Fourteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

This Practice as Research study will produce the first fringe festival to take place in the town of Colchester, analysing the response and reflections of participating artists as to the cultural and career benefits of performing on the “fringes” and to assess the repercussions of the Festival on the diversity and range of arts offered to the local community. The creative practice element of this work is both original and developmental. It will produce a three-day inaugural fringe festival in May 2020, which will consist of 6 participating venues and 25 engaged companies. This will allow me to embody the roles of both a creative producer and researcher and it seeks to explore the role of an arts festival from an artist’s perspective. It is an interdisciplinary study that incorporates curatorial studies, cultural creation in regional locations, event management and arts administration. Built around rich case studies of five international fringe festivals and highlighting their overlaps and differences, the research undertaken will analyse the curation and programming within a fringe festival format, in order to unpick the social, economic and ideological factors at work. I will also use first-hand observations and a series of original interviews to accompany my written thesis. This will document my practice and measure the impact of using a variety of research methods. My thesis will contribute to research in theatre scholarship and develop the new theoretical knowledge in this field.