Video Pitch Transcription

Hello, I am Charlotte Allmand and I am a few months of finishing my Undergraduate Drama and Theatre degree at York St. John University. This a pitch for a National Lottery Project Grant to fund my first project and tour of my show ‘Make do and Mend’.

‘Make do and Mend’ is a devised show which tells the story of four women’s lives during the Second World War and shows the strength of their friendships throughout this difficult time. This performance featured as part of the Independent Practice as Research Festival in March 2020, whilst this was the final product for festival, I would like to continue to develop the performance.

The skills that I have gained throughout the initial process, such as script writing, creating interesting storylines as well as the detailed research needed would all continue to be used during the development of the work. The benefit of this is that I have a highly skilled cast who all intimately understand the piece and I currently own a base set for the performance. I would like to apply for funding to take this performance on tour to women’s organisations across the country such as the W.I. and the Trefoil Guild. The funding would support the costs for further props, costume and set which are all authentic to the time period of the 1940’s.

These shows would form the first part of the touring process, during this stage I would structure the show in the following manner. The audience would arrive and be given a pre-show talk about the process of making the show and how we have dealt with the material. The 30-minute show would follow, and then post-show there would be a tea and cakes event where the cast and creative team would mingle, gather stories and material to develop the show further. Following this, we would then take the show into rehearsals once again to produce an hour show which would be able to tour larger theatrical venues.

This performance would not only provide comedic and poignant moments; but would allow audiences to reminisce whilst also seeing how far we have come to as a society. Within 10-15 years, the women who this performance is based around will no longer be with us therefore whilst they are alive it is important to get their stories on to the stage.

By touring the work first, it allows for community theatre to be taken to its desired audience, in this circumstance it allows a more elderly generation to have performances brought to them without them having to go to a traditional theatrical venue. This performance is not just for the generation who are featured within this show, it is also educational for all audiences, the identifiable characters make it relatable no matter your age.

I believe that by touring the show I would be able bring a feeling of sentimentality to the audiences that view it as well as empowering women by taking time to tell the stories that rarely get told.