What is the title of your session?
What are the ethics?

What is name of the person who called the session?
Marion Duggan - The Ragroof Players

Who attended the session?
Sam, Siobhan, Stephen, Anne, Red, Claire, Rachael, Anne

Summary of the discussion –

We discussed what guidance for keeping a safe space looked like to us:

• Consent with the people you are working with, checking in and checking again.
• Setting up a shared contract in the space, finding different ways to communicate that contract – written, verbal, drawing
• Have an awareness of the vulnerability of the person you are in the room with, and your own.
• Where possible partnering with organisations to work within their framework.
• Try to work within the settings of the individual where they have support systems around them – we are not psychologists / therapists – we are artists.
• Question motives and evaluate your practice.
• Make your participants feel special, ‘you are worth it, you are worth investing in.’
• Have great marketing materials, so it looks good, feels good and reinforces the mantra ‘You are worth it’
• People are more than the group they have been identified as, a homeless person is a lot more than only homeless, seeing the whole person. A person centred approach to working practice.
• This article was cited http://exeuntmagazine.com/features/trouble-outreach-work/


Is there a body regulating verbatim work?
This was deemed too contractual / official, putting a legal framework around something very personal. Suggestions were to set this up with the person you are meeting, trust your instincts as a person who has good motives. When someone shares something with you, what you have is your response to that situation / what you have experienced.
We discussed two strands of work – verbatim theatre work inspired by research interviews, and theatre made with the participants as the performers – the question was asked – why not put them on the stage? Not everyone wants to go on stage. We discussed crafted theatre and theatre that is about the process, not the creative output.

How do you end a project and what’s the withdrawal framework?
• Sign posting to other groups
• Arranging a reunion event a few months after the end of the project.
• Have a follow up, check in, one to one with the person.
• The process of meeting people in this work was described as an ‘accelerated friendship’
• If you had a friend that was going on a journey for a long time, what would you give them? Give the participants that – a lovely card, a home made box, a keep sake.


Other questions–

How do we take care of the people we are inviting to participate in work we facilitate?

Do we need to have target groups all the time?

How to not be paralyzed by fear of consent and end of not making.



Facebook group ‘connecting socially engaged art practitioners’ https://www.facebook.com/groups/159361521342200/