Sensible people do not choose to become artists. The career path is unpredictable, the income stream splutters at best and other folk with regular jobs and a steady income tend to look at you with pity or contempt.
However, those regular folk need art just as much as you do. When we were compelled to see with 2020 vision what really mattered to humanity, we saw that along with hugs and nurses and delivery-drivers and farmers and bird-song, we need stories, we need drama, we need art. Lockdown would have been intolerable without the contribution of artists; art is one of life’s necessities.
And, furthermore, while it might not be a sensible career choice, sensible people might well feel that they have no choice in the matter, art has chosen them. It would be unsensible, even dangerous, to refuse the call. But, because all non-artists drew and danced and played make-believe in childhood, artistic practice can seem like childish indulgence. As Picasso observed, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up”.
A Universal Basic Income would make the path of the artist considerably less hazardous but there will always be some who see art as little more than farting around. Too bad: a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.
So, aspiring artists need support, encouragement and practical assistance. DunsPlayFest will always try to provide these. Our simplest expression of this aspiration is the Spotlight Prize, awarded each year to a current or recent Berwickshire High School student looking to make a career in the performing arts, a cash sum with no strings at all, meant as a simple statement of support – “We believe in you!”
This prize was from the beginning enabled by our late friend, the extraordinary patron of the arts, Hugo Burge, whose foundation carries on his work which always focused on enabling the production of art.
The winners of the prize so far – a film-maker, a band of traditional musicians, two emerging musical theatre artists, and an actor – continue to pursue their dreams and, we believe, will never forget their early days in Duns to which they return when possible.
The most recent recipient of the Spotlight Prize, Archie Beattie, will be coming to DunsPlayFest 2025 with his company of recent graduates, Out of Order Productions whose jet-black comedy, You Deserve It, was a hit at this year’s Fringe. The drama colleges of Edinburgh, where standards seem so high, are becoming increasingly more aware of our festival, with graduate companies bringing self-penned, sharp work on a regular basis to Duns.
We also of course want to encourage Berwickshire writers as much as possible, keeping in mind the Japanese dictum about writing plays which is, apparently, “Step One: Book the Venue”…! To write a play takes graft and craft – it’s not for nothing that “Playwright” shares with “Shipwright” and “Wheelwright” the atmosphere of a workshop – and the best way to eliminate hesitation and idleness about the task in hand is to insert the element of obligation. There is always a reason not to do something and we see our job as combating this with plenty of reasons to get on with it and get it done.
The effort is always worth it. Even if the script goes no further than a reading, the experience will be rich indeed for the writer, seeing her paper-flat characters fill with air and tonality, connections made, meanings discerned that she never knew were there. Hearing actors give life to your script is an unfailing thrill - terrifying but always rewarding.
As DunsPlayFest emerged from playwriting workshops and is above all a festival of new drama, emerging playwrights are our main concern. But we are also eager to play a part in encouraging all theatre-industry apprentice-professionals to find a way into the business. The Intern Scheme we introduced in 2024 is an example of this; six early-career or just-graduated backstage specialists (some of whom are also actors and writers) worked tremendously hard keeping the 70 or so shows on the road and made all the difference to the whole operation. The fact that all six were absolutely splendid, wonderful young people doubtless helped but this is an aspect we definitely want to keep, with the hope that one day people will say, “You worked on DunsPlayFest? You’re in!”
Of course, as a festival which also features film, poetry, story-telling, children’s performances, cabaret, improv and much music, we are determined to foster the emergence of practitioners in all those fields, and will always do what we can to help with connectivity. As a good friend of the new forum, Made in the Borders, we hope to become an important part of the theatre eco-system in the Borders and Scotland. Theatre matters, and theatre-makers matter, and they need support or else they get lonely and then they forget to make theatre; and we need theatre.
Komentarze