Questionnaire Results

In December 2008 we sent a questionnaire to 1,100 theatre practitioners and theatre academics asking what they want from physical group theatre in London.  We had a good response and some clear results.  We are now sending these results to all those who were invited to take part in the questionnaire and others.  The questionnaire is still open, and we very much encourage people to participate if you have not already done so.

To our knowledge, this is the only survey of actors, performers, and students of its kind, as all other feed-back systems approach venues and companies, instead of going straight to the artists themselves as we have done.  If you have not already taken part in this questionnaire but would now like to do so please click here.

The Results in summary:
People wanted a professional group theatre to rehearse week-day mornings and to be based in either central, north or east London.  There was no one who thought new theatre should be based in west London.  This is interesting as we are often told that unfunded theatre groups can only really rehearse in the evenings, or that west London is the place to think about new theatre.  The actual results from those we questioned show the exact opposite.  The results also show an enormous untapped enthusiasm for creating new theatre from an understanding of theatre training traditions and practices in an idealistic and informed way.  Again this is contrary to the cynicism of some conventional wisdom.

Analysis of the Results:
Our own interpretation and criticism of these results are as follows:
It is laudable that people want to do professional-level work, but the questionnaire reveals a low appreciation of the time such work necessitates and an unrealistic expectation that low commitment levels will be sufficient for good results.  It is unlikely that any group could produce professional work by meeting once a week on a drop-in take-it-or-leave-it basis.  Yet there was little enthusiasm for a co-operative or permanent group.  What this shows to us, is that while people have well-established ideals, they are reticent or unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices for those ideals, or that they do not see a link between what they want and the necessary action required of them in the real world to achieve it.  It is also interesting to note that people were far more willing to compromise on money, and offered to work unpaid indefinitely, than they were willing to commit their time.
We like the fact that people ask for morning rehearsals in central, north or east London, and to show an understanding of the unfortunate necessity of working unpaid in order to achieve artistic ambitions, and quality of work, but we believe that a strong and clear commitment to the amount of time needed for the work is required from the outset, that the group must meet each morning for a sustained length of time, as a group with clear commitments, and not at all as a drop-in class.

Conclusion:
We will be starting a new group to put into practice the results of this Questionnaire in March.  If you would like to participate, please email:  physical@admirationtheatre.com

RESULTS IN FULL:

Which part of London would you like the group to be based in?
North              24%
East                18%
South               6%
West                0%
Central           41%
Don’t mind     12%

When would you like the group to meet?
Mornings          59%
Afternoons       12%
Evenings          29%

How many times a week would you like to meet?
Once                47%
2-3 times         35%
4-5 times         18%

How long would you, or could you, work like this unpaid, if you found the work rewarding?
Less than a month      6%       
2-3 months                 24%     
3-6 months                 18%     
6-12 months               12%     
Indefinitely                  35%     

What standard would you want the group to be?
Unlimited all-comers     24%     
Professional only           71%     
Amateur/drop-in     ff      6%

What kind of commitment level do you think is needed?
Drop-in (come and go as you please)                            35%     
Commit to 6 weeks' participation at a time ffffff f            35%     
Commit to 3 months at a time (like a short course)       30%

Which of the following are you really looking for?
A Company (once the group forms we make a
commitment to work together for a project.
Minimum commitment 3 months)                   fffffffff               77%     
A Co-operative (working together, we put money
into the co-operative, and set limits on the other theatre
work we do. Minimum commitment 6 months)      ffffff        12%
A true Ensemble (we only work together and never
with anyone else. Minimum commitment 1 year) ffff           6%

What training elements would you like included?

• Laban and Meisner, voice work, storytelling, chorus as well as individual work, unblocking the actor; physical theatre; text work, working towards performance.
• Group-building exercises, voice training, working with text, stretching and other fitness/yoga exercises.
• I'd like to work with some text while working physically, just to have in mind all the time that body and mind are connected.
• I'd like to have elements of acrobatics.
• Mime, physical Theatre, clowning, Commedia Dell’Arte, Le Coq, where DV8 draw their inspirations from.
• I have been trained in Corporeal Mime and Commedia Dell'Arte and am interested in these areas. But I would also welcome different forms of training.
• Grot, Odin, Lecoq, Chaikin, Chekov, Mime, Dance, breath work, different ways of relating to an audience.
• LeCoq/Gaulier work.
• I'd like to work with improvisation, contact improvisation maybe! some acrobatics and everything that is fresh and that involves listening to each other.
• Improvisation, work where people are encouraged to take risks.
• Being able to explore things that I have learned at LISPA in greater depth.
• Improvisation and incorporation of technical elements into physical performance (lights, props, instruments etc).

What would you want the purpose or objective of the work to be?

• Create a theatre group that creates great work, with unlimited future.
• To create high quality work and nurture its actors; training through creating; emphasis on quality of acting.
• I'd like to create a group with people passionate and enthusiastic, not afraid of experimenting and trying new things, open minded.
• Maybe with the chance to become a proper theatre company, formed by people coming from different countries and backgrounds, ready to travel for cultural exchanges?
• The purpose would be to create/devise a piece of theatre that aims towards performance but it has to have strict guidelines or this will fall apart. So, the rehearsal, performance dates are confirmed in advance so people feel they are working within a time constraint and feel motivated.
• I have worked with a couple of projects between 6 months and a year without being paid but there has to be a clear outcome.
• I am looking to find professional acting work in London in the New Year, so I would be interested in joining a company of actors to train physically together, and to work on projects/productions. I am interested in experimental physical theatre.
• I feel that like most popular forms of theatre, we as a company would have to find and create our own unique way of entertaining, education and informing our target audience as away of successfully establishing ourselves as a company.
• To be one of the greatest theatre groups of all time.
• A space to explore, have your development assisted, and assist the development of others. And develop together a healthy working relationship to possibly carry forward into the creation of work, then to create quality work, to develop new ideas, new ways of working, new styles of theatre, to bring together what people have learnt or discovered and share and grow together.
• What I would really love is a group of people passionate and humble, ready to experiment, to try new things that at the end might not work, but at least we tried together with no fear!
• To create exciting theatre relevant to today’s society.
• I'd like to create a group of people willing to create a more stable group of work, maybe with the aim of a show, why not!?
• To begin to create a group where we would be able to explore, create, experiment, play and develop skills freely, possibly to create a piece of theatre that comes out of this play.

Conclusion:

We will be starting a new group to put into practice the results of this Questionnaire in March.  If you would like to participate, please email:  physical@admirationtheatre.com

Admiration Theatre
8 February 2009