Total Theatre Announces 20th Anniversary of Total Theatre Awards

As the Edinburgh Festival and Festival Fringe celebrate 70th birthdays in 2017, it's also a landmark year for the Total Theatre Awards. This year is the 20th Anniversary of the Awards, which have been held 18 times since they began in 1997. Each year, 25 assessors and 20 judges from the UK and international performance communities come together in Edinburgh to identify, and celebrate, excellence and evolving form in contemporary performance. The shows shortlisted by the assessors are then seen by a panel of judges, culminating in seven awards across five categories; Physical & Visual Theatre; Innovation, Experimentation & Playing with Form; Emerging; Circus and Dance.

The Total Theatre Awards place a special emphasis on the spaces in between established performance forms where innovative new creative practices, approaches and models are emerging. Through critical analysis, dialogue, discussion and debate, the peer network of assessors and judges spot game-changing artists and play a vital role in identifying creative talent in an ever-changing performance landscape. The process for assessing and awarding artists is thorough and rigorous, offering the opportunity for artists and senior industry professionals to engage in in-depth discussion, debate, dialogue and discourse about excellence.

· The Total Theatre Awards team of 25 Assessors will see over 500 shows at least once and often two, three or four times in the first twelve days of the festival.

· Following five morning-long assessment meetings and a daylong shortlisting meeting the Nominees list of shortlisted shows will be announced on Thursday 17 August

· 20 judges will then see the shortlisted shows and announce their decisions at the Total Theatre Awards Ceremony on Thursday 24 August

To mark the 20th anniversary of the Total Theatre Awards, this year's process will include a series of collaborations and partnerships focused on expanding their potential reach and impact. Speaking of this Jo Crowley and Becki Haines, Co-Directors said:

"Developed for the benefit of artists, the performing arts sector and audiences, the Total Theatre Awards have, over two decades, blazed a trail of recognition for independent artists and companies creating innovative artist-led theatre and performance. The awards have played a critical role in empowering, identifying and celebrating theatre makers, providing exposure and recognition for a network of makers pushing at boundaries, taking risks and innovating with form. To mark our twentieth anniversary we're delighted to be collaborating with a network or industry partners and peers to extend the reach, impact and influence of the awards process even further."

International Partnerships

As the UK prepares to leave the EU, Total Theatre considers it essential to create opportunities for exchange, collaboration and cross-cultural critical dialogues; to grow peer networks and develop grassroots connections between the UK and independent theatre sector internationally, within and beyond the EU. Towards this end, the Total Theatre Awards is delighted to announce two partnerships:

· Following an open call, a delegation of four Flanders-based arts professionals have been selected by Total Theatre and Flanders Arts Institute to join the 2017 Total Theatre Awards Assessment Peer Network. Their time at the festival will be supported by the General Representation of the Government of Flanders and Flanders Arts Institute. Lukas Van Damme, Deputy General Representative, said:

"Together with the Flanders Arts Institute, we are delighted to be supporting four talented theatre professionals from Flanders (Belgium) to spend two weeks at the Edinburgh Festival as assessors for the Total Theatre Awards. Their participation should give them the unique opportunity to immerse themselves in a challenging atmosphere and dialogue with fellow performing arts professionals from the UK and around the world. We hope that this can offer refreshing perspectives for all involved and contribute to their personal development as well as to stronger links between the Flemish and British performing arts scenes."

· A delegation of six theatre professionals from Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Ukraine have been selected, following an open call, to join the Network of Total Theatre Assessors and Judges for this year's awards process, supported by the British Council. Speaking of this partnership Volodymyr Sheyko, British Council Regional Arts Manager, Wider Europe noted:

In 2017, the Total Theatre Awards resumes its collaboration with the British Council to invite up to 6 performing arts professionals from Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Through this partnership the British Council contributes to the development and internationalisation of the performing arts sector in the region, and builds links between professionals in the UK and overseas.

UK Bursaries

In order to broaden access to the festival among those who may otherwise find the cost of attending prohibitive, the Total Theatre Awards are collaborating with partners including The Place, Puppet Animation Scotland and The Touring Network to offer bursaries to talented people from under-represented groups including independent dance practitioners & producers, emerging artists, rural programmers and theatre makers. The bursaries will provide a financial contribution towards the cost of attending the festival and participating in the Total Theatre Awards Assessment process. Puppet Animation Scotland and The Touring Network are supporting a young rural programmer based in Scotland. Jen White, Festivals & Projects Manager, Puppet Animation Scotland

"Attending the Total Theatre Awards as an assessor is an invaluable introduction to physical and visual theatre and truly boundary-pushing performance alongside working with a network of established artists, producers and cultural leaders."

Supporters confirmed thus far for this year's Awards include British Council, Embassy of Belgium, University of Chichester, The Empty Space, Farnham Maltings, Flanders Arts Institute, HOME, Jacksons Lane, Mobius, University of Newcastle, The Place, The Point Eastleigh, Puppet Animation Scotland, Royal Central School of Speech & Drama and The Touring Network. Without their support and the in-kind support provided by many of the 50+ strong team of Assessors, Judges and the Awards Producing team the Total Theatre Awards would not be possible.

Over the last two decades, the Total Theatre Awards have blazed a trail of recognition for independent artists and companies creating innovative theatre and performance. Resisting too narrow a definition of the term 'total theatre' the awards focus on artists and companies leading innovative work beyond the classical cannon and new writing - within the fields of devised theatre, live art, visual performance, mime, puppetry, physical theatre, experimental theatre, clown, circus, street, immersive, outdoor, dance, site specific performance and more.

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