FREELANCERS MAKE THEATRE WORK
WEEKLY MEETING MINUTES
09:30-11:30, FRIDAY 13 November
Present: Ben Arkell, Kelsie Acton, Rachel Bagshaw, Bill Bankes-Jones, Sally Beck Wippman, Nafeesah Butt, Paule Constable, Alistair Cope, Freddie Crossley, Hazel Holder, Jack Hudson, Matt Humphrey, Emma Jayne-Park, Susan Kempster, Peter McKintosh, Prema Mehta, Vicki Mortimer, Chinonyerem Odimba, Arran Pallan, Tom Piper, Beth Steel, Ella Taylor, Leo Wan, Andrew Whyment.
Updates from working groups
Website, social media, merchandise
- Now have capacity to add audio files to site (e.g. description of Future Labs illustration)
- Lots of strong social media support for FMTW merchandise this week
- Continue to share (funds go back into FMTW campaigns)
Podcast
- Template of prompts for recordings written (next recording ready to happen)
- We still need volunteers to record, interview, or suggest subjects of conversation
- Working with Curtain Call on a less time-consuming process of generating future episodes
Tea Breaks
- Continuing successfully – keep coming!
Survey update
- Now had about 80 respondents. Still lacking responses from the big regional theatres.
- Currently drafting an interim report
Spa Days
- Online projects ongoing until we can get back into live spaces
- Suggestion that we use this time to reach out to other possible venues for future events
Group audit
- Draft questions and outline of process created. Assembling team to do admin and data work.
Access
- Proposed access commitments to be drafted and shared in Slack (likely to be quite wordy).
- Suggestion that this become regular topic in Friday catch ups.
Future Labs
We had a meeting mid-week to discuss the next step for the Future Labs. There have been several ideas about a ‘tenth’ session or event, which we are pausing for now until the nine labs are finished. A video-based campaign to share the ideas from the labs was also suggested, which we will pursue.
There was a delay with paying the fees whilst we waited for ACE to transfer the funding, which they have now done, allowing us to pay fees this week.
Core Values
We have written a document of our guiding values, which were identified by working backwards from the projects we have launched to the principles that shaped them. The document is ready to be published but will remain a working document, with the capacity to evolve over time.
Wellbeing – online initiatives
We continuing to pursue online content whilst we can’t meet in person but are very aware of a growing zoom fatigue. These have generally had a physical, body-oriented focus, such as voicework and boxing classes. The people who have attended these so far have responded positively but also voiced a desire to engage in creative sessions. We discussed ways we might pursue this within the capacity that everyone currently has. There were suggestions for a potential schedule of events and offers of workshop facilitation.
An ‘Advent Calendar’ idea was suggested – a series of 24 daily pieces of content, including wellbeing sessions, creatives projects etc – throughout December. To be discussed during the week.
Recap action points
- Continue to share merchandise store
- Volunteer to record, interview or suggest topics for the podcast
- Explore possible spa day venues outside of London
- Assemble team to write the group audit
- Read and respond to access document in Slack
- Explore advent calendar idea
Next meetings:
Wellbeing meeting – Monday 16 November 11:00 (chair: Susan Kempster)
Regular catch up – Friday 20 November 09:30 (chair: Susan Kempster)
Meeting minutes for November 13 recorded by Emma Jayne Park – click to expand
