Clint's Vamos Theatre Co Residency

UK 3 MONTH INTERNATIONAL RESIDENCY
In 2017 Clint has been accepted for 3 Month International Exchange and Professional Development & Creative Residency with Vamos Theatre Company– The UKs leading Mask Theatre Company. Clint Bolster has financial assistance from the Queensland Government through the Arts Queensland Individual Professional Development Grant Initiative.

"Clint Bolster is a performer who can hold the audience's attention, beguile and deeply and emotionally, enthral them. Clint is an artist on the rise, one of a generation, who is deeply generous and brings unique skills and sensitivity to a relevant, contemporary Artform that deserves greater depth and exposure in Australia. He works with a great diversity of cultures, and ages, freely and wonderfully and the outcome of his work and dedication has allowed many performers to free themselves into exploring a greater diversity within the Arts. Working artists who are in demand, like Clint, rarely have the resources or opportunity to improve their skills and work with their heroes. In Australia it's not possible to find a similar experience such as being alongside Vamos artists, in studio and on a tour.” Barbara Lowing, Professional Actor, Queensland Theatre Company.

My practice informs and enhances the work of established and emerging artists and I am now becoming known internationally as the peer of artists who work in Commedia. I have been invited to teach internationally, in Hong Kong, for example, and to the main point of this campaign, to undertake intensive work as artist in residence with Vamos.

Why Vamos ?  UK-based host company, Vamos is the strongest example of the direction in which I intend to take my practice. Vamos’s challenges and opportunities are paralleled in Queensland, and I intend to learn from their model.

Vamos has sustained itself based in Worcester, a city of minimal cultural activity for ten years.  Their creatives have sustained their practice in full-mask comedy performance by touring and extensively (regularly to sold out houses) and creating new works/characters between tours. They are amazing mask makers.

I would be very grateful to everyone for your support. 

A financial gift at this stage will pay off in the future for my creative career and as an investment in new skills for the sector. 

Thank you in advance for helping out, it means the world to me.

THE PLAN

January - April 2017

Immersing myself in company activities and creative processes of Vamos Theatre Co., I will be with the company at their home-base and on "The BEst Thing" tour with them.

I intend to absorb both creative and logistical ways of working; and create new masks/characters and write new material with experienced Artistic Director, Rachel Savage. 

I will tour with the company to the International Mime Festival in London in January 2017, and to at least ten other venues – possible destinations for my own shows in future. 

In transit, while in Hong Kong and London meet with festival and venue directors, university course conveners; teach a four-day holiday program workshop for Shakespeare 4 All theatre company  in Hong Kong. 
Returning to Australia in early April 2017, I will be travelling interstate and sharing my new characters and methods with schools in Tasmania & Queensland.

These funds provide for my living expenses while working with Vamos for three months, flights Brisbane > Hong Kong > London > Brisbane, and professional trainer fees for Ms Savage. Vamos provides Ms Savage’s company wage and is assisting with transport and part subsidising some of my accommodation.

Vamos company members are very keen to have me with them and this is an amazing offer. Without this development opportunity, my work as an artist and the success of Homunculus will be limited to my current skill set. This is the training equivalent to me doing a thesis, for example. 

FUTURE IMPACTS

With this training, new skills and new perspectives, I will be able to contribute great things to all the schools I work in:I will use the new characters and ideas for the full-length bespoke children's show I am developing with Annie Lee of The Cranky Sisters Fame. 

In late 2017 in the spirit of creative exchange continuing, I have invited the Artistic Director, Rachel Savage from Vamos to come out to Australia to work on a new International Work.