Taking My Play On the Road
In which I reveal the insights I've gained about how to organise a tour for your play.
I'm mad for road. And that's why I'm taking my play, People Wipe Me, on a road trip. I want to travel to far-flung towns, down twisty roads, to big cities and village halls, and to the bright lights of big theatres. And now it looks like it's going to happen.
When I applied for my Arts and Disability Connect Grant from Arts and Disability Ireland, one of the goals I set with my mentor was to plan a tour for my play. My mentor Angela Keogh has extensive experience of organising tours from her own work as a writer, director and actor.
This is a purple and yellow logo that says Arts and Disability Ireland, the name of the organisation that grant-aided me to work with Angela Keogh.
Now that I have finished five rehearsal sessions with her, I can share some valuable lessons I've learned about how to plan a tour for your play.
Plan Your Tour Before You Write:
After I started rehearsing in January, I started sending out tonnes of pitch emails, aiming for a tour in September. Now I know that I needed to send out my pitches while my play was still a seedling.
Angela says it's normal to start planning a tour when your play is still at the idea stage, as it can take a year before a theatre or festival can stage you. I'm not too worried about that – I'll just keep on pitching.
Be Open To Alternative Venues:
When I discovered that I didn't need to perform my play in a theatre, it blew my mind. I love coffee shops, and Angela suggested that these would be ideal venues for my one-woman show. They'd offer just the right intimate atmosphere that I'm keen to create.
Angela regularly tours plays in coffee shops, and it means I don't have to wait until theatres are available to bring my show to the world.
Get Your Video Ready
When I started to send out my pitch, I only had homemade videos available to me. Luckily, under the Arts and Disability Connect grant, I was able to organise a rather tasty professional video with Patrick Bramley of ULAB Studios.
This video enables me to document the progress I'm making with Angela Keogh and to demonstrate that progress to Arts and Disability Ireland, who ask grant recipients to document their artistic process. I'll share the juice on my video shoot in a future blog post.
Here's a snippet of my professional video to whet your appetite.
So, have these strategies worked?
For a few weeks, the seeds I planted remained firmly under the ground. There as the odd green shoot, but they soon withered away.
Then within the space of a week, four beautiful blooms appeared.
A date has been pencilled in for a beautiful creative arts centre in Co. Kildare.
Another date has been pencilled in for a funky café/bar/hangout in West Cork.
I've received strong interest from a venue in Clonmel and am just waiting for a stamp of approval.
And I've received another grant.
Watch this space for more details about all of these marvellous journeys that lie ahead of me. And if you want to hear more about my play and other writerly doings, hit the blue button below.