So we're mega excited to be going back to SF this August to do a 2 and a half week workshop at counterPULSE, where we met the brilliant Julie Phelps last May as part of a project University of Chichester is running. We hitched along for the free trip and scammed a few free meals off them. (joking- obviously we worked REALLY HARD meeting lots of artists)

Anyhoots, we're going back to do some work with local SF artists, so if you are in fact one of those people, then hey- apply!

Here's the link

http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=d7b3022e4957003b7bf6ef2f5&id=b3f0e325f8

xx

Here's all our dates and links to book tickets for Frontman in March. Starting this week in Chichester!

Video clip

Thursday 8th March, 7:30pm
Chichester Showroom, University of Chichester
http://www.theshowroomchichester.co.uk/

Wednesday 14th - Friday 16th March
Burton Taylor Studio
Oxford Playhouse, Oxford
http://www.oxfordplayhouse.com

Friday 23rd - Saturday 24th March
Jackson's Lane, London
http://www.jacksonslane.org.uk/

Monday 26th March
Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth
http://www.aberystwythartscentre.co.uk

we're also planning an extra special exploded version of Frontman at the Thekla in Bristol on 16th April with Inbetweentimeproductions and then it'll be in Cambridge in May too, we'll post links soon.

James and gemma xxx

In the spirit of the culture of feedback for artists I though I'd write some feedback for audiences.

Sometimes I blame the audience. I trained as an actor originally. Back then we were told by our tutors that there is no such thing as a bad audience. If they are not reacting how you would like, if they are quiet or not very receptive its your fault and its your responsibility. This is very helpful advice if you're a performer. Its really important to take responsibility for the performance and do your best to make sure you are connecting with the audience on any given night. But its not true. There IS such thing as a bad audience. We (Action Hero) like to think of our audiences as collaborators. Each night we work with you to make something happen. Sometimes its not as successful as other times. Sometimes that is because we have not kept our side of the bargain in the collaboration and sometimes its because you have not kept your side of the bargain in the collaboration (sometimes its both). Don't get me wrong, ultimately, we have much more of a responsibility and you've paid to be here so we don't expect you to do much work. We'll promise to do the bulk of it. But there are a few things you can do as an audience member to make sure you are a good collaborator and help make the performance work best. You don't have to. I totally understand if you don't want to help, you are free to do what you like, my invites are genuine, I'm not going to force you to stick to my agenda, you can collaborate any way you like and if you want to be disruptive then I quite like you for that, even if you make it hard work for me on the night. But I would hope thats a conscious decision about how you wish to collaborate with this idea. how you want to move it forward. You might have a different idea to me to what the outcome should be. Thats great. But if you like my idea, and you want us to work together to make it happen then there are some things you can do to make sure you are a good collaborator.

Most of you are very good at this. For nearly all of you this all comes naturally.

Be generous, be open minded, be prepared to be surprised. Be awake. Be here because you want to be here. If you are coming because you think you have to or because you think its good for you to go to the theatre or because someone told you you should come but actually you don't like the sound of it or you're expecting not to like it, then either be prepared to be surprised or just don't come.

I don't really know why there are people who would decide to pay money to see something with the intention of not really liking it, or proving to themselves that they don't like it, but they do exist. I've seen them. I've felt you in the room. I know you're there, because you're not really there at all. You are an absence in the room. You give us nothing. In fact you take something away from me and everyone else in the room. We'd all be much happier (yourself included) if you didn't come. Sometimes I read the comments section of the Guardian Theatre Blog even though I know it will make me angry. I know I will disagree, and there is some kind of absurd magnetic attraction to that feeling, even though its a bad feeling. Don't come and see my show to make yourself angry. Don't come to see my show to prove to yourself you don't like this kind of thing. Someone wrote a review of our show once and they said (I paraphrase) 'before I came to the show I'd heard they were good which made me suspicious and even though I enjoyed it I didn't really see what all the fuss was about'.

I'll continue.

I need to be clear.

This isn't me saying that what I do can only be appreciated by certain people. I believe that anyone can enjoy what I do or get something positive out of the experience of seeing my work but if you don't want to come. Don't come.

Don't worry about whether you think what I'm doing is good or not. Its good. Trust me. And if it isn't good I know it isn't and I'm working on it. I spend all my time trying to make it good. Its all I ever think about. I'm always worrying about it. I'm on it. Try to think more about whether you like it or not, or ask yourself what it makes you feel. You might think at first that you don't like it but then you do like it or vice versa, your opinion might change days after the show, it doesn't have to be fixed. In fact you don't even need to form an opinion. Ask yourself some questions, have fun, make us an offer.

Listen.

Look.

Don't be frightened. I've spent a long time thinking about you. I really care about you. I don't want to trick you, or fool you. I'm doing this for you. I might make you feel uncomfortable but if I do its a conscious decision and and its not a decision I've taken lightly. I'm not doing it for my own pleasure. In fact I hate it when you're uncomfortable. Its much more fun for me when we're all smiling, but sometimes if we want to ask questions about something or go somewhere we have to take a hit like this. Together. Its not a trick. Don't be scared.

Don't ask yourself what you think other people are thinking about what you are watching. ESPECIALLY if they are not even in the room. Think about what YOU think about it. ARE you enjoying yourself? Are YOU finding it interesting? Is it making YOU think or feel anything? Don't worry about what other people might think. And if everyone else is laughing but you don't find it funny thats ok and vice versa. That bit might be just for you, or for everyone except you. Or maybe we made a mistake. We'll fix it though. If we made a mistake, we know about it and we'll do something about it. Its our job, and we care a lot about it. We're working hard.

Always remember this. I am a person, in the room with you and I am doing something. Watch it. Then have a drink.

Hannah Nicklin just posted a brilliant article about DIY music and theatre here and she contacted me while she was writing it to ask if Gemma and I identify with the term DIY. I got back to her too late for my comments to be included in the article and Hannah articulates most of the same points much better than me and I urge you to read her article but I thought I'd post my response here anyway.

“I think a comparison between DIY music and DIY theatre is long overdue. Not least because theatre suffers so much from an identity crisis and I think it could benefit from the association!

I would identify the work that Gemma and I do as Action hero very much as DIY but there’s an important distinction to made between two ways of using that terminology. There is much talk in theatre of a ‘DIY aesthetic’ and its a phrase often used to describe our work (I think we even use it to describe ourselves on our website) but the DIY element of our work is not ‘an aesthetic’ it comes from a genuine do it yourself approach. We sometimes do make decisions to deliberately use things that are lo-fi because of the way it changes the relationship an audience has with the work but more often than not its a genuine response to trying to make something with very few resources. So not an aesthetic choice as such. What interests me more is the punk use of the term DIY which doesn’t mean ‘ooh look their set is made from cardboard’ but is about an approach and a way of working that deliberately avoids mainstream modes of production. 

So in the same way punk bands avoid signing to record labels so they can have more of a say over the work they are producing (and consequently have less money and end up doing more of the producing, marketing etc themselves) we too have always wanted to avoid trapping oursleves into conventional modes of production in theatre. i.e a set, lighting, cast and crew that requires significant investment from venues or funders. If we control the means of production ourselves it means we’re more flexible, mobile and responsive with the work we make which is how we like it. It also means we have less money because we don’t get huge marketing budgets of venues etc but we prefer it that way. We’ve always done absolutely everything ourselves and only very recently have we worked with anyone else and only then because we couldn’t physically do it ourselves because of a lack of time and it caused us great distress! I think what is important is that its seen as a deliberate decision that, like punk bands, isn’t to do with a lack of ambition, and its not because we subscribe to Dave’s big society but because we want to maintain control and we want to work in this way.

When we made our first show and we were so inspired by the way the relationship changes between an audience and an artist when there is more for the audience to do to complete the work, when they have to buy into what you’re doing and help make it happen. Seeing what happens when an audience sees you genuinely trying to make something empowers the artist and the audience in a way that we think is actually quite political and I think similar to the ideologies of DIY music.

All that said, we could never have made anything we’ve made without funding support from the Arts Council and massive amounts of support from subsidised organisations such as IBT [In Between Time], Theatre Bristol etc. So we’re not like DIY music in that way. We can’t just pick up a guitar and start generating our own income because theatre is less commodifiable, less popular and way more expensive to make because it takes so long to make a show that is decent quality.”

Just reading this back now I think its worth qualifying that we have made stuff without subsidy, I just meant to say we couldn't have existed long term without continuing support from the arts council and other subsidised organisations xx

Here's something that got me incandescently angry at the weekend, and I can't seem to get over it. Maybe its because its worth getting angry over.

I've heard a couple of stories from artist friends recently about venues offering support in the development of new work (space, a little money perhaps, some tech support), and then asking, in the contract, for a percentage of any money the artist subsequently makes from presenting the show. (I don't know what the percentage asked has been- maybe if anyone reading this has had a similar clause in a contract they could let me know...)

Just to be clear, no venue or producing organisation we have ever recieved support from has even suggested this kind of model to us- but 2 or 3 artists have told me over the last couple of months about different venues trying to get this sort of thing past them in contracts. I'm not going to mention any of those venues by name.

The thing that gets me massively, hugely cross about this is that the venue is essentially asking to own some of the intellectual copyright for the piece, and wants to earn money from the artists work for the rest of the life of that piece. Hang on a sec, I thought- you mean a subsidised venue, whose mission it is to invest in the artform, is trying to claw back its investment by rinsing the artists who work with it? That's not really investment- its a loan. A loan with a lot of interest too, because if the piece tours widely then the artist will be paying a proportion back to the venue that could be far, far in excess of what the venue ever put in to it. So the venue is earning money twice for its 'artist development', once from the Arts Council, and then again from the artist. If I was an artist looking for support for my work, I might as well go to the bank.

In the interests of transparency, I'll be honest about my own money situation. James and I have made a full time living from Action Hero for about 3 years now. We'll earn about £11,000 each before tax this year. Its not a lot, but I can live on it. We tour almost continuously, there are only two of us and our overheads are very low, and most of the money AH earns is from touring, alongside ACE project funding (if we're lucky). I think we're doing OK, as far as a small company can say that. We have a lot of support from brilliant venues and producers. So I can safely say that were one of those supporters to claim intellectual copyright on a piece we made, and try to claim some of the money from each gig we performed, it would effectively stop us being able to work. Getting money for a gig is our main income stream, and for a company of two with a small turnover & no regular funding, its our bread and butter. It is the same for most independent artists. It seems gross to me that an institution with salaried staff & (comparitively) large amouts of subsidy would try to take a slice of that.

The crazy thing is that it kills touring as a way for artists to earn a living, which in turn stops the venues themselves being able to recieve high quality work (because there is less around) and so the very thing the venues are set up to facilitate is strangled by the grabbiness of the commissioning venue. Everyone knows that it fucking hard to make a living as an artist. Why would a venue try to make it harder? I imagine they want a wider range of income streams, and so someone had the bright idea that they could make money off the work they support by taking a cut of its subsequent touring income. That is bullshit. If a venue wants to make money touring, why don't they simply get in a director and some actors, pay them equity minimum rates and make a piece of their own devising in house to tour under the name of the venue? I think we all know why- its expensive, and means you have to pay artists a proper wage. Plus, they want to have a piece of what's 'now' and 'new', so that means going to the independent artists who are making the most exciting work. So, why not offer to support the development of the work, but then take your cut from all future income generated by the artists own distribution of their work? Its cheap- in fact it makes money in the long term, and it builds the 'brand' of the venue as innovative and fresh, thereby ensuring further subsidy, so whats to lose for the venue?

But what does the artist get from this? Sweet fuck all. You get some support upfront, but you'll end up paying it back (and then some) later. Your get the association with a venue with a good reputation, and maybe that will get you some gigs that you wouldn't get otherwise. But in the long run (and maybe even middle-run) this is a shitty way to work. It means you have even less chance of making a living. Better to make a piece with no support and then tour it, keeping all the money from fees to pay yourself and cover the cost of making the show retrospectively than be in some kind of weird bonded labour to a commissioning venue who wants their cut for all perpetuity.

Lots of commissioning venues offer genuine support and real investment. After all, that's what they receive public money to do. They give us some support and some money, we make a piece and then tour it, crediting them as commissioners. It feels like a more equal relationship. That is what real support is.

I am angry because there are young artists who want a break, and who feel they can't argue. As the artist, you are always the little fish. Venues are powerful, they have knowledge and expertise that can be wielded, when necessary, to intimidate and pressure. If you are inexperienced, how would you know that most subsidised venues wouldn't ask for intellectual rights on your work? How do you know that you can challenge the terms of a contract? It was only very recently for example, that someone told us we didn't have to sign a contract we weren't happy with, and that it could be negotiated. It then took us a while to work up the nerve to do it.

We often talk about the money we don't have, but rarely do we talk about the money we do have (or are being offered.) Maybe we feel like it makes us seem moany, or that we should be grateful to be receiving anything at all, no matter how poor the terms. Maybe we think its ugly and vulgar to talk about pay and conditions. This makes us, as artists, weaker, because it means that a climate of secrecy develops, and the little fishes can be exploited. We should be talking about money. We should be talking about contracts. We should be talking about what we're being offered. Venues recieve the bulk of public money in order to facilitate what we make, and we have a responsiblity to hold them accountable. We shouldn't be complicit in a system that effectivly stops us from making a living. If we don't talk to each other, then we'll end up with nothing. And there'll be a whole load of empty buildings with no art to fill them.

We went for a meeting with Ali Robertson at The Tobacco Factory this morning. On the way home, cycling in the cold, the conversation we'd just had made me reflect on Bristol as a place to make work. We had spoken about Frontman, about our experiences in Edinburgh in August, ideas for future collaborations and our plans for future work all in a very relaxed and supportive way. What struck me was the feeling that, as artists, we are being supported by Bristol. All the people working across all the different venues and organisations have a sense of the work thats here in this city and how best it will evolve, and it feels very much like we're working together. We all have the same aim.

I thought back to the process of making Frontman and how it came about. We originally showed some early ideas at Residence and sat on the harbour a few days later and chatted to Helen Cole and Sarah Warden about some ideas. Not long after Tanuja from Theatre Bristol helped us put together an Arts Council application for some research into the project and we spent a week working in Arnolfini before showing a 5 minute experiment as part of Mayfest at Bristol Old Vic. Inbetween Time co-commissioned the show with Fierce Festival in Birmingham and leading up to its first showing at IBT we got some rehearsal space for free at Bristol Old Vic and the Tobacco Factory. Search Party helped us in rehearsals, and Jo Bannon and Lucy Cassidy offered support and advice along the way. Thats just off the top of my head and I'm sure other people helped too but thats a lot of people working together to make a project happen and it always felt like a conversation with only one agenda, i.e. getting the work made. No-one pushed us into decisions, no-one lay special claim to the project, no-one pushed us in a direction to meet their own needs. And whilst the cold hard cash for the show came from the commissioning partners, the whole performance community were working in collaboration with us to make it happen.

This morning we talked a little bit about new projects and it felt great that there was a sense that we would end up working with who was right for us to work with. We don't know who that is yet because we don't know exactly what the project will be, but we know that whatever it is there'll be people there to support it.

Bristol rocks.

NB: Outside of Bristol we were also given space by Chelsea Theatre in London, performed a work-in-progress at Forest Fringe in Edinburgh and were co-comissioned by Fierce Festival in Birmingham, so you could say the whole performance community is working together in a special way. I just fancied bigging up Bristol. Also sorry if I missed anyone out, its cos I just wrote this off the top of my (fairly unreliable) head.