D+D - 'Emerging' Companies - Are we competition or a community - can we be both?' Florence O'Mahony, 26 January 2014 We want to set up a D+D event for ‘emerging’ companies (whatever that means). We feel this could be a chance to tackle the sense that we are always in competition with every other company in the country. We want to find if there are positive ways that companies can support, promote, share and benefit from one another and therefore improve the work of every group of artists. In a saturated climate, it can often feel that we are up against everybody ‘you against the world’ - D+D is a way that we can meet face-to-face and discuss the real life components of being a theatre maker. Often we find that communities exist online, but these are not personal because everyone is obviously trying to present themselves in a professional ‘sorted’ manner. However, at D+D9 everyone seemed far more giving and honest, bringing themselves into conversations where they were willing to share mistakes and successes. A D+D of this nature could promote a peer community that discusses all sorts of stuff. We listed these things, but obviously the list is endless: 'How do you go from being emerging to emerged and what does that mean?' 'How can we stop feeling like it's you against the world' 'What happens when you leave the comfort of an institution like drama school/ training?' 'Let's share our mistakes… and our successes' Can we promote audience swaps between companies? Workshop try-outs? (If you are about to give puppetry workshops and want a test audience for example) Workshop idea swaps Scratch audiences and feedback As we said, the list endless, let's get together and start naming the sessions. (We've chatted to Improbable about this, who are keen to facilitate. Venues being discussed included The Yard and BAC.) LET US KNOW BY WAY OF COMMENT OR EMAIL IF YOU WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN ANY WAY! Flo and Joe Of Human Zoo Theatre Co and Waldeinsamkeit Theatre [email protected] Tags: emerging, company, D+D, D and D9, D and D, emerged, young, new D+D