Being based partly in an arts university, we often get readers in the archive looking at our collections for a vast array of reasons. As well as the more traditional researchers, we also get students looking for inspiration. Last week we had an MA Professional Writing student, along with her illustrator, who are creating an illustrated children's book on Cornish Folklore. We have fantastic resources for this - not only the Special Collections of Cornish Poetry and the Gorseth Kernow collection in the library which contain many illustrated books of Cornish tales, but there is also a wealth of material in the Kneehigh Archive.
Kneehigh have taken many folktales and re-worked them, and the one we focussed on was the tale of Tregeagle, which they have performed three times in 1985-6, 1989, and 1996. Tregeagle is the tale of a greedy steward, whose ghost is summoned to answer to a charge of unpaid rent and is then forced to carry out a series of pointless tasks to avoid being sent down to hell. There is a mine of material relating to the performances in the archive, from promotional material like flyers and programmes, to photograph albums and scrap books, and all are incredibly stimulating visually, which is perfect for someone researching for an illustrated children's book.
It was fantastic to receive from our readers some really positive feedback the next day, saying that the visit had left them "feeling inspired and motivated to get writing and drawing". This is what's great about our Performance Archives - they can be used in a less traditional ways to inspire creativity, and this has definitely been a theme amongst students coming in to use our service, and not only with the Performance archives but also the photographic Ian Stern Archive. We can't wait to see the result of the visit and look forward to sparking the creative juices of many more students to come!
Kneehigh have taken many folktales and re-worked them, and the one we focussed on was the tale of Tregeagle, which they have performed three times in 1985-6, 1989, and 1996. Tregeagle is the tale of a greedy steward, whose ghost is summoned to answer to a charge of unpaid rent and is then forced to carry out a series of pointless tasks to avoid being sent down to hell. There is a mine of material relating to the performances in the archive, from promotional material like flyers and programmes, to photograph albums and scrap books, and all are incredibly stimulating visually, which is perfect for someone researching for an illustrated children's book.
It was fantastic to receive from our readers some really positive feedback the next day, saying that the visit had left them "feeling inspired and motivated to get writing and drawing". This is what's great about our Performance Archives - they can be used in a less traditional ways to inspire creativity, and this has definitely been a theme amongst students coming in to use our service, and not only with the Performance archives but also the photographic Ian Stern Archive. We can't wait to see the result of the visit and look forward to sparking the creative juices of many more students to come!
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