25 Feb 2025
Wellington’s BATS Theatre holds an annual series of free workshops designed to grow participants’ confidence and support professional development in the arts. The series is called TABS (The Annual BATS Summit).
This year, one of the TABS workshops drew on another professional development initiative for creatives, the Playmarket Guideline Series.
Murray Lynch, Director of Playmarket, facilitated Writing or Devising Collaboratively: Creating Agreements. The workshop explored key considerations for artists working together, from ensuring clear communication to setting up agreements that foster trust and shared ownership.
“Creative projects always involve multiple voices and perspectives, so having robust frameworks in place helps protect not only the work, but also the friendships and professional relationships that underpin successful collaborations,” Murray says.
The workshop drew on one of the books published as part of the Playmarket Guideline Series, which began in 2015. That was when Creative New Zealand put out the call for resources to support practitioners with clear accessible advice on various aspects of the creative process. Playmarket had already published two guides, so producing the guidelines series was a natural extension of this work. The guidelines also draw on Playmarket’s expertise in theatre publishing.
“We looked at where the gaps might be in terms of the conversation around theatre. Topics that we thought it's important to collate the views on and have readily accessible information,” Murray says.
“Demand for the guidelines is high; Working Together: Cultural practice in the Theatrespace is on its 5th reprint. We've supplied copies of that publication to every member of Theatre New Zealand and every member of Music Theatre New Zealand, and it has been picked up a lot in schools, particularly around the new curriculum.”
The next Guideline publication is for playwrights working in Te Reo Māori.
“That's been on the cards for a while and we managed last year to run a wānanga for playwrights working in Te Reo Māori and that was a delight, just how many people were interested to participate in that,” Murray says. The wānanga was funded by Te Mātāwai, whose primary goal is to restore Māori as a first language within Māori homes and communities.”
The Playmarket Guideline Series continues to evolve, responding to the needs of Aotearoa’s theatre community and providing resources for artists at all stages of their careers.
The seven titles in the Playmarket Guideline Series are:
01 – Writing or Devising Collaboratively
02 – Working Together: Theatre Producers, Writers and Makers
03 – Working Together: Cultural Practice in the Theatrespace
04 – Working Together: Safety, Respect and Wellbeing
05 – Caring for your Audience
06 – Working Together: Accessibility in Aotearoa Theatre
07 – The Aotearoa Green Theatre Plan
The Guideline series are $6 each with bundle deals available.
The full Playmarket Guideline Series is available through Playmarket’s website
CATEGORIES: Capability building Latest news and blog
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