WELCOME TO COLLAB COMPANY
We are a UAE-based performing arts organisation dedicated to advancing the arts through intentional, innovative and imaginative collaborations. Collab Company eagerly embraces a multidisciplinary approach to a wide range of experimental projects, educational initiatives and outreach programs. To be honest, the only thing that could excite us more than one creative advancing the arts is... well... two!
OUR FOUNDER
Emblazoned across my desktop background and cited in countless conversations about why the arts matter, these words have always been a lodestar in my classroom: a guiding light, profoundly influencing the way that I teach others about my favourite industries. I have had a passion for the theatre since I was just 12 years old and performed in my very first lead role as Lucy in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The restlessness of the wings. The warmth of the stage lights. The energy of the audience. These are the ephemeral moments of the theatre that never quite leave you, no matter how many years have passed.
It was during my time in the drama classrooms of Durban and Dubai that I came to realise that my pedagogy was gravitating towards experiential education which was underpinned by industry insights and theoretical expertise. I was unconsciously acting upon an idea that had already made itself known in my younger years: that the stage was a space for multidimensional artistry and multidisciplinary art to transcend boundaries and traverse borders. I founded Collab Company as a way to advance the arts through intentional, innovative and imaginative collaborations which are unrestricted by the conventions of any one art form. Dedicating myself to the creation of bespoke experiences across our Creations, Classroom and Collective platforms, I will always engage the creative spectrum through a panoramic lens and immerse others within the characteristics that have defined my own journey from page to stage and back again. Collaborating. Disrupting. Creating. Revisiting. Imagining. Questioning. Empowering. Discovering. Exploring. Teaching. Learning. Because Alan Rickman was right, of course… art can change the world. It has certainly changed mine.
"Actors are agents of change. A film, a piece of theatre, a piece of music or a book can make a difference. It can change the world." Alan Rickman
OUR HISTORY
"Art is not a mirror to reflect reality, but a hammer with which to shape it.” Bertolt Brecht
It was in the midst of the maelstrom of 2020 that the word ensemble came to mean so much more than its dictionary definition. Almost overnight it became a word that was associated with the act of intentionally reclaiming togetherness as a means of coping with a very different world to the one we once knew. It was synonymous with a yearning for human connection. It was part of a wider surge of introspection. It was an acknowledgement - even for a moment - of the value of the arts in our suddenly very monotonous lives. It was also from within this jumble of experiences that a fully fledged concept for Collab Company took hold in Lauren Noble's imagination and spilled onto the pages of her journal. Inspired by the journey she had shared with those in her own ensemble now scattered around the world, Lauren founded Collab Company to be an ethical performing arts organisation which celebrates the very best of the creative industries through intentional, innovative and imaginative collaborations. By embracing the same characteristics which have defined our favourite experiences on the stage and in the classroom, Collab Company cultivates a multidisciplinary methodology to a wide range of experimental projects, educational initiatives and outreach programs.
OUR METHODOLOGY
“It is not theatre that is indispensable but something quite different. To cross the frontiers between you and me.” Jerzy Grotowski
The triquetra of our logo is symbolic of the triple-pronged structure of our organisation. Every idea at Collab Company begins its creative journey from within one of our three platforms:
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Collab Creations, our production platform.
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Collab Classroom, our education platform.
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Collab Collective, our advisory platform.
Each platform plays a significant role within the wider context of our organisation, but it is the synergy that exists between them that characterises our unique approach to our work. It is here in this intersectional space where we harness the creative potential from across the artistic spectrum, unrestricted by the conventions of any single art form or industry. Our synergistic methodology is applied to everything we do, evolving with every new experience and collaborative partner. Lessons from inside the drama classroom will find their way into our social outreach events. Techniques from theatrical performances are repurposed for cinematic campaigns. Experiences shared by our advisors in Durban become experimental springboards for our apprentices in Dubai. Audience engagement strategies from art installations elevates the performativity of musical arrangements.... and all because we understand that every creative journey deserves to remain entirely undefined by a sense of limitation.
COLLABS WITH COLLAB
"It's as natural as breathing to want to be in the theatre." Kenneth Branagh
Our social media accounts can be found on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook. We not only share content we create but anything and everything to do with the arts, artists and artistry of the performing arts. We aim to showcase a holistic, multidisciplinary perspective of our favourite creative industries both locally and abroad. Oh! And did we mention we love chatting about collabs with Collab? Reach out to us over any of our accounts, or send Lauren an email using the button below, and let's start the conversation.