D&D Roadshow Preston

D&D Roadshow Preston

Miller Park, Preston

Partners: Preston Guild and Made in Preston

Stella Hall's invitation:

Dear Colleagues,

As we approach our first Preston Guild of the twenty first century the excitement in Preston's cultural community is growing. Made in Preston, a group of arts practitioners who have risen to take on the challenge of putting arts and culture at the heart of our city's celebrations would like to extend this invitation across the North West to you to join us at this event.

I have been to two Devoted and Disgruntled events in the UK, and one in Vancouver and on each occasion met new people, got fired up, stretched and challenged and reinvigorated. Open Space is a truly democratic tool for sharing our passion about the arts together and actually taking practical actions forward.

So - I told the Made in Preston people and we agreed we want that for all of us in the North West. We want you to have space and time to discuss what's important to you and how we respond flexibly together as artists, audiences and organisations to future challenges in and out of buildings, in public space, with audiences participating fully in that future.  Also, as a city, we are about to embark on our next long term cultural strategy and we want your thoughts and experience to help us on our way.

We want you to connect with us, challenge us, share with us, link with us, imagine new futures for the North West with us.

We are proud to be part of the national programme of Open Space events led by Improbable as part of the London 2012 Festival programme and look forward to having you with us  for a day in Preston during the Guild.

We would like to welcome you to this event which takes place on Wednesday 5th September from 12noon until 7pm in the Exhibition Tent on Miller Park as part of the Preston Guild 2012 Guild City Festival.  There will an exciting programme of Made In Preston and other events to invite you to, which we will tell you more about when you book.  To book your place at this event please go to the Devoted and Disgruntled site here: http://www.devotedanddisgruntled.com/events/dd-roadshow-preston/ and for more information about Preston Guild please see prestonguild2012.com

Devoted & Disgruntled is part of the London 2012 Festival, a spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK, from 21 June to the 9 September 2012. For more information check www.london2012.com/festival

We hope you can join us

Phelim McDermott's invitation:

Do you love theatre?

Do you find it frustrating?

Do you feel audiences don't get a voice?

Do you feel like an outsider in your own profession?

Have you just started out and need support?

Been in the profession for years and feel jaded?

Is your region always left out of the discussions?

Do you usually dread discussions and meetings?

Are you looking to change things?

In 2012 for the first time ever, you have the opportunity to take part in a unique nationwide conversation. 

In 2006 I wrote a heartfelt invitation and the first ”Devoted & Disgruntled: What are we going to do about theatre?” took place. This was an open and collaborative conference, a chance to check in with the theatre community, share the news about what we were doing well, talk about what we could be doing better and take action on how to improve things.  

Devoted & Disgruntled has subsequently become an inspiring annual three day event and since then there have been over 100 offshoot D&D events. Some have been monthly themed satellites, some have been regionally based like D&D Scotland and D&D North East, some have been international events like D&D New York and Vancouver. These conferences have kept the important conversations alive and have lead to companies being formed, venues being opened, festivals started, shows created, and many other projects and initiatives. 

The Devoted and Disgruntled Roadshow has come about in response to numerous requests for these conversations to reach beyond London, and engage with all parts of the UK.  So as part of the Cultural Olympiad we are going on the road, holding D&Ds in twenty different locations round the country, and we are going online, launching a new interactive D&D website, which will record and connect all the D&D events. 

In theatre, as in so many things, it can feel like the agenda is set, and the decisions are made by a faceless, unreachable "them". We wait for "them" to talk about what we think needs talking about and for "them" to solve our problems. Guess what? "They" aren't going to do it. But you can, and D&D is the place to start - so if there are questions that you think should be asked, projects you want support on, things you want changed, join Improbable this summer on the Devoted & Disgruntled 2012 Roadshow in a conversation that could reshape the theatre landscape. This is a unique chance for your voice to be heard and for us to listen to each other, face to face and online, locally and nationally. Join us and let’s work together towards making theatre better and making better theatre.

Phelim McDermott and Improbable