'The Pitch'

DRAMATIC RESOURCES WITH SOHO THEATRE & TBWA\GGT ADVERTISING AGENCY (NOW TEQUILA), LONDON. SUPPORTED BY THE ARTS & BUSINESS NEW PARTNERS SCHEME.

Dramatic Resources founders Richard Hahlo & Geoff Church are always looking for new and stimulating ways to work with business training and the theatre.

Soho Theatre situated in Dean Street in the centre of London’s media village is dead opposite the advertising agency Tequila. The agency was already an enthusiastic supporter of the theatre, and was looking for some innovative training ideas around bringing together new brand teams and pitching for new business (see Winning trust: Winning Business. - Creative pitching in the advertising industry).

Dramatic Resources became involved along with a new partners award from ‘Arts & Business’ and an ambitious training programme evolved, which meant Richard & Geoff getting to know the agency and how they worked. Using the stimulation of seeing the advertising industry from the inside, Richard & Geoff brought in the writer, actor and director Jonathan Lewis. Together the three of them devised the play ‘The Pitch’ which was then scripted by Jonathan.

The play homes in on the creative partnership of Phil and Chris (the words and the visuals), as they struggle to manage ‘the suit’ (the account handler) and the all powerful corporate client they are pitching to. Short, acerbic and horribly funny, the play explores the work relationship as it deals with the duel pressures of expectation and history.

The play resonates with anyone who works closely with colleagues under too much pressure – that means just about everyone! And is ideal for conferences and company functions.

Richard & Geoff have also devised a shorter version of the play as an introduction to a training event around the challenge of creative pitching and selling your ideas across the business. This performance/workshop develops the idea of improvisation as the key skill in flexibility and the ability to deal with the unexpected. How do you pitch your idea with energy and commitment and then deal the questions and resistance that will inevitably come your way? It was premiered at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland to great success, and is available for conferences etc.

Dramatic Resources is currently developing a new theatre project, set in the world of management consultancy, to be written by Neil Fleming.