This writing intensive was a precursor to A Living Newspaper Summer School happening over 12-15 August 2021 at Hospitalfield, Arbroath. This workshop looked at the writing of Tillie Olsen and asked participants to consider the questions, 'What kind of work is writing?' and 'What kind of worker is a writer?'. The writing intensive was held over two consecutive days and organised as part of Bik Van der Pol's FIELDWORK, Now What: A Living Newspaper International Summer School 2021.

The Living Newspaper Summer School takes into practice learning, experimentation and discussion, inspired by the structure and context of The Living Newspaper which ran in the USA from 1935 – 1939, as part of the New Deal under President Roosevelt. With its roots in earlier European theatre, the programmes that emerged were ambitious scripted productions which re-told and performed major stories of the day around housing, labour, disease and social stigma. Hospitalfield held three online Study Groups in March and April in order to learn together about the model of the Living Newspaper and how it might be adopted by artists.

For the Living Newspaper Summer School, participants collectively devise, make and perform versions of Living Newspapers inspired by contemporary news stories. The Living Newspaper as theatrical model is used to speculate on our possible futures starting with details from the news, with humour and flamboyance, acknowledging ourselves and our bodies in relation to each other.