the arc’s approach to creative theatre collaboration – and one that has served the company well for many years – is simple. Our method (initially born out of necessity and now out of choice) is to combine the talents and experience of professional and community artists with a professional production team. This  two-way process enables professionals and community performers to learn equally from each others’ skills and experience. the arc has no hierarchy: performers, production, technical crew, support team all do everything – make tea, sweep backstage, load the truck – in order to build a happy, creative and productive ship. Again, the collaboration is born out of necessity – but it’s proved to be extremely desirable. When we say ‘collaborate’ we mean it: we only make new work, so productions are built from the bones of a new script. The first time the writer hears his/her work is when we do a first read-through, and from that moment onwards, until the show opens, we work together in a truly collaborative fashion to create and develop character, study motivation, push the narrative drive, and ensure the desired emotional punch hits its mark – and that the jokes work! We treat our work seriously, and we treat our responsibility to the arc’s members and audiences equally seriously, in order to achieve a deeper and more fulfilling experience for all (we have hundreds of testimonials from past crew members and audiences) – and ultimately to have a lot more fun along the way. Our aim is to make ‘total’ theatre with strong and universal themes that reflect an authentic contemporary Cornwall.

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