Rough Mix
Rough Mix is Magnetic North's inter-disciplinary creative development programme. It is an opportunity for theatre makers to collaborate with other practitioners, try out new ideas and introduce them to an audience. We bring together a small group of practitioners from different disciplines and give them time to start developing new projects in a supportive and collaborative atmosphere. The practitioners work together with a group of performers over a two week period before making a work in progress showing at the end. We believe that this project offers a unique opportunity for both established and emerging artists.
If you are a practitioner and would be interested in finding out more about future Rough Mix programmes, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . There are opportunities for both established and emerging artists.
Rough Mix 2010
The most recent Rough Mix ran in January 2010 at Dance Base in Edinburgh, supported by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation and Scottish Arts Council. The artists who took part were:
- Ruth Barker - visual artist
- Nicholas Bone - director
- Catriona MacInnes - film-maker
- Linda McLean - playwright
- Ian Spink - choreographer/director
Who were joined by emerging theatre artist Harry Wilson and performers Catherine Gillard, Veronica Leer, Kirstin Murray, Michael Sherin and David Walshe.
Rough Mix 2006:
The first Rough Mix ran in December 2006 at Dance Base, Scotland's National Centre for Dance in Edinburgh with a core group of:
- Nicholas Bone – Director
- Clare Duffy – Playwright
- David Fennessy – Composer
- Ronan O'Donnell – Playwright
- Sans façon (Tristan Surtees & Charles Blanc) - Visual Artists
- Marisa Zanotti - Choreographer & Filmmaker
They were joined by playwright Debbie Jones, choreographer Rosalind Masson and performers Ewan Donald, Pauline Lockhart, Nico Major, Kirstin Murray and Keith Macpherson.
Each practitioner brought an idea for a project that they were interested in developing. Over a period of two weeks they worked with one another and a group of performers in the beautiful surroundings of Dance Base.
The projects developed were:
- Walden (Nicholas Bone) – an exploration of approaches to dramatising Thoreau’s book about the two years he spent living in the woods. Walden was developed into a full production which was first produced in 2008 and then toured in 2009.
- You Had To Be There (Clare Duffy) – used the local area (Grassmarket) as a starting point for the development of a series of vignettes in different styles. The project was developed further as Local Reality Expo and was presented at CCA, Glasgow in May 2008.
- A Study In Three Parts (David Fennessy) – a moment of interruption explored with an actor, a drum kit and feedback. The idea was developed further into Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside) which was premiered by Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt in May 2007
- Carrot (Ronan O’Donnell) – inspired by the story of Jeannie, a child kept in complete isolation for several years by her parents.
- Untitled (Sans façon) – an “unseen” performance within the Dance Base building. The ideas explored developed into Odd Sympathies, a collaboration with composer John Metcalfe presented as part of Artes Mundi in Cardiff in May 2008.
- Edges (Marisa Zanotti) – projected video, 2 chairs, 4 performers and a series of instructions.
During the course of the two weeks we kept a Rough Mix blog which is still available to read.
