Working Title
Visible Fictions' Working Title is a project which awards artists/creatives the space, time and money to be bold, innovative and to stretch their artistic ambitions.
Our aim is to allow the selected individuals time to dream, to talk, to experiment and to develop a new story/idea suitable for young audiences.
Visible Fictions’ Working Title was first launched in 2021. This project was designed to award artists/creatives the space, time and money to be bold, innovative and to stretch their artistic ambitions. The aim was to allow the selected individuals time to dream, to talk, to experiment and to develop a new story/idea suitable for young audiences. We were fortunate to receive a huge number of thrilling applications for the project. The first cohort of artists selected were Ross McKay, Xana Marwick, David Wood, Fergus Dunnet, Nikki Kalkman, Daniel Padden, and Priyanka Jha.
Throughout their development periods under the Working Title project these artists explored their early stage ideas with support from the whole Visible Fictions team, drawing on the various expertise of the core team depending on the specific needs of each project. Visible Fictions then helped these artists to identify further opportunities or partners for their idea, as well as selecting some projects for further development with Visible Fictions.
Since then Visible Fictions have continued to support more artists under the Working Title project, by offering space, support, and resources, calling for artists once more reach out to us to seek support for their ideas.
We have had the pleasure of working with Cameron Hall, Daniel Livingston, Colin Ross Waterson, Jonathan O’Neill & Isaac Savage, Nikki Kalkman & the Audio Story Company, Jason Brown, Katie Barnett and James Siggens (Aye Tunes), Andy McGregor, and Roberto Cassani.
The Working Title Projects
AyeTunes
My Doric Diary
A Doric jukebox musical from Katie Barnett and James Siggens of AyeTunes!, My Doric Diary is a heartwarming story about what it means to love and what it takes to let go. It was commissioned and produced by A Play, a Pie and a Pint at Òran Mór, and co-presented by Aberdeen Performing Arts and the Traverse Theatre.
Jason Brown
The Flip Side
Art Director Jason Brown and Visible Fictions have been working together to pitch for funding and support to develop an exciting new production featuring Augmented Reality as a key story telling tool - the immersive production will blend 3D animation, illustration and sound design. Whilst very much in its embryonic stage, Jason continues to trial AR storytelling techniques, and we are excited by the potential this idea holds, as we continue to explore avenues to bring this work to fruition.
Roberto Cassani
Timeless
“I am working with Visible Fiction’s to develop a music-filled play around a most amazing family story. The story is very moving and totally bonkers in equal measure, and I could think of nobody better than Dougie, Visible Fictions and actor/director Ros Sydney to work on its development. I am so glad to be working with this dream team. My strengths lie in playing double bass and performing improvised music, so the VF team is helping me step into a new, wonderful world…and I’m loving it! I hope that funding will allow us to continue this work and produce something magical, educational and very funny for young (and young-minded) audiences all over”.
Fergus Dunnet
Hercules
"Working Title provided a practical opportunity to learn about story, narrative and character. Supported by Visible Fictions to collaborate with other artists and explore the story we wanted to tell. The dedicated time, support and focus made for a rich and exciting period of learning. Since Working Title, the project has received development funding from Creative Scotland, and the Touring Fund for Autumn 2025."
Priyanka Jha
Untitled projects
Cameron Hall
Virtual Reality Exploration
Nikki Kalkman
Gust
"Inspired by Nikki's own personal history, Gust will explore the themes of identity, travel and changing gender roles, and use the music of the 40’s, 70’s and 00’s to explore the stories of three brave women. In 2025, Nikki will begin the next stage of Gust development. Based on the amazing opportunity Working Title has been able to provide, Nikki has recently applied to the Creative Scotland Open Fund for further script writing time and three weeks of intensive development with director Beth Morton and a cast of six performers."
Daniel Livingston
The Cabinet
Xana Marwick
Pigeon Girl
Andy McGregor
Luna
"Working Title was an excellent opportunity for me to develop an idea I had for a story called Luna. It allowed me to deepen my collaborative process with the writer Isla Cowan and gave us the time and space to explore the possibilities of the story. With Visible Fictions looking at all sorts of interesting ways to tell stories outwith theatre, we had some really exciting ideas that stimulated us and helped bring the story forward."
Ross McKay
Daddy’s Bad Bed Day
"Me, My Dad and The Monster is an animated short film script developed as part of Working Title. I wanted to create an artistic resource that could help explain parental mental health difficulties to children. I worked with Dougie and the Visible Fictions team to hone the story, and we are now working together towards production. Being part of Working Title came at a crucial point in my career as I pivoted into writing. Since Working Title, I have continued writing screenplays and I am writing episodes for two new animated series to be screened on CBBC and Cbeebies."
O’Neill & Savage
Trading Card Musical
“Being part of Visible Fictions Working Title was invaluable for developing our early idea for a musical about trading cards, into an interactive experience designed to share within schools. Dougie and Laura’s expertise in crafting experiences for young people, helped us to explore the mechanics of the show, evolving it into a piece that not only involved students within the live performance, but incorporated their ideas and trading card creations into the story. We are still developing the project and have brought the lessons learnt from this opportunity into our other shows for younger audiences.”
Daniel Padden
Boxes
Colin Ross Waterson
One Night Only
"I’m so happy to be part of Working Title with my 60-min piece of gig theatre One Night Only. I explore grief & identity through the lens of an LGBTQIA+ teenager called Enbee. Dougie helped me secure funding from Creative Scotland Open Fund and provided in-kind support. I worked with the Visible Fictions team on a public reading of the work, encompassing a workshop delivered by Sanctuary Queer Arts, and a Q&A chaired by Dougie. Dougie mentored me throughout the year of writing and is poised to help me apply for funding to develop the piece further, producing and presenting the results of a three week workshop in 2025."
