Wednesday 28 March 2012

Blatchington Mill School Community Arts - Summer Term

BLATCHINGTON MILL SCHOOL COMMUNITY ARTS

WEEKLY PERFORMING ARTS CLASSES

* BIG MOUTH SINGERS * A fun and friendly adults’ community choir which is open to all: beginners welcome! A great way to learn modern and traditional songs from around the world, vocal techniques and warm-ups, directed by Siggi Mwasote and Cicely Taylor, plus visits from guest tutors. Over the year, choir members are offered the chance to perform in the Windmill Theatre, Brighton Dome & more! Participants say: “It’s all been fabulous! Have learnt some new songs & met some lovely people.”

Time: Mondays 4.30pm – 5.45pm

Venue: Blatchington Mill School Drama Studio C1

Term dates: 16/04/12 - 09/07/12 (no sessions during Half Term)

Fee: First session FREE, thereafter £40.00 or £25.00 concessions per term (this may be paid in instalments if you wish)
Directions to Room C1: Use the Nevill Avenue entrance to the school. You can park in the first car park you come to, then walk up the ramp through the double red doors into the entrance to the Performing Arts block. For Room C1, go immediately right through a set of double doors and C1 is first on your left.


* LITTLE MOUTH CHOIR * A fantastically fun children’s choir! Come and sing along to your favourite songs with our friendly tutors Gemma Routledge and Sarah Gardner. Over the year, choir members get the chance to perform in the Wind-mill Theatre, Brighton Dome, and more! Past performances include performing at the ‘Choir of the Year’ finals at the Royal Festival Hall. The choir runs at the same time as the adults’ choir, Big Mouth, so parents and carers can take part too, if they wish. Participants say: “Little Mouth is the best choir I’ve ever been to!”

Minimum age: 7 years

Time: Mondays 4.30pm – 5.45pm

Venue: Blatchington Mill School Music Room C17

Term dates: 16/04/12 - 09/07/12 (no sessions during Half Term)
Fee: First session FREE, thereafter £40.00 or £25.00 concessions per term (this may be paid in instalments if you wish)
Directions to Room C17: Use the Nevill Avenue entrance to the school. You can park in the first car park you come to, then walk up the ramp through the double red doors into the entrance to the Performing Arts block. For Room C17, go immediately up the stairs on the left, then turn left, got through a set of double doors and C17 is on your right.

* STEEL PAN DRUMMING * A fantastic opportunity to join a Steel band, playing traditional Caribbean drums with Helen Longton-Howarth from ‘Sounds of Steel’. Learning traditional melodies and modern pop songs, the group will perform at events in the Windmill Theatre, Brighton Dome and more! Participants say: “I’m really enjoying it! I love the music, I’m making new friends and it’s exciting.”

Minimum age: 7 years

Time: Wednesdays 5.00pm – 6.00pm

Venue: Somerhill Junior School, Somerhill Road, Hove BN3 1RP

Term dates: 18/04/12 - 11/07/12 (no sessions during Half Term)

Fee: First session FREE, thereafter £40.00 or £25.00 concessions per term (this may be paid in instalments if you wish)

Link to map of Somerhill School: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

* ACTING CLUB: WINDMILL YOUNG ACTORS * Discover Drama in a fun and exciting way at the Blatchington Mill School Saturday Acting Club ‘Windmill Young Actors’. Discover the world of creative drama with performing arts professionals Tanushka Marah and Ben Murray-Watson to discover different characters from a range of plays, working with costume, mime and mask. Explore techniques of improvisation, physical theatre, stage fighting and clowning, working together to develop a piece to perform at the end of term. Previous performances have been at The Windmill Theatre, Brighton Dome and as part of Brighton Festival. Participants say: “It is phenomenal!”

Minimum age: 7 years

Day: Saturdays 9.45am – 11.45am OR 12.00pm – 2.00pm

Venue: Blatchington Mill School Dance Studio M32

Term dates: 21/04/12 – 14/07/12 (no sessions either side of Half Term)
Fee: First session FREE, thereafter £90.00 or £60.00 concessions per term (this may be paid in instalments if you wish)

Directions: From the Nevill Avenue entrance, you can park in the first car park you come to, then walk up the ramp through the double red doors into the entrance to the Performing Arts block. Walk across the Foyer, and go outside via the white sliding doors. Look diagonally to your left and the Dance Studio M32 is the first brick building on the left, next to two green teaching huts.



* ROCK BAND SESSIONS * Band sessions designed for young people who already have experience of playing an instrument: singers welcome! Learn to play in a band, develop musicianship, record a demo CD, and work towards live performances. The sessions are run in conjunction with the ‘Teenspirit’ project. Participants say: “Fun and exciting!”… “I’ve enjoyed learning to play in a band.”

Minimum age: 9 years

Venue: Music Department at Blatchington Mill School

Time slots: Wednesdays 4.00pm – 5.00pm; 5.00pm – 6.00pm or 6.00pm – 7.00pm and Saturdays 9.00am – 10.00am; 10.15am – 11.15am or 11.30am – 12.30pm

Term dates: 21/04/12 – 14/07/12 or 18/04/12 - 11/07/12 (no sessions during Half Term)
Fee: First session FREE, thereafter £90.00 or £60.00 concessions per term (this may be paid in instalments if you wish)
Directions to BMS Music Department: Use the Nevill Avenue entrance to the school. You can park in the first car park you come to, then walk up the ramp through the double red doors into the entrance to the Performing Arts block. For C15 go up the stairs on the left, then turn right. For the Music Basement go down the stairs to your left.



For more information contact: Cicely Taylor, Community Arts, Blatchington Mill School, Nevill Ave, Hove, BN3 7BW

E: ctaylor@blatchingtonmill.org.uk ~ T: 01273 221229

Tuesday 27 March 2012

The Summer Term - Windmill Young Actors - Special Offer

Dear All,

This offer only affects those who pay the full £90 per term and not the concession rate of £60.

If you book for next term before the end of this term then you'll receive a whopping £15 off. If you book this week before the end of Friday 30th March then it'll cost you £75 for the term and not £90.

So contact Cicely today on ctaylor@blatchingtonmill.org.uk and book your place.

The Summer Term

As you will have guessed, 'The Legacy of Fingerless Gloves' is still very much a piece in development. It's great to get any feedback on it so please do let me know. The plan is to continue to develop it next term into a 30 - 40 minute piece. It will be performed at our NEW SHOWCASE event that we're hoping to have at The Windmill Theatre in June or July. The first half of the showcase will be a performance of the script. The second half will be scenes and monologues from our young actors. I will be inviting INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS, including agents, as I believe that there is some fantastic talent in this group that deserves to be seen on a wider scale.

We also have our annual SUMMER FESTIVAL at THE BRIGHTON DOME. I'm not sure what we'll be doing for this but there's usually a theme of some kind that we need to follow.

WATCH THIS SPACE!

Saturday 17th March Of Moments

I apologise that I'm a little behind on this so just a very brief run-down of what we did.

At this stage of rehearsals, with a week to go, it's all hands to the blocking. It's usually the case that there is still a lot of the script to put together. The nature of only having 2 hours a week means that you only really get a good 90 minutes to work around breaks and warm ups per week.

The focus was much better this week and we pushed on into the creation of version 2 of 'The Legacy of Fingerless Gloves'.

These types of weeks are pretty exhausting for all concerned. Tanushka and I are working frantically to make sure that all the young actors know what they are doing and have a decent amount to do whilst at the same time managing the room and making sure everyone is healthy and looking happy.

I'll just dwell briefly on what I have previously called 'Moments'. These are the bits in a piece of theatre that raise it above the rest. If you can put moments of character connection or focsuing of the script into the performance it will always add to the enjoyment of the audience.

Moments

The little looks, the tiny gestures,
The hidden gems and the sly swoops into space.
Moments make the magic, a director's ally,
The reflected truth of a human soul trapped in a script.
Perhaps a head turn, a glance across the divide,
Between two hearts, a glow, fast, or slow
To behold, but there. Amongst the chaos,
Amongst the voices and the songs, amongst
The debris of bodies, arms and legs
That show a different side, a real side
And there, a piece of magic indescribable in the gloom,
In the dust and ashes that maybe, if you're lucky,
You'll see and it'll be
Your moment.

Brighton & Hove Children's Festival

We are delighted to be able to support Brighton & Hove Children's Festival.

Thursday 22 March 2012

Costumes for 24th March

Dear All,

Here is a list of costumes. If you are not named then please bring an all BLACK outfit, ie. black jeans, leggings or tracksuit and a black top.

Mo - all white and an all black and 1 x coloured top.
Cerys - all white and an all black and 1 x coloured top.
Anna - all white and an all black outfit.
Flint - Pirate Captain outfit (no sword!).
Sam - all black outfit and 1 x white top and 1 x coloured top.

Thanks

Showcase this Saturday 24th March

Dear All,

Just to let you know that after registration at 18.15 at The Windmill Theatre, the showcase will start at 19.00.

Windmill Young Actors are the 6th act. Please make sure that you either pick up your child immediately after they have performed or that they know where to go and find you.

An estimated pick up time would be 20.00

Thanks,
Ben

Friday 16 March 2012

Saturday 10th March Of 5 Tips for Great Rehearsals

We had a very mixed rehearsal on Saturday. The more experienced earlier group were much less focused and this is something that we are going to have to address. Unfortunately, that means we are a little behind on their scenes. The afternoon group, on the other hand, were superb and we got a huge amount of good work done to the point where we are even thinking of adding an extra scene in this week.

But why was there such a difference between groups? I think that size has an influence and also perhaps a little misplaced confidence. As I said, we'll be addressing this but in the meantime I thought I'd outline 5 key tips to creating a great and productive rehearsal.

1) Come prepared

Now that we have scripts finalised I will be expecting all WYA to come having practiced their lines and with a sound knowledge of the story. The time spent in rehearsals is actually the bare minimum to prepare for a performance. As a professional actor I would expect to be doing a good hour a day outside of scheduled rehearsal time. During this time I would not only be learning the lines off by heart but also looking at my character. Where do they come from? Who are they? What is the world that they live in? If I come to rehearsal with a good idea of all this then I can throw myself into it with confidence, ideas and creativity and in so doing bring the script to life.

2) Focus on stage

It almost goes without saying but when you are in the performance space you need to be keyed into the fact that at any moment you'll be asked to repeat a section of script or try something new. It's not the time to chat about anything other than what is being put together on the stage. This is often very draining as you can be asked to concentrate for long periods of time. However, this time is vital. Be thinking about your role, your place on stage, what the audience might or might not be seeing. You can help the director and be ready for that next run through. It's often in these moments that something about the character or scene will 'click'.

3) Focus off stage

This is absolutely vital. When everyone is in one room it is of paramount importance that you do not distract from what is going on on stage. So how do you keep yourself occupied as this can be very boring? Well, it's easy - watch, listen and practice. Firstly, watch what is going on. It may be that your scene is next or perhaps you're understudying for one of the actors on the stage. Either way, you'll need to be absolutely focused on what's going on. I am currently understudying the role of Jesus in Brighton's Passion play and so far, for the last 10 weeks, I have had to watch the actor playing Jesus closely and precisely. Every move, every line, every relationship that he creates needs to be in my mind for when I step up to play the role. Secondly, listen to what is going on. Your cue to enter might be coming up and you'll be expected to be ready. You can also learn from other actors and listen to how they say their lines. The other thing to keep in mind is that if you were performing a scene, the last thing that you'd want is for a couple of people off stage to be distracting you or making a noise. Therefore, it's pretty simple really - if you're waiting to go on stage, respect those on stage in the same way that you'd want to be respected. Thirdly, you can be practicing your lines in your head or going over a particular scene. You might even be able to find another room off the main rehearsal room to run lines with a scene partner.

4) Keep an eye on the director/s

You may have had an amazing idea or be worrying about a line or action that you have in the performance. This is absolutely fine. However, rather than going and speaking to the director immediately, take a moment to see what they are doing. They may be watching someone else perform or they may be discussing a certain aspect of a scene. This is NOT the time to go to them. It is absolutely right to go to them with a question or idea but wait for the right moment - maybe it's in a break or during a moment when they aren't focusing on something else. You'll soon get a reputation with the director of being easy to work with and professional if you are one step ahead of him or her and ready with questions and ideas at the right time. I always find times like this wonderful for learning. Those WYA who want to have a go at directing can watch Tanushka and I to see how we work, you'll then (hopefully!) have a better idea of how you'd like to direct. Having said that, as an actor, I've probably learnt most about directing from the directors that I didn't like!

5) Repetition should be embraced not rejected

Famous film director, Stanley Kubrick, who directed films like Eyes Wide Shut, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining (all 18s) was famous for his painstaking care and scene staging. He would repeat the same action with his actors over and over again because he felt that it was only in repetition that you would 'find' those moments of acting magic or that wonderful nuance of a character relationship. Put simply, repetition is part of acting. Whether you're acting in a film, a commercial or on stage, you will need to repeat the same lines over and over again. I once toured Alice in Wonderland for 6 months performing between 10 and 14 shows a week. Yes, it did get boring! But during rehearsal repetition is absolutely key to getting the lines embedded in your brain and on your lips. It's also for discovering new things about your character or the world of the play. Repetition should be embraced rather than moaned about. It will help put you in front of an audience as a confident and proud performer.

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Millie-May Directing Blog 1

With the growing experience and talent of some members, Tanushka and I have started giving directing opportunities to the young actors. Take a look at what Millie said about her first attempt.

Last week in drama I had a go at directing for the first
time - believe me, it was hard!

Once you’ve got a picture in your head of what you want the scene to look like, it's quite hard to actually get it out of your head. You just have to accept that it's probably not going to turn out how you thought it would. You have to remember that actors aren’t dolls and you can’t simply force them into a position without them feeling uncomfortable in that position and able to move freely.

If you direct your actors to add a little look to the audience so they can understand what the character is feeling, it doesn’t always go as planned. I found that in performance the audience laughed, when actually the character was experiencing a tiring, backbreaking job. I guess they liked it, whichever way they took it, and that’s the main thing. The audience have to like it.


It's often difficult to know exactly how an audience will react to the scene that you've directed and only through experience that you can get a pretty firm grasp on the feeling that you're creating through the performances and the blocking. Millie managed to put together a gorgeously sweet little scene. That's all I'll say on it for now. If you want to see how that scene turns out then come and watch on March 24th!

Monday 12 March 2012

A Play in A Day! Come and Play! Friday April 13th

Come and join us at the Hanover Centre on Friday 13th for a whirlwind day of creativity led by the talented writer and director, Ben Murray Watson and award-winning director, Tanushka Marah.

On 9am the journey will begin. From the depths of a deep and dark hat we will draw the title of the play to be conceived throughout the day. At 7.30pm on that very evening the title will have become a performance with new characters and new songs.

Everyone will be involved in the final, site specific spectacular!

Ages: 9 - 14
Times: 9am - 9pm Performance at 7.30pm
Place: Hanover Centre, 33 Southover Street, Brighton, BN2 9UD
Price: £35 per child / £30 conc. / £55 for two siblings

Contact:- Tanushka on 01273 298414 / 07932 776 114

Please note that this event is not a part of or associated to Blatchington Mill School or their Community Arts.

A Play in A Day - April 13th - Booking Now!

Thursday 8 March 2012

Saturday 3rd March - Of Putting it all Together

Where do you start when you have a rough sketch of a new piece of writing?

SCRIPT READING

This is pretty essential to get a feel for the rhythm and pace of the piece. It also flags up any obvious mistakes in the writing in terms of character and dialogue.

GUT REACTION

It's vital that your prospective actors feel at least a little inspired by what they've read otherwise everyone will be fighting a losing battle.

CASTING

In this case, Tanushka and I base the casting on a number of different aspects. Firstly, we look at whether or not the character will be suitable for the actor. We take into consideration experience, time as a Windmill Young Actor, commitment to the previous Saturdays, commitment to the workshops that we've run and age and size (very important if two actors are playing opposite each other in particular scenes or doing something physically difficult). Secondly, we look at how casting a particular young actor will benefit them as both an actor and a person. Some unconfident actors might benefit hugely from being given a little more responsibility, whereas some actors who have a way to go will be given something that they can get their teeth into - suitable for their talent. Thirdly, we might really want to challenge a more experienced actor and so cast them in a role that is the complete opposite to what they might usually play.

It was wonderful to chat to one particular member of the afternoon group last week. I mentioned that unfortunately there wasn't going to be the part this term that would fully recognise her talent and commitment. She responded, "It's fine. As long as I'm performing, I don't care what I play!" I wish all actors were like that!

PUTTING IT ON IT'S FEET

The first week of doing this is particularly challenging. And it was no change on Saturday. This is where, with scripts in hand, we begin to shape together the scenes and the characters. Tanushka and I are co-directing for the first time this term and it's a new experience for both of us. The good news is that it's working very well and we haven't gone down with 'creative differences' yet! The slightly tricky thing though, is that until we have firm 'blocking' (when actors have their places and positions on stage), things are quite slow and so a lot of patience is needed from the young actors.

CCOMBINING TWO GROUPS

This has been another great new opportunity for us this term. With two groups we have the chance to give each group very specific scenes and tasks that make up part of the whole piece. We can then put them all together and create one full and varied exciting final performance that utilises everyone's unique skills. Of course, it all becomes more complicated but then working through all that is what you're paying us for!

CREATING PERFORMANCE

Everything said prior to this is just the start. Once we have a shape to the performance the real challenge then begins. We begin to work the 'detail' into the scenes. These are the small moments that perhaps aren't in the script; perhaps a character history for an atmosphere or a piece of music. It's all vital!

With just 6 hours of rehearsal until 24th March, we're excited and just a little terrified!

Thursday 1 March 2012

Dear Parents - Please Read

Dear Parents,

As I’m sure that you’ve seen on the blog this term has already been hugely inspiring and productive.

If, for any reason, you haven’t signed up to follow the blog then I’d really recommend that you do as it details all of the essential information along with work from the students and performance times and dates.

www.bringactinghome.blogspot.com

On the performance front, we are now extremely excited to confirm two performance dates:-

Date: March 24th
Location: Windmill Theatre
Arrival for registration: 18.15
Doors Open: 18.30
Event: 19.00 – 21.30
Costume: Please make sure that you have the basics of an all black costume – this is a standard performance ask and worth the investment.

Tech/Dress rehearsals will be at the usual times on 24th March. 09.45 – 11.45 and 12.00 – 14.00 in THE WINDMILL THEATRE. There will be two 5 minute performances, one from each group, and will be tasters for the summer WYA show.

Date: 13th July
Location: Brighton Dome
This is part of the Family Festival.
TBC

We are also planning a Windmill Young Actors only evening where we will perform the full scale production of ‘The Legacy of Fingerless Gloves’ along with a showcase of monologues and duologues. The plan is to invite a number of industry professionals. This will be in the summer term.

A reminder – please can you make it clear in writing if your child makes their own way home after each Saturday. Also, if you are not receiving emails and updates about WYA then please email Cicely – ctaylor@blatchingtonmill.org.uk – to confirm that you’ve filled in the application form and that we have your details. Alongside this, please do follow the blog.

Thanks everyone. Exciting times ahead!

Best Wishes,

Ben and Tanushka.