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Unlimited Arts Company

INTRODUCTION

Unlimited Ads Company is a multi-national project composed of disabled and non-disabled artists from three Arts companies.

The Company's first aim is to raise the profile of disability culture and deaf culture by presentting performance work of high standards whilst being innovative and challenging. The workshops, lectures and demonstrations from the groups will serve to break down cultural and social barriers between disabled and non-disabled people.

Unlimited Ads Company will be a catalyst for a European Arts Group

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
To create 3 workshops, performances and exchange of ideas between three groups of artists in three EU countries. -To further the training of professional and semi-professional artists working in the areas of performance and live art through an exchange of skills.

-To work across the divides of disabillty, language and medium of expression.

-To lay the basis for a European network of integrated companies of physically challenged and able-bodied, deaf and hearing actors/performers/directors. -To open the possibillty for future exchanges of ideas, experiences, skills and working methods in this fast-developing area of arts practice.

-To present public demonstrations of work and performances in each country.

-To create lasting video documents (the process and the performances in each country) in co-operation with national/regional television for both broadcast and educational purposes. -To create training opportunities for disabled performers in the fields of direction, choreography and coordination/administration.

THE PARTICIPANTS

  • The Worid of Diagonaal, Amsterdam, The Netherland
  • Creisants/BCN (DOBLE) CIA, Barcelona, Catatonia, Spain
  • Common Ground, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Each participating group will bring: 3 Performers/collaborators 1 Workshop director 1 Enabler/transalator

Together they choose-

  • 1 Overall project leader, Joke Menssink
  • 1 Composer/musician Dave Praties
  • 1 Film director David Bowen perforier also)
  • 1 Designer Francisco Escudero perforier also)
  • 1 Production manager Unlimited Arts Company
  • a production team
  • In addition there will be a camera team travelling with the project to document the work under direction of David Bowen.

PROJECT OUTLINE
Over a period of one month the groups will work together visiting all three countries participating in 3 separate, 5 day workshops. --Each of the workshop periods will conclude with public presentations of work and a public performance by the "home" company. --There will be planning sessions before-hand with the 3 workshop directors, 3 of the performers (who also double as film director, designer and assistant), the project leader and the production manager. -The work will be preceeded by an inital meeting of the companies in which the participants present their own work to the other companies.

--At present, it is intended that the project leader comes from Diagonaal/ Unlimted Arts Company (NL) , the production manager from Unlimited Arts Company, the film/document director and the composer/ musician from Common Grounds (UK) and the designer from Crei-sants/ BCN (Doble) CIA (Spain). --The workshop leaders will be responsible for directing the training programmes in their individual countries, but the process itself will be collaborative in order to insure the necessary training takes place. --The enablers are needed to facilitate the process dealing with specific needs of the participants (access etc.) and the interpretation of the 'six' languages (manual and spoken) in use between the groups.

BACKGROUND
The three groups met each other at festivals and were excited that for the first time in their careers, they were able to meet other performers with the same artistic thinking. We were then convinced that it was imperative for us to work together.

Each of these groups have a know-how of at least 10 years. Yet, despite extensive effort have been unable to otherwise sharpen and develop their artistic thinking in their own countries (no other similar groups or educational possibilities).

For over three years, the primary participants have been in communication, and although we developed a common base of understanding, we saw that each group has specific individual strengths.

THE THEME OF THE WORK
From this, we came to the conclusion that the work should be conducted around a common theme. Although the main motivation is research-based, the participants are artists and feel most comfortabie when there is also an artistic input. The theme of 'Physical Nuclear Fission' has been suggested, exploring the positive and negative images of nuclear power through recent history and taking advantage of the dynamic possibilities for group movement and the unique physicality and bodyshapes of the participating artists.

Each participant, to include the 9 performers and the 3 directors, will prepare and present a short (3-4 minutes) solo piece with a strong physical basis. This will serve as a foundation for the entire work and establish individual strength as a starting point. These solos will have a high performance quality in themselves, because they can be prepared in advance and will contain the know-how of the specific working methods of each group.

The participants must also learn and show training skills to each other because each group's way of working is unique.

Each director is asked to write an artistic report covering the process. This report will later be used for both publishing and to open future polemic artistic reactions. This will stimulate this medium's artistic level as weil as build contacts with similar groups all over the world.

UNLIMITED ARTS COMPANY
From it's base in Amsterdam, with Joke Menssink as founder/president, the foundation aims to organize international and national productions for artists with a physical disability, with or without the co-operation of non-disabied artists on the field of theatre, music, literature, media and all other forms of art in the broadest sense of the word and in the most professional way. From the contacts established in this proposal, Unlimited Arts Company is being joined by the following board members.-

From the United Kingdom, Common Ground

  • Bill Hopkinson, director
  • David Bowen, actor

From Spain, Creisants/ BCN (Dobie) CIA-. -

  • Feliciano Castilio Andres, director/ professor/actor
  • Francisco Escudero,actor/designer

From The Netherlands, The World of Diagonaal

  • Henk Huisman, actor

TIMESCALE
September 1996'. lnventarisation organisations and /regional/national television companies and theatres. October/November1996- lnventarisation and writing possible interested foundations and fund raising. December 1996-. Finalisation inventarisation fund raising. Januar 1997- Planning meeting in The Netherlands. April 1997- Final planning meetings.

June 1997: Project and tour

-All three groups will make contact with national/regional television to arrange coverage of the performances for broadcasting.

-The documentary of 'the making of' will be post-produced in coproduction together with the participating television companies.


Theatre Group Diagonaal
 [Who We Are] [Table of Contents] [Past Projects] [Current/Future Projects] [Contact Us]
Unlimited Arts Company
[Who We Are] [Table of Contents] [Past Projects] [Current/Future Projects] [Contact Us]

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