Natasha Richards-Crisp received one of our Practitioner Grants last year towards materials for her project on consent. Here she reports on how it went:

Running at Walls are on a mission to change the conversation around consent.

Running At Walls (RAW) provide creative education for personal exploration. We specialise in consent and provide a range of digital and in-person workshops for schools, colleges and higher education institutions. Using theatre and other creative methods, we unpack the ‘grey areas’ and face up to the difficult questions. Our unique approach enables participants to consider real-life experiences and applications of consent, all in a fun, safe, and supported environment.

In 2021, RAW received a Society for Theatre Research Practitioner grant, which funded the purchase of two green screens for use in our digital workshops. We had just begun delivering our in-person workshops when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This new global situation pushed us to develop an alternative digital workshop offer as we found ourselves in successive lockdowns. Initially, we found it difficult to transport people to another place when delivering theatre performances and exercises over Zoom. We felt that using green screens would allow us to creatively transport people to another place, as this was something that participants in our in-person workshops had identified as being important in our delivery. One participant commented:

“I think this level of detachment, through the lens of a fictional character, allowed the group to discuss the subject matter more honestly and authentically.”

The image below shows RAW Director, Natasha Richards-Crisp as the fictional character Stacey, who is experiencing some issues concerning consent. The audience has the chance to ask Stacey questions and to provide advice on the situation. The monologue takes place in Stacey’s bedroom, back in 2005, and thanks to the green screens provided by the STR practitioner grant, we were able to transport our workshop participants there via zoom.

If you want to know more about RAW workshops, please email info@runningatwalls.com or visit us on Twitter or Instagram.