Frequently Asked Questions
When is the next Screenwriters / Creative Science Teaching / Dance Lab?
How do I get on a Lab?
How much does it cost to go on a Lab?
Who are Labs for?
Why are you called Performing Arts Labs?
Why ‘Lab’?
When is the next Screenwriters / Creative Science Teaching / Dance Lab?
All confirmed, upcoming Labs are posted on the News section of this website. You can subscribe to our RSS feed or join our mailing list to make sure you don’t miss out on what we’re doing.
We don’t automatically run Labs in particular disciplines every year. This is for two reasons. Our remit is to address gaps in provision and to break new ground. If we see that other people have successfully taken up the reins in a particular field, then we are happy to move on to a new challenge. Secondly, all our Labs are subject to securing the funding to make them happen. Sadly, despite our best efforts, not everything we would like to do comes to fruition.
How do I get on a Lab?
We want to hear from artists in all disciplines, and from other adventurous professionals, who want to challenge the way that they work or address a specific problem or question. Tell us about why you would be interested in working with PAL and how you think we can help you develop your own work.
When a Lab has a formal application process it is detailed on our website. Subscribe to our RSS feed or join our mailing list to be kept informed.
How much does it cost to go on a Lab?
In most cases, what it costs is your time and commitment. In some cases freelance participants may be paid an honorarium. Contributing specialists are paid a fee.
For some Labs, for example, Screenwriters Labs and the Pygmalion Programme, we are obliged to charge a moderate fee for participation - but there are also usually full or part bursaries available. It all depends on how the Lab is funded.
Who are Labs for?
Labs are for people:
• who are passionate about what they do
• who want to challenge the way they work
• who are prepared to share their practice, working on a peer-to-peer basis with others
Labs are often focused on a specific discipline or sector. However, because we work in a genuinely cross-disciplinary way, the musician participating in a Lab about teaching science, technology and maths, for example will challenge their practice as much as the classroom teacher.
Why are you called Performing Arts Labs?
The first PAL Labs were rooted in the performing arts – theatre, opera, dance. Over time we recognised that PAL’s core methodology could be usefully applied in many different sectors – anywhere, in fact, there is a need to find new ways of working and to make new work. Though we have widened our field of activity over the years, artists from all disciplines continue to play a key role in all our Labs.
Why ‘Lab’?
Because a PAL Lab is a space where everyone works together to explore and experiment. There are no tutors telling you how to do things. There is no file of handouts to take away with you. Everyone on the Lab is considered an expert, bringing their own experience, skills and commitment to bear on the challenge addressed. PAL does not have answers. What we do have is a way of working which enables Lab participants to ask bolder questions and to find solutions.