Rough Mix is Magnetic North's unique 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 pratitioners from different disciplines and give them time to start developing new projects in a supportive and collaborative atmosphere.

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 Facon (Tristan Surtees & Charles Blanc) - visual artists
   * Marisa Zanotti - choreographer & film maker

They were joined by playwright Debbie Jones and choreographer Rosalind Masson as well as a group of 5 performers.

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 being developed were:

   * You Had To Be There (Clare Duffy) – used the local area (the       Grassmarket) as a starting point for the development of a series of              vignettes in different styles.
   * Walden (Nicholas Bone) – an exploration of approaches to dramatising      Thoreau’s book about the two years he spent living in the woods.
   * A Study In Three Parts (David Fennessy) – a moment of interruption       explored with an actor, a drum kit and feedback.
   * Carrot (Ronan O’Donnell) – inspired by the story of Jeannie, a child       kept in complete isolation for several years by her parents.
   * Edges (Marisa Zanotti) – projected video, 2 chairs, 4 performers and a       series of instructions.
   * Untitled (Sans Façon) – an “unseen” performance within the Dance       Base building.

A Study in Three Parts developed into Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside) which was premiered by Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt in May 2007.  Walden has been developed into a full production which wil ltour in 2009. You had to be there was developed further as Local Reality Expo and was presented at CCA, Glasgow in May 2008.  Untitled  developed into Odd Sympathies, presented as part of Artes Mundi in Cardiff in May 2008.

During the course of the two weeks we kept a Rough Mix blog which is still available to read.

If you would like to know more about the project, please e-mail roughmix@magneticnorth.org.uk