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What's it like to be a part of the beating heart of one of the nation's leading theatre companies? Well, this is a question I was attempting to find out with my month’s intern placement at Pentabus. I am a Supported Internship student working in association with the additional needs provider, Enable. I'm using this year to gather experience in a variety of different fields within the arts before progressing to a BA in Writing for Broadcasting, Media and Performance at Aberystwyth University. Being a Shropshire resident, when it came to theatre, Pentabus was the obvious choice. My period on the farm coincided with a particularly exciting time for the company. Firstly, there were rehearsals and the beginning of a re-tour of Matt Hartley's 'Here I Belong' while behind the scenes, Producer, Jon Chartres and Audiences and Engagement Manager, Andrew Sterry started their Pentabus careers.
Pentabus introduced me to the challenges of rural touring. On my first morning I was given 'Eyes Wide Open', a weighty but enlightening 'bible' detailing the dos and don'ts of this specialised and highly undervalued form of theatre as well as the (surprisingly accessible) four-year business plan. Between these two documents, I gained a real sense of who Pentabus were and what they stood for. Before long, I was given three scripts to read and report on in preparation for a very successful script meeting which completed my placement and gave a wonderful sense of completion to the experience. Over the course of my internship, various other tasks included contributing to the company's social media presence, producing a venue map for the 'Here I Belong' Tour pack, and attempting to produce a prop for the show (sadly my Photoshop skills weren't quite up to the task!). In tandem with this I had the honour of sitting in on selected periods of the production process on 'Here I Belong' from the read-through right up to the performance. It was a real privilege to be allowed into the rehearsal room to see a beautiful piece of theatre develop and my thanks goes to Sophie (Director), Oran (Stage Manager) and the Actors for being so accommodating.
All the Pentabus staff and the 'Here I Belong' production team were incredibly generous with their time, each person spending half an hour or more answering my questions (of which there were many!) and showing genuine interest in my various projects and ambitions for the future. Even the Actors found the odd moment to surface from intense line running which was very welcome. I gained a deep insight into life at the cutting edge of rural theatre from every angle and was encouraged to take an active role in the day-to-day running of the company. It was refreshing to see that even at the pinnacle of the industry everyone is encouraged to muck in on almost everything. This was evident from the team meetings at the beginning of each week, which seemed to give the company a cohesive unity and remind us that we were all working towards a common goal. Special thanks must go to Kitty and Sophie for ensuring that my placement ran so successfully and making sure that I made the most of every opportunity. To everyone at Pentabus, thanks for allowing me to be one of the family!
I first got to know Pentabus through the Young Writers programme. I was part of last year’s cohort led by playwright Joe White. It was a brilliantly mad 10 months of getting our heads around the fundamentals of script-writing, while also grappling with huge themes from immigration to climate change. Together we wrote The Last Journey. A little like New Futures, it was a series of individual plays that collectively said something about the world, the UK and our rural identities. It was a piece that somehow managed to be both apocalyptic and hopeful. We had a lot of fun making it and I am still incredibly proud of it.
Since then a lot has changed for me. Towards the end of my time as a Young Writer I sent Pentabus a play called The Long Trick, which is a story about a Cornishman who lives in a boat on the Helford River and robs second homes for a living. It was a script I had been working on for some time and had developed a bit already through a writing scheme at the Bristol Old Vic. Elizabeth Freestone (Pentabus’s then Artistic Director) rang me up after reading it, first to give me notes (there are always notes), which were very helpful and constructive, and then to ask me if I wanted to apply for the Channel 4 Playwrights’ Scheme to spend a year writing at Pentabus. I was stunned. After I got my words back I mumbled, ‘yes-please-yes-I-would-that’s-amazing,’ and we applied for the scheme.
In the end, the Channel 4 thing didn’t happen, but this wasn’t the end of the journey for me or the play. I had since found a director that wanted to produce The Long Trick, and with Pentabus’s help, managed to get in touch with Beaford Arts and Carn to Cove who programme village halls in Devon and Cornwall. The play was given some dates and I applied to the Arts Council. Everything suddenly got very real. This thing I had written was going to become a full-blown, professional, touring production.
I spent a week in the Pentabus writers room, working intensively through my notes to write the final draft of the script. The Pentabus team were on hand to help me (emotionally and with further dramaturgy), and if everything got too much I could take a break and hang out with Pest (resident dog, care of Sophie Motley). Three months later, the play was performed in front of audiences in Cornwall, Devon and Bristol and won a People’s Choice Award at Vault Festival in London.
Now in 2017, my writing life feels completely different. Because of The Long Trick tour, I now have an agent. I have just started writing a new play and now when I sit down to work on it I feel like I am doing so as a professional playwright. It is an odd but affirming feeling to have.
The premier of New Futures last weekend is a reminder that it has been a year since The Last Journey was at Ludlow Festival in 2016. If my experience being a Young Writer is anything to go by, New Futures has taken months of work and is fun and perplexed head-scratching. It is a mesmerising display of different voices, and something that is unpredictable, funny and startling all at the same time.
I first heard about Pentabus through a friend in Shropshire. She highly recommended the company having seen lots of their work in All Stretton Village Hall and put me in touch about getting some work experience. I am originally from Oxford and prior to this week I knew very little about Rural Theatre. My time at Pentabus has therefore been an amazing opportunity to learn about some of the different ways this exciting work is produced.
My five days at Pentabus fell during the last week of rehearsals for their spring production, As The Crow Flies. This was exciting as it meant I was able to meet the cast and crew of the play and was given numerous tasks in relation to this. One of these included assisting with prop making. I was tasked to design a certificate using the graphics program Canva. I was given free artistic license on the design and enjoyed learning how the program worked and all the different tools available. I also made a hand written letter and some presentation cards. On my final day I was lucky enough to watch a run of the play- and see my props put to use! Throughout the week I was also given marketing tasks such as working on the company database, using mail merge, Excel and Audience Finder, all very useful for future arts jobs.
Another highlight of the week was speaking individually to the different members of the Pentabus team. As a recent drama graduate, looking to pursue a career in theatre, being given the opportunity to speak to a range of working professionals was so valuable and something I certainly will take away with me. Pentabus were kind enough to bring in a previous intern who has since gone on to set up his own theatre company. It was amazing to hear his journey as an artist and I received some very useful tips on how to (hopefully) set up my own company in the future.
Thanks for having me. 
‘By all accounts, 2016 was a pretty terrible year of the world, but it was probably the best year of my life. I was scooped up by the warm, fuzzy embrace of Pentabus Theatre and they’ve changed my outlook on theatre and life forever.
I moved to Shropshire at the start of the year, and set myself up in a flat with questionable internet and no washing machine. The theatre was a beautiful hour’s walk through fields and groves - but the ‘beautiful’ part quickly got smushed by the ‘hour’s walk’ part and I ended up cadging a lift most days. If you’ve never visited Pentabus... well, you need to. I’ve never known a theatre to be more open to artists and so giving with their time.
I did a lot of things in my year there. I did get-ins and get-outs. I attempted to help with homemade lemonade (I think I washed a few lemons and then was asked to leave the kitchen). I was around to make the tea, and even more around when other people were making the tea. I played the piano, I walked the dog, I hosted other writers, I went to the pub, I put up a tent. Oh, and I WROTE. I wrote so much. Because Pentabus gave me that time and space to just scribble away, and I can never thank them enough for that. They made me realise what I want to write and why I want to write it. Even as I bounce around the UK, I’ll always carry that strange Shropshire landscape around in my notebooks.
Natasha Tripney recently described Pentabus as ‘quietly radical’. She hit the nail on the head right there. What these guys do in rural communities is second-to-none. If you want to find art that has its fingers on the countryside pulse, you’ll find it here.
I’ll continue to be associated with the company. I’m co-running the Young Writer groups this year, and I’ll be joining the ex-resident-playwright support group ran by Simon Longman and Joe White. (Jenny, I’m still gonna come round and use your washing machine occasionally).
So Crayg, Elizabeth, Jenny, Kitty, Lynda, Sam, Fran, Mike, Stephen, honorary Pentapeeps Alex and Winnie, new Pentaboss Sophie, all the cast and crews that passed through our doors, all the wonderful writers, and basically most of Shropshire, THANK YOU. You’re all great. And 2017 is going to be banging.’
- Tim Foley, Writer in Residence 2016
Bizarrely it was at The Bike Shed Theatre in Exeter where I first heard of Pentabus Theatre Company. They were on tour with their show ‘This Land’ and on realising they were based in my home county I got in touch about work experience as soon as I could.
Fast forward to Monday the 15th August 2016.
My first day at Pentabus was packed with a tour of the building, an introduction to the computer system and work with the database, with an artistic element of a script reading in preparation for the Artistic planning meeting on Wednesday. I was introduced to software such as ‘Audience Finder’, ‘Mailchimp’ and ‘Canva’ which I’ll likely use again in the future so it was brilliant to be introduced to it - It’s more interesting than it sounds, I promise.
The most valuable part of the experience for me came when I got to send time with each of the team members to talk about their role in the company, from producing and directing to finance, budgets and funding. They were all excellent in explaining the tasks they deal with day to day and gave me valuable advice on where to get experience and the kind of things to expect from each of their roles.
I had the chance to get involved in an artistic planning meeting where we crowded around a table in the main hall to discuss plays. The meeting was a brilliant way to see how the company deals with new writing which they are sent. One by one we discussed what we liked or didn’t like about the play we had read and it was interesting to see the various approaches to critiquing a script.
My very short 3 days at Pentabus was such a valuable experience as an insight into the running of a theatre company and in particular a rural touring company. Rural touring (look up the National Rural Touring Forum if you haven’t heard of it) is an exciting area of theatre which I’ll be following throughout the final year of my degree. The team were so friendly and I’d definitely recommend work experience here.
Thanks to everyone at Pentabus!
Katie Hollinshead
When the news at school came in late 2015 that next year our whole year group would be spending a week working in summer, I was only moderately excited. Sure, the idea of going somewhere and getting a taste for how it feels to be in work was something that I thought would be great for me, but at the same time I also had no idea where I would ask to have me. I didn’t know what I was interested in; and I was quite frankly scared to pick up the phone and enter the real world of work. So, I naturally I asked my mum where I should go to work, and she recommended Pentabus. At this point, I already knew that some of my friends had got their placements together and knew exactly where they going, and in some cases what they wanted to do when they left education. Going to garages, accountancy firms, technology companies and even an ice-cream shop in Sweden, the pressure was on to find something interesting, and I felt that Pentabus was just right for me.
On my first day, I got to the Pentabus HQ not really knowing what I’d actually be doing, after reading over my plan for the week and deciding I’d just do as I was told. It wasn’t like that though, despite having a list of tasks to do, I was also shown through each one by Crayg, who would explain everything from the database to even where to find unwaxed lemons during our ‘quest’ in Ludlow on the Thursday afternoon. The experience as a whole has been so different to how I expected it to be, but feeling being a part of the Pentabus Team has been extremely rewarding for me, both in what I have learnt, and the work I have done.
I would seriously recommend applying for an Internship here to anyone that has any interest in theatre, writing or the arts in general. It’s such an amazingly relaxed, friendly and productive place to work, not to mention the wonderful people.
Throughout the week I was doing a wide range of tasks, from updating databases, importing mail lists, creating content for sections of the website, scheduling posts for the company’s social media accounts or even making renovations to the Passport props made by another Intern before me. I learnt so much during each of these, about nearly every aspect of the company, how it appeals to the audience and how it functions. I’ve loved every hour here, and wouldn’t nearly have enjoyed myself as much at the other places suggested by my school. Even if you think you’re not capable of working in a theatre company, there’s always something for you to do. Pentabus has helped me develop a clearer idea of what I can do, and what I’d like to do in the future. I’m sad to have finished, but am also excited to see Eat the Poor by Johnny and the Baptists (of which I had made an A Board for earlier in the week). Even while I’m writing this, Elizabeth and I are waiting for a batch of lemonade to finish and be taken to From Land to Mouth in Penrith. If this isn’t a clear example of just how vast the work here is, and how much goes into making the company what it is today, then I don’t know what is. I will certainly fondly remember my time here, and definitely plan on coming back for any productions shown here in the future. Thank you to everyone on the Pentabus Team for having me this week, and giving me the work that you did (not that I was expecting the whole week to consist of making tea, as per most work experience students), which has definitely taught me things I couldn’t possibly learn anywhere else. Pentabus really is something special, and something that I’m sure will be here for years to come. I hope that both Latitude and Last Journey went amazingly, and to see everyone soon.
I knew I wanted to work in theatre but I just couldn’t get my foot in the door. As a student in London I was struggling to find any opportunities at the likes of the Old Vic, the Globe and the Royal Court or the countless West End theatres. While back at home in Shropshire for the holiday I stumbled across Pentabus, nestled away in the rural tranquillity of Bromfield. All thoughts of a glitzy West End placement were gone from my mind. Here was a company that was daring to and succeeding in producing topical pieces of drama on controversial themes. A month before I started I watched a (fantastic) production about fracking and during my time at Pentabus I worked on a series of plays about immigration, journeys and home. These were stories that attracted me far more than a singing green witch in an overpriced theatre in southwest London ever could.
So in June on the first day of rehearsals for the Pentabus Young Writers’ programme I walked, slightly nervously, into Pentabus HQ. With six professional actors, two directors and some of the young writers themselves floating in and out this promised to be an action packed week. We were all invited to sit in a circle on the floor in the rehearsal room to introduce ourselves and discuss the upcoming show. This very casual Monday morning welcome was a definite clue to how friendly, inclusive and caring the team would be. Having introduced myself to actors who had appeared in BBC dramas, radio plays and numerous stage performances I made my way into the office invited on the way to take part in the office Euro 2016 sweepstake.
Filled with a warm feeling of friendliness and with a mental note to find out if Poland were actually any good at football, I began ‘work’. I can’t really call it that though as I feel it was far too fun to warrant such a name. From editing programmes to researching audience demographics to making fake European passports (for the props department I hasten to add, this was all before the Brexit) I really feel like I had the chance to try every part of the theatre making process at Pentabus. I learned about so many areas of theatre including marketing, budgeting and artistic planning. Oh and that passports are incredibly difficult to replicate. You’ve really got to hand it to the smugglers. Should their illicit activities become less lucrative they certainly have a future in props design.
I would like to thank the entire team at Pentabus for an incredible week. Each member of the team gave me a significant amount of their day to explain the ins and outs of their particular role in the company. I learned more than I thought was possible in one week and was even given free rein to pursue some of my own particular interests within theatre. After reading one of the unsolicited scripts I had an immensely insightful feedback session with the Channel 4 Writer in Residence, discussing intricacies such as character depth, pacing and comedic timing (as well as my very poor grasp of Irish slang). A while later I observed rehearsals lead by the directors of Edinburgh Fringe and RSC shows. These kinds of opportunities are very rare, especially to experience in the same day so I am extremely grateful to Pentabus for making them happen. I will not forget what I have learned and am already plotting my return. During my week at Pentabus, every member of the team offered me specific guidance on how to continue with this career path.
In fact, as I write I am on a train to London to take part in a series of theatre workshops, brought to my attention by the wonderful Producer at Pentabus. How many other companies offer work experience where on day one the manager is more concerned with the intern’s professional development than making sure they know how she takes her tea?! (Note to potential applicants, tea-making skills are not required for this particular placement).
So what advice would I give to somebody considering an internship at Pentabus? I can’t tell you to brush up on your passport making skills or to make sure that your Irish slang is up to scratch as every day here is different. Be prepared for anything and to use your problem solving skills as much as possible. Whether that be to work out how to attract more people to attend shows on the Orkney Islands or how to manoeuvre a 3x2 m piece of wood around a tight corner and up a staircase (answer: with much shouting of ‘pivot’ à la Ross from Friends for hilarity if not actual advice). Far from being the clichéd and monotonous norm of a sedentary 9-5 internship, Pentabus offers an opportunity to gain an insight into several aspects of theatre in a fun and engaging way while being surrounded by a highly experienced and extremely supportive team.
"When I got an email from Elizabeth Freestone asking me if I would like to be Associate Artist I was shocked, slightly scared and happy. Yes, believe me - all at once! Having had the pleasure to be to be involved with the Young Writers group on a few occasions I have seen first-hand how much Pentabus has been able to help so many young people, not just in terms of being writers but also life skills; forging friendships and building confidence. In a time when so many funds are being cut in the arts I am honoured to be able to be part of such a wonderful theatre company offering valuable opportunities and support for young people to be successful in whatever direction they choose.
Whenever I have had the pleasure of being at Pentabus HQ I have been welcomed with such warmth from the team that I feel honoured to be the Associate Artist. When I was younger (many moons ago) I had the pleasure of going to an acting club called Anna Scher where I learnt not only to act, but I too learnt life skills and forged friendships which I still carry with me today. I look forward to working with Pentabus and helping them go from strength to strength."
- Michael Quartey, Associate Artist (from April 2016)
"This sounds like a terrible admission for a writer to make, but here we go: words cannot express how excited I am to be joining Pentabus for the year. I’ve had this big silly grin on my face ever since I got the news. Two months into the residency and my smile is going nowhere.
For a company with such a strong local base, Pentabus are renowned nationwide, and it’s well known that this theatre company has set the bar with new writers. Both Simon and Joe, previous Channel 4 writers for Pentabus, have been giving me lots of advice. They’re wonderful artists and they leave very big shoes to fill. We’ve got a great Young Writers group and I’m very pleased we’ll get to take their show to Latitude this summer.
I arrived at the Pentabus Christmas party last year with an incredibly gaudy jumper, and I was delighted to see the entire team wearing festive sweaters as garish as my own – a sign, if one were needed, that these are My Kind Of People. Since moving here I have curled up in the writers’ studio, drank my body weight in cups of tea and attempted to make soup in the kitchen (with varying degrees of success). Oh, and I’ve done some writing too, honest. This is going to be a very good year."
- Tim Foley, Writer in Residence 2016
"My year as the Pentabus Writer in Residence was, by far, the happiest of my career. I got the time and space to develop my writing, and the freedom to experiment with, and better understand, what sort of writer I am. I was surrounded by amazingly supportive people, who inspired me daily, shifted any shred of writers’ block, restrained themselves to not lunge for me during one of my 4pm whistling-wanders around the office.
After seeing the Pentabus Young Writers Festival in 2014, I knew this company thrived on an unrelenting enthusiasm to make brilliant, important work for and about rural communities, but I never quite understood how much Britain needs Pentabus until I was there. This company is truly remarkable. Their commitment to taking stories to places otherwise starved of new voices, big ideas, or the platform on which to hear them, is so refreshing, honest and infectious, that you can’t help but want to get into the van and go along with them.
The small teams’ work-ethic and focus is so strong and unrelenting that had they chosen other - more villainous - career paths, I’m sure they would have all conquered a part of the world by now. They’re like the Avengers of rural touring theatre (except all of them are green). Crayg is the happiest, most enthusiastic person I have ever met. He works tirelessly, and has unhuman reserves of energy and positivity - even after 10-hours of stand-still traffic on the drive to Latitude Festival for the young writers’ show in 2015. I don’t think I’ll ever get better notes than those from Elizabeth Freestone – the most incredible and fiercely intelligent dramaturg I’ve ever been lucky enough to have read my work – articulating, in seconds, that which I have been fumbling around in the dark with for weeks. The way she thinks about theatre, and what this country needs, is totally eye-opening, and I wish all artistic directors had an iota of her passion, loyalty and drive. Jenny puts all octopuses to shame, doing more work with two hands than they ever could with eight – the girl is non-stop, sorting tour-bookings, casts and creatives, marketing materials, and a whole host of other things too complicated for me to understand. She also stopped me going mad on a number of occasions, offering tea, or food, or a lift, or a kip on the most remarkable air-bed I’ve ever experienced (and it is an experience). Lynda, the bookkeeper - who is always lovely - basically runs the gaff, and knows Pentabus inside-out - and she’s a Brummy too, so that's ace. Fran (now on maternity leave with baby Audrey) was a light at the end of the tunnel of offices – brimming with enthusiasm for all things, but particularly food, rural arts, and how to get Pentabus out to more and more people. And she has the best dog in the world, whose face I sometimes see in clouds and things – I miss her that much. Kitty, who is covering Fran’s maternity leave and is equally enthusiastic, joyful and brilliant, has only one thing that Fran doesn't: Dizzee Rascal’s discarded hand-towels, which she brought in for our toilets. I’m not sure, however, that I’ll ever want to see the faces of her pugs in a cloud. Mike is a kind, committed and brilliant volunteer, who has done extensive work collating archives about Pentabus’s history. But that still doesn’t excuse the terrible secret Santa I got from him - I mean, who needs a pocket-sized rain-maker around Birmingham? Quick shout out to cleaner Lynn, who could never remember my name (it's Joe, by the way), and, lastly, who could forget the award-winning stage-manager Sam Eccles?
Basically, the team is incredible, they make Pentabus what it is, and I just wanted to thank them so much for having me. It was an honour to be there for a year. I miss it terribly. Do all you can to work with them.
Now go breathe on 'em Salop!"
- Joe White, 2015 Writer in Residence
