Polyglot’s Jan/Feb e-news

We have loads more exciting things in the pipeline for 2020, and we’re looking forward to sharing these with you in the coming months. Stay tuned, and keep an eye on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for all the updates!

Polyglot Theatre at IPAY

In January, our Artistic Director Sue Giles AM and Producer Rainbow Sweeny flew to Philadelphia to represent Polyglot at the International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY) Showcase. Sue reflected on the week:

For the Australian delegation, there was a cloud over the 2020 IPAY Showcase. The fires were at the top of everyone’s mind and we were all asked the question and met with deep sympathy and care when we each told our own reaction and perspective on the situation back home. It is such a huge topic that it couldn’t help but colour our conversations. Similarly, the Chilean delegation arrived with terrible images and situations around them in the aftermath of the riots and protests. Our UK friends were wrestling with Boris and Brexit, and the USA mob with Trump and the failing impeachment. The Chinese delegates were deeply aware of the virus outbreak and the closure of cities, and the world was very, very close for everyone in a way that I don’t think I’ve ever felt before.  

All of our meetings had a certain element of reflecting responsibility about them – at least I felt this to be so. We are all making work for and with children and young people, and our work needs to reflect the age that we are living in. A meeting with the Lincoln Center’s team about their Big Umbrella festival continued this thinking. How to create inclusive practice and awareness – how this form works for everyone, working to find new forms that reach more people, drawing those without access to the arts closer and working with empathy and imagination.

The opening speeches of IPAY were interesting because each of the speakers – the CEO, the General Manager and the Chair – all spoke personally about who they were and what they do. A reminder and a framework for the market to recognise the people in every conversation – who they are, where do they come from, what is their world.  A reminder that although this is a transactional model, the personal and contextual needs to be considered. Connection and relationship are the most important things that can happen.

The schedule was full – from 8.00am to late, late, late with spotlights, presentations, shows and discussions, networking and conversations, first meetings and old friends’ catch ups in the over-crowded little hotel bar. It’s intense, frantic sometimes, flitting from one person to the next, grabbing the chance to talk as you walk, sitting next to someone for a hurried conversation before the lights go down.

It is wonderful to see the work that people do. More and more I’m aware of the importance of the context within which we make our work – why we make it the way it is – our influences, our funding or lack thereof, our education systems, our child/parent relationships, our approach to childhood, our local markets – who buys what and why. At IPAY there are now two Cultural Spotlights during the week that give an hour to a particular country to present their situation and showcase the breadth of work that is ready for market. It’s a vital chance to set the scene for work and culture; a way of explaining quickly what is at stake for companies and artists and where the vitality of the sector lies.

Philadelphia is a great town to have this gathering. It’s small enough to walk everywhere and it’s very impressive to see so many theatre spaces in one street – “the Avenue of the Arts”. It’s also a city that has visible poverty in a way that is alarming; so many homeless on the street in the bitter cold. The gaps between rich and poor is widening everywhere and it is very apparent here. Walking to our shows, we were all aware of the ‘lack’ that many people experience.

The showcases were interesting, with a focus on circus and dance this year opening the way for some companies and artists that have not had a chance before. It was also interesting to see the impact that these largely non-verbal forms had on audiences.