CREATING OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE by Highly Sprung Performance Co.

Collaboration, Compromise and the Community It was always an ambition of Highly Sprung’s to create a performance event specifically for Kenilworth castle and the celebration of our 5th anniversary as a company meant there was no better excuse than to make it happen. Choosing your venue: For us there was never any question as to whether the castle was the right venue for our project. The site itself is inspiring, emotive and spilling over with physical opportunities. However it was not always so certain that we could secure a performance there, our reasons for our choice had to be solid. The question of why we wanted to create performance for an outdoor space (and particularly one with such an established and for us intimidating reputation) was one which founded the basis of our research and explorations for the performance. It was important that we identified exactly what we wanted the site to do for us and in turn what we wanted to do to manipulate the site. It was never a question of wanting to bring the heritage of the site to life through performance, more of a chance to challenge the spectator’s perception of the space, to break down the stigma attached to it and to make it somewhere that was ‘real’. Also, the excitement we felt when visiting the site always came back to that inner-child inside you crying out to run where running isn’t permitted, to jump and scream through the well-respected hush and ultimately to ‘walk on the grass’. Before we approached English Heritage (who currently maintains the site) we needed to be clear what we wanted the project to look like and give a strong case as to why Kenilworth would be the right site for the project to happen in. Luckily, in our case, the events manager from English Heritage agreed with our choice and seemed to be fuelled with the same vision we had for the site, wanting the possibilities of it to be explored and the antiquated perception of the site challenged. I personally thought she also wanted a chance to see what it might be like to feel the grass between her toes. Planning the project: Once the reality of having the site confirmed set in, we were able to start the process of dreaming. Exploring possibilities available to us at the castle, which part to use and how. Then comes the reality part, the bit where the health and safety inspector wants to be ‘filled in’ and umms and ahhs at what for you can’t be anything other than inspiring ideas for a ‘magical’ performance. This is the compromise bit. Although the events manager supported the project 100% and went out of her way to ensure we were given the creative freedom of the site, there were some restrictions which were impossible not to adhere to and most of them were very reasonable. Of course we understood that drilling holes in ancient walls was prohibited, as was climbing walls which were considered dangerous or detrimental to the heritage of the building. These were considerations we had taken into account from the first stages of planning. However health and safety officers, it seems, are paid to find problems and just to be plain awkward. From day one our planning involved the team at Kenilworth Castle working together exploring possibilities for performance. Questions like ‘where will the stage be going?’ and ‘where exactly will the audience seating be erected?’ were met with well considered and in depth answers outlining our vision for the performance. We were not a traditional performance company and therefore would not be using the same format as other touring companies that visit the site. Our audience would be asked to stand throughout the performance, in order that their experience of the performance might be a little more physically engaged and interaction made easier. Also the castle would be our stage as that was the entire reason behind staging the performance at the site, it wasn’t meant to be a backdrop more an enormous and intimidating set. However there were some compromises we were not prepared to make. One of the most prevalent being asked of us eight days before the performance opened. Again it was the health and safety officer at the site whose concerns stood in the way of us achieving our vision. This particular objection was very confusing and showed a complete lack of understanding of any of the plans that we had so far set in place. The objection was that the area in which we had chosen to perform in would be roped off and out of bounds after public opening hours due to the safety of the performers and the audience. As you can imagine this information hampered our plans somewhat, as essentially it meant that there would be no performance or the entire performance would have to be re-rehearsed on a flat piece of grass land in another area of the site. Luckily for the company the events manager who had worked very closely with us at all stages of planning and had a clear understanding of the lengths we had gone to ensuring public and performer safety was able to convince the health and safety officer otherwise and the performance was able to go ahead as planned. The lesson learnt here was to involve all staff at the site in plans concerning health and safety from the start and to have made secure provisions concerning all health and safety implications very early on, as luckily we had. Working with the community: Creating work with young people and promoting physical theatre in educational and community settings is a very important part of Highly Sprung’s work. We decided to involve young people in this project for two reasons, firstly due to the size of the venue, with a cast of four we felt the site might overwhelm the performance and secondly to bring together Highly Sprung’s community and education work with our performance making for the first time. Having worked throughout the region with schools and community groups since the company was founded it was quite easy to establish residencies to create performance material for the project. It was however important that the schools and groups knew both the demands of the project and understood its professional nature. Once the residencies were underway it was easy to create the high quality performance material that the project required as we worked very closely with the young people to help them understand and master the techniques and principles that are behind all of Highly Sprung’s work. The result: On reflection we found the project to be truly inspiring. Not only was it a great privilege to perform in the grounds of Kenilworth Castle but we had achieved our aim of challenging both English Heritage’s and our audience’s perception of the venue. The young people also worked with determination and conviction to deliver the high quality and professional material we had worked to create with them. The project also allowed us to do a great deal of learning and evaluation as a company in terms of both our performance style and approach and also in the types of performance/venues we would like to consider for future work. The project would not have been the success we felt it was without the following having been established: - Clear plans and visions for the site and project - A strong relationship with English Heritage established form the start of the project - Strong partnerships with the schools and community groups involved in the project - Not making huge artistic compromises but working within the guidelines of the site If you are considering creating a similar project we wish you success and hope you stay true to the vision that first led you into the project. Sarah Hunt is Artistic Director and Mark Worth is Company Director of Highly Sprung Performance Company. [www.highlysprungperformance.co.uk]