Creative Learning – Spring 2020

18 Feb 2020 News

Youth Perform 2020 presents

ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLY?

It’s TV Night in the Shufflebottom house, and the situation’s comedy!

Dad makes the whole family watch the TV together, including the dog! No tablets, no laptops, no phones… just some good old fashioned entertainment just like when he was a boy, even though ‘…there’s never anything on’, and ‘…it’s all rubbish!’

As television in the UK reaches its tenth decade in the front room, join young people from school and drama groups across Suffolk as they come together to explore the impact of mass communication, from carrier pigeon to Instagram and everything in between!

 Our annual Youth Perform festival is a unique opportunity for schools and community groups to create a 10 – 15 minute piece of original theatre and perform it alongside other groups and professional actors. Students will be working with theatre practitioners and technicians to create an evening of theatre, music and dance. We’re currently accepting submissions from KS2, KS3 or KS4 classes or clubs.

As in previous years you can use dance, drama, music or a mixture of any of these to present your 10-15 minute theatre piece. Schools/groups that are chosen to take part will have two free workshops from one of our practitioners, the first to kick-start the project, and the second to give input later on in rehearsals.

The event takes place at the New Wolsey Theatre as part of our Open Season from Monday 22nd June to Thursday 25th June 2020. Participants will have a technical rehearsal on stage prior to the performance – these happen throughout the day and preference for the later slots will be given to schools that are further away. There will be 5 schools / groups performing in an evening.

Participating groups will receive:

  • Two in-school workshops from a professional practitioner during the rehearsal process and advisory time with the teacher/practitioner.
  • Technical rehearsal at the New Wolsey Theatre with our tech team.
  • Marketing material for the performance.
  • The opportunity to perform for the public at the New Wolsey Theatre.

The cost of taking part in Youth Perform is £100 + VAT – this has increased slightly from £75 + VAT that we have charged previously. Please let us know if this increase is going to be a barrier for you. The only other cost is the transport to and from the festival and props and costumes should you choose to use them.

The festival is very popular and places are limited so you’ll need to express your interest as soon as possible. The deadline for signing up is Friday 13th March. If you are interested in giving your students this unique exciting opportunity, please fill out the attached form, email or post it back to me at:

New Wolsey Theatre, Civic Drive, Ipswich IP1 2AS / sthomas@wolseytheatre.co.uk.

 

Digital Storytelling

Combine new and exciting digital technologies with theatre making to enhance pupils STEM skills and explore creative potentials. This could range from digital storytelling featuring audio effects, LEDS and mechanical movement to performing a virtual play inside Minecraft.

Workshop options include:

Digital puppets: Augmenting puppets with LEDS, Audio effects and motors then devising a short play/scene based on these characters.

  • A whole day activity.
  • KS3-5, capacity of 30 students
  • Cost: £350 plus VAT
  • School resources required: 1 laptop/computer between every 2 students

 

Model box Storytelling: Building a table top model box and performing a story using LEDS, Audio effects and motors

  • A whole day activity.
  • KS3-5, capacity of 30 students
  • Cost: £350 plus VAT
  • School resources required: 1 laptop/computer between every 2 students

 

Video game making: Design, test and share a video game based on a topic, get creative with making your own game controllers, making the player jump up and down/lean left and right or turn a giant steering wheel to play the game.

  • A half or whole day activity.
  • Year 5 & 6 at primary level, plus KS3-5, capacity of 30 students
  • Cost: Half day £180 plus VAT, full day £250 plus VAT
  • School resources required: 1 laptop/computer per student

 

Robot Battle – design your robot, build the arena and take turns doing commentary on the matches. Compete in battles, speed races and challenges to learn about iterative design and robotics.

  • A half or whole day activity.
  • KS3-5, capacity of 15 students
  • Cost: Half day £200 plus VAT, full day £280 plus VAT
  • School resources required: 1 laptop/computer between every 2 students

 

Film Making: Choose your own topic! 

Discover how digital media can inspire and empower your students to think creatively about curriculum based topics! Students will discover a range of filmmaking skills including story-telling, script-writing, storyboards, drama, and camera-work, giving them the opportunity to explore any given subject or project, critically and objectively through creative practices.

An engaging and imaginative opportunity for students to work together and produce films they can be proud of.

Cost: £80 plus VAT per workshop

Length: One hour per workshop, long term projects are available

Capacity: 15 students maximum

 

Join us at our Youth Theatre Taster Sessions!

The New Wolsey Theatre has 7 youth theatre groups for young people who want to make friends, build confidence, make theatre and have lots of fun.

We welcome you to come and find out if it’s for you!

We run informal and relaxed taster sessions, which are totally free, and give you the chance to try us out.

 

The Next Taster Session:

Saturday 28th March

Juniors (Primary ages 7-11) 2pm-3pm

Seniors (Secondary ages 11-18) 3.30-5.00pm

 

How do I get involved?

Just send an email to sthomas@wolseytheatre.co.uk or call 01473 295930 to find out more or to let us know that you’re interested.

These sessions are free, but spaces are limited, so get in touch to book yourself a place. We’ll get back to you with all the details.

We hope to see you there!

 

Theatre For Your Community

This term we are piloting a brand new project to make a piece of theatre that will be shared with schools’ local communities through performances both in school and in local community venues. We have delivered CPDs to develop teacher’s skills in theatre making, exploring the notion of community for each school taking part, and delivered content designed to help with selling a show to an audience – how to build trust and get the word out.

Our aim is for schools to benefit from strengthened and meaningful links made with local community venues, increased parental engagement, demonstration to Ofsted that schools are servicing the local community, and increased creativity, confidence and soft skills in the students taking part.

It is important that schools to develop real, meaningful, lasting relationships within their local community, to create an ongoing legacy for this project to build on.

The project was formulated through discussions with teachers around their need – and a thread which ran amongst all of them was for this work to compliment the new “broad and balanced” Ofsted framework, which is new for September 2019.

Performances are due to take place within schools’ local communities at the end of the Spring term.

If you are interested in knowing more about this project, or being involved in a future version, please get in touch by emailing Sian Thomas, Creative Learning Producer at sthomas@wolseytheatre.co.uk or call 01473 295930.

 

Don’t forget that you can book our core activity at any time during the academic year. This includes…

 

Careers Strategy Opportunities

We know how integral it is for schools to be thinking about employability, career pathways and future options for students. We can offer a range of ways to find out the many different roles that keep a busy theatre going, as well as develop the essential interpersonal skills that will benefit students in their next steps…

 

Backstage tours

Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes in a busy producing theatre?

Our extensive tour will take you from stage door to fly floor and everywhere in between. You’ll get to see what is involved in getting a show ready for an audience, and we’ll even reveal some of the tricks of the trade.

Cost: £2.50 per student plus VAT

 

Industry Days

Bring your students to the theatre to find out first hand how a professional theatre operates.

A half day visit includes a backstage tour and the opportunity to meet some staff, find out what they do and how they got to where they are now. Our full day offer includes an additional two hour theatre making workshop. A brilliant way to explore career pathways in the arts with your students!

Cost: £250 full day, £120 half day plus VAT

 

Employability and Futures

For young people who are about to leave school or college and may be thinking about further education or employment options.

This practical workshop will use theatrical games and exercises to develop participants’ employability and presentation skills, preparing them for interviews and the world of work.

Cost: £80 plus VAT

 

Drama Club or Play in a Day

Workshops develop students’ theatrical awareness and skills and can be aimed at primary or secondary students, either in school with curriculum links or as an after-hours club. Brilliant for developing literacy, confidence and soft skills!

  • Drama Club – £350 plus VAT for 6 workshops or bespoke costs for ongoing workshops available
  • Play in a Day – £10 plus VAT per student for a whole day activity

 

We can run a CPD in Your School!

We offer a range of CPD opportunities in school settings. We can come to you during one of your regular staff meetings to run a fun and practical CPD to give you the tools to both create theatre and embed theatrical games and exercises into everyday teaching methods.

Activities may include games and exercises to:

  • Build confidence
  • Develop team working and negotiation
  • Develop presentation skills
  • Introduce theatre making
  • Integrate creativity into the classroom everyday

Cost: £80 plus VAT

You can find our current core offer in our brochure here or get in touch to discuss a bespoke offer.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

For more information please contact Sian Thomas, Creative Learning Producer

sthomas@wolseytheatre.co.uk

01473 295930