Since my previous blog post, we have moved mountains, but we have also stood still. We have not taken next steps on legal status for a number of reasons, which I will describe shortly, but have instead focused on building our track record as a company.
Our first short film, ‘The Women Inside’, was launched at the Hibiscus 35yr Anniversary Event: The Migrant Women’s Conference in October 2022 and ran the film festival circuit for most of 2023 and part of 2024, screening at five film festivals and over ten Refugee Week events, as well as winning two awards and an honorable mention. Our cast and crew were entirely female, 50% Black, 13% Middle Eastern/Asian, 6% Jewish, with two feminist men on the post-production end. Where possible, the women who shared their stories through improvisations and poetry, words that eventually became the script, attended film premieres to celebrate the manifestation of their efforts and contributions, as well as to raise awareness about their life experiences. All in all, over 1000 people have now seen The Women Inside and we couldn’t be prouder. If you’d like to watch the film, just click HERE.
Alongside ‘The Women Inside’, Laura and I worked hard to achieve the Bronze Trauma Aware Mark, under the guidance of One Small Thing. The process was much more challenging than we predicted but offered us an important opportunity to dive deep into our approach, our values, and the kinds of policies we need in place to keep us in check with those ideals. In a forthcoming blog, I will share the values we hold high as a company and will explore the compromises, negotiations, and deal-breakers we must consider as we pursue the social change we envision. For now, however, obtaining the Trauma Informed Mark has been the first step in articulating how we address the five principles through our work with artists, community members, partners, and each other. These are: Safety, Choice, Collaboration, Empowerment, and Trust. Having been awarded the Bronze Mark (which is appropriate for our size and scale), we have established the framework for how we will move forward on new projects, how we scale, and how we register our legal status, making the Trauma Aware Mark a critical step in our organisational development.
Why, after talking about legal status in a blog post from two years ago, have we still not formally registered Blank Cheque? Well, part of the reason is to do with my ongoing PhD research project examining this very topic. The current title of my thesis is: ‘Value, Economies of Practice, and Business Innovation of Micro Feminist Applied Theatre Companies in England’, and to fully assess the landscape that Blank Cheque navigates to achieve its goals, I have been interviewing peers in the sector to see if we face the same challenges/opportunities. This task is incredibly interesting and informative, but is also time consuming, and gives much to consider before registering with Companies House. Interestingly, just this year the National Theatre have commissioned research with the proposed title: Shining a light on evolving business models in the performing arts: how varied investments support different financial and social outcomes. With limited scholarship and grey literature specifically on the nuts and bolts of business frameworks in the performing arts, this will be extremely valuable for the sector. It is also research I am keen to be part of and use in my own thesis. Clearly this area of interest is timely, especially as the new Labour government begins publishing its policies.
A second reason for not registering is to do with my dual citizenship and the complexities of my tax obligations. Opening a business bank account in the UK will add another layer to the already confusing list of requirements, a domestic piece of research which I also consider to be PhD level.
The last reason is because, well, we don’t really need to just yet! Laura and I are comfortable working slowly and deliberately towards our goals, we know we can run projects as we have been, and we are committed to working at a pace that is right for ourselves and each other. There is no rush for legal status – our next immediate goal is to secure a new partnership and roll out another groundbreaking project. Watch this space.