We’ve recently rejoined The Little Theatre Guild, an organisation that supports theatre companies that own or lease their own buildings. They promote cooperation between theatres and support members in everything from improving safety standards to attracting new members and audiences.

Penny and Eric went along to their Southern Region Conference on Saturday 4^th October, hosted by the very impressive Cotswold Playhouse, a theatre that in its time has experienced some familiar challenges – most notably the roof literally flying off during a performance of Hello Dolly!

While it would be all too easy to feel a bit jealous of the bigger venues with their state of the art technology and facilities, it became clear over the course of the day that we are all, from the 400 seater venues to a 40 seat studio, working to do the same thing – put on the very best productions that we can and build a real sense of community amongst our members and audiences.

With discussions around membership attraction and retention, Health and Safety, safeguarding, show selection and inclusivity – it’s clear we’re doing a lot right. But there were plenty of ideas to take away in all these areas that will help us to be even better.

We also enjoyed an inspiring Q&A with writer Jessica Swale, the LTG’s Patron and a strong advocate for amplifying female voices in theatre. Her plays have proved popular with non-professional companies and it’s clear why this is the case. As well as being a great story-teller, her background as a Director means that she understands the importance of writing great characters to inspire actors and she firmly believes there are no small parts – every role she writes has something of substance to offer, an attractive proposition I think you’ll agree. Would you like to see one of Jessica’s plays at the EAT? Let us know in the comments!

There was an opportunity to chat to the representatives from other theatres over lunch, followed by a fun session that let us whet our creative juices. From coming up with “six word stories” (ours are below, no prizes for guessing which one was Penny and which was Eric!) to improvising a story complete with sound effects (that allowed Penny to recreate her iconic role from War of the Worlds – “a seagull”), it was a fun way to keep the energy going before the afternoon’s more serious business.

There’s a lot to come from the LTG over the next few months, including some exciting emphasis on developing new writing. If you’d be interested in finding out more or getting involved, drop Penny a note at marketing@edwardalderton.org or keep an eye on the website and our social media for updates!