NHLP-EU fellow Sophie Zoletnik is currently doing the shadowing period with project expert Rachel Clare at Crying Out Loud. Sophie is sharing below some thoughts for the upcoming weeks at Crying Out Loud. Stay tuned for more and follow Sophie on instagram.
I was really intrigued to have been paired with Rachel Clare, as she is unbelievably knowledgeable and well connected in the circus scene. But what I didn’t know about her before is that we also have a lot in common, when it comes to taste and preferred working methods. On top of this she is kind and open and constantly looking out for building bridges, sowing seeds for future projects and mutually beneficial collaborations. She is by all means a wonderful role model for women working in the art sector.
As Rachel’s organisation is operating not just in London, but all around the UK and recently focusing on the Solent area we decided to split my shadowing time into two and to try to ‘cover as much ground’ as possible.
In January I am focusing on gaining an overview of the scene in Bristol and London and coming back in February to Portsmouth bringing my work in progress called InThisTogether to interact with the local community of the Solent area and to present it as an icebreaker program for Crying Out Loud’s laboratory of their rural touring project Circus Around and About 2.
Rachel got me in touch with Hobbit from Acrobatic Adventures, who is a handbalancer and director, to be my and our guide for the deepdive into Bristol's circus scene. Those four days have passed in a blink of an eye, we are in London by now, but the adventure is far from over. Many new names and faces, many questions have been answered, there is so much more to ask, I am still just scratching the surface, while Rachel is opening doors.