Getting Back Into the Game?

I'm in Sheffield. I was invited to join a team of Audience Developers in support of just about the only black British touring theatre company. Their plan is to produce a range of new plays with the background of 500 years of black history in Britain and to tour them around the country. Having people in each region who will work with the venues to raise awareness and drum up audiences is a great idea.

I left Newcastle at 7am yesterday and the drive was OK until I got to Sheffield on the motorway and the sat nav stopped working lol. I'd overshot the exit and had to double back. Once in the city, things were only marginally better: there is a shitload of roadworks and route changes in the city that my sat nav doesn't know about. Once I ditched the car I walked around in circles for about 45 minutes until I gave up and took a taxi to somewhere that I later found was about 10 minutes from where I needed to be so I was a little late. Later on; I popped back to pick up the car during a coffee break before the parking ran out. I decided to take it to the hotel. Sadly, the on-going removal of a roundabout meant that no matter what I did, the sat nav was taking me around the city centre about 6 times until a helpful taxi driver told me how to get around it. By the time I got back to the session it was almost finished.

I chose not to go back to the hotel, but stayed with the director and her staff -had a bevvie at the train station before picking up the others and headed to a Vietnamese restaurant for the BIGGEST portioned meal I've ever attempted ( I was defeated ). back to the hotel (not bad room).

I'm glad to have had this experience. My prejudice against the Arse Council has been challenged, but even they have admitted that getting a grant the size of the three they've just received makes everything look a lot more rosey. The group have shared stories about how much the black arts sector has shrunk so it is perhaps not too surprising that the survivors are landing cash the likes of which most of us could only dream about. I am also interested to note that the director has a similar reputation to me but, perhaps because she is perceived as less threatening as a woman, she has managed to be uncompromising AND get what she wants... I realise that I'm not envious in the least! I'm glad SOMEONE got what was needed. Her success shows that I wasn't as bat-shit-crazy as some Arse Councillors tried to paint me. In fact she has managed to get away with more than I'd have tried! In 2011 after they defunded the infrastructure and support projects, I predicted that in 5-10 years the Arse Council would announce that there was a lack of diversity in British arts and launch another of their periodic "initiatives" to stick a band-aid on an eviscerated body. A detail I'd not seen before is that apparently there will be funding implications for any organisation who fails to meet the quotas they've imposed. Interesting.

I have been out of it for five years... If I get the community centre, it will be my opportunity to make up for that time and create a creative hub that will give me the chance to get back in the game and make some art to be proud of.