Testimonials
Here are a few example of how we help practitioners and companies across the county
Emily Dobson - Performer and Dance Artist
“The Works has helped my project work as a dance artist grow by offering valuable support and access to various schemes. The CPD Dance Card helped me develop technical training and experience and the admin scheme supported ‘On The Wire’.On-going support includes the growth of Freefall Dance with our classes and Summer School”.
Benjamin Symes - Artistic Director | Cube theatre
“Theatre Development at The Works has consistently helped cube: by providing time and space for us to present ideas, both artistic and developmental; through acting as a thorough, honest and experienced consultant; by recommending directions and areas to explore; and through being a supporter and an advocate for our work.”
Charles and Barbara Pugh, Joint Directors – The Tolmen Centre
The Tolmen Centre has worked closely with The Works over the past five years, and benefited in several ways from this involvement.
- Membership of Venue Cornwall has allowed us to benefit from the Guarantee Against Loss scheme in a most productive and efficient way: we in fact seldom needed to claim the pledged assistance, but at the same time were given increased confidence to programme
- The Go/See concept is especially significant in the Works contribution to visits to The Edinburgh Festival by coordination of accommodation. The ‘Works Flat’ has been of enormous help in allowing us to visit The Fringe to source touring material.
- Meeting and sharing experiences with other Venues across Cornwall has been extremely useful. The Works provides a forum both for meetings, but also a good website and online forum for exchange of ideas.
- The ANLO scheme was initiated and coordinated by The Works. We were significant participants in this scheme – which enabled us to develop the concept of whole family theatre attendance (with free tickets for children).
Overall The Works has had a most beneficial effect on The Tolmen Centre as we have developed from little more than a village hall into a Venue of some note within the County.
Gemma Kempthorne – Freelance dance artist
“The Works have always been supportive of my development as an artist and schemes such as the Dance Card have been really beneficial. The Works are great at signposting opportunites and jobs and provide a central point of call for Cornish artists working in the dance and theatre industry”.
Izi Irwin – Theatre Practitioner
“The Works have been extremely helpful to me in offering support and advice in regards to the theatre community in Cornwall and prospective employers and it’s been a pleasure to work with them in the past.”
Caroline Schanche – Dance Practitioner
“Dance Card enabled me to attend the first national conference on dance and dementia in Liverpool. In response to a question raised at the conference my friend Jayne Devlin and I wrote an article about the value of dance in stoke rehab which was published in Animated Magazine. Dance Card is a great scheme which helped to give my work a national profile”.
DM – Performer
The worst job in the world for an artist? Filling in forms…
Thank you Sarah (The WORKS) for your invaluable assistance in making it easy and painless.
Job done!
Clare Meardon – Dance Artist
“I bounded into The Works for the first time (November 2011) direct from being a Showgirl in Paris and having spent the last 15 years globetrotting as a commercial dancer. I came with a blank notebook and a head full of ideas but no idea how to break into the Cornish Theatrical Mafia. With the help and guidance of Saffy we worked through my spaghetti head of ideas and tossed out the impractical ones to give way to the workable ones. Saffy was realistic and honest with me about how to survive in Cornwall but her advise didn’t dampen my spirits, it just re-directed me back on the path. With my notebook now full of info and “to do” lists, I headed home to create a new, Cornish Inspired Master Plan.
In under 6 months I have performed as the Queen in Sleeping Beauty with Duchy Ballet, as Svetlana and Gerda in Winter Woods and as Ruby in Dancer and the Devil, both with Rogue Theatre. I have taught for Capitol Ballet School and CYDC, I am teaching for Jason Thomas on the pre-vocational course, I have run Street Dance, Jazz and Rock and Roll workshops and I have also set up and am Co-Director of Savvy Dance which runs after school clubs and day workshops in schools and will be running a 4 week Multi Activity Camp this Summer. In 6 months I have achieved what would have been utterly impossible without the help, advice and support of The Works. It is vital that Cornish performers are given the support and guidance necessary to enable them to move back to county and impart their knowledge locally. I never thought it would be possible to return home and continue with my passion and my career. It is, thanks to The Works”.
Simon Parker – Writer
Gonamena – Image by Rob Frost
“When The Works took over the professional running of my community play, Gonamena (staged at Sterts Theatre 2009), the whole project took on another life. Without the professionalism, dedication, knowledge and excellent people skills of The Works team (led by Sarah Pym), the experience for audiences, participants and the wider community would have been far less valuable, enjoyable or successful. Everyone involved in Gonamena is extremely grateful for the superb support provided by The Works”.
