With the country in lockdown and after the cancellation and postponement of two shows, Black Hound Productions decided to launch a Creative Collaborations initiative. The project was designed as a relaxed way for artists to connect, create and share work during the COVID-19 Pandemic.  All of us at Black Hound wanted to make something of the unique situation we found ourselves in, and we spent hours discussing what we could do before landing on this particular project; to use social media to connect artists around the country, to support each other rather than compete in a productivity contest, and share some new writing with the public - something that is at the core of what we do as a company.

 

Writers were asked to submit a three minute monologue, and each was paired with a performer. The monologues were recorded as self tapes over the period of a week, during which time the performers were in contact with the writers and help was offered by the company. The response we had was overwhelming, with more than 60 creatives getting involved.

 

The act of creating a short piece, a tangible and realistic goal in those uncertain times, unlocked a focus for participants' work, and allowed the public to escape to the world of theatre for a while as they watched the pieces online. The monologues were released daily on our Facebook and Instagram pages, and the collection is available on our YouTube channel.