Stellar Quines Theatre Company

Established in 1993, Stellar Quines is a women's Scottish theatre company and charity based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Stellar Quines was under the artistic direction of Muriel Romanes[1] from 1996-2016 when Jemima Levick took over.[2]

The company has worked predominantly with Scotland but has also toured shows nationally and internationally.

Origin of the Name

The name Stellar Quines is a combination of two old Scots words: Stellar meaning starry, and Quines meaning women.[3] It was suggested by Gerda Stevenson, who established the company in 1993 to "address the lack of opportunities for women in theatre."[4]

Productions

Other Activities

Rehearsal Room

Stellar Quines' Rehearsal Room was created to uncover new plays and new voices in partnership with the audience, through rehearsed readings and workshops. The main aim of Rehearsal Room is to enable writers to be more proactive in the development of their text using audience feedback as a major element of the process. It provides a platform for showcasing new plays and developing audiences, while also existing as a showcase for potential co-producers and promoters.[24]

Many of the productions that Stellar Quines have created have been through the Rehearsal Room process before becoming full-scale productions.

Commissions

Stellar Quines regularly commissions new work. Since its inception the company has commissioned the writing, adaptation or translation of following plays:

  • Translation of Deliverance - written by Jennifer Tremblay, translated by Shelley Tepperman
  • Dare to Care - written by Christine Lindsay
  • Translation of A Live Bird in the Mouth - written by Jeanne-Mance Delisle, translated by Martin Bowman
  • Ana – written by Clare Duffy and Pierre Yves Lemieux
  • Constantina – written by Torben Betts
  • An adaptation of The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark for the stage adapted by Judith Adams
  • The Girl Who Insisted She Wasn't – written by Ariadne Cass
  • The Past Is Not a Place – written by Beatrice Colin
  • The Unconquered – written by Torben Betts
  • Sweet Fanny Adams in Eden – written by Judith Adams
  • Red Priest – written by Grace Barnes
  • Translation of The Reel of the Hanged Man written by Jeanne-Mance Delisle, translated by Martin Bowman and Bill Findlay
  • Learning The Paso Doble – written by Dilys Rose
  • Refuge – written by Janet Paisley

Awards

2013

2012

  • The List - won Fringe First
  • The List - won Herald Angel

2011

  • Age of Arousal - won Best Director, Muriel Romanes in the Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland[26]
  • Age of Arousal - nominated for Best Show, Best Ensemble and Best Design in the Critics' Awards for Theatre Scotland

2007

2003

1996

Projects

Knit 2 Together

Knit 2 Together is a Heritage lottery funded All Our Stories project aimed as championing the female stories and histories intertwined in the Scottish Borders' textiles industries, and combines events, new writing and oral history. Knit 2 Together involves a series of knitting circles/local history sessions hosted by Stellar Quines in partnership with Heart of Hawick.

Playwright Sylvia Dow will use the project as the inspiration for a new play which celebrates women, knitting and Scotland's social history. The play will be given a rehearsed reading in Hawick in October 2013, as part of the Luminate festival. All Our Stories, a brand new small grant programme, was launched in support of BBC Two's The Great British Story and was designed as an opportunity for everyone to get involved in their heritage.

Research

Digital Development

Stellar Quines conducts research into the ways digital technology may be used to enhance the work of the company, with the three main areas of research development being artistic, audience and business. Artistic development focuses on the ways in which digital technology may be used to enhance the creation of live theatre; audience development explores how company can extend its reach and engagement with new and current audiences; business development exploring new business models, with the aim of extending the life of live performances and delivering work in new ways.

To date this work has involved a number of projects and experiments, including live streaming and 3D theatre.

Gender in Scottish Theatre

In 2010, Stellar Quines undertook a research project, funded by the Scottish Arts Council Equalities Department, to provide the basis for Stellar Quines to test its purpose as a company, and refocus its vision for the future.

Phase One of the project was a piece of desk-based research, reviewing secondary data related to gender in the performing arts, to build an opinion based picture of women in theatre. The output of a series of Scottish building-based and touring companies in 1993 (the year Stellar Quines was founded) and 2009 (the last full Scottish theatre season before the research was commissioned) was assessed. The study of two Scottish theatre seasons 18 years apart explored to what extent women were represented as directors, writers, actors, lighting, set and costume designers, and composers/musical directors.

Phase Two involved consultations with, and a survey of, a wide range of individuals from the Scottish theatre world. Individuals, groups and organisations who had a relationship with the company, or were relevant to the company's work, were surveyed - as well as those who had no existing relationship with the company but showed an interest in the future development of women in Scottish theatre. Stellar Quines then reviewed the results from both phases of research, before adding its own observations.

The Company

Artistic Director

  • Muriel Romanes (1996-2016)
  • Jemima Levick (2016-)

Company Administrator

  • Gillian Shaw

References

  1. Stellar Quines Official website http://www.stellarquines.com/page.php?p=6
  2. Dibdin, Tom (3 February 2016). "Jemima Levick appointed artistic director at Stellar Quines". The Stage. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  3. Stellar Quines Official website – what’s in a name http://www.stellarquines.com/page.php?p=5
  4. "The Quines Story". Stellar Quines. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  5. The List's Official website, s http://www.stellarquines.com/thelist
  6. Stellar Quines Official website, future productions http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=28
  7. Stellar Quines Official website, past productions http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=29
  8. Stellar Quines Official website, past productions http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=27
  9. Stellar Quines Official website, past productions http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=23
  10. Stellar Quines Official website, past productions http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=22
  11. "59E59 - The Unconquered". www.59e59.org. Archived from the original on 2012-03-23.
  12. Stellar Quines Official website, past productions http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=12
  13. Stellar Quines Official website, past productions http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=6
  14. Stellar Quines Official website, past productions http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=3
  15. Show publicity material, 2003
  16. Stellar Quines Official website, past productions http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=1
  17. Stellar Quines Official website, past productions "Stellar Quines :: Women's Theatre in Scotland". Archived from the original on 2012-03-04. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  18. Stellar Quines Official website, past productions http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=10
  19. Stellar Quines Official website, past productions http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=5
  20. Stellar Quines Official website, past productions http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=31
  21. Stellar Quines Official website, past productions http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=32
  22. Stellar Quines Official website, past productions http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=33
  23. Stellar Quines Official website, past productions http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=34
  24. Scottish Arts Council - Focus on Stellar Quines - http://www.scottisharts.org.uk/1/artsinscotland/drama/features/archive/focusstellarquines.aspx
  25. CATS website http://www.criticsawards.theatrescotland.com/Winners/12-13.html
  26. CATS website http://www.criticsawards.theatrescotland.com/Winners/10-11.html
  27. CATS website http://www.criticsawards.theatrescotland.com/Winners/06-07.html
  28. CATS website http://www.criticsawards.theatrescotland.com/Winners/02-03.html
  29. Stellar Quines Official website http://www.stellarquines.com/production.php?p=32
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