07 Sep Guest Blog | Squint Theatre
KSF Artists of Choice is open to artists across the disciplines of dance, theatre, musical theatre and film. Over the next few weeks, we will post guest blogs from some of our 2016 grant winners about how the grant has impacted their work. Applications will be open in early 2017.
Name | Andrew Whyment, Squint Theatre
Project | Fear & Loathing
Year Awarded KSF Grant | 2016
What does the KSF grant mean to you and your project?
Fear & Loathing will be the third project we have made through our part scripted, part devised, journalistic process. We’ve been able to forge our methodology thanks to the kind support of grants and partner organisations in the past but the Kevin Spacey Foundation is the first to put trust in us at the point of genesis. Fear & Loathing is a seed of an idea right now, but this grant will allow us to begin the growing it in a supported way. The Artists of Choice Theatre Award adds credence and financial freedom to the project. It is allowing us to take greater risks than ever before.
What inspired your project?
Squint’s projects of the past four years have all begun with an attempt to empathise with publically divisive individuals or groups. With Long Story Short, we turned our attention to journalists at the time of the Jimmy Saville enquiry, with Molly, we focused on the notion of ‘evil’, and now with Fear & Loathing we’re interested in nationalism. With right wing politics prevailing and communities who have been ignored for far too long shaking the elite, we are asking the difficult questions that for too long, the left have chosen to skirt around and ignore.
Talk about your journey prior to the receiving the award. What kind of difficulties or roadblocks did you encounter along the way? How did you overcome them?
You can call yourself a theatre maker as soon as you make a show. You can call yourself a theatre company as soon as you put something on a stage. But making what you do sustainable is a long bumpy road. Over the last four years we’ve gone through a gradual transition towards becoming a professional theatre company. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still hitting bumps every week, but the work we have made on a shoestring since 2009 is paying off. We are now able to associate ourselves with larger organisations such as Pleasance, South Hill Park and Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. We can be more articulate about what we make, how we make it and why. And – perhaps most importantly – we are learning to take our time. Fear & Loathing will be at least eighteen months in the making before it hits a stage, and our 2015 show, Molly, has been back in development even after it’s first public run. We are enjoying keeping things in the oven for longer.
What would you say have been the most defining moments of your career thus far?
I travelled to Saudi Arabia a number of times for a project that spanned three years with the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. It was immediately after completing my director training at Birkbeck and involved training participants who had never done any theatre before. By the end of the three-year’s we were creating large-scale productions together. It forced me to reflect on my practice and ask “what can I offer these talented people from another culture that will help spark their journeys as theatre makers”. It helped me to identify who I am as an artist. I’ve got the bug for working in weird and wonderful cultures; I think it’s the most valuable work you can do as a practitioner.
Do you have any advice for emerging artists?
Make as much work with your peers as possible. There’s nothing more motivating or rewarding than being part of a community of talented people.
Read more about Squint’s project here.
Andrew discusses his project here.