It's often good to get a bit of distance from a performance or show before commenting on it. I've found that it becomes easier to form objective viewpoints. So, for the round up of this term, let's start with the performances.
1) Performances
Windmill Young Actors performed at two large scale theatre events this term.
At the Windmill Theatre we had our first ever Windmill Young Actors dedicated performance evening where we performed a specially written script that had been developed over the entire year. The script contained numerous excerpts from the students' own writing and was edited into a 45 minute story. The Legacy of Fingerless Gloves contained diverse performance styles including singing, choreographed movement, classic and modern acting techniques and gave scope for every performer to have a vital role. As always we put special emphasis on large scale ensemble pieces but this time we also gave some of the more experienced actors a good go at some text work and characters. I need to make special mention of a couple of actors who really improved and shone. Mo hadn't really acted before joining Windmill Young Actors and yet threw herself into every exercise with great skill and commitment. She wrote herself a wonderfully dark and tortured character and then played her in performance with tenacity, subtlety and above all else, a spine tingling commitment. Flint played the lead role of the Captain. I was especially pleased with how he improved. As he grew in confidence, he stopped 'acting' and started believing in his character and what he was going through. This allowed for a growing subtlety and believability in his work. Barbara came to Windmill Young Actors this year. I had taught her at a couple of other acting clubs previously and so I knew what she could do. However, as with every new student, we like to see commitment and focus within class and rehearsals before we give them a large role in performance so it was a bit early to give her anything large scale. Having said that, she took a lead in the ensemble work that was absolutely vital. She grew in confidence with each rehearsal and lead every chorus voice strongly. I can't reiterate how important it is to have strong ensemble members in a performance - they lead the others and pull them up to their standard. Well done! I realise that in naming individual students that you miss so many out but I want to make it clear that there was NO WEAK LINK in this group. Even our very youngest did themselves proud, worked hard and performed convincingly. Well done!
Our second performance was at The Brighton Dome at The Family Festival organised by Cicely Taylor. We had depleted numbers for this one and had to make some very last minute changes. Mo took on Cerys' lead role as Cerys was ill (Cerys still managed to play a siren in a mask - amazing commitment!) and Lillian took on Anna's role of Hope which she sight read off stage into a microphone - not only was every word clear and crystallized but she sight-read better than a lot of professional actors that I know! It makes a director's job so much easier to have actors who are brave enough to step up and have a go. And actually, that's all we can ask of all our students - that they have a go! It was fantastic to put the show on with full lights and on a large stage. It's amazing what a difference it makes to a large scale ensemble piece when you have the space that allows for freedom of movement and doesn't feel tight. As always, the Windmill Young Actors shone!
2) Numbers and Risk
We are delighted that Windmill Young Actors continues to grow. We had 43 students registered last term and hope to fill both Saturday classes next term (25 in each timeslot).
We are launching our older age range on a Thursday evening and already have 5 students registered for that.
But there is now a financial risk to this. Blatchington Mill School have very kindly offered us the space for free in exchange for discounted prices for their students. However, Tanushka and I are now taking on all of the financial risk. We are setting up as a non-profit community business which basically means that all profits are put back into the business. It also means that we can apply for funding for specific projects that reach out into the community - for example, the Play in a Day idea last Easter or a couple of film projects that I have in mind.
If you can help by spreading the word and inviting friends to the Windmill Young Actors then that would be amazing. And this leads me onto -
3) Parents
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
We could not run this club without your continued efforts and support. A couple of you even helped out in the ticket office at the performance in the Windmill and we are so delighted that you feel you can help out and offer support. Now that Tanushka and I are in charge of communication we hope to continue to build relationships with all our parents. The dedication to pay for, support, ferry, run after and the rest for your children is fantastic and as someone who was very fortunate to be involved in lots of music and drama when I was young, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that your kids are going to be so grateful when they are older that they had these chances!
I will be a father of twins in about 6 weeks and so I will probably be coming to you for advice!
Just to be clear, we are always totally open to conversations, feedback and suggestions from you. We want to make sure that you feel included and important in what we are doing at Windmill Young Actors. Any thoughts or ideas then please do bring them our way.
4) Professional Work
A couple of Windmill Young Actors had professional castings last term and I am always delighted to be able to suggest our students for work. I realise that as a parent this can sometimes be a bit daunting. But the key to all this is knowing exactly what professional work might involve - from castings, to rehearsals and performing, beit film, theatre or commercials. There are a number of Windmill Young Actors that we feel could have a real chance of getting some work in the future. Next term we will set up a list of actors and parents who want to look into this a bit more. Amongst other things, plans are afoot to get a day organised with a professional photographer to get some headshots done. But I really want to make it clear that this is simply an additional benefit of the group and is in no way expected or encouraged from our point of view. We simply want to be able to offer support where we can for those that are interested.
5) Ensemble
One thing that continues to thrive and grow is the sense of ensemble with the group. We actively encourage all of our students to look after and look out for each other in the work and also in the break times. The best performances come from safe, relaxed and non-judgemental environments and our hope is that this will be one of the things that makes Windmill Young Actors stand out as the best young actors group in Brighton and Hove!
6) Looking ahead
Well, firstly, from our point of view we are even more determined to make Windmill Young Actors the best and most fun place to be on a Saturday. We really hope that these Thursday classes for the older age range take off - it'll most likely be a small start but if you think about the younger group over the last two years - we've gone from 12 members to 43 - so hopefully we will grow strongly.
We are looking to build stronger relationships with the school and combine with their drama department on a couple of projects.
We have been offered 3 performance evenings per year in The Windmill Theatre and will most probably take them up on that. Dates will be out to you as soon as we have them.
We are hoping to bring more film opportunities to the group.
In the meantime, have an amazing rest of the year and don't forget to get your payments in asap for next term. And please do remember to get in touch with any queries or ideas.
