Using Public History Principles to Create Theatre: A Rapid Response Workshop

Event details

Vivi Bayliss is a theatre-maker from Warwickshire, specialising in accessible, historically informed work across theatre and opera. She works as a professional director for companies including National Opera Studio and Cherwell Theatre Company. She has a background in facilitation, currently working for Chipping Norton Theatre and Birmingham REP. She has a First Class degree in Ancient and Medieval History from Birmingham University.

Her latest production in development is called “Period?” and is a comedy subverting tropes from period dramas, with the aim of widening access to the genre. This workshop will bring together History and Drama students for a practical exploration of how to apply principles of Public History to create entertaining art.

The structure of the workshop is as follows:

- 1 hour in the morning to present the development of Vivi’s new show as a case study, where she will talk through the processes used to create this new production.

- 1 hour implementing those principles in a drafting session. The students will be split into small working groups, with the history students taking the role of consultants and the drama students responding to their insight to develop ideas for sketches.

- 2 hours in the afternoon to create and rehearse the sketches developed in the morning session. Vivi will be able to support the groups in her capacity as a theatre director, but the work will be led by the students.

- A Rapid Response showcase at the end of the day to share the work that has resulted from the day’s exploration.

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Vivi Bayliss