DYSPLA STORYMAKERS RESIDENCY 2020 SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED
Funded for a second year by Arts Council England and POET, (Protection of English Trust), DYSPLA will be running their unique Storymakers Residency for Neurodivergent* Creatives.
DYSPLA is a London based Art Studio run by Neurodivergent (ND) Creatives, for Neurodivergent Storymakers. We specialize in the creative and professional artistic development of Neurodivergent people, as well as producing the work of Dyslexic and Neurodivergent artists. DYSPLA has spent the last 11 years advocating the creative benefits of Dyslexia as a ‘creative force’, and is committed to building a holistic environment where Creatives can finish their stage or screenplays in a collaborative format, with industry professionals and mentors at every stage of the writing process.
The DYSPLA Storymakers Residency 2020 Shortlist includes 30 artists who were successfully selected from 220 applicants. Congratulations to: Owain Astles, Aislinn Evans, Alex Mill, Aminder Virdee, Ash Morris, Aurora Fearnley, Connor Sansby, Emma Tracey, Eve Leigh, Isabella Albuquerque Sperotto, Matthew Gabrielli, Mia Sinclair, Michael Toluwalope Okanlawon, Mike Forshaw, Mohammod Shipon, Nacheal Catnott, Nala Hermeziel, Rosie Baldwin, Shala Sayedyannakis, Jones Jimiroroso Ogun, Nicolee Tsin, Sean Burn, Thomas Morgan Evans, Ella Jade, Peck Mesma, Cassie Atkinson, Jack McMeechan, Lindsay Dukes, Lucy Sheen, and Janet Barnett. The Residency will offer two artists, based in England, a place on the 12 months fully funded program which offers: free script development support, a creative network of professional actors, directors and industry mentors, rehearsal room workshops, a script report, peer feedback, marketing support and the opportunity to present their work at the DYSPLA Reception and Table Read Presentation.
Last year's attendees included: The Arts Council England, BFI, BBC, ITV, Sky, Directors UK, Freelance Producers, Development Producers, Academic Institutions, and Agents. The DYSPLA Panel will select eight of the strongest applications for the final round of interviews to be announced in September 2020. This year’s Panel includes representatives from Vertigo Films, Goldsmiths University, Disability Arts Online, Earls Court Film, and last year’s DYSPLA Storymakers Resident Writer, Dr. Julia Pascal.
This year's Residency Partners include Earls Court Film Festival, which will support the initial production costs for one of the winning short film scripts with a grant of £1,500. Disability Arts Online (DAO), is on board as our Media Partner and they will commission interview profiles for both the Finalists and the Winners on the DAO website, documenting and promoting the artist's professional development every step of the way.
DYSPLA’s Founder, Lennie Varvarides describes the program as, “A ‘coming out’ party for brave new voices in our Neurodivergent community. This Residency is an acknowledgment of the creative benefits of Neurodivergence and how necessary it is for the survival of our creative ecosystem”.
For more information about the residency or for an interview, please contact Lennie Varvarides.
*NEURODIVERGENT - “Sometimes Abbreviated as ND, means having a style of neurocognitive functioning that diverges significantly from the dominant societal standards of ‘normal’. Neurodivergent people include dyslexics, dyspraxics, AD(H)D, autistics, dyscalculics, OCD, dysgraphics, Tourettes, etc.” (Hewlett, Cooper, 2017)
DYSPLA: DEVELOPING DYSLEXIC & NEURODIVERGENT STORYMAKERS SINCE 2009
DYSPLA is a London-based arts organisation founded by Lennie Varvarides with Kazimir Bielecki and supported by the Arts Council England. The company has been developing the work of Neurodivergent artists since 2009. DYSPLA works internationally in Script Development, 360 Film, Installation Art, Immersive Theatre, Digital Art and Festivals to promote the British Neurodivergent Aesthetic and to develop new Storymakers. DYSPLA is both advocate as well as artist, of the Neurodivergent Aesthetic*, which is defined through the cognitive eminence of Neurodivergence. As Ronald D. Davis states, ‘the mental function that causes dyslexia is a gift in the truest sense of the word: a natural ability, a talent’ (1994, The Gift of Dyslexia), DYSPLA believes that gift is what makes ND Creatives so apt for the creative industries and creative writing in particular.
Image ASSETS: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lhv34h2zwcpazek/AAAKYTyxK_J5EhRF819YkbEQa?dl=0
Video ASSETS: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zh0butnp8y9t347/AABkE3mR_FOKyPviLZriStvma?dl=0
Funders - Arts Council England & POET (Protection of English Trust)
Partner - Earl’s Court Film Festival (ECFF): Supports Filmmakers with grants, location and production office support, as well as accepting short film entries for screening at ECFF in Earl’s Court’s wonderful cinematic venues. Many Earl’s Court short films have been selected or entered for screening at other film festivals such as Tribeca, Sundance and BAFTA qualifying festivals.
Media Partner - Disability Arts Online (DAO) a unique online journal with a passion to support disabled or marginalized artists through networking, discussion and profile aimed at achieving a widespread appreciation for the richness and diversity of disability arts and culture. Our readership consists of majorly (65 per cent) of disabled artists and disabled people with an interest in the arts. Our mission is to spread the word about the impact of work being made in the disability
arts sector. Our other main demographic (35 per cent) are people working for other arts organisations who spearhead the professional practice of disabled artists, writers, performers, choreographers, curators or theatre-makers, or for art institutions that provide access to the arts for disabled people. Disability Arts Online gets over 25,000 page views a month.
Quotes from DYSPLA STORYMAKERS Residents 2019 Winners:
“DYSPLA helped me regain my confidence, that can so often become eroded when you are neurodivergent.”
“This was a truly inspiring residency which helped me learn the new language of writing for film.” -
Academic Quotes: From Dr Helen Taylor, Dr Brock L. Eide & Dr Fernette F.Eide, Nancy Doyle
Dr Helen Taylor, Creator of 'The Evolution of Complementary Cognition' advocates for the necessity of the Neurodivergent in A new theory of human cognitive evolution. ‘The reason we evolved different ways of processing information, is because it increased productivity, our ability to adapt to change and our ability to survive’.
Dr Brock L. Eide & Dr Fernette F.Eide, The Dyslexic Advantage. 2011
‘The Dyslexic mind has provoked attention and interest, but it's true nature and purpose have been missed. It’s been evaluated for its charity and accuracy as a lens, and found wanting. Yet if we study the dyslexic mind carefully, we’ll find that its true excellence is its ability to reveal many things that are hard for the [Neurotypical] mind to see’.
Created by Richard Macer and produced by Susanne Murray, Platform Productions.
BBC Documentary Farther and Sun: A Dyslexic Road Trip, 2018
‘ADHD brains are simultaneously hyper-vigilant and under-reacting to pressure. We are over responsive to innovation and don’t panic at risk.’
Designing With Dyslexia Is A Cognitive Plus, 2019
https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/16-22-september-2019/designing-with-dyslexia-is-a-cognitive-plus/
Vanella Jackson, Hall & Partners
Standing With Doctor Thick On Dyslexia
‘The dyslexic mind is preoccupied with possibility, connecting ideas and creating the new. This is why thirty percent of those that attend art college are dyslexic and why dyslexics are drawn to creative industries and becoming entrepreneurs. Some of our most famous inventors and engineers are dyslexic. Albert Einstein was dyslexic.’
