The dramatic theatre arts partnership between Carleen Anderson and Hall For Cornwall (HfC) began in 2014. Carleen’s longtime friend and colleague, Julien Boast, HfC Creative Director, became a sponsor for her first theatre production CAGE STREET MEMORIAL. This connection led to an ongoing affiliation with Falmouth University’s Academy of Music and Theatre Arts (AMATA) where the CAGE STREET MEMORIAL music album was recorded in 2015. These two theatre company associations resulted in Carleen being awarded grants from Arts Council England and the Performance Rights Society (PRS) which facilitated the presentation of CAGE STREET MEMORIAL at The Albany Theatre in Deptford followed by a live production at the Barbican Center in London, resulting in CAGE STREET MEMORIAL being nominated for an Innovation of the Year award. These positive responses inspired Carleen to revisit a fantasy narrative of hers that had been dormant since childhood.

In 2016, Julien introduced Carleen to HfC Deputy Creative Director, Helen Tiplady. Helen, engaged by the MELIOR Opus Griot storyline, presented Carleen’s potential to develop as a dramatic theatre production creative to HfC for their support of her artistry. This led to Carleen being named as an HfC Associate Artist and Cultural Ambassador.

After several years of bids to Arts Council England were declined, MELIOR Opus Griot was awarded a research and development grant in 2020, a few days before the COVID-19 pandemic caused a global lockdown that resulted in the closure of theatres worldwide.

This Arts Council England support enabled the collaboration between Carleen, HfC and AMATA to proceed with the creative construction of MELIOR Opus Griot, even in the midst of the national mandate preventing public gatherings for any reason.

Across the globe at this time, stage performances previously attended by mass congregations inside buildings were outlawed. Live online music and theatre performances became the norm. The first presentation of MELIOR Opus Griot was on Carleen’s Official Artist Facebook Page as a Livestream in September 2020.

The unexpected success of this online preview brought about a follow up production development grant awarded to Carleen from Arts Council England in 2021. However, the COVID pandemic overhang necessitated that the six-month projected budget had to be stretched to an 18-month creative and technical overhaul operation. Due to the unforeseen delay, the original creative delivery had to be revised to such an extent that the Arts Council England grant funds were depleted before the stage performance could even go into production rehearsals.