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SE PARIP Meeting 16 December 2002, Central School of Speech and Drama Back to Region-Based Working Groups Angela Piccini (PARIP) took these notes. Ross Brown welcomed participants and professional practitioners: Mark Espiner of Sound and Fury; John Wright of Told by an Idiot; Jonathon Holloway of Red Shift Theatre Company; and Tom Morris of Battersea Arts Centre. Each gave a short introduction to their work and potential relationships with HE sector. The afternoon's themed question was: How does industry define 'Research and Development', and what part might higher education play in regard to that? Angela Piccini (PARIP, University of Bristol) gave a resume of PARIP's brief and outcomes to date and reminded participants that the 2003 conference is now seeking submissions. The PARIP contains information about the Arts and Humanities Research Board, the Research Assessment Exercise, guides to documenting performance, a history of practice as research in HE and many other resources. Ross Brown drew attention to the AHRB Fellowship Scheme and outlined the AHRB's definitions of research and asked whether it seems to offer much of value to practioners, or does it seem impenetrable and remote from real-world concerns? Andrew Lavender then took up the question to look precisely at how close the academy and professionals really are. The imperative behind defining oneself as a researcher is about money. To be research in traditional terms practice has to say that it devleops the discipline in some way, that it's new: new practices, new vocabulary, new understanding. There are two working models of research: industrial research and development and the body of knowledge. R & D looks at new applications, principles, materials. Are we doing enough in this area? Certainly the National Theatre Studio nights and the Scratch Nights at the Battersea Arts Centre move in this direction, but where else is the evidence? Contributing to ideas around the body of knowledge involves newness that arises from the hunch, the creative instinct, serendipity. PANEL DISCUSSION John Wright: Questions the AHRB flow of research questions, contexts and methods because artists don't approach practice in this way. Cannot create with outside distractions. What's in it for the practitioner to go the AHRB route when there is so much administration attached? Tom Morris: While we engage in research processes in making of all theatre, not everything that develops should be called research and newness is not always a valuable goal. Although there may be research opportunities at the interface between HE and professional practice, we shouldn't force practitioners into making research. Academics would more usefully come in to look at practice. Martin Welton: And if artistic practice is to be added to HE it has to maintain its integrity. To skew work to fit with research agenda is problematic. Anna Birch: My point concerns the problem that we have of negotiating dominant agendas inside and outside the academy for research and development and how this needs to be addressed in order to help generate and check the relevance of research and development questions inside and outside the academy. This is a huge area but perhaps needs to be flagged up at this stage. Angela Piccini: And perhaps we need to make clear that practice as research is a fundamental move within the HE sector to validate performance practices as research because those very practices are key to developing new performance knowledges, alongside the knowledges produced by more traditional research practices. Terms like 'new contribution to knowledge' and 'original research' are contingent, their meanings constructed through particular uses. PaR is not about academics looking at professional practice, that is traditional research in a cultural studies mode. John Ginman: Very interested in BAC model and perhaps academics do have an important role to play in archiving and analysing new work because practitioners often don't know what the community is doing. What about documenting process? Jill Davis: But it's all a game, it's about playing research strategies and learning to use different languages. We shouldn't be so serious about defining research. Angela Piccini: Although it is all about the money, there are serious questions to be asked. PaR poses a fundamental challenge to institutional boundaries and edifices of assessment that pretend objectivity but can be nothing but situated. Inviting the artists into the academy (whether bought in or as staff members) concretely poses the same sorts of questions that 'theoreticians' have been asking about disciplinary boundaries, the notion of knowledge and the meaning of research for some 30 years now. This is an opportunity for performance to be at the forefront of a radical cultural agenda. Jonathan Holloway: The context for professional groups and HE to work together exists already in that university venues show our work. But where are the academics to speak to us about that work after the show? John Wright: I teach at Middlesex as well and it's not been an easy relationship to accommodate my practice. Chris Bannerman is currently interested in looking at how to document my work and the idea is to find an assistant to work as part of the team to write the material up. A natural history model whereby the 'observer' becomes part of the professional ecology. Jonathan Holloway: My concern is that I rely on my practice - it keeps me alive. I am self-motivated and the spinoff is that people like it. The academic and professional agendas just don't mesh. Simon Shepherd: Except that the academic does rely on research for his or her job. And if that research is practice as research, there is little difference. For both it's about getting hold of what little money there is to go around. We need to ask specific questions about the notion of partnership and the need for the academy to play a serious role in the making of new work. Does HE play a role? Is there too much reliance from both sectors on what 'works'? How do we go about sharing strengths rather than weaknesses? Mark Espiner: The idea of HE resourcing new practices, providing space and equipment, is exciting. Ross Brown: That is what we're interested in exploring. There is space and equipment here to use. We can work with you to formulate proposals that would allow the money to come in from the AHRB. Andrew Lavendar: Practice as research needs to start with practice. It's about people in rehearsal rooms developing ideas. Tom Morris: There is good will to open a dialogue. What practitioners need are space, time, dialogue, wages, resources and someone else to take the responsibility for justifying this as research. Jill Davis: What's being described is an MA programme. David Carey: Also sounds like the AHRB Creative Fellowship awards. We can work with the practitioner to formulate work in research terms. Simon Shepherd: We're in danger of losing specialness of research in this conversation. John Ginman: Issues around performer training which is one of the kinds of research going on here. Jonathan Holloway: The issues that I've wanted to deal with in research terms have all been practical issues about the practical possiblities of doing things. A day in a studio space with equipment would be very enabling and does allow you to begin asking questions about narrative structure, for example. Jill Davis: Out of an artist residency at an HEI there is the opportunity to explore questions further. The plant should be about thinking differently and providing state-of-the-art equipment. Angela Piccini: Which touches on the importance of the work going on in HE and in the professional sector whereby our contributions to cultural industries need to be recognized and fostered through providing plant and resourcing to allow for professional development in this way. CONCLUDING POINTS HEIs should open up their spaces and equipment to professional companies. The collaboration would provide companies with much-needed resource while it would help HEIs to expand their PaR portfolios. People felt very strongly that there needs to be this kind of plant/resource available to all practitioners. Is a role of the local forums to move such an agenda forward with HE managers? I would be happy for you to forward this draft to the participants so that they have a chance to feed back, alter any misrepresenations. |