Artist Forum Workshops

What does keeping the joy in creative work mean, what is its power and how do people find and maintain it?

Join a trio of brilliant South West artists for a hosted panel conversation followed by a short creative prompt and the chance to connect with each other over tea/coffee.

Panel: Dom Coyote (Artistic Director of Bristol performance company OTIC), Rachael Clerke (Multi-disciplinary artist) and Ruth Ramsay (Multi-disciplinary artist).

Hosted by Tan Follett (BOV Literary Producer).

Are you a director or writer (or both) working in Bristol or the South West? Do you sometimes wish that you knew where to find collaborators, people to take your work from page to stage or a writer to inspire your creativity with their words or all of the above?

This session will be a chance for writers and directors to meet and discuss their process, passions, ideas and to discuss the current landscape, tackle the challenges and connect with each other. It will be a practical and discussion session with quiet moments to reflect on your practice as well as group discussions to dream up collaborations for the future.

Hosted by Steph Kempson (Director, writer and dramaturg).

What does it mean to age in a society (and industry) that fetishizes youth and newness? How do you remain positive and motivated? Do you practise the art of not giving a f**k, if so how do you do that?

Join a panel of three South West based artists to discuss experience, aging and creativity. As a collective we will reflect on the wealth of knowledge and skills we have in our cannon, whilst also looking to the future.

Panel: Alison Comley (Co Artistic Director of Theatre West), Saikat Ahamed (Actor, Writer and Maker) and Edwina Bridgeman (Theatre Designer and Artist).

Hosted by Lisa Gregan (BOV Literary & Director’s Associate).

Join us for a nibble, a drink and maybe even a Christmas craft… This is our chance to have an end of year catch up to say goodbye to 2024 and look forwards to 2025!

Hosted by BOV Literary Department (and maybe some friends!).

Are you an actor/performer working in Bristol or the South West? Join us for this artists forum event that will focus on bringing together creatives who put themselves in the front of audiences (amongst other things) night after night after night...

Saikat Ahamed is an actor and writer based in Bristol. As an actor, he has worked at The National, in the West End and regularly at Bristol Old Vic. He has enjoyed regular parts on television and has featured in films such as Disney’s Aladdin and East is East. As a writer he has writtena number of solo shows such as Strictly Balti and In Search of Goldoni (upcoming), as well as commissions for theatre companies including Three Kings for Travelling Light Theatre Company and Hansel and Gretel for Insane Root. Saikat is an Associate Artist at Bristol Old Vic.

Experience is the teacher of all things, according to Julius Ceasar. Until recently perhaps experience has given way to the sovereignty of the imagination allied to good research. Critical of the colonization of experience, enrichened by the unique perspective offered by marginal voices , many writers including myself have lost our confidence in depicting characters, capturing voices outside our own experience. In Fear & Mindfulness, Edson Burton and guests discuss challenges facing today's writers and what if anything we should learn or unlearn

Dr Edson Burton is a poet, and writer of drama for radio, stage and screen. His work has been produced by Show of Strength, Trinity Community Arts, and the Bristol Old Vic. He is co-founder of Black theatre company Dip & Fall Back and is Bristol Old Vic associate artist.

Edson’s academic specialisms include: Afrofuturism, The Transatlantic Slave Trade, Race and Representation. He has worked as a consultant and coordinator for a range of national and regional history based projects. His drama trilogy Deacon is available on audible. His acclaimed collection of poetry Seasoned can be purchased on Amazon.

Are you a designer in Bristol or the South West? Join us for this artists forum event that will focus on bringing together creatives who design as part of their practice – set, costume, sound, lighting, AV – if you design then this is for you.

This session will be a chance for all designers to meet and discuss their process, passions, ideas and the current landscape, tackle the challenges and connect with each other.

Bristol Design Assembly is a collective of theatre designers, all strongly connected to the South-West theatre scene. Our interests and specialisms run deep and wide, at various career stages, with an exciting collective talent. We have individually designed for the back of hatchbacks, regional theatres, stadium pop shows, opera houses, site specific performances and festivals.

Regional is not a dirty word. We are here to champion it.

Burning into the memory: let’s talk about beauty and aesthetics in the work we make.

 When I think about the art I love most – the experiences that really get under my skin and burn into my memory – what first comes to mind is the sensory experience: breathtaking images, the beats of the music hammering through my body, the visceral catharsis of an emotional story.

These tonal, atmospheric, experiential elements can feel abstract and hard to pin down, especially in the early part of a making process. But the different aesthetic qualities of our artistic choices are a vital part of how our work connects and stays with audiences – so let’s gather and explore ways we can talk about beauty and aesthetics in the work we make.

Tanuja Amarasuriya is a director, dramaturg and sound artist based in Bristol, working in theatre and related forms. Her work as director, has been produced and presented at venues including Bristol Old Vic (CHECK THE LABEL, THE MORPETH CAROL, DARK LAND LIGHT HOUSE), the National Theatre (THE BULLET AND THE BASS TROMBONE), Theatre503 (OUT OF SORTS), Soho Theatre (THE PAPER MAN) and Sura Medura, Sri Lanka (OCEAN CONFESSIONS). She was associate director on the West End productions, GOOD (Harold Pinter Theatre) and MEDEA (@sohoplace theatre) and is staff director on the National Theatre's production of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. She is co-artistic director of independent multi-artform company, Sleepdogs, and a resident at Watershed's Pervasive Media Studio. She is the winner of the 2024 RTST Sir Peter Hall Directors Award, and director of DELAY, which opens at Bristol Old Vic in June.