The Future

I believe that the project would be positioned well amongst other work that is taking place in the North East of England at this current time. There is a an increasing amount of solo work being programmed in venues and accepted for funding grants; perhaps due to the logistics and costs applicable to the work of an individual in contrast to that of a cast or company of actors on a bigger scale. For example, the Northern Stage Theatre in Newcastle has recently seen a vast amount of solo shows in their ‘Stage 3’ space, which is an intimate yet adaptable space than can seat up to 80 people, which is an ideal set up for a one person show and is the sort of space where I see this project being performed. Although, for future programming of the project I could see it being played in a number of different and unique venues. The piece as it stands relies heavily on tech but I am confident that I could make adjustments that would allow it to be performed in unconventional theatre spaces also. Providing I had the equipment to play music, I believe the show could be performed in music venues, music halls, gallery spaces, pubs, or any space that has enough floor space for me to move around. I can imagine it being performed in a 1950’s style diner, and I know that ‘Luppy’s Diner’ in Leeds often offers itself to music acts and bands, which could be the perfect fit for the content of the show. When I make a version of the piece that doesn’t require as many technical elements, I am considering offering the project to Elvis Presley conventions that are taking place around the UK. I am aware of a convention taking place in Birmingham in January 2017 that claims to be Europe’s largest annual Elvis tribute contest convention. I imagine that there will be little technical support available, however, I feel that this would be a really interesting place for me to perform the show as I believe I could offer something to event that they may not already have. I think it could be interesting to represent the physicality of ‘The King’ through a female body, in a convention that only features male tribute acts. Due to me moving back to the city of Leeds, I have also looked into venues in the region that support the work of young theatre makers. The Live Art Bistro (LAB), in the center of the city, is a gallery space that has taken over a former car dealership building and is managed by Adam Young; a professional who I plan to propose the project to. The venue offers itself to new work created by performance artists, theatre makers, musicians and dancers, as well as aiming to support the work of Live Art practices from artists based in the region and from further afield. I am interested in applying to take the project to festivals in the upcoming year and have looked into Buzzcut, an artist led annual performance festival, that takes place in Glasgow every spring. They pride themselves on their dedication to creating exciting, supportive environments for artists and audiences to experiment with cutting edge live performance. Along with this, I am also intrigued by 2’s Company festival, based in Harrogate, which programmes only a select few pieces of innovative work for intimate and unconventional spaces. They look for new theatre that challenges an audience in some way; that steers away from conventional forms. There for once the Taking Care of Business project has been developed, perhaps with more of an focus on the exhausted body through use of durational methods and a closer investigation into the relationship between audience and suffering performer, perhaps this could be a fitting piece for such festival.