During Spring term, Platform was proud to support three performances of The Broken Butterfly, a student coming-of-age play with themes on queer identities and mental health.
To reflect on the success of the show, we asked the team to share their experience of working with the Platform programme…
"When we applied for Platform, The Broken Butterfly was in the process of becoming ready to be performed on the University of Warwick stage. We had a production team, marketing materials, and were roughly halfway through rehearsals. However, as an independent play, we were struggling to find funding and a venue. We applied to Platform in the hopes of being able to solve these issues and have The Broken Butterfly performed at Warwick Arts Centre (WAC).
For our Platform opportunity, our core production team of Emily White (Director), Hannah Byrne (Assistant Director), Bethan Styling (Cast-facing Producer) and Neera Cheung (Tech-facing Producer) teamed up to create a brief 5-minute presentation to share to the WAC team. Our WAC proposal included information on why our play should be accepted, and a ‘Meet the Team’ section where we introduced our crew. We included our varied roles, from the directors to producers, to marketing to our welfare officer, and even our costume designer/technician! We then went on to highlight our values and explain why The Broken Butterfly is not only a unique play, but one WAC should platform. Here, we discussed our play’s reoccurring theme of borderline personality disorder and queer identities and explained our plan to collaborate with University of Warwick societies related to our theme to ensure these topics were portrayed sensitively. We felt we had such a strong team of female and non-binary creatives who wanted their talents to be presented and supported by a bigger programme such as Platform!
The Warwick Arts Centre team were incredibly helpful. As it was our first time using the space, they sorted the logistics of moving the set in and out and advised us on the technical logistics we were unfamiliar with. The team were quick to respond and always patient when answering our endless questions about the tiniest details, showing their dedication and trust towards The Broken Butterfly production.
It was important for us to be in Warwick Arts Centre for several reasons. There is often a perceived way of ‘how things should be done’ within the University of Warwick performance societies scene and there are certain restrictions, such as writers being unable to direct their own plays. If we had performed through a society, we would have been forced to give up our creative freedom and abide to restrictions that would otherwise take away the directorial intention of the play and its messages. Therefore, our team was very grateful to have received the opportunity to perform our play in its powerful and original form, within a professional venue and with full funding!"
A Note from Emily
"Doing this show through Platform was so much fun! I wrote the script several months before the show was picked up by Platform and it is incredibly close to my heart. When looking for performance opportunities, we wanted nothing but the best for our amazing cast and crew. Having the opportunity to show our work at Warwick Arts Centre was incredible, giving all involved experience working in a professional venue. The general reception of the play has been great. There seems to have been a spike in independent student productions in recent weeks, which we believe could largely be due to people seeing that they are able to work with Platform. It was the best experience, and we’d love to work on a Platform show again in the future."
A Note from Hannah
"As an independent production, having our play at WAC was crucial in ensuring public engagement. WAC is a hub for student performances, but it also attracts audiences from outside of the University. Platform’s support, offering funding and a performance space, meant our Director could effectively execute her artistic vision with little setbacks surrounding the venue, tech and props. Platform’s ethos, to give an opportunity to underrepresented voices, perfectly suited The Broken Butterfly and the emotional connection we wanted to build with our audience. Without Platform, the future of The Broken Butterfly would’ve been uncertain. Our production team would’ve had to figure out ways to fundraise, taking considerable time and energy away from the play itself. Platform’s support was crucial in ensuring the play’s success, allowing us to focus on bringing Emily’s script to life."
A Note from Neera
"As a long-time producer myself, I was very grateful to produce a play in a space that I’ve personally never been in before. It was very refreshing to do an original play in a completely new space with the close guidance and help of the Warwick Arts Centre team. Furthermore, by making tickets free the production was made accessible to a student audience. The high sales figures and number of attendees, in my opinion, show how successful this strategy was. Platform has truly helped make theatre accessible to all and is something Warwick Art Centre should continue doing! It would be extremely beneficial to have more student work in the Arts Centre, as it draws in new, novel pieces of work and facilitates a good working relationship between Warwick students and the venue that we adore so much. I would 100% work with Warwick Arts Centre again if the opportunity ever arises."
A Note from Bethan
"From previously producing both independent and society-funded plays, I can honestly say, hand on heart, that I’ve never felt as supported as I have with working with Warwick Arts Centre. From their attentiveness and sincere interest during our panel presentation, to the countless emails sent back and forth updating us, to providing us with the Helen Martin Studio for three shows, to funding EVERYTHING to allow our production to take its beautiful final form. I truly couldn’t be more thankful for everything WAC has done for us. This whole experience has just solidified my belief that theatre needs a nurturing community, no matter if you’re part of a large society or an independent company. By supporting one-another, whether that is through providing props, assisting with tech or, in our case, by being supported by Platform, we can all be empowered to provide pieces of art to the public. I hope that one day we could repay the Arts Centre, not only for believing in our project, but for everything that they’ve done, but for now all I can do is say a heartfelt thank you."
There are more Platform events planned in for summer term, from a new play titled The Wolves taking place in our Studio to a series of workshops that celebrate Pride. Please visit the What’s On section of our website for upcoming Platform sessions.
You can find out more about the Platform project here.
