had, of those who weren’t there. We felt energised by the potential of our action and tired by the thought of its scale. We were inspired by possibility and overwhelmed by choice. We looked at the list of suggestions with optimism and then at our budget with pragmatism. A few things became clear:

  1. We can’t do everything. Not yet anyway.
  2. We can do something. 

And so, what we are announcing today isn’t the “Middle Child 20 Year Action Plan for a Better World”, it’s simply our next “something”. It’s a something based on the listening, learning and reflecting we’ve been doing over the past year, and we truly believe it will make a genuine difference and is gently radical in its own way. And then one day soon we’ll announce another something, and another something and another something. 

Recover, Restart and Reimagine

From both our Imagine the Future day and some of the wider reading we’ve been doing, such as from Freelancers Make Theatre Work, it’s clear that there are calls for deeper, more meaningful engagement with freelancers, a call for more equity and power to be distributed to freelancers, and a call for an investment in people, rather than projects. Our Recover, Restart and Reimagine programme is built on these three pillars and designed in response to an acknowledgment that the past 12 months have led to a loss of confidence, income and opportunity for freelancers across the sector. 

Everyone at Middle Child is determined to contribute to a sustainable reimagining of our industry following the impact of the pandemic, and our first offer to this end is a partly-curated, partly-self-led programme, which will last for three weeks, paying 12 Hull freelancers £1,500 each to come together to rebuild confidence, develop skills and take stock. 

The programme, which runs four days per week, 9am – 6pm, from 15 June to 2 July, represents a space to think, breathe and play without the pressure of coming up with an output. It is designed to inspire, stretch and develop participants in a safe space, which acknowledges what we’ve been through and the impact on our work and our practices. Everyone involved will be paid for their time and also benefit from a wide range of free workshops, masterclasses and training alongside group time, individual time and free time. To partially quote one of our Imagine the Future post-it notes, it’ll be a bit like Byker Grove meets a Rocky montage, but with a spa soundtrack.

The first week will be dedicated to recovery with a focus on wellbeing, self-care and reflection. Week two will focus on restarting with time to refresh skills, make plans and try something new. Week three will be all about reimagining, with time spent envisioning the future, dreaming about what it should look like and putting actions in place to make it happen. Alongside all of this run a number of recurring events, from group play readings and coffee mornings to skill sharings and open discussions. We’ll create our own haven fuelled by respect, curiosity and care.

Our ambition is for these three weeks to be transformative for all who take part with participants leaving feeling ready for the battles ahead but not burnt out by deadlines or pressures of output. 

We would love to hear from people who live and work in Hull and who contribute to making theatre in any way, be it through acting, directing, designing, stage managing, producing, composing or any other role you might find in a show programme. We want applications from those we know and those we don’t, from people at the very beginning of their career to those who’ve been around a while. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone regardless of their age, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, disability or nationality.

We are a PiPA (Parents and Carers in Performing Arts) partner and are always happy to discuss solutions that allow people to balance caring responsibilities with working lives, for example through sharing a place on the programme or a flexible attendance arrangement.

You can apply because you know exactly what you want from life, or because you have no idea. We’re as interested in chaos and confusion as we are in clarity and certainty. Our application process is simple and straightforward, and all we ask for is honesty and for you to be yourself. In line with ongoing efforts to decentralise power and decision making in our organisation, choices around selection for this programme will be informed by an advisory panel of freelancers. 

This programme is representative of our ongoing desire to offer practical solutions, and take action to return with renewed energy for an improved theatre industry. We believe this radical programme, which invests in people, rather than projects, represents a good first step in doing so locally and is a meaningful investment in the freelancers upon whom our work depends.

We will continue to listen, take stock and lead necessary action across other areas of our company to improve what we do, and how we do it. There is much more happening in the background that we will talk about when we can, but for now we hope this programme is an exciting offer, which is proof that we will turn words into value-led action as we build a better future together.

Apr 02
7
An actor sits on the floor holding a mic. Text says "Recover Restart Reimagine"

Recover, Restart and Reimagine in 2021

By | Artist Development, News, Uncategorised
An actor sits on the floor holding a mic. Text says

The start of this week saw restrictions on the toughest lockdown yet ease for the first time in months, coinciding with a spell of unseasonal warm weather. For the first time in a long time, it feels like we’re heading towards something that might look like life after the pandemic. Touch wood.

As a theatre company that has been working from home for the past year and exclusively online, we could come out of one of the most challenging years of our lives full tilt. However, from speaking with many of the freelancers who are part of the extended Middle Child family, such as at our recent Imagine the Future discussion, it’s clear that not everybody has the energy just yet.

People have varying degrees of confidence about the months ahead: some people are chomping at the bit, while others may have reservations. Let’s not forget that the pandemic isn’t actually over yet. For others, spending a year or more within the same few walls has worn away at mental health and the ability to be creative. There’s a lot of mental and physical muscle memory to start flexing again and it’s going to take time.

So what are Middle Child going to do about it?

On Tuesday we learned that we’ve received £76,065 from the second round of the Cultural Recovery Fund. It’s a huge sum of money and we take seriously our responsibility to use it to benefit our wider theatre community – both artists and audiences – here in Hull, an already deprived city that has been especially badly hit by the pandemic.

Given all of the above, it’s clear that many theatre makers in Hull need the time, money and resource to Recover, Restart and Reimagine. So that’s what we’re going to do over the coming months, with a bespoke programme of work aimed at supporting our workforce and local freelancers to re-adjust at their own speed, in a way that is safe and sustainable.

That includes putting money into freelancers’ pockets to attend and benefit from workshops, residencies and sharings, as part of our largest ever artist development programme. There is also a programme of work that will see us return to the stage in 2021, which will employ theatre makers as well as once again provide audiences with unforgettable live experiences.

Furthermore we are excited to be able to return to Hull city centre with a new pop-up arts space in the summer, following the closure of our creative hub, Darley’s, last year, while we continue to locate a permanent home in the longer term.

We’re not quite ready to share all the details just yet – we’ll make a proper splash about all of that soon enough. However we are certain that this approach will have a huge impact on the long-term future of Hull, sharing skills and resources to build resilience and confidence in both our workforce and freelancers, acknowledging that we simply cannot be sustainable without you.

It’s an unprecedented situation and we’ll do our best to get this right and respond to any changes around us, putting people’s health and wellbeing first. We are committed to being open about our plans and acknowledging our shortcomings as well as shouting about our successes. Our door is always open and we welcome thoughts on how Recover, Restart and Reimagine, as well as our wider work, can better help people in Hull.

We also remain aware of the challenges our industry continues to face and wish to express solidarity with those organisations who did not receive funding this week. We will do all we can to share resources and support both individuals and organisations in the continued fight for survival. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like to talk further.

The life after the pandemic that we mentioned at the top cannot look like the life many people lived before. We remain a company committed to creating greater equity in who makes and enjoys theatre and will use this investment to continue to work towards a more inclusive and representative industry.

We are also delighted to hear that our local partners Hull Truck Theatre, Hull Jazz Festival, Artlink, the John Godber Company, the Adelphi Club, Wrecking Ball Press, Northern Academy of Performing Arts, ITSL and HPSS were also successful in their applications to the Cultural Recovery Fund.

We look forward to sharing full details of what we have planned in the coming weeks.

With love and solidarity,

Middle Child x

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