Current Performance Commissions
2021 Performance Commissions
Read on to discover the successful artists and theatre-makers for our 2021 Devon Ignite & Seed Commissions.
Devon Ignite
We awarded one Devon Ignite Commission of £1000 to an ethnically diverse theatre-maker / artist to make 25-30 minutes of new material. This commission is designed for a creative that has already developed their practice and possesses some ideas, but requires the time, money and support to get those ideas fleshed out and onto a stage.
VIBHA
Vibha trained in the classical Indian dance style of Bharatanatyam from a very early age. Her outstanding talent has propelled her onto the international dance scene, being invited to perform at the NADA Nrityotsava at the VRC Academy of Music & Dance in India as well as performing throughout the UK.
As a Bharatanatyam dancer growing up in the UK, she has a particular passion for presenting the art form in a way that is accessible to those unfamiliar with the art and culture. She strives to keep the traditional ideas relevant to modern, Western audiences, while keeping true to the original form of the art to share its true essence.
Her solo works such as Navarasa, Devi and Nayika have all been a testament to this, being performed in Devon as well as throughout the UK.
Commissioned Show Title: Dashavataras
Through the classical Indian dance style of Bharatanatyam, we explore the stories of the incarnations of the Hindu God Lord Vishnu, who has saved us when the character of those on earth threaten the wellbeing of the human race, teaching us what is important to maintain peace and balance.
Devon Ignite
We awarded one Devon Ignite Commission of £1000 to an D/deaf or neurodivergent theatre-maker / artist to make 25-30 minutes of new material. This commission is designed for a creative that has already developed their practice and possesses some ideas, but requires the time, money and support to get those ideas fleshed out and onto a stage.
Isabella Kavanagh
Isabella Kavanagh is a multimedia artist currently anchored in Plymouth, Devon. Her artistic career has seen her work and live all over the world but for the purpose of today she wishes to challenge stillness in motion. Her place has always been by the sea and she explains her flux thought and motion through her art practice. You can follow her journey here : @isabellakav
Currently studying a Masters and finding her place in the world, she is keen to be contacted by collaborators, educators and creative organisations who she can colonise alongside. Exploring self through a range of mediums she is delighted to show her current project Stream of Consciousness with you.
Commissioned Show Title: Stream of Consciousness
Stream of Consciousness invites you to take a dip into my self exploration project as a neurodiverse individual attempting to adapt, learn and grow in the most transparent way as possible. I choose to navigate this voyage in the form of a jellyfish. I hope that through the process and journey of my performance, I understand myself a little more and perhaps help others to understand me more too.
I use writing, illustration and monologue in an attempt to immerse you in my practicing canvas of what is world. I hope to evoke some sort of transition. I aim to celebrate diversity. Being different and unique is a feeling a badge a label a title we all should be proud to wear! After all we are all different, different but the same.
Devon SEED COMMISSIONS
We awarded 2 x Devon Seed Commissions of £500 each to theatre makers / artists for 10-15 minutes of new material, in the form of a performance or a participatory workshop / experience for audience members.
This commission is geared towards new/emerging theatre-makers who are still developing their practice or experimenting with their style & form.
Charlie Ranken & Bernadette Mol
Charlie Ranken is a freelance dance and theatre artist and movement director. Bernie is a theatre practitioner and poet. They met, two years ago in the People’s Company for the production ‘Citizen,’ at The Theatre Royal Plymouth.
Over lockdown, the discussion of physicalising Bernie’s poetry came to be. Bernie is in recovery from drug addiction with a disability to her right arm due to former years. She has had the privilege of rebuilding her life through the arts and is now a creative assistant on the Co Creating Change programme at The Theatre Royal Plymouth as well as mentoring other drama groups that benefit from her skill set.
Charlie came to the arts as a dancer by auditioning for the Cornwall Youth Dance Company as a teenager. She then completed a BA Hons in Dance, a PG in Dance and Physical Theatre with the Jasmin Vardimon Company and a Masters in Contemporary Performance Practices.
Both women have a desire to offer different narratives to vulnerable women and shine a light on stigmas ingrained in their lives.
Commissioned Show Title: We are all made of stories
A honest attempt of two women, working with each other, on a seed of an idea. A poet. A mover. Finding a way to translate words into a tangible, physical language.
Literally finding our feet and using our voices, to discover if reclamation and restoration can come from this process and whether we can create a framework that might encourage other women to participate.
The end product is a bonus. The process will be a turning point for us both. Can we find a method where we honour the words on the page and translate it into a vibrant bodily form?
JAZ BROWN
Jaz has been an amateur actor in Devon for a few years; they spent much of lockdown reading Shakespeare online with the international Socially Distanced Shakespeare group, as well as performing Caliban for the Marvellously Modern Film and Theatre Company. They are an assistant at the youth group Dramatically Different Teignmouth, where they particularly enjoy co-writing and performing our historical Ghost Walks. They also perform a storytelling show as drag king Lord Fabulist, telling queer fairy tales, and they highlight queer narratives in all their writing.
They work as a library assistant, seeing the value of access to stories and culture for all ages through running story time sessions and tabletop role playing games. Working at the escape rooms Red House Mysteries they create interactive worlds that let people divert from reality. They are passionate about the importance of local history to a community, and they volunteer with museums to make that accessible to as many people as possible.
Jaz has brought their storytelling and game making experience together to create choose-your-own-path stories, inspired by local history with a fantasy twist. They strongly believe in the power and importance of stories to allow people to feel empowered, build empathy and stretch their creativity, and hope this show will grow to achieve this.
Commissioned Show Title: The Vengeance of the Earth Gnomes
The Vengeance of the Earth Gnomes is a choose-your-own-path folk tale. The all-ages storytelling is based on Devon folklore. It's interactive game theatre, so the audience makes choices for the story, and roll giant dice to see how they play out. We are environmentally conscious in our practice and performance.