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18.  12.  2008

New Lit Up Events

The 2009-10 Lit Up Showcase and Conference Series will see three one-day events held in the Lake District, London and Taunton. Each event will feature new and existing spoken word performances, seminars, formal and informal discussions, and speakers from different areas of the live literature sector.

Live Literature Consortium co-chair Annabel Turpin, chief executive of ARC in Stockton-on-Tees, said: “We’re thrilled that ACE has recognised the progress already made in creating new work and attracting new audiences to live literature performances. Lit Up aims to bring a joined-up approach to developing the artform, recognising the needs of artists, programmers and audiences.

“Live literature is a fast-emerging performance genre, which gives venues a real opportunity to attract new audiences, simply because millions of people enjoy reading and because there are so many outstanding writers around at present. We want to create an environment where everyone recognises that live literature, done well, can give audiences outstanding experiences, and audiences continue to grow.”

Each Lit Up 2009-10 event will take a specific focus - Producing; Creating; and Marketing live literature – and will aim to improve awareness of high quality work for programmers, and give them the tools to develop and sustain successful live literature strands.

The Lit Up Series will also help foster the creation of new work, tackling barriers faced by artists and producers and encouraging creativity in presenting the genre and high production values. The initiative will include a series of small commissions to create new work, with artists also being given support from a particular Consortium member.

More than 150 delegates, including venue directors, managers, programmer, plus artists and producers, attended the first Lit Up event, held at Brewery Arts Centre in 2006. Feedback has indicated a direct relational growth in live literature events being programmed around the country. Three shows commissioned specifically for Lit Up subsequently toured nationally.

To sign up to receive more information about Lit Up, please register at www.litup.org

Live Literature Consortium members are The Albany, Deptford, London; ARC, Stockton-on-Tees, Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal; Contact Theatre, Manchester; Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury; mac, Birmingham; Merlin Theatre, Frome; and Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Maidenhead.

Ends

For further information please contact: Annabel Turpin, 01642 525181, annabel.turpin@arconline.co.uk

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