A Study of Amateur Theatre: Making and Making-Do Cara Gray A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Drama and Theatre Royal Holloway, University of London September 2017 !i Declaration of Authorship I, Cara Gray, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: Date: !ii Abstract This doctoral thesis offers an analysis of the affective communities of amateur theatre. This study is motivated by the need to engage seriously with amateur dramatics as a subject of scholarly investigation, and pays particular attention to the spaces and processes involved in amateur theatre-making that are often hidden from public view. Drawing on research conducted with the Settlement Players, an amateur dramatics group situated in Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, this thesis details empirical research with the group between the years 2014 and 2016. Specifically, this thesis analyses amateur dramatics as a craft and creative practice. It places focus on the people involved in backstage roles as set builders, set designers and costume-makers, aspects of theatre-making that has often been neglected by theatre and performance scholars. This interdisciplinary study foregrounds the backstage work that happens before, after and around a performance rather than the performance itself, and draws on theatre and performance studies, cultural geography and design theory to analyse the amateur theatre-makers’ craft. Three empirical chapters foreground amateur dramatics as a process rather than a product, by paying particular attention to the spatial, material, embodied and technical dimensions of the amateur theatre-making over the thing produced - the play, the theatrical set, the costume. It explores how amateur theatre-makers have the capacity to transform mundane, everyday spaces through the process of their creative ‘doings’, and in doing so can become biographically bound to them; how amateur theatre-makers fashion workspaces within their homes and in doing so create a space in which they can perform their creative identities, outside of the theatre space; and how processes such as repair and DIY characterise the amateur theatre-makers’ craft. This research speaks to debates in amateur studies, to scholars in the fields of cultural geography and design whose interests lie in the processes and spaces of amateur creativity, and to the emerging field of scholarly research into backstage work within theatre and performance. !iii Acknowledgments Firstly, I would like to thank my wonderful supervisor Helen Nicholson for guiding me through this PhD process. For her generosity of time, patience and encouragement and for helping me arrange my many thoughts and ideas into this thesis. Then to the other brilliant women who I was able to share the world of amateur theatre with - Jane Milling, Nadine Holdsworth, Erin Walcon and Molly Flynn - and of course Sarah Penny, my fellow PhD researcher and great friend. I would also like to thank my advisor David Gilbert for his constructive and insightful comments on my work throughout. This research would not have been possible without Pat and John from the Settlement Players, who welcomed me into their group, the set building team and their home. For introducing me to the exciting and rewarding world of amateur theatre-making, and for their endless kindness, generosity and tea! Special thanks should also go to the members of the Settlement Players, especially to Helen, Stephen, Graham, Ivor, Rob, Jim, Michael and David, who I shared many Sunday mornings set building with. A huge thank you to you all for teaching me new skills, answering my many questions and welcoming me into your group with such warmth. A big thank you also to Jeni for contributing so much to my thesis and the wider project in general - for writing so beautifully about sequins in her carpet and her mother’s old sewing machine. Thank you also to Abi, Joyce and Douglas, Margaret for giving up their time to tell me their personal stories of amateur theatre and for sharing with me their personal collections of memories. To Emma Miles and Libby Bennett for being the best companions that I could ask for during this tough PhD process, to Ella Harris for our many café work days and to Katie Boxall for her laughter, friendship and insightful conversations about the geographies of amateur creativity. To Martin and Bridget Gray for their boundless support and encouragement and belief in me, always, and to Amy Gray for her phone calls when I needed them most. Finally, and perhaps the biggest thank you goes to Sam Bunker. Thanks mate. !iv Table of Contents Chapter One Introduction: When I first began this project, I didn’t know how to use a drill ………..….1 The Project: ‘Amateur Dramatics: Crafting Communities in Time and Space’………4 Reclaiming ‘Amateur Dramatics’ and ‘Amateur Theatre’…………………….…….……7 Researching the Settlement Players………………………………………………….…..10 Chapter Outlines……………………………………………….…..…..….….……………11 Chapter Two Part One: Conceptualising the Amateur Theatre-Makers…………………………….………15 For Love or Money? Conceptualising the Amateur…………………………………….18 Geographies of Amateur Creativity: Investigating Amateur Creativity as a Process..30 The Hidden Processes of Backstage Work………………….…………………..….……36 Amateur Creativity as Theatre Craft……………………….………………….…..……..40 Research into Amateur Craft……………………..…………………………….…………41 Part Two: Contextualising Amateur Theatre in Letchworth Garden City………….…….…49 Utopia Visions Arts and Crafts………………………….…………….…………. .…..….51 Letchworth’s Creative Amateurs……………………………..…………………..………55 Chapter Three My Methodological Toolkit: Researching Amateur Theatre-Making…………………..……59 Beginning My Research: Meeting Pat and John…………………..…………………….63 Becoming a Set Builder with the Settlement Players………………..………..….……74 Apprenticeship as Method: Learning Whilst Learning To-Do With Creative Practitioners………………………………………………………………….…..81 Tools of Research: Recording Conversation and Fieldnotes……………………..…..86 Apprenticeship and Storytelling…………………………………………….…………...91 A Visual Methodology: Telling a Craft Story Through More Than Just Words……..96 The Camera as an Introduction……………………………..…………………….……..97 A Collaboration Between Words and Photographs…………………….…………….103 Capabilities of the Camera: Capturing Movement……………………………………108 Research Methods and Textures of Communication……………………………..…..113 Chapter Four Theatre-Making with the Building: the Settlement and its Players………………..…..…116 Co-Authoring the Settlement Players’ Craft Story: the Settlement……..….……..116 A History of the Settlement: Telling a Local Story about a Theatre in a Skittles Alley…………………………………………………………………………………………120 Understanding the Settlement Players as Architectural Practitioners..……..……..125 Section One: Intervening………………………………………..………………….……129 !v Intervening into the Fabric of the Settlement: The Trout.……..……….….129 Section Two: Re-Programming…………………………………….……..………….….138 Understanding the Settlement Building as a Multi-Purpose Space…....…138 Example One: The Carpark/The Set Builders’ Workshop………………….142 Example Two: The Evans Room (Ladies Dressing Room)/ The Set Builders’ Tearoom…………………………………………………..…………………..…..147 Example Three: The Kincaid Hall and the Green Room/ A Theatre and Box Office…………………………………………………………….……..……154 Re-Programming in Time and Space: Concluding Thoughts………….…..159 Section Three: Learning to Set Build with the Settlement Building…………..…..160 Theatre-Making and Relationships with a Co-Authored Place: Concluding Thoughts…………………………………………………………………………..………170 Chapter Five Amateur Spaces of Creativity: Exploring the (Home) Studio of the Amateur Theatre- Maker………………………………………………………………………………………………..171 Complicating Ideas of the Conventional Studio…………………………….………..174 Crafting a Studio in the Home: ‘Making Do’ with Temporal Workspaces……….…179 Working with Temporality Studio: John’s Studio (The Front Room)………………184 A Clipboard as a Drafting Table……………………………………………….…….…..190 ‘Living with the Drama’: Jeni’s Studio…………………………….…………….……..193 ‘Making Do’: The Stairs and the Dressmaker’s Dummy……………….….…….……197 Jeni’s Desk: It’s a reminder that there is more to me than research and teaching, like colour and ribbon and fabric………………………………………………….……201 Where Creativity Happens: Concluding Thoughts……………….……….………….209 Chapter Six Ways of Working: Repair, Problem Solving and Creative Camaraderie…..……….………212 Section One Repair as a Process of Making: Understanding the ‘Ongoingness’ of the Amateur Theatre-Makers’ Craft……………………….………….……………216 An Example of Repair: Stripping the Scenery Flats: A Servant to Two Masters………………………………………………………………………….…219 An Example of Repair: Striking the Set for My Own Show………..….……225 Section Two………………………………………………………………………….….…236 Repurposing: Set Building with an Adhocist’s Sensibility…………………236 Example of Repurposing: Building Miss. Wilberforce’s House with a Set of Industrial Shelving Units……………….……………..……………………….240 Section Three………………………………………………………………….……….….249 DIY and Creative Camaraderie…………………………………………….…..249 ‘You can have a go at anything’: Understanding the Players as DIYers…..251 ‘Doing-It-With’…………………………………………………………….…….257 An Example of ‘Doing-It-With’: Painting the Scenery Flats with Stephen…………………………………………………………………………..258 Creative Camaraderie: Concluding Thoughts About What ‘Just Works’…………………………………………………………………………….265 !vi Chapter Seven Concluding Thoughts……………………………………………………………………….……269 Understanding