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Storytelling PR

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Eleanor Bally

Join the Storytelling PR team

8 December 2020 by Eleanor Bally

Storytelling PR is looking for a new Publicist / Comms Expert.

This post will start in 2021 and is not a new role, but one that we are looking for someone brilliant to make their own. Interviews will be held the week of 25 January and applications close on 22 January*  (if you have an access requirement please do not hesitate to contact us).

Storytelling PR Ltd is a PR and Comms company based in Edinburgh. We work between Scotland’s capital, Glasgow and London; and are currently, proudly, working with a leading British theatre company in Wales and the North East of England. We often work with international arts companies selling mostly to British audiences and with touring work – which can range from large cities through to tiny villages. Storytelling PR has a huge focus on theatre and performance that has an interest in social change or activism. We love good stories and good storytellers. We define our work by feminist / equalitist ethics and we feel it’s important our work and our services are available to both up-and-coming and established artists and companies – this has always been key to our practice and we actively ensure our client / company list is diverse. We are intersectional feminists, Queer-positive and actively anti-racist. We seek to collaborate with artists of all identities and we take the time to do the learning and work to support our artists and staff.

Storytelling PR Ltd is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, gender, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age. We strongly believe that diversity in the workplace is an asset both to our organisation and our ability to deliver for our diverse client and company base.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who enjoys working within a fast-paced environment as part of a small and dynamic team.


Main purpose of role

  • To be an integral member of the Storytelling Team working across Publicity, Digital and Marketing with a personal specialism but a genuine interest and perspective on all areas of the business. 
  • To collaborate with artists, companies, and live event makers. 
  • To work across many varied campaigns leading on some, supporting on others. 
  • To (essentially) be a representative to the media of some of the UK’s best theatre and live performance creatives in a way that the companies feel matches their own vibe and work. 

What you will be doing

  • Delivering or supporting PR and Digital campaigns for all of Storytelling PR’s many and varied theatre, performance, and activism companies and clients across the UK. PR and Digital campaigns will include writing excellent fully finished press releases, issuing and pitching, logging all on a project WIP, keeping good records of who is engaged and interested in the work, looking for new contacts and matches for the work across a broad range of media. 
  • Engaging closely with a network of press media and with our companies to sell their work to audiences. 
  • Actively listening. As we work with Minoritised, Ethnically Diverse and Disability led companies there are often new conversations and considerations that need thought – from access, to the restraints of structurally problematic industries on all sides. You will hear often about Racism, Homophobia and Ablism. As you will be the intermediary between our brilliant companies and our colleagues in the press you’ll be expected to be aware of what support companies need. 
  • Working on our world-class Edinburgh Festival Fringe portfolio of leading performance art, dance, theatre, circus, cabaret and international theatre work. 
  • Running media calls and photoshoots for both news press and magazine coverage. 

Essential

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Be a strategic and creative thinker.
  • An ability to interpret creative practice for paper or pitching in a way that is clear and concise. 
  • Demonstrable knowledge of, and interest in, issues surrounding diversity and inclusion in the arts.
  • A keen interest in culture – be that music, theatre, performance, pop culture or anything else.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills, and proven ability to collaborate with team-mates on projects.
  • Ability to be based in Edinburgh for work from March / April 2021.
  • Press contacts and a keen interest in culture media and reportage. 
  • Highly organised, with a demonstrable ability to keep track of tasks, prioritise work under pressure and deliver against set targets to agreed deadlines. 
  • Someone who thrives in a busy environment – you can decide what resources you wish to rely on (be that a trusty notebook, a gsheet or trello) but you’ll need to be across your work and feel comfortable multitasking on busy days.
  • Significant demonstrable experience in the media world (be that as a journalist / PR / communications specialist) and experience working in a busy comms office or working within a press outlet. 
  • Active listening skills

Desirable

  • Social media and marketing know-how
  • A keen interest and enthusiasm in seeing work live (when we can) and engaging with the Scottish and British theatre and performance art scene.
  • An interest in activism and changing the world. 
  • Experience leading on content creation ideas through to execution and in close collaboration with colleagues. 

Storytelling PR Publicist 

Salary – salary will fit the applicant and will be offered based on experience between £22,000 – £28,000 annually. Storytelling staff receive an annual payrise and there is opportunity for staff to have a contribution towards counselling or therapy, because we think it’s very important to have good mental health! 

We work from a light, buzzy (and often busy) office in Summerhall, Edinburgh. 

We welcome applicants to send a cover letter and CV to miriam@storytellingpr.com. The deadline for applications is 18 January and applications are welcome any time before then. 

Have a look at our equal opps doc here. 

This role will be based in Edinburgh as soon as it’s safe to go to the office. There is opportunity to travel for work across the UK through the year as required for meetings with companies and media and to see work. For further information please contact our Director on email miriam@storytellingpr.com 

Filed Under: Storytelling News Tagged With: Jobs

MANIPULATE Festival 2021 Launch

19 November 2020 by Eleanor Bally

Manipulate Festival 2021 trailer

Tickets go on sale today for Puppet Animation Scotland‘s 14th MANIPULATE Festival. The festival will combine a bespoke multi-city outdoor installation artwalk, and a digital programme packed with performance, screenings and workshops. MANIPULATE Festival returns in brand new form against the odds this January.

The innovative festival of international, award-winning visual theatre, puppetry and animated film will return in a new hybrid format. Festival fans can enjoy MANIPULATE Digital Festival (29 January – 7 February 2021) from the comfort of their own homes. Those in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow can experience a specially commissioned outdoor kinetic sculpture series called Restless Worlds (21 January – 21 February 2021).

Eat Me, by Snap Elastic. Photo credit Brian Hartley.
Judy Rosenthal, Manual Cinema, The End of TV.

A note from Dawn Taylor, Puppet Animation Scotland’s new director


“In the challenging circumstances that the pandemic has thrown up for our sector, the immediate priority for myself and the Puppet Animation Scotland team was finding a way to generate work for as many artists as we could. Commissioning, hosting installations and digital theatre – all these represent uncharted territory for Puppet Animation Scotland, but we have been overwhelmed by the creativity and ingenuity of artists in meeting this brief, said Dawn.
 
“It’s clear that there are challenges to come for us as a society this winter, and so we also wanted to create something exciting and concrete that audiences can put in their diaries and look forward to.  We’re thrilled to be able to keep providing boundary-pushing creative experiences through MANIPULATE in 2021.”

The full programme and tickets are available on the MANIPULATE Theatre website.

Filed Under: Blog, Festivals, PR

Thou Art Viable festive cards

12 November 2020 by Eleanor Bally

We’ve teamed up with Michelle Mangan, Sharon McHendry and an incredibly talented bunch of artists to create Thou Art Viable – festive cards for a tricky fucking year.

A festive card of a blonde politician standing at podium on a bright pink background. Above his head in bright yellow are the words 'Christmas is Cancelled'.
Christmas is Cancelled by Ross Napier

A dizzying array of live-performance makers have designed Thou Art Viable festive cards. Card designers include: theatre maker and artist Katherina Radeva; graphic designer Ross Napier; Jazz singer and painter Ali McGregor; comedian and illustrator Danny Clives; Scottish Album of the Year Award nominated singer-songwriter Ela Orleans; and Storytelling’s very own Miriam Attwood.

We’re chuffed that we’ve been able to pay all these brilliant artists. And we will split all profits between culture support funds ExcludedUK, Eclipse Theatre and Black Womxn in Theatre’s #AllOfUs campaign.

How do I buy Thou Art Viable festive cards?

You can buy Thou Art Viable festive cards over on our website Thou Art Viable. Packs of 6 cards are £10 and any two packs have postage and packing included.

We will post cards out at the end of each week through November and December. There is a limited number of cards available. That means get in fast!   

Thou Art Viable’s Miriam, Sharon and Michelle said:

‘We quite simply saw this as a chance to put our story back out there – to talk up the number of specialists in our industry who have had 9 months without the joy, hustle and madness of their day jobs. Looking around we came full circle – we have time to stuff envelopes and we know artists who we know would have time to contribute artworks. This is not us diversifying, this is us saying ‘Thou Art Viable’  

“We must not be forgotten, we don’t want to be forgotten and we don’t want our incredible artists to be forgotten. By buying a pack of cards you are paying an artist for their work and you are handing a loved one a wee reminder of the arts and the mischief and magic we create as one of the country’s most loved and misunderstood industries.”



Filed Under: Current Projects, Uncategorized

Swamp Motel present The Mermaid’s Tongue

14 September 2020 by Eleanor Bally

Swamp Motel presents The Mermaid’s Tongue

From the team behind summer 2020 cyber smash-hit show Plymouth Point, comes a new live experience, The Mermaid’s Tongue. Combining the artistry of live immersive theatre with the thrill of an escape room, The Mermaid’s Tongue builds on the new wave of COVID-19 prompted home entertainment. Inspired by the phenomenon of true-crime – this is audience participation but not as we know it. 

The Mermaid’s Tongue begins with audiences and their teammates taking part in the True Colours online life-drawing class. It quickly becomes clear that there will be no time for sketching, as a spilled secret quickly plunges you into a murky underworld. Each group of detectives have to hack into an art gallery CCTV, outbid a high-end art dealer in a live auction, and decipher messages from beyond the grave. Every click, log-in, call or code immerses players deeper in the mystery to discover the artefact, before it falls into the wrong hands. Let the hunt begin.

The first show in the series, Plymouth Point (designed and produced in April – May 2020) provided a rare shared live-entertainment experience in lockdown. Born out of digital tools widely available to the public, it successfully blurs fiction and reality to create an hour of entertainment for socially distant friendship groups and theatre-goers. Follow-up The Mermaid’s Tongue steps deeper into those blurred lines, turning audience members into live protagonists of the experience.  As audiences and theatre makers continue into a disrupted and unknown time for live events, Swamp Motel invite audiences to another piece of innovative entertainment two months in the making.

Swamp Motel specialise in immersive entertainment, and with the closure of events spaces and theatres, they set out about building a new way to play. Company Founders & Creative Directors Clem Garritty & Ollie Jones commented: 

“We’re excited to unleash Mermaid’s Tongue to the world. With the mad, sad and strange events of 2020 we got to thinking: what we really love, ultimately, is expressing new narratives to audiences and subverting their expectations along the way. People weren’t able to leave their houses, they were using video-call constantly, so our challenge became: how do we make that exciting and can we use the internet as a new platform for us – as experience makers – to engage audiences? As we quickly discovered – there were endless ways to get theatrical – and we’re now so very excited to welcome audiences to our latest Swamp Motel creation.”

The Mermaid’s Tongue is part theatre, part crime mystery thriller, part night out. All from the comfort of your own home – with friends and family safely, in theirs. 

Praise for Plymouth Point:

★★★★ “Fiendishly Good Fun” – Metro

★★★★★ “Thrilling Whodunnit” – Upcoming

★★★★ “Plymouth Point is seriously gripping stuff” – Guardian

Audiences do not have to have played Plymouth Point to enjoy The Mermaid’s Tongue but it may help! The first show in the series will continue to be available to book for teams through the rest of 2020. Team size can be 2 – 6 people for both shows.

swampmotel.co.uk 

For further information, images and interview requests please contact Miriam Attwood 07825642225 miriam@storytellingpr.com Emma Costello emma@storytellingpr.com

Filed Under: PR, Theatre Tagged With: Press Release

Date for your diary: Tuesday 1 September

31 August 2020 by Eleanor Bally

We’re holding a forum during the festival – Facing Racism in Fringe PR and Comms – which will comprise of three parts. The first two of which are being led by a facilitator with storytelling providing the platform and admin support.  The direction of the discussions is being led by Black, Indigenous, Ethically Diverse voices – artists and writers who have been able to opt in / out and make amends and changes to the forums. It is with their insight we have reached this point.

Special thanks to Head of Operations at Rambert, Tigho Feldman, Edinburgh Based Culture Writer, Arusa Qureshi and Dancer/Choreographer/Collaborator Claricia Parinussa for their wisdom and leadership. All contributors will be paid with support from the Festival Fringe Society and Storytelling PR LTD alongside your tickets. A break down of payments and contributions to charity in lieu of fees will be posted on our website.

Prompt: Yale academic and sociologist Monica Bell that ‘avoidance of racism affects people’s life decisions’ so if gaining coverage is going to mean encountering racism, it’s a HUGE barrier – we don’t want Black, Indigenous, Migrant and Ethnically Diverse makers to encounter this – so to start speaking truth to power – let’s talk through the size of these barriers and manifest and then we can go on to challenge the industry – even if person by person – to be better. 

A series of forums which hope to create new patterns of behaviour, support for our artists and a deeper understanding of the biases at play – we will provide a reading list to support you doing this work. 
We want to create both accountability and a sense of group support to work for change.

Forum 1
1. An artists only forum to discuss situations, problems, circumstances beyond their control, that have arisen and involved racism be that structural or explicit. (could be as simple as ‘no I can’t do interviews on my days off I’m exhausted from managing this environment’ through to ‘I don’t want to be interviewed by white men because of experience of / fear of racist encounters’) This will be a closed forum. This will be led by a facilitator and Storytelling will not be attending. 

Industry invite: September 1 Tuesday 3pm zoom 
2. We will summarise the above (with the participants permission) to lead a second, outward facing forum for the industry (PR, Comms teams, Journalists) – the role of making change (for our industry) does not lie with artists – but their contribution is the only way we can honestly face the huge problems we have to look to change. We say this with huge awareness that diversifying and changing structures within the industry has to happen. This will be lead by Tigho Feldman as facilitator and contributors and contributions from the closed forum. 

September 1 Tuesday 4.30pm zoom 
3. A ‘white fragility forum’, without any of our artists to deal with questions, shame, defensiveness that has come up from being told how it is – this will be with everyone from session two – our industry. We appreciate as those who have been conditioned within structures that are held up by White Supremacy and anti-black, migrant, indigenous viewpoints – this is a journey for us all that has to start somewhere, and working with Black, Indigenous, Migrant talent doesn’t change how it is – so how do we start to make change through our work? How do we try, fail and fail better as an industry. A safe space for PRs and Media to share their experiences and find support systems. This will be lead by Mim A & Mim B from Storytelling PR.
Ends 5.30pm – break out group welcome until 6pm. 

We will charge £10 for attending so we can pay all our contributors. If you’d like to pay more we’d welcome that: paypal.me/storytellingpr

We will publish a (broad strokes) breakdown of funding / payments to artists / activist donations on Storytellingpr.com.

Storytelling will not make a profit or take a fee for our time. 

Please register your interest here! 
Miriam X

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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