We got our start in Norwich a perfect city in the heart of East Anglia with a thriving arts community. Now 6 years later we are Supported Artists of Norwich Theatre and we are returning to R&D our show WILD ONION before heading on a regional tour across the UK.
It's got us thinking about all the East Anglian organisations and opportunities that have supported us along the way and we wanted to share that story with you to illustrate how it takes a vast support network to create live performance and 'emerge' as a company.
2015: Creative Arts East delivered the somewhereto_ programme and Daisy produced a festival of theatre making workshops and showcase events for young artists at the Norwich Puppet Theatre as part of the Young Norfolk Arts Festival.
2016: Daisy founded Orange Skies with a grant from the UEA Student Union and produced an immersive club night as the company’s first event, hosted at the Bedford Crypt and showcasing the best in local burlesque talent.
2016: Daisy trained with Gecko Theatre as part of the Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme in Ipswich, an experience which hugely shaped how we approach live performance making, devising, collaboration and movement practice.
2017: Orange Skies took part in a scratch night at The Garage, and went on to produce a work in progress show at the Norwich Puppet Theatre, which was the first work of theatre the Young Norfolk Arts Festival had ever programmed. This show went on to become the company’s acclaimed ★★★★ show In Addition which has since toured nationally.
2018: Orange Skies went on to be shortlisted for the Les Enfants Terribles Award for In Addition, and toured nationally including to Stage 2 Norwich Theatre as part of the Young Norfolk Arts Festival 2018 and a month long run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
2022: Orange Skies are now Supported Artists of Norwich Theatre.
The vast number of these opportunities were contingent on nationally funded programmes that supported the development of regional arts and regional creatives, plus the dedication of the local East Anglian arts community in supporting emerging artists.
One such particular person was Lucy Farrant Artistic Director of the Young Norfolk Arts Festival. Her championing of our work and mentorship gave us the industry knowledge we needed plus the belief in the value and quality of our work. Our years long relationship to the Young Norfolk Arts Festival was pivotal in giving us a platform to our our work from scratch to full production. We grew as the festival grew too and we are so grateful to Lucy for her support in our growth and her commitment to arts engagement for young people across the region.
We are so grateful for the time spent to nurture us from everyone who has and everyone who continues to do so. We really wouldn't be here today without it - so we want to say a huge thank you to everyone who took the time with us, especially in those early years.
These relationships are what grows local arts ecology and as we return to Norwich with a show in development, we are playing our part in knowledge exchange by delivering workshops to students from the University of East Anglia through Norwich Theatre.
With the biggest love for Norwich,
Daisy
Comments