The Virtual Ideas Platform

What is the Virtual Ideas Platform?

On 21 June 2021 the ABTT Virtual Ideas Platform (VIP) launched for its pilot year. A collaboration between ABTT and Guildhall School of Music and Drama; this platform aims to support ‘innovation, creativity and partnership in the UK Theatre Industry’ by providing an opportunity for theatre students and practitioners to invent and develop new and better ways of doing things while also being able to connect with professionals who are able to help realise the potential of ideas and develop them.

How has it come about?

It's been a tough time for theatre recently and many things have had to be rethought in terms of how the arts are produced and shared, and so it seems as if this new platform has come at an excellent time. The VIP has been developed by Charles Haines, head of performance venues at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, who became inspired after seeing the Innovations Gallery at the USITT (US Institute of Theatre Technology) where ideas were submitted from all collegiate universities and drama schools with the top ten being put on display every year at a big trade show.

How will it work?

Anyone can submit any idea, from any live performance discipline. It's about finding new ways to do things and helping the industry to grow creatively. There is a form on the website for you to complete where you need to specify your area (which includes Automation, AV, Costume, Stage Management and more) and then to briefly explain your idea and include any links to files or images that help to explain your idea fully. You can submit an idea at any time of the year and then a selection panel will meet periodically to review the submissions and to decide who will go through to the next stage. This means that every idea will get seen by an industry specialist. Successful students may be provided with mentors, internships and possible funding to develop ideas further. The first selection of ideas for this pilot year was revealed at the PLASA/ABTT event in London Olympia on 5–7 September.

© ABTT Prop-making

How might it be useful for UK students?

For educators and students this looks like an exciting prospect – the platform is open to anyone and everyone with an idea in any of the disciplines adopted to make live performance. What this means is that colleges and schools specialising in performing arts, youth groups and newly emerging theatre companies along with students studying technical theatre and theatre design at drama school are all eligible to offer an idea up to industry leaders and key association figures for appraisal. Those top-rated ideas that emerge from this process will receive opportunities including seed-funding to begin to develop them.

Students could be submitting project ideas as part of an individual project on a Level 3 course (it would work brilliantly with BTEC, Level 3 Extended Diplomas in Production Arts or even as an NPQ alongside an A Level programme), or it could be used to help challenge a gifted and talented student as part of preparation for entry to drama school or university applications. The Backstage Centre who run a Level 4 Professional Diploma in Technical and Production for Creative Industries, and their partner the National College for Creative Industries at South Essex College are already embracing this opportunity, by looking at how to run a creative extended project to get students involved.

However, students do not need to be in education or training to take part. Haines explains that the platform is here to ‘recognise, salute and honour those innovators in our midst’. This means that theatre groups, or individuals who have an interest in theatre but who are not on relevant courses or not in education can still have the opportunity to submit their ideas for consideration.

It feels like the VIP is designed to celebrate what is the very best about theatre people – their ability to get creative and come up with new ideas and solutions. On the back of a long period of closed theatres and creatives having to look for new ways to present work; this could prove to be a beacon of light and push theatre into its next successful era.

The website with its submission form can be found at www.ABTT.vip

The winners announced at the PLASA/ABTT trade show, and information about next year's event event can be found at www.plasashow.com/welcome