Youth Theatre News

Actors (aged 16 – 24 years), Peer Productions

Peer Productions is a unique youth arts training company. Each year we offer a small team of talented young actors the opportunity to join our company and gain genuine experience of performing as part of a theatre and film in education company. Young actors also receive free training and many go on to drama school. In previous years our actors have been offered places at Mountview, Central School of Speech and Drama, Rose Bruford, East15, Guildford School of Acting, Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, ALRA, LIPA and AADA in New York.

For more information please visit our website peerproductions.co.uk/young_volunteers and submit and an application form.

PHYSICAL THEATRE WORKSHOP

‘In our culture we are used to expressing everything through words, leaving the enormous expressive capabilities of the body in an undeveloped state’ Augusto Boal

This workshop is geared towards practitioners of performance to advance their level of physical discipline. The workshop explores the potential for physical expression through the body and movement, to discover and then challenge the capabilities of your form. We will play with a series of exercises that provoke you to move your body with commitment, purpose and energy in order for you to achieve your creative objectives.

We are focused on relaxation and release; the strength and confidence that will mould the individual performer into a free un-inhibited state of focus and enable the opportunity to act with the instinctive subconscious. We will then begin to explore how the newfound physical dialogue can be used as a method, to enrich the power and intensity of more conventional forms of Drama Theatre. There are many aspects that work of this nature has to offer, many of them personal to the individual and valuable to all genres of expression.

The workshop will stir…

Further confidence in your body and the way it moves, through exploration.

Development of centre.

The release of physical & social inhibitions.

Trust in self and others.

An ability to work in an atmosphere that is highly beneficial to one’s own creativity but also acutely conscious of the creativity of others.

A Gap in Mind believes it is important to exhibit work. Therefore the workshop entails a final performance to an invited audience. This will be to professional standard and participants are welcome to invite who they wish.

Dates: 22/03/2010 & 12/04/201; Mondays 6:15pm – 9:30pm
Where: Arch 468, SW9 8RU
Cost: £90

We have the space till 10 pm therefore we will have the opportunity for further exploration, development and discussion when necessary. This is voluntary option but mark my words A Gap in Mind will be utilizing this time.

For booking contact roz@agapinmind.co.uk

A Physical Approach to Character Construction, A Gap in Mind

ANYBODY IN THERE?

A workshop on character construction with Alex Suha.

Sometimes, we’re lucky enough to operate from a place that isn’t our own, like a trance, or a different state. It’s in these rare and wonderful moments that something else lives. Remember the last time it happened?

What is a character? You, in a different situation? Masked? How much is possible, given only one body?

Our workshop’s participants will push and pull themselves into character. We’ll touch on the challenges of operating from a state, and find the changes in an individual as they move through the arc of action. And then, as each of us has something hidden, we’ll find the other side of the characters that move through us, the push and pull of the individual’s inner elements.

Alex has worked on and around the stage and taught in Los Angeles, New York City, and his hometown, Chicago, Illinois. He is an alumnus of the Second City and Improve Olympic Theatres in Chicago, the University of Iowa and the London International School of Performing Arts.

DATES: 28/03/10 & 11/04/10

TIME: 9:45 – 5:30

COST: £60

VENUE: The Arch 468 Studio, Brixton, London, SW9 8RU.

OFFER: Reduced rate available if you wish to attend both dates and explore the methods further.

For further information and booking pleases contact roz@agapinmind.co.uk.

A Gap in Mind looks forward to meeting you at the workshop.

National Family Week – please get involved

National Family Week aims to highlight the important role families play in society and encourage healthy active lifestyles and quality family time. Now in its second year, National Family Week is the largest coalition on family issues and is backed by all major political parties and a huge range of national charities, community groups and sporting associations.

Over 5,000 events will take place during National Family Week 2010 (31st May – 6th June) plus record breaking excitement, giveaways, competitions and activity ideas to encourage families to spend quality time together. It’s going to be a jam-packed fun week and National Family Week would like your organisation to get involved.

Get involved…
Why not be a part of National Family Week 2010 and organise family-friendly events and activities for families in your local community? Events can happen at any time during The Week, but you may wish to tie in your plans with one of The Week’s theme days, for example the Family Week Picnic on Monday 31st May, Family Week Story Time on Wednesday 2nd June, or the Family Week Sports Day on Saturday 5th June.

You can run events as fundraisers, to showcase the good work that you do, to get a serious message across to families or simply to have fun. They could be pre-existing events, just co-branded National Family Week or new events run specifically for The Week. Your events can be featured on the National Family Week website to encourage families in your local area to attend and we’ll also supply materials such as stickers, posters, bookmarks and balloons at no cost to you.

For further information on the plans for The Week, theme day toolkits and promotional resources, visit the National Family Week website at nationalfamilyweek.co.uk and register for the Partner Zone.

SKILL UP

Now in its 6th year running SKILL UP has grown to become one of Scotland’s largest arts training conferences offering a unique weekend of professional development.

As an open access event for anyone engaging in performing arts with young people, SKILL UP endeavours to provide quality training that appeals to all levels of expertise and is therefore designed to cater for; theatre practitioners, teachers, arts workers and students.

Visit promoteyt.co.uk for more information on the success of SKILL UP, and to download reports from past events.

Your SKILL UP weekend will include:
• 3 hour SKILL UP Development Workshops
• Facilitated skill share sessions
• Morning warm ups
• Auditorium and discussion events
• Youth theatre performances
• Light lunch and evening meal (Saturday only)
• Saturday evening Ceilidh – Highland dress optional

Promote YT would like to offer all NAYT members a ‘friends’ rate of £80 per person for the weekend. This would include all workshops & performances, plus lunch on Saturday / dinner sat night and Saturday evening Ceilidh.

There is plenty of very affordable accommodation available in Inverness; from hostels at £12 a night to hotels at £120 a night. Travel is easy by rail / plane or car. For more information visit www.visithighlands.com.

For more booking information please visit promoteyt.co.uk.

ENYAN Successful Bid: Providing Jobs in the Cultural Sector for Young Long-Term Unemployed People

Artswork is delighted to announce that the ENYAN Future Job Fund Programme is set to go live in April 2010 providing 105 jobs within the cultural sector for long term unemployed young people. Linking up with 15 cultural organisations in the South East and 45 in the East Midlands the programme will create new jobs for young people as:

• Arts Administration Assistants;
• Arts Projects Assistants;
• Marketing Assistants;
• Youth Leaders;
• Operations Assistants;
• Technical Assistants;
• Arts Support Workers;
• Exhibition Assistants;
• Touring Assistants;
• Community Learning Champions;

The programme provides fantastic opportunities for young unemployed people to gain employment within the cultural sector and to develop a range of valuable and transferable employment skills. Young people will work within key organisations across the South East and East Midlands in exciting, newly created roles. There is an extremely comprehensive wraparound support package for all Employees including dedicated regional ‘Information, Advice and Guidance Workers’, teams of Peer Mentors and access to an accredited youth art training programme (delivered by Artsplan- Artswork’s national training department).

In the South East partners include:
• Pegasus Theatre Company;
• New Writing South;
• Artswork;
• Da Da South;
• Compulsive Productions;
• Farnham Maltings;
• OYAP;
• Learning Links;
• Intrepid Theatre Company;
• Arts Agenda;
• Milton Keynes Gallery;
• South East Dance;
• Jasmine Vardimon Dance Company;
• Find Your Talent- PUSH;
• SoCo Music

In the East Midlands 43 partners are members of the Derbyshire Learning and Development Consortium and each organisation is developing a new post as Community Learning Champion. The consortium believe that ‘the roles are ideal for young people who would like to turn their lives around by helping others and their communities’. The East Midlands also benefits from the commitment to the programme of Ignite! and Reckless Sleepers who are providing new and exciting roles for young people in Nottingham.

For more information please contact:
virginia@artswork.org.uk
023 80 68 2535

The Orpheus Centre Open Evening

NAYT Associate Venue South East: Launch Event

Puzzle & Pizza Party in the Park

Saturday 24 April 2010 – 11.00am to 2.00pm (Free)

With the aim of increasing and supporting regional youth theatre activity in the South East, the National Association of Youth Theatres has formed a partnership with Chichester Festival Youth Theatre. It is our aim to help increase, strengthen and support youth theatre activity across the region through events and networking.

We would like to invite you to be a part of a special launch event.

We are inviting 2 people (1 or 2 youth theatre leaders and 1 or 2 youth theatre members) from each of the 131 NAYT registered youth theatres in the South East to come along to Chichester Festival Theatre on Saturday 24th April to create a giant PUZZLE IN THE PARK. We invite you to create your own ‘puzzle piece’ (30cm x 30cm) on which your youth theatre is represented. This can be anything from your youth theatre group name to photos of members to your mission statement – anything that you feel represents YOU. We suggest you KEEP IT BRIEF & KEEP IT BOLD! We will then assemble all the pieces into a giant puzzle in the park and have some pizza, all to help celebrate the diversity and vibrancy of youth theatre in our region.

We want every youth theatre in the South East to be represented at this event so if you cannot come along on the day, YOU CAN STILL BE INVOLVED by sending us your completed puzzle piece (by post or electronically) by 15th April.

Here’s your chance to feel a real part of the South East youth theatre network.

RSVP and for further information, please contact: Dale Rooks, Youth Theatre Director, Chichester Festival Theatre dale.rooks@cft.org.uk or sam.maynard@cft.org.uk
Tel: 01243 784437

Production Video

Activ8 Administrative Assistant (Part-Time 15 hours per week)

Fixed Term Contract for 12 months

The Octagon Theatre requires an experienced admin assistant to provide support for our community, education and outreach department. You will be highly organised, able to work on your own initiative and have experience of word processing and Microsoft Office. For further details and an application form telephone 01204 529407 or email info@octagonbolton.co.uk

Closing date for applications 22/03/10 at 12 noon

Interviews will be held on 01/04/10

The Octagon Theatre positively welcomes applications from all sections of the community.

This position is subject to a successful CRB Enhanced Disclosure check.