Why did you choose the idea you will be working on?
Emerging from the unusual reality of the last two years, we found ourselves puzzled and intrigued in questions concerning how people are newly ‘existing’ and ‘relating to one another’. Our focus is especially directed towards questions surrounding queerness and gender performance in light of the ever-expanding presence of the internet and technology. We are drawn to questions that we feel there are no simple answers to, such as exploring both the light and dark sides in the explosion of representation in the last decade; different experiences of hyper-surveillance; commodification of queer lives; and differing journeys of self-actualization in public/private, real/cyber spaces. These are questions that are deeply personal and relatable to us and so many of our friends; choosing them was gut instinct. As theatre makers invested in queer stories and representation, it feels pressing to address how the isolation of the last two years has affected queerness and identity.
How will you use the 1:1 FUND?
The funding will allow us to dedicate time together, researching, brainstorming, sharing skills, and devising ideas. We are also keen to incorporate other voices and perspectives into our idea generation, through testimony gathering, and bringing a small group of individuals into a day of workshopping. Ending this process, we hope to have the core of the project, ready to evolve beyond research stages.
What is the one thing you most hope to gain from undertaking this work?
Over these next few months we hope to germinate early ideas for a new piece of theatre, and discover the form that is integral to asking the piece’s core questions. As part of this, we will be researching and exploring how these facets of representation sit intersectionally within queers of different ages, demographics and backgrounds.
Hannah Sands is a freelance theatre maker, workshop facilitator and Youth Worker. They are fuelled to create theatre that moves and excites those that encounter it, be it new stories or exciting stagings of recognised titles; and to continuously develop invigorating processes of co-making and participatory theatre. Most recently, Hannah was associate director on the gig-musical BLOODY ELLE by Lauryn Redding; directed a performed rehearsed reading of SOME PEOPLE FEEL THE RAIN by Kieran Knowles; and is developing a queer staging of Caryl Churchill’s VINEGAR TOM, with co-maker Davy String.
Rosanna Suppa is a freelance writer, performer, facilitator and theatre maker. They have just finished a tour and London run of their debut solo show TUNA which is now being developed for TV, and co-created Lesbian Space Crime, a camp musical running at the VAULT festival 2022, shortlisted for the New Diorama/Underbelly Untapped award and showcased with The Omnibus Theatre’s Engine Room project. They are currently a member of the 21/22 BBC Scriptroom and represented by Tavistock Wood for their writing. Their theatre company, AIRLOCK, is a collaborative venture focussed on telling nuanced and underrepresented queer stories with dynamism and flair. Their own work focuses heavily on allowing working class voices to take centre stage without apology or irony.
