What happened during Module I?
Module I of Festival Production Management Training took place from 18-21 January 2017. Early-career production managers had the opportunity to meet with peers from across the world, learn from renowned experts, and exchange experiences in a variety of session formats. They could also enjoy artistic performances and get behind-the-scenes insighst from the artists and their teams.
Programme details
The programme of Module I of the Festival Production Management Training 2017 is available for consultation here.
(In) formal learning
The Festival Academy believes that true exchanges can only happen when communication is continuous and varied. During the intense four days of Module I of the Festival Production Management Training, participants, presenters and guest speakers came together in a number of different ways: formal and informal, structured and unstructured, professional and personal.
Participants were given the chance to introduce themselves in the very first session, so that the others could begin to understand their unique perspective and background. Themes for discussion had already been identified from questions answered by the participants prior to meeting. Other topics were introduced with a presentation from a speaker before the floor was opened to questions, feeding into other debates. Some sessions began with small working groups, the conclusions of which were presented to the group. Moreover, participants dined together and had a lot of informal opportunities to make connections.
Topics and Questions
Examples of topics discussed during the sessions
- Internal communication within the team
- External communication with artists and their production teams
- Planning and communication tools
- Budgets and budgetary restrictions, coproduction and sponsorship
- Corporate and government sponsorship and the implications for ethics and publicity
- Relations with artistic directors and artists
- Working with teams – people management
- Time management
- Contracts; technical riders
- Audiences in transition, audience engagement and accessibility
- The digital age: practical advantages and disadvantages
- Self-care in a demanding job
- Working with volunteers
Examples of questions raised during the sessions
- What to do when things go wrong or not as planned?
- How to make your festival unique and stay unique?
- How to realise artists’ dreams despite practical impediments?
- How to translate a piece for a foreign or international audience both culturally and linguistically?
- How do audiences in the arts change?
- How can we seize digital opportunities?
- How do the arts contribute to social change?