Diagrama Causa – Efecto (Ishikawa)

As noted earlier, the majority of artists described a moment where they moved from ignorance of the genre, or even disbelief, to a state of passion or belief. Although some made statements like, “It never really struck me as strange or unusual to be performing for babies”, they nonetheless emphasised how they “fell in love with it, because there were so many possibilities”, for example. I also acknowledge the explanation that this narrative provides for my own TEY journey, from watching Egg and Spoon in 2007, to developing a keen interest in the genre, to embarking on a PhD on the topic in 2011, and beginning to generate ideas for my own first steps into performance for babies. This may be a powerful example of artistic integrity as a deeply-held belief for TEY theatre-makers, rather than a perception of theatre for children as a step on the path towards ‘better’ forms of theatre-making, as noted by several participants. Similarly, although not all participants could be described as having completed their conversion journey (‘becoming politically engaged’ was not universally present, and may never occur for some), the linear process accurately describes the typical career pathway of TEY artists interviewed.

Figure 20: The Conversion Narrative within Theatre for Early Years Image credit: Ben Fletcher-Watson

The conversion narrative as a process of cultural evangelism has noticeable parallels with religious conversion. Autobiographies of both religious and secular conversion have been described as “myths of self that account plausibly for the dramatic shifts in attitude and behaviour that follow from an authentic conversion experience” (Griffin, 1990, p.152), and it may appear that the linear process outlined above falls into the category of personal myth-making. However, it should be reiterated that this narrative emerged from a mass of data from more than twenty-five individuals, with numerous analogous experiences described. The Grounded Theory Method is designed precisely to explain and codify such data, and to uncover relevant and fitting processes which explain a phenomenon.

Furthermore, several of these stages are directly comparable to critical factors within religious conversion. For example, the key stage of first exposure to a performance experience for the very young (stage 2) resonates strongly with conversion theorist Lewis Rambo’s claim that “what makes any voluntary conversion process possible is a complex confluence of the ‘right’ potential convert coming into contact, under proper circumstances at the proper time, with the ‘right’ advocate and religious option” (1993, p.87). For some artists and audience members, despite exhortations such as “go and watch something, because I’m not going to change your mind unless you do”, the circumstances simply may not be ‘right’ for conversion. This can cause converts to become even more deeply involved in their new activity, in an effort to find new ways to convince sceptics. Here, Stage 6 (becoming passionate about TEY, forming links with like-minded individuals and groups) has a notable parallel with the role of “reference groups” in religious conversion, described as “a process of coming to see that reality is what one’s friends claim it to be” (Erikson, 1995, p.19). Thus the networks used by artists in Scotland, such as Imaginate and Patter, serve to reinforce their belief in the validity of TEY.

It is however important not to overstate the language of evangelism employed in this study. Codes such as the Damascene Moment emerged from my own process of analysis, not from the transcripts themselves as ‘in-vivo’ codes (see Chapter 3); similarly, the eight-step conversion narrative is my own construction, unlikely to be created by another analyst due to the constructivist nature of the Grounded Theory Method. It must also be recognised that religious conversion may be an inappropriate analogy – conversion to TEY can define an artist’s working practices and career, but a religious epiphany affects an individual’s entire life and belief structures. However, there is a certain value to simplifying various anecdotal excerpts into this linear process, as it helps to explain a particular consistency within the sample, and may even describe a necessary factor for achieving success and/or longevity in the field: all artists interviewed can be classified as following the conversion narrative to some extent, and it may be possible that there are no examples of artists for whom this is not the case because conversion is central to becoming a TEY theatre-maker. Those artists who never experience Rambo’s “complex confluence” are unlikely to be convinced sui generis of the legitimacy of TEY, and so it is improbable that they would choose to pursue a career in the genre. Conversely, for artists who do undergo a conversion experience, their engagement is reinforced, rather than weakened, by perceived prejudices and peer rejection. This may explain why the narrative is relevant to all the transcripts – those for whom it is not true simply do not become

TEY artists. Continuing to make work for the very young despite non-acceptance by peers entails a degree of mental agility, as described above.

In terms of mental agility, it is interesting to note that, while it is possible to identify practitioners who devote their practice solely to one style or genre (such as puppeteers), no TEY practitioner solely creates work for the very young. All participants maintained practices in other fields, such as mainstream adult theatre or performance art. The mental effort of creating TEY, combined with other factors such as funding difficulties and lack of legitimation, may mean that a career devoted solely to making theatre for babies is overly demanding. TEY is not an easy option, nor do its practitioners pursue careers for monetary gain, an accusation levelled at some artists. Instead, they often identified significant barriers to securing funding, including a lack of consideration from Creative Scotland – as several participants pointed out, Starcatchers have become adept at sourcing grants from non-cultural sources, such as health and education charities. Artists must therefore be able to address their practice to wildly different stakeholders, understanding and communicating the benefits in terms of mental health, social development, pedagogy and even policy- making, rather than relying on aesthetic profile alone. They feel a desire for recognition as skilled artists, but constantly struggle to retain their aesthetic integrity when applying for funding.

This investigation demonstrates that current theory fails adequately to describe the mental processes of TEY artists, and the resulting practices derived from their beliefs and experiences. Contemporary TEY has responded to claims of illegitimacy by formulating a coherent, comprehensive body of practice that empowers children and seeks to inspire respect from other artists for its robustness and care for its audience. The theory of Theatre for Early Years outlined in this study is intended to encapsulate the quest for equality, the right to culture, the mental effort required to maintain a career, the narrative of conversion to the cause of TEY and the questioning of past hierarchies such as elite adult / inferior child or educator / pupil.

Having proposed an explanatory Grounded Theory, the next section discusses the extent to which the theory achieves the aims of this study.