Bethan Ellis Owen & Gwyn Vaughan Jones
Taith Water Wars Tour 2020
Cwmni Pen Productions secured a project grant in 2019 from Arts Council Wales to stage 5 initial performances of Water Wars in Treorchy and Aberystwyth. They should have taken place in March and April 2020. We managed to start rehearsals at the beginning of March, but unfortunately had to cut the process short due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
We hope to be able to re-schedule these performances at a later date, and are currently in the process of planning alternative ways of sharing the play with our audience. Already we have managed to secure enough funding through our Kickstarter campaign to go ahead and publish the play as a book. We are also exploring ways of either filming Water Wars to distribute on-line, and to re-write the play as a potential drama for radio. Also, there are plans to apply for further funding to create a larger tour of Water Wars in the future, when we can look forward to sharing this exciting project with a live audience again.
_
Bu Cwmni Pen Productions yn ffodus i gael grant prosiect gan Gynger Celfyddydau Cymru yn 2019 i lwyfannu pum perfformiad o Water Wars yn Nhreorci ac Aberystwyth. Dylai rhain fod wedi digwydd ym mis Mawrth ac Ebrill 2020. Dechreuon ni ymarfer ddechrau Mawrth, ond bu rhaid gohirio`r ymarferion oherwydd y Pandemig Covid-19.
Rydym yn gobeithio ail-afael yn y prosiect cyn gynted a bod modd. Ar hyn o bryd rydym yn cynllunio ffyrdd amgenach i rannu`r ddrama gyda`r gynylleidfa, ac wedi llwyddo i gael digon o arian gan ein hymgyrch Kickstarter i gyhoeddi`r ddrama fel llyfr. Hefyd mae ganddo ni gynlluniau i ffilmio Water Wars er mwyn ei rhannu arlein, ac efallai ei haddasu fel drama radio, yn ogystal a gwneud cais am daith hirach o Water Wars yn y dyfodol. Edrychwn ymlaen at rannu`r ddrama gyffrous yma eto efo cynulleidfa fyw.
Ymgyrch Kickstarter Campaign
As our Water Wars project developed, the idea of publishing the script as a book began to evolve. We decided to start a Kickstarter campaign, to see if we could gather support to collect enough funds to help us approach a Welsh publisher to print Water Wars as a book. As the Covid-19 crisis fatally hit our project, and we had to terminate rehearsals after only a week, the Kickstarter campaign became even more important as a way of continuing the momentum of Water Wars. We were concerned that there wouldn’t be much interest as Corona hit our communities hard, especially the arts and culture sector, and that people would have other priorities and concerns on their minds. We were pleasantly surprised, people seemed to want to support something in a time of crisis. So why not the publishing of an important dramatic text? By early April 2020, we had reached our target and soon Water Wars will be possible to order, thanks to the support of many individuals who believed in our vision.
_
Fel y datblygodd prosiect Water Wars, esblygodd y syniad o gyhoeddi’r script fel llyfr. Penderfynwyd i ddechrau ymgyrch Kickstarter, i weld os gallen ni gael digon o gefnogaeth ariannol i drafod gyda gwasg Gymreig i gyhoeddi Water Wars fel llyfr. Pan darodd Covid-19 ein prosiect, a bu rhaid gorffen ein hymarferion ar ol wythnos yn unig, daeth yr ymgyrch Kickstarter hyd yn oed yn fwy pwysig fel ffordd o gario momentwm Water Wars yn ei flaen. Roedd gennym bryder a fyddai pobl gyda diddordeb, gan fod y Corona wedi taro ein cymunedau mor galed, yn enwedig y sector gelfyddydol, a fod meddyliau a phryderon pobl ar bethau amgenach. Fe gaethon ni siom ar yr ochr orau, gan fod pobl yn ymddengys i fod yn barod iawn i gefnogi rhywbeth mewn cyfnod o argyfwng. Pam ddim felly cefnogi cyhoeddi sgript lenyddol bwysig? Erbyn dechrau Ebrill 2020, roeddym wedi cyrraedd ein targed ariannol, ac yn fuan bydd hi’n bosib archebu llyfr o Water Wars, diolch i gefnogaeth yr unigolion a gredodd yn ein gweledigaeth.