Natalie Reckert, a 2025 New Authors Micro-Commission Recipient, reflects on her experience of the award
I’ve not only deepened my creative voice but also opened it up – allowing new places, new stories, and new collaborations to shape what I make next
Last year brought a fantastic new opportunity for me and my work: the New Authors Micro-Commission. I applied with a new piece titled Songs for an Unwritten Sky – a site-specific performance that weaves together music, spoken word, and song texts I’ve written, inspired by the people and places connected to the performance sites.
As a hand balancer and theatre maker, I’ve spent the past 15 years creating work that’s often autobiographical and deeply personal. The Micro-Commission gave me the space – and the encouragement – to make a radical turn in my practice. For the first time, I began shifting the focus away from myself and towards other people and their stories, as well as the subtle rhythms of nature and our urban environments.
Equally important for me was the chance to explore site-specific performance – something I’ve wanted to focus on for a long time. It’s not always easy to develop or tour site-specific work in traditional festival or outdoor contexts; organisers often prefer to book ready-made pieces. But the commission gave me the opportunity to lean into the challenge of making something responsive to a particular landscape, in dialogue with the people connected to it.
My approach in Songs for an Unwritten Sky was to use my own abilities – both physical and creative – not as the centre of the work, but as a way to facilitate others’ stories. I wanted the ecosystem itself to speak: through the words in the songs, through the music, and through my own movement as I responded to the space I found myself in.
During my five-day New Authors residency at The Lowry, I had the chance to collaborate with musician Xenia Garden. I spent the first two days alone, exploring the architecture through acrobatics and movement – understanding how my body could relate to the structure of the building. Then Xenia and I came together for three days of songwriting. We wrote pieces about the Manchester Ship Canal and Pier 8 – historically a place where citrus fruit and steel were loaded and unloaded. We also reflected on the industrial beauty of the quayside: MediaCity, the Imperial War Museum North, and the striking clash between old dockside structures and new architectural forms.
It was an incredible week – full of creative discovery and a renewed sense of purpose.
In early October, we had a sharing session, alongside the other two artists awarded the Micro-Commission, as part of Circus City. Presenting our three works to an audience of around 40 industry professionals was a real highlight of the experience. Even without going on to receive the main £6,000 New Authors Commission, the Micro-Commission meant that Songs for an Unwritten Sky – and this new direction in my practice – reached a community of people who could see my artistic progression and support me as I continue the journey.
Through the Micro-Commission, I’ve not only deepened my creative voice but also opened it up – allowing new places, new stories, and new collaborations to shape what I make next.
https://performance.nataliereckert.com/
Natalie Reckert was one of three artists who received the New Authors Micro-Commission. Each artist received £2,000, studio time and producer support to progress their idea for a new performance project. Research findings and a pitch for further development were presented to a panel of peers, industry and potential partners at Circus City 2025.
New Authors is led by Circus City, in partnership with Cirkus Syd, Crying Out Loud, Jacksons Lane, Lakeside Arts, Out There Arts, Take Art, The Lowry and Worthing Theatres and Museum and is supported by Arts Council England, West of England Combined Authority and The Garrick Charitable Trust.
Images by Anna Barclay