ENCOUNTERS SHOPS > The Crucible Theatre

Open 7 February – 31 March 2007
1.30 – 9.30pm on the following dates:
February: Wed 7 - Sat 10, Thu 15 - Sat 17, Wed 21, Fri 23 & Sat 24
March: Thu 1 - Sat 3, Sat 10, Sat 17, Tue 20, Thu 22 - Sat 24, Wed 28 - Sat 31

This February, Encounters – a.k.a. artists Ruth Ben-Tovim and Trish O’Shea - will be taking up residence in the Crucible shop space for two months with writers from GO, peeling back the layers of the theatre, collecting evidence; memories, stories, images, samples, lost objects, observations that will capture a unique snapshot of the life of the theatre before it is re-developed.

The artists hope that the evidence collected will reveal the everyday experiences of the diverse people who work in, visit, or pass by the Crucible theatre, as well as both the physical and imaginary world of the theatre itself.

In the shop and surrounding outdoor spaces, Encounters will deliver a series of playful interventions, activities and art installations that aim to engage and reach hundreds of people. Amongst other activities; visitors will be able to vote for a costume, prop or piece of archive material to be displayed each week, maps of the theatres will invite people to leave a memory associated with a specific place in the building, a huge empty frame will gradually fill up as visitors cut out segments from hundreds of photographs of the theatre and put them in the picture, and cameras will be available for people to go and record favourite and least liked spaces around the building. Each week Encounters will create a themed installation using objects or clothing taken from the stores and there will be three transformation days on March 3rd, 10th, 22nd when encounters and friends will slowly change the surrounding area as archive material, furniture props and live volunteers go walkabout.

In the build up to the shop opening, Encounters have been working with Sheffield Theatres staff, setting them various collecting tasks. The results of this will displayed in the shop, which will reveal; samples of costume cuttings, drawings, and materials used to make props in the build up to ‘As You Like it’, fingerprints of everyone the Chief Exec has met in a month, sweet wrappers and other items collected by the cleaners on their morning rounds, photographs taken by the finance department looking out of their window on the third floor, written observations of the actions of audience members by front of house staff, audio recordings of beer deliveries, back stage snaps, unusual queries of the day from Box Office, recorded nuggets that generate creative ideas from the creative team, extracts of emails to and from the marketing department, diaries, thoughts of the day, film, and more….

Keep up to date with activity in the shop by popping in to leave memories and stories about the Crucible building, vote for weekly displays of props and costumes and add to evolving artworks.

Alternatively, visit this website regularly for updates, as we will be posting up news and images as the project progresses.