My baby

In 2010 myself and my fellow co-founders created a new little being. We talked about it, decided it was a good time for each of us, professionally and personally, and we made preparations for the companies arrival. We toyed with names wistfully, we conceived what we'd do together and what our future might look like.

The birth of our company was an exhilarating, exhausting time. It had come from nothing, and needed us to keep it alive. All our energy was spent those crazy, intense but thrilling early days feeding, strengthening and growing our little creation. We'd never done this before, it was a first for us all, and so of course, we made mistakes and we made it up as went along with the vague reassurance that lots of other people had done this successfully before. Our little handiwork was the first thing I thought of when I woke up, eagerly checking to see if anything had happened while I slept. It was the last thing I thought of at night, if i could squeeze in an extra few minutes just spending a little more time doing what I loved with this thing I loved.

Years passed and the needs and demands of the company grew with its advancement and growth. The more it wanted to do, the more support it needed.

After some time and adjustment I was able to stand back and look at this creation with pride, and felt confident that this fledgling of ours was developing into something that could try more complex and ambitious things, and would start to need fuel from me less and less. I could wean myself back, into the background and allow other people to interact and have influence.

Unfortunately, we were sidelined right when it looked like our little opus was about to stand on its own two feet and get moving. We had a nasty fall, and the world was a different place after that set back. But up we got, dusted down, and set to again.


I found out I was pregnant at just two weeks. I had my suspicions (we were trying) and I announced to the rest of the company fairly early, as I was throwing my guts up and it was effecting our rehearsals and my attendance. I had always been at literally every show, and every rehearsal, the girls would have known something was up.
I assured everyone, that nothing would change, and that I would work right up to the birth and then get back to it while they were cutting the umbilical chord. My laptop would be rested on the babies bottom while it fed.

OBVIOUSLY this is not what happened.

I did work up until the last minute. I popped on the Thursday and I'd been planning and adminning the day before, having just finished the last performance of our Summer Fairy Tale Tour two weeks earlier.
However something had changed in me during my pregnancy. I had lovely hormones forcing me to slow down and chill out - gain perspective, but I also had a shift in my affections. I had a new baby, and I loved it more.

There I said it. It feels horrible to say, but naturally it's completely true.  NOTHING is more important to me than my son, he is the absolute centre of my world and I'm in love and obsessed with him.

Getting back to work after having my baby has been weird. I feel resentful of any wasted time - what if while I'm fannying about waiting for photoshop to open and load to make this new flyer, B stands up and Port de Bras at 2 months old. I don't want to miss it!

We have all had various shifts in our priorities over the last year or so. Whether its children, new houses, new jobs, opportunities, partners, emotional wellbeing - there will always be things that turn our heads and as we get older, take on more, and choices seem to make a bigger impact, we are changing the way we work...for now. We are definitely stripping back to only making projects that make us wee with excitement. Projects that ignite our creative passion,  that the very idea of them not coming to fruition forces us to nurture and grow those little seeds of inspiration into strong pieces of work.

I haven't abandoned by old baby for my my new one, I still have love for her, she was my twenties!

Cha-Ching

Starting again means looking back at where things went wrong last time and trying to avoid making the same mistakes.

Some mistakes are easy to make again, because they are part of an alluring vicious cycle, and you find yourself, all to easily, falling back into those comfortable, friendly old habits. We need to truly recognise how and why we made these mistakes first time round to break the cycle. Intervene and create a new virtuous one. 

Money is a bitch. Not having money is also a bitch, and let's be honest, pretty essential to every business. How can you make anything without it? How can your business grow? 

I hate thinking about our company as a business, it makes it seem so serious and urgent. I don't think our work should be made in a rush. I'm not altogether sure I agree that all practicing artists have to think of themselves as a business. When we made work without thinking about money, it was more truthful, exciting and ambitious. We have been repeatedly persuaded, throughout the companies existence, that money should be a driving factor of our work, in order to create a sustainable company with longevity.

Six Lips Theatre was founded through a Creative Business incubation program. The idea was to assist young artists in creating sustainable business models. We told the program mentors and supervisors what we wanted to do, and they told us what else we might need to do to ensure there was a steady ongoing income. 

We hated all of the ideas. All of them. We were sure we could find a way to gradually make money doing the projects we wanted to. People would invest in us and our work, because it was truthful, exciting and ambitious and so were we! 

And this is how we made work for years. Glorious years. We made enough to cover our costs and support the next project. There was steady growth, and plenty of ideas in the barrel to have a scrape around. 

So what happened? An organisation stunted our momentum, growth and creativity, by advising us that our current mode of business was

"Over ambitious"
"Unrealistic"
"Unsustainable"

We should stop what we were doing and focus on one project, and rely on Arts Council funding to make that achievable. Yes! We were told to stop our independent, successful and growing strategy, to instead strip back and put all our eggs in a lottery basket. 

At the time we were young and so excited to be taken on by a big producing company, we were wowed by them. They promised 100% success rate in their bid writing, and had some rather exciting names on their books, however £2000 of our money and one failed bid submission later they dropped us. We had given them all the money we had, and we had stopped making work to focus on a project we could no longer do.

Looking back we never really recovered from that experience. We felt naive for thinking it was that easy, and embarrassed that we'd been picked up as a new burgeoning company, to only be dropped at the first hurdle. Like a band getting signed and dropped by a record label before they even got into the studio to make some music.

We thought 'fuck them' we'll find a way to scrape this project off the floor. We are doers. Well we did develop that project and we took it on tour, £2000 less (which would have come in handy).

Since we had that experience, we have had some good years, creatively and financially. We've worked on some incredible projects with some amazing people - particular highlights have been Young Roots with York Mind and our Fairy Tale Library Tours with the hilarious and talented Miss Trout. We have had some good times, we have made some powerful work, work I have passionately enjoyed and we are very proud of. 

But that momentum has never returned. Every project feels like an uphill struggle before you've even jumped on your metaphorical creative bike. We expect obstacles and we dread looking for the money. Not another bloody bid/ application/ fundraiser.

We fell into a money rut. It's easy to see how it happens. With every passing year, it becomes a little more disheartening when you have to do a job for free. You've been doing this a long time, and you're good at it, it's time you got paid for your time. 
You have to take on work which is (hopefully) linked to some of your interests (creatively or thematically) because of the fees attached. I think everyone has done this from time to time in their professional life. The outcome can be very pleasing in terms of the work produced but nothing gives you the sense of fulfilment you get from satisfying our own creative itch. 

It got to the point where no one wanted to apply for anything to fund the ideas, and no one was excited by the ideas because they'd been bent out of shape to fit clearly into this formula. No money and no work.

So, our simple mistake over the years was to assume that we were naive and unrealistic at the beginning. We thought we'd got it all wrong and we'd look back years later and laugh at our approach to work and money:

"Do you remember when we were young and fresh and we just made the work we wanted to, that was important to us, and we didn't try and hard sell it, or get anyone on board, or look for funders, we just put it out there. How ridiculous and funny"

But actually, what's not funny is that those were the happiest times, and the most satisfying creatively.

We're starting over, we're not going to make the same mistakes twice, we're breaking the cycle. We are going to make work naively, just put it out there.

There is nothing like seeing your own truth, the work you passionately want to make, through to fruition...even if you don't get paid.

Starting Over

Let's be honest: Everyone likes a clean slate. There have been times where it has felt like the company has been stretched and mutated by the personal ongoings, and goings on, of the people within it - dramatically and fluidly.

Like a favourite glove that's been over worn we have to ask ourselves: Is it time to chuck this in and start afresh? Do we wait until this thing has gaping holes in it where it's currently only slightly worn, exposing the flesh beneath?

It would be so easy, and there are things, memories and projects I'd be glad to see the back of. Here say, ghosts and realities of the past have left bitter tastes and created enemies. We don't have the loyalty and following we once did. It feels as though we've fallen and are marred by particular events, particular dealings, poisoned and tarnished, it would just feel so liberating to shed that skin and slap on a new one. It just looks so appealing to leave all that behind.

A glove is a bad analogy though, because a glove is purely functional. Disregarding potential sentimental attachment, a glove has a sole purpose and a job to perform (excuse the pun) and it would be rendered useless if it was tattered and full of holes. This company is not just functional, its variable, evolutional and transmogrifying. It is supposed to reflect the beauty and ugliness of the people in it and their metamorphosing lives, interests and art.

This company was my baby until I had a real baby. We formed in 2010 and I have spent 8 years making, failing, learning, bruising, owing, paying, fighting, loving and laughing with this company and the people in it. I'm not about to throw all that away. I'm proud of the mistakes we have made, as much as I am the success we have had.

The work we set out to make evolved and altered. We tried new things, got scared, got brave and got poor. We've gotten a bit lost on our digressions on a few occasions, and we've had expectations we had no right to have. The older you get the deeper your entanglements in life root and it's sometimes hard to remember why you do this.

We seem to have a trail of messy relationships behind us. Unions that felt so right creatively, or mutually beneficial partnerships which worked so well and fruitfully, turned sour and broke down. All relationships are two sided and although it's easy to blame the party who chooses not to say anything, not to retaliate and share their truth, we have been left feeling a bit wounded by how readily people have accepted us as brazen villains. We sadly have lost a few special people this way.

Well, we are starting again, sort of. We are not abandoning ship, not yet anyway. This vessels got some enlightening and difficult journeys in her yet. We are, instead, cleansing ourselves of all the bullshit we have hung on to, which has anchored our confidence to leap forward again and shout about it. Anything that has made us feel rejected, small, incapable, unaccomplished embarrassed and ashamed, has to be left behind. You can't make your art truthful if it's weighed down in insecurity. You're second guessing yourself and your work is censored.

We are moving onwards and upwards, and if you are reading this, we hope to take you with us. We accept your view of us whatever that might be: hasbeens, wannabees, washouts or sellouts. As long as you have a view of us, that's all that matters.

Inspiring Women

Yo Yo Mutha Flippers (Hannah's input),

We're back after a short break due to babies, houses, businesses and general life expanding.
 I'm sure you thought you'd seen the last of us, you might have enjoyed our lips falling silent, but don't get comfortable. We have lots of exciting new plans, and a big project on the horizon. Just you try and stop us bitch! (also Hannah's input).

It might sound like we're gobbing off, but actually we are interested in your stories. You could call us Six Ears Theatre. I mean, don't. But you could.


The project!

We are interested in female muses.

We want to know which artists have, and continually inspire your practice and your life. Who has made you the artist you are?

If you could make a piece of work to celebrate your relationship with that artist and their work how, where and with what would you do it?

One might like to explore Lili Elbe in photography on the Blackpool North Pier Jetty, for example.

We hope that this open discussion within our network  - and further afield (please share) - will inspire us (women) and become a larger piece of work. Send your answers any way you please; by email, post, twitter, vimeo, carrier pigeon, barber shop quartet.

Lots of Love

The Lips xx

A Lip Smacking 2016

You know us, always aiming for the stars and this year is no different so we thought we

would give you the low down... Obviously we are aiming to become the next Prime

Minister of the UK  (you know we would do a better job than this art loving party we

have now!), marry Harry and Wills then become queens! Standard.

But in the mean time...


We would like to thank the following organizations and partners in our current projects

for enabling the work to happen.  Even bigger thanks for the participants of all the

workshops/projects delivered over 2015-2016 (so far) for your openness, commitment

and creativity.

 HOOT Creative Arts

 Joseph Rountree Foundation

 York Mind

 Arts Council England

 East Riding Council

 Two Ridings Trust

 Hull and East Riding Charitable Trust

 The Centre for Global Education

 Rural Arts

 Upstage Youth Theatre


Creative Writing Workshops: 

We are delivering creative workshops across Yorkshire and East Riding with adults and

young people who have experiences of loneliness and isolation in some way. These

workshops have and will continue to develop two of our current productions Tilling and

House of Tragic She.


Tilling

We have already delivered workshops with HOOT Creative Arts to feed into Tilling and

will be starting a new project with young adults (16-25) in partnership with York Mind

and supported by Arts Council England, exploring loneliness and isolation.  Influences

from the participants will be woven into the existing performance structure that has

toured to Rural Arts Fresh season, HOOT Creative Arts festival and a commissioned

performance for The Centre for Global Education in York.  This production is now in its

second phase of development in preparation for a rural tour in Autumn 2016.  We are

excited to get on with integrating the work of our workshop participants, more

movement and a new original musical score.


The script writing workshops with HOOT creative Arts were hugely successful for us as a

sounding board for our 'mother' role within the play, a lot of the work will be literally

lifted and put straight into our play text.


Our next lot of workshops through our project with York Mind are to draw inspiration

for our 'daughter' character of our play Tilling. These workshops are in partnership with

York Mind and their Young Roots Project; young people (16-25) will have the

opportunity to access 12 weeks of theatre and performance workshops, exploring the

theme of loneliness and isolation. Group sessions will start on Thursday 4th February

and will take place on Thursday afternoons 1:00-3:30 pm at Upstage Youth Theatre. The

workshops will result in an awareness raising performance which will be toured around

local schools.


This group is part of York Minds' Arts Award project, and young people will receive an

accreditation for the completion of the project. In addition to group workshops, young

people will have access to our 1-1 recovery focused mentoring.  If you are interested

please contact York Mind on 01904 643 364 or Vicky.blakey@yorkmind.org.uk


House of Tragic She


Following our tour 2014, we have been progressing well with the research and

development phase of this project and are currently delivering creative writing

workshops to assist with the final writing of the show, which will go on a small studio

tour in the summer.


We have been delivering free creative writing workshops supported by JRF at New

Earswick Folk Hall.  There is two weeks left so still time to get involved if you are a

burgeoning writer, poet or playwright.  Or someone who just fancies trying something

new. All abilities are welcome, and no experience is necessary.


Running every Friday 14.30 - 16.30 from January 8th - February 12th at the New

Earswick Folk Hall. If you are interested please email info@sixlips.co.uk to book a

place, or just pop in at one of our sessions!


We are currently looking into how we can continue with these workshops after 12th

February by request of current participants and the creativity in us all that it has helped

to focus and develop.


We will also be delivering the same program of creative writing workshops in East Riding

at Arlington Village Hall.  From 2.30-4.30 on  19th, 26th February, 4th, 11th and 18th march with a

concluding workshop on 8th April.   If  you are interested please email info@sixlips.co.uk to book a

place, or just pop in at one of our sessions!


Also we are off to a flying start to the year is our sister company…

Paper Planes and Daisy Chains

Workshops 

Our children's crafty workshops are going from strength to strength having changed

location to Upstage Youth Theatre.  We are working towards our own little version of

Hansel and Gretel, now called Elinor and Niki, and are busy bees making our own

posters, costumes and set! Your little ones can join us at any time to have a go.   Your

first session is free after all!


The workshops run every Tuesday 4:15 - 5:45 during term time, and are suitable for

children aged 5 to 11. £8 per session (all materials are supplied). At Upstage Youth

Theatre, 41 Monkgate, York, YO31 7PB. For bookings and further information email us

at info@paperplanesanddaisychains.co.uk or call us on 07500 069412


Fairy Tales

This year we are working with Miss Trout’s Anna Rogers and are creating and writing

new fairy tales for children. These fairy tales will tour locally to rural areas and to schools

and festivals, as a beautiful collection of moralistic tales, to engage and ignite creativity

and passion into children.


Miss Trout is an Author, Illustrator and Story Teller. Based on her characters created in

her children's stories, long poems, plays and imagination.   Miss Trout uses verse and

illustrations to bring to life her little world, alive in etchy ink and bolds colours.

Specializing in cards for all occasions, bookmarks, post cards, wall art and commissions

of all kind. Miss Trout regularly story tells at events and can be booked upon  request. Follow Miss

Trout on Twitter: @TroutMiss or follow her on facebook.

Just over a week to go!

We thought you might enjoy hearing about the process of creating this production, straight from the mouths of the lovely people that have helped to create it!

Ladies and Gents...we present...the ensemble!

Working on ensemble theatre in such depth over the past few months has been a fantastic challenging productive experience, the pleasure of doing it alongside some of my close friends is a massive bonus too. I have always been a strong advocate for Six Lips and it is great to finally be creating with them. I hope you enjoy our interpretation of Malfi, its a difficult tragedy but I hope you feel we have still got the nub albeit in a radically different way. Cheers. Dan.

Being fairly new to theatre, having only been in three shows previously, I was excited to be given the opportunity to work with Six Lips and the rest of the ensemble. I have found the group is hard-working and full of ideas. The process by which we have taken apart The Duchess of Malfi and put it back together has been interesting. We have worked on what it is to be the Duchess and looked at all the different aspects of her and her relationships with her brothers, her husband and the servants. I am looking forward to our performance of the play and to hear feedback from those who come see it. Donna

The devising process over the 9 months has been very different to what I've been used to, focused on ideas rather than the playtext. We've spent a significant amount of time on the side-project of Improv Nights, and on the physical problem of presenting the Duchess through multiple performers. The relationships between characters have taken a backseat to this, and so I hope this is judged more by the evocation of thoughts and feelings than a story of individuals and actions- very fitting for an ensemble approach. Tom

The creative process behind our production of Malfi is completely different to any other show I've been involved with, which has been a great learning curve for me as a young actress. The fact that every member of the cast has been involved at all stages of the production (including themes, characterisation, script editing) has meant that all of us have been inhabiting the same 'Malfi' headspace for months now, ensuring a very thoughtful intention has been kept throughout. Additionally, the months of ensemble training we received before hand has been invaluable. We all now work seamlessly together, and this incredibly supportive environment has enabled me to make bold choices and pushed me beyond what I thought I was capable of as a performer.

These things combined, have enabled us to produce an exciting, diverse, and thought-provoking re-imagining of John Webster's great work. Sophie

Working as part of Six Lips' ensemble has been an incredible and inspirational journey which has deeply affected and strenghthened my work as a performer. We have been expertly guided by the company in the creation of a strong, impulse-driven ensemble, and have learned how to communicate through body, movement and voice to create an exciting and layered performance. We have explored and devised areas of the play as a collective,  responding as a group of artists and engaging with the play from a collective perspective and allowing that to shape our approach to individual roles. Six Lips based us in physical and improvisational work at first, learning how to work physically together to achieve complicated lifts and devise our own sequences, and later worked in text as a stimulus for this work. I have developed greater confidence in solo performance and improvisations, and know that this work has improved my ability to respond to actions and other performers within the rehearsal space. Lily Luty

The Duchess is coming with only 4 weeks to go!

Script Edited?
Check! 

That's right folks, we have significantly cut down the play.

"Sacrilege!" 

We hear you say! 

"You have no right to chop up a classical text"

That may be so, but we have! We have removed elements that, quite frankly, make the play farcical and undermine it's tragedy. We have also removed any lines where characters explain, what is happening...whilst it's happening.Obviously during Webster's time, this was a device to fill in the gaps for the people up in the Gods, and fitted the style of the performance. But for our interpretation this is clumsy, labouring and breaks up the flow of the drama, sooo that's gone too.

Cast?

Check!

This is the first sharing of the fruits of our ensemble project. The ensemble formed in February 2015 and have been meeting weekly to develop a practice together. Rehearsals for the play began in September along with discussions and experimental sessions to test bed/ try out ideas of how we might approach the play as an ensemble.

The ensemble consists of 9 performers so we acknowledged early on that we would be challenging our performers with multiple roles, and in the true spirit of ensemble we decided we would also like a certain character to be portrayed by multiple performers. 

Not just a gimmick or a thoughtless desire to do something different with the play, (although we would never have produced the play classically...it's not our style) the notion of multiple performers to a role allows the character to be interpreted and presented in a multi-faceted manner, but also a faceless manner. Do not be seduced by the woman, keep your wits about you, and your eyes peeled for the message within the play.

Our Duchess represents the ongoing unequal treatment of women based on socially constructed gender roles; it was relevant when Webster wrote the play and it continues to be relevant 400 years later. Our interpretation of the play and our concept reflects the behaviours, rituals, activities and attributes modern society has considered appropriate for women. Our Duchess is not a woman, she is women.

Creative Team Assembled?

Check! 

We have two lovely seamstresses Joanna Oak and Becky Harrison working miracles with our Urban Decay, Milanese High Fashion (ridiculous expectations of women and obsession with physical appearance) concept. Photos and sketches to follow! 

Fortunately long time collaborator and experimental musician Calvin Miller is not sick to death of us and has agreed to write the score for the show. He has taken inspiration from catwalk music, creating dystopic soundscapes echoing our consumer driven, beauty industry.

Venue Booked?

Check! 

We are delighted to be presenting this project at the Fleeting Arms; an exciting prospect, working to the unusual, non conventional layout of the performance space. 

The show opens at 7.30pm on Sunday 15 November for just 3 nights. This is experience theatre and so we have only 30 tickets available for each night, tickets are available here  and we currently have an early bird offer on, if you purchase tickets before the November 1.