CREATIVE PROCESS

The creative process often mirrors my own personal journey of learning about the world, reflecting my current state, place, experiences and emotions. I search for answers to questions such as ‘who do I want to be in the world?’ and ‘what challenges or concerns do I face, do the people around me face, do the people I can’t reach face?’. So, often it’s a personal quest and a pursuit of universal understanding. I use the stage to flesh my ideas and findings out while asking myself ‘how does this work in service to others?’. It’s an exercise in personal growth. For example, if I am asking an audience to see people with ‘soft eyes not hard eyes’, then I am at the same time trying to learn how to practise and apply that to my own life. 

I love reading books about philosophy, subversive wisdom and contemplative action; they are a source of nourishment and always inspire my creative ideas. I also feel this act is a complete privilege and there are universal barriers to this which I wish to dismantle. For example, how can marginalised members of the community give time to contemplation when their basic needs are not being met? A large percentage of our population are being left behind, and there is an absence of social equality. So I try and think of ways to take the work I make to people who don’t often get to access art. Often it’s these considerations that begin a new process. Each show confronts a human emotion, be it suffering, joy, shame or healing, and then I build a world that feels the most accessible place from which to examine these feelings. 

I am fortunate to know and work with remarkable artists who are also interested in this type of creating/contemplation. Often I create characters that are simply exaggerations of the people I am working with. In the devising process we sit and talk for ages about the theme concerned, and when I feel we are ready I invite the performers to use autobiographical tasks or questions and we begin to play. We create sequences of movement, scenes of text, we play with metaphors, and we push our own boundaries physically and emotionally. After lots of collaboration, reflection and understanding of how we feel and what we want to say,  I build a journey for each of the performers that explores their memories and experiences, these become characters or versions of ‘the self’. I find how they sit within the same world and weave their lives together. This often grows into a 5 Act play structure and I piece together a story that thematically addresses the concern that unites us. I am always thinking about the audience, and how I might place someone in front of them that speaks about the hard stuff, the vulnerable and honest parts of ourselves that everyone has had to experience, but often go unspoken. That's what brings us together, and makes us feel less alone. That’s what feels important.  

There is no set route or way into each show, I just trust my instincts, my collaborators and let the work reveal itself when it’s ready, and that is usually when it feels it may be of service to someone.

- Rhiannon Faith

ARTISTS

We work with a world-class bunch of collaborators and performers who reflect the rich diversity of the sector. All performers have personal experience of the themes in the work, reflecting the lived experiences of the people we aim to reach and impact with the work.  

The work is always devised with the artists. Our creative process asks for deep emotional work from the team, using autobiographical experiences to access universal suffering and hope. The devising process is challenging and cathartic, promoting greater self awareness and emotional resilience. Artists experience the transformation of audiences because of their strength to share their truths. 

We prioritise and champion care in the creative process and throughout our work, consent and safety are always our priority. Company counsellor Joy Griffiths supports the team and provides weekly debriefs during the creative process, and is available for 1-2-1 support at all times. This pioneering methodology has had a sector-wide impact. 

We believe in paying it forward and Rhiannon Faith also provides mentoring to a wide range of artists, and delivers training and workshops.

Communities

Rhiannon Faith Company embeds its work in communities, working with local third sector partners to reach people who might be on the edges. We work with local people, making meaningful relationships with members of the public who want to engage with the arts and want to use a platform to spark conversations and make change.  

Depending on who we're working with and what the project is, we might engage with participants through workshops, creating a show together and sometimes even going on tour. Whether in workshops or during the creative process for a show, a community has to be built and trust is essential. Through these projects, both the company and participants have had transformative experiences that have shown the essential need for arts to be accessible to all.

For many people we work with, tapping into culture and creativity opens up a whole new world. We are grateful to all the communities we’ve worked with and the friends we’ve made - without them, we couldn’t do what we do.

Audiences

Our Artistic Director Rhiannon Faith’s working-class background influences her artistic approach and delivery, making work which highlights stories from marginalised and under-represented groups. The shows that we make are purposeful, socially conscious and are trying to say something important about the world, in order to make a change. 

Our work speaks to audiences in a way they’ll remember forever, sparking personal revolutions that shift perspectives to generate change.  

Our work contains universal themes that are relatable and human. In order to achieve this we always ask – ‘does that read for an audience?’. We have tactics, tools, and approaches that we use to make these themes relatable; co-designing the work with people with personal experiences of the theme; testing and developing work with non-arts audiences; using a narrative-led, interdisciplinary approach - movement, text, music - whatever it takes to tell the story in a clear and accessible way. 

The systems of care we embed throughout our creative processes are also embedded in the audience experience, with bespoke support offered to audiences around the shows.