07 May Guest Blog | Writer and Theatremaker, Stephanie Ridings
Our new grants and mentoring scheme, KSF Artists of Choice, is open for applications from 1 - 29 May to UK and US artists across the disciplines of dance, theatre, musical theatre, music and film. Over the next few weeks, we will post guest blogs from some of our previous grant winners about how they used and were impacted by their KSF grant.
Name |Stephanie Ridings
Project name |Unknown Male
Year awarded KSF grant | 2013
I received funding to workshop an extract of my play, Unknown Male, when it was still in an early draft. This funding enabled me to employ three actors, to work sections of the text and present it a showcase of industry professionals. This also gave me the luxury of time and space to workshop the extract so I could showcase the text at its best. Getting the work on its feet early in the process helped me visualise how the overall piece may develop in terms of character and narrative. As a result of the showcase I began working with independent producer, Pippa Frith, and we were able to agree with Birmingham REP a co-production in order to mount the full work in the REP’s Door space. We applied and were successful in receiving funding from Arts Council England, Sir Barry Jackson Trust, The Peggy Ramsay Foundation and we also were awarded the Peter Brook/Mark Marvin Rent subsidy award. Unknown Male premiered at the REP in January 2015 and received extremely positive feedback from both critics and audience. As a result a national tour is currently being booked for Spring 2016. This has allowed me the opportunity not only to develop relationships within the industry and hopefully lay foundations for the future, but also to get my work out to audiences, which is the reason to tell a story in the first place.
I am currently writing a new piece, The Road to Huntsville, which I recently showed a work in progress of. Due to the relationships Unknown Male helped me develop, I was offered in-kind rehearsal space by venues in my region so I could workshop this beginning stage. After some further research and possibly a trip to Texas, I am hoping to have a first draft completed in the autumn.
The support that KSF Artists of Choice is offering is instrumental to an artist’s development. It’s not just about having money to develop ideas (although that helps massively), it’s about having guidance and support from people you can trust and respect. So when you hit the inevitable wall, you know you have a support system in place which you can turn to in order to help you navigate your way forward. Receiving the funding from the KSF was the catalyst I needed to make Unknown Male happen.