The Moving Bus – Dealing with Exposition

Saturday 26 June 2010 (10am-5pm)

The Drum, Birmingham

Led by Alan Pollock

A writer once described the results of effective exposition as akin to ‘stepping onto a moving bus’. Are we, as writers and theatre artists, too reliant on the goodwill of audiences? Shakespeare and his contemporaries could not count on the undivided attention of theirs.  Their approach to engaging the interest of playgoers is direct and practical: messengers arrive, choruses speak, proclamations are uttered and characters tell each other things they would already know… Do contemporary theatre-makers have anything to learn from past approaches? Or should we look to the future – to monologue, narration and new media (digital, audio and visual) – to hit the ground running? A one-day workshop featuring readings, discussions and some entertaining practical exercises.

Alan Pollock is a playwright and dramaturg who is currently under commission at the Birmingham Rep. He was previously Literary Manager at the Manchester Royal Exchange and has delivered extensive workshops and mentoring schemes for theatre companies.

TENacity is supported by The National Lottery through Arts Council England and Shropshire County Council.