D&D Satellite: Competition Vs Collaboration: Why Are We Threatened By Each Others' Success?

An invitation from 
Florence O’Mahoney and Joseph Lynch, of 
the Human Zoo Theatre Company and Waldeinsamkeit Theatre


I think we're ‘emerging artists’-kind of. Apparently that doesn’t mean we are young (although we are) but that we are just starting out on our journey as theatre makers. Well, young, just starting out or none of the above, sometimes it feels like it's 'us' against the world.

If you’ve ever seen the number of applicants for an IdeasTap brief, or begrudged someone a positive review, or felt secretly pleased hearing someone failed in their grant application, you’ll know what we mean. It can feel like there are hundreds of artists out there all vying for attention, yet rather than help each other, our instinct is to push each other out of the limelight. After all, isn’t success a pie with only so many slices to go round?

But what if one company could help another to find a good scratch platform, or help them take their first steps up that all too un-metaphorical funding ladder, or connect them with the venue that would really like their work, or just genuinely offer support and encouragement?

We want to find if there are positive ways that theatre makers can support, promote, share and benefit from one another and therefore improve the quality of work for all.
This is a chance to challenge the idea that we are always in competition with every other company in the country.

We think gathering in Open Space around this question is the best way to realise a peer community readily available to discuss all the issues, heartaches and occasional triumphs of being a contemporary theatre maker. 

Some questions and thoughts that we have are:

How can we stop feeling like it's us against the world?

Would we all get better at all areas of theatre making by sharing our unique and underused skills with each other?

What is ‘healthy competition’? How can we have that and not the other sort?

Can you imagine saying ‘Would you like to have a look at the application we made?’

Are arts communities contingent on the support of a venue, or organisation e.g. the New Diorama supporting emerging artists’ work. Instead could the artists take the lead? 

‘I could vouch for you’ – Would you recommend a potential ‘rival’ company to a venue? What if they did the same for you later? 

Whether you are emerging, emerged or well established we think these are important questions that need to be addressed. If you know some of the answers, come along – we need you! If you don’t know the answer, come along – let’s find some answers together!



Florence O’Mahoney and Joseph Lynch 


the Human Zoo Theatre Company and Waldeinsamkeit Theatre