Calling all StageSiders, welcome back to another article here at StageSideUK. This time around we are hearing about Niki McCretton’s experience as an artistic director in this instalment of StageSide Stories.
I have no experience in the world of Artistic direction, so much so, I had to do a whole load of research to come up with the questions for this article. It really goes to show, there are so many roles within theatre, teamwork really does make the dream work. I really appreciate Niki taking the time to give us the answers to my questions, and I hope you find this instalment of StageSide Stories useful. So make a brew, grab a biscuit and lets find out more the role of Artistic Director, from Niki McCretton.
Can you give us a bit of an introduction to who you are, what you do and what Stuff and Nonsense Theatre Company is?
I am Niki McCretton, the Artistic Director of Stuff and Nonsense, a female run access focused theatre company. We create mid and small-scale touring shows for families and have an ethos that children’s creativity is at the heart of what and how we create. We work with physical performers and puppetry to tell stories and we encourage first time theatre goers to the theatre.
Could you share your background and what inspired you to pursue a career in the world of theatre and to become the Artistic Director of Stuff and Nonsense Theatre Company?
I grew up in Germany and then the SW of England. I had a very active imagination as a child and was drawn to anything connected to performing – Eurovision, Come Dancing and The Muppet show were my favourites, plus Abbot and Costello and any comedy I could find. I didn’t get to see much live theatre but certainly was fascinated by performers.I went on to train in circus, devising and dance. I made solo productions and following an invitation from The Prague Fringe Festival, was asked to create something non-verbal for children. I went on to create Muttnik, The First Dog in Space and was lucky enough to tour internationally for many years with this show.
Stuff and Nonsense Theatre Company is known for its unique and imaginative productions. What drew you to this company, and what excites you most about the work you do there?
I was one of the founder members of Stuff and Nonsense. Since then I have taken the role as Artistic Director and Stuff and Nonsense has become a charity. Our ambition for the company was to make brilliant theatre that would engage and entertain all ages, proper family entertainment, that not only made you laugh, but was moving and would make audiences, of all ages, feel curious and imaginative. We also want our work to be accessible to all, especially to families who may not have been to a theatre before. What excites me about the work, is to head into the unknown with our collaborators and discover what lies there, then began to let it unfold into scenes, ideas, improvisations and to pollinate everyone’s imaginations. How have your past experiences, whether in theatre or other creative fields, influenced your approach to artistic direction with Stuff and Nonsense Theatre Company?
Such a good question! One of my big influences is the work of Dr Penny Haye, who founded The House of Imagination in Bath, England. I trained with the organisation and worked alongside it for many years, in child-centred creative practice. The pedagogy is framed around understanding thought, sensibilities and what the children are personally fascinated by and finding ways to enhance this, using collaboration rather than teaching or leading.I think circus is also a big inspiration. I trained as an aerialist and unicyclist – working with circus performers is very different to working with actors. Their approach is very different – a sense of researching a physical idea, testing it, then honing it, rather that ideas coming from a script. This, and working with dancers, gives me a different set of tools for making theatre.I have spent time with creatives who I know really challenge themselves to explore the unknown in their work – Gecko, Told By an Idiot, Mark Bruce Dance company – all creatives who devise work through abstract ideas coming together.
As an Artistic Director, what do you see as the key qualities or skills that have been most valuable to you in your career, and how have they evolved over time?
Understanding and respecting what creativity and the creative process are. Sometimes ideas are nebulous or abstract – like following smoke – and there is a way to ignite them almost by looking sideways at ideas, rather than seizing them. Also learning how people are best supported to thrive. Figuring out what I need to bring to them to do this – genuine collaboration with me, as the person that helps to shape it. Stuff and Nonsense Theatre Company is recognised for its innovative productions. Can you describe your approach to conceiving and developing these creative ideas and turning them into reality?
We start with an idea that we talk about at producer level first, as (and I am sure everyone knows this) as a project-funded company we have to find a way to fund the work. After that we look for partners who we think would work well alongside us, to make the work a reality – so there is an element of pitching the core idea. Once we have the go ahead, we take the initial ideas to children, perhaps in schools, or home educated groups or just some families that we have a connection with, and we begin to play, talk and improvise. These ideas blossom and start to mushroom and so we start to find ways to put small sections on their feet. We keep it live and improvised, capturing and repeating bits we like but with freedom for them to evolve. Then we start to find a framework to structure the work, but we keep it loose and moveable for a long time!
Collaboration is crucial in theatre production. Can you tell us a bit about how you work with other departments and creatives to bring the production to life?
Our rehearsal process has most of us in the room – sound design, design, puppet maker, writer etc. We all play and get involved, often all of us end up performing scenes or ideas, especially when we have children with us. It is often a free for all and we all have ideas across other people’s roles! We often build mock up sets from timber and cardboard to work out puppetry positions and opportunities. Inventiveness comes from this process as we know we don’t want to fix ideas to soon.
The company’s productions often cater to family audiences. Can you share insights into how you blend humour, storytelling, and any other artistic elements to create engaging and memorable theatrical experiences for all ages?
We have to think about every age group! I will watch bits of material several times with different ‘eyes’. My three-year old eyes, or my parent eyes, or the eyes of a twelve year old that thinks they didn’t want to be dragged along. I try to consider everyone. How will a grandparent receive this bit, what visual ideas can I add to this bit of dialogue for the really young ones that come along, who don’t understand so many words yet, how can we convey a complex idea and not dumb it down for children? Lots of questioning all the time goes on internally, to make this work. I also always have an additional layer, which is – what will families take with them from this, how can I get them to talk about it together, bond, share their creative thoughts, work out how we did something that seemed impossible, what games can be within the show that they can take home and recreate? Who can they pretend to be from the show and can we use items in the show that they have at home so they can go and do it themselves?
As I said earlier, we get so much from the children during the creation process, so they help us discover what themes are important. For example, in our Pinocchio, the children focused on the father/son relationship with Pinocchio and Geppetto, and what legacy would be passed down to children, and of being lost all the time. So the themes will engage with children because they came from children and reflect their own lives in this time, no matter when the story is set. Could you highlight a specific project or production that you found particularly challenging or rewarding from an artistic direction perspective, and share how you overcame or embraced those challenges?
I am going to choose Pinocchio as it is such a long, episodic and abstract set of small stories within the story arc. We only have 60 minutes so distilling the story down to its beating heart was hard, with us meeting so many characters and such epic journeys for Pinocchio, who is experiencing everything for the first time. We overcame this with a brilliant team of devising performers, Jenny Harrold, Jonny Hoskins and Jake England-Johns, and later joined by Tim Dalling and Dani Rejano. We spent a lot of time playing the episodes and then distilling them down – like boiling jam. What was so rewarding was, working with children and our writer Anna Murphy, making lots of brave decisions to create a highly theatrical and abstract show for children that is very different to any version I have ever seen. Mike Shepherd, from Kneehigh described it as ‘Commedia for Children’. So I would say being brave was the hardest – having that concern ‘this does not look like children’s theatre!’ but then seeing really young children captivated by it and realising that they get it, in some ways, much more than the adults.
What do you believe sets Stuff and Nonsense Theatre Company apart in the world of theatre?
I think what I have said above – bravery. We do not dumb down. My understanding is that children speak 100 languages, they know more than adults in many ways as they are used to non-verbal signals. They don’t have enough language yet, so they are experts in other things, things that adults have lost! We reach very deep in our process and really listen to children as experts – we then find where our ideas and the children’s ideas cross over and we work on those bits collaboratively, to squeeze everything from them. It’s very dynamic and we feel shattered often as we have played too hard!
What advice would you offer to aspiring creatives looking to create work for family audiences?
Think about your audience! Not just about making children laugh – that is not hard to do, but can your work go deeper? How deep can everyone think. Don’t underestimate the intellect and thoughts of young children. They are sophisticated and have strong reactions. Listen to those and get some children in the room, not to deliver a good experience to, but to learn from.
And finally what advice would you give to a person interested in a career as an artistic director? Talk to other Artistic Directors and ask if you can sit in on their rehearsals. It is such a great way to learn and to figure out what they are trying to achieve and to see what works and where it gets stuck. We all get stuck and that is brilliant to see as an observer, as then you witness the problem solving as well as the genius moments!
Tuesday 5th–24th December 2023 Lighthouse,21 Kingland Road,Poole,BH15 1UG https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/event/the-three-little-pigs/
Tuesday 13th–15th February 2024 Waterside,1 Waterside Plaza, Sale, Trafford, M33 7ZF https://watersidearts.org/whats-on/3413-the-three-little-pigs/
Saturday 17th–20th February 2024 Theatre by the Lake, Lakeside,Keswick,CA12 5DJ https://www.theatrebythelake.com/
BSL performance– Saturday 17th February, 2pm
Thursday 22nd–23rd February 2024 Theatre Royal,Westgate Street, Bury Saint Edmunds,IP331QR https://theatreroyal.org/
Tuesday 26th March – 14th April 2024 Theatre Royal Plymouth, Royal Parade, Plymouth, PL12TR https://theatreroyal.com/whats-on/ Running Time1 hour Age Guidance 3+
Have your say!
Are you thinking of starting a career as an Artistic Director? Are you studying this at college, University or drama school? Do you have any tips? Let me know in the comments and lets get a discussion going!
If you would like to share your creative processes, in an installment of StageSide Stories, then do get in touch. We would love to see you StageSide!
As always, please be respectful of each other’s opinions and be kind to each other. Let’s treat eachother with respect. Bullying will not be tolerated and harmful language may be removed.
Head over to the Terms and conditions page to learn more about our policies, here at StageSideUK.
Follow us on Twitter and give our page a like on Facebook.
Featured images have been referenced and are used in line with fair usage, in the copyright act.
Really interesting read. Sounds like a tough but rewarding role.