No Ball Games, 2010
Clear?
If you’ve taken part, bought or commissioned work, or seen what we do that statement probably makes sense, but if you haven’t it might take some explaining. So here goes…
We use the productions, artists, skills and resources of the New Wolsey Theatre to increase your understanding of how theatre works, to develop your own creativity, to broaden your knowledge about a subject or the world around you, or to give you a better understanding about yourself. We even apply the techniques we use in a rehearsal room to give people the opportunity to see what motivates their own behaviour.
We deliver a service to schools and colleges, a programme of projects and events for children, young people and the community, and a platform for students, arts educators and teachers to gain new skills and share good practice.
AND we provide over 20,000 opportunities to participate every year.
For more information, get in touch, get involved:
mneal@wolseytheatre.co.uk
01473 295 930
Find out more about what we do below…
“Working alongside Rob & Laura from The New Wolsey has brought fresh and invigorating insights into the world of performance arts for the Westbridge community! This is undoubtedly due to their unreserved commitment combined with a very skilful dedication clearly seen whilst working with our students. This combination has allowed us all to enjoy the successes that these relevant and interesting collaborations have brought. We cannot thank them enough for their work. In fact, so significant is their impact at Westbridge, it is hard to remember a time before our partnership.”
Carey Fish, Deputy Head, Westbridge PRU
Junior Youth Theatre
For ages 7 – 11, Groups meet weekly on Saturday mornings
When: Sat 6 Jan 2018
Cost: £150 a year, £120 for a second child, £90 if you are in receipt of means tested benefits. Bursaries are available
Senior Youth Theatre
For ages 11 – 16 who want to develop their abilities as performers. Groups meet weekly on Tuesdays (11 to 15 year olds) and Wednesdays (15 & 16 year olds) during term time.
When: Sat 6 & Sun 7 Jan 2018
Cost: £150 a year, £120 for a second child, £90 if you are in receipt of means tested benefits. Bursaries are available
Youth Theatre Squared
For young people with a disability or additional needs aged 11-20 who want to explore theatre making and develop their creativity. Groups meet weekly on Mondays during term time.
Meet the Practitioner: An informal chat with our practitioners who will share information about what to expect from the sessions:
When: Fri 5 Jan 2018
Cost: £150 a year, £120 for a second child, £90 if you are in receipt of means tested benefits. Bursaries are available
Young Company
For young adults aged 16 – 22 who want to increase their skills and experience as theatre makers. Young Company is about finding your voice as an artist and making choices. We offer a programme of skills and training sessions combined with three annual productions, access to entry level employment and ongoing engagement with the industry to make a high quality platform for young artists. Groups meet weekly on Wednesdays and rehearse for specific projects on Sundays.
When: Sun 7 Jan 2018
Cost: £50 a year (concession £25). Bursaries are available
Storymaker is a traditional piece of storytelling for children aged 3 – 6. Storymaker runs once a month on a Saturday Morning during the professional seasons upstairs in the New Wolsey Theatre Bar. Storymaker is also available for schools, libraries, and community venues to buy. The Storymaker has two outcomes, Little Story for 3 and 4 year olds lasts for 20 minutes and is followed by a structured playtime and Big Story for 5 and 6 year olds lasts for 25 minutes and is followed by the opportunity for the participants to make their own version of the story that has been told. An actor from the New Wolsey Theatre performs the story, directed by the Associate Director. The performances held at the NWT are split into two sessions. The first is Little Story, half an hour after the story finishes, the second is Big Story.
Children’s Shows at the New Wolsey Studio are presented once a month, excluding the summer break, and run for an extended period up to and over Christmas. The work is made up of a variety of touring productions from established and emerging Children’s Theatre companies. The programme is designed to meet the needs of younger children aged 2 – 7. Tickets start at £10 per head for adults, with tickets for Under 26’s starting at £5. Productions perform between either 2 or sometimes 3 times through the day. This successful provision is complemented by the Storymaker offer, and is succeeded by some events in the main programme and the Drama Club offer.
If you’re under 22 and you want to work in the Performing Arts Industry, there are all sorts of ways to develop as an actor, director, writer, communicator or technician at the New Wolsey Theatre. Every January we hold workshop auditions for children and young people to select up to 200 participants to take part in weekly skills and development sessions as well as presenting a number of productions at the New Wolsey Studio and beyond all year round.
Ages 7-11
Saturday morning workshops
1 annual production plus end of term sharings
Yearly cost: £150 / £120 for a second child, £90 if you’re in receipt of means tested benefits
If you want to make new friends and learn about theatre by playing games and telling stories these weekly groups are a great place to start. Throughout the year, participants develop theatre making skills through imaginative play, and begin to find their own creative language.
Every year the groups take part in Youth Perform!, a 4 day festival at the New Wolsey Theatre for which they will create a 10-15 minute piece of theatre to be performed on the main stage alongside other groups.
The group is led by actor and theatre practitioner Joe Leat, with two youth theatre assistants.
Ages 11-16
Tuesday (groups 3 and 4) & Wednesday (group 5) evening workshops
1 annual production plus end of term sharings
Yearly cost: £150 / £120 for a second child, £90 if you’re in receipt of means tested benefits
If you’re exploring your creativity and want to develop your abilities as a performer, these weekly groups give you the chance to work with industry professionals to develop your skills and understanding as young theatre makers.
Every year groups 3 and 4 take part in Youth Perform!, a 4 day festival at the New Wolsey Theatre for which they will create a 10-15 minute piece of theatre to be performed on the main stage alongside other groups.
There is an annual youth theatre production in the autumn term, for which participants are selected to take part from these three groups.
Previous productions include; 70% Myself, Haroun & the Sea of Stories, Wonderland & Sons, Jack Sheppard, Millions, Grimm Tales, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass.
‘…(the) company perform the piece with total conviction.’ The Reviews Hub **** ‘Millions’
‘…the New Wolsey Youth Theatre doesn’t disappoint!’ Ipswich Waterfront ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
‘…believable performances that would rival any professional production.’ Ipswich24 ‘The Grimm Tales’
Groups 3 and 4 are led by Sian Thomas, Creative Learning Producer and group 5 are led by Helen Baggett, Associate Director for Gecko.
Ages 16-22
Wednesday evening workshops
3 annual productions
Yearly cost: £50 or £25 if you’re living independently
If you’re serious about a career as a professional theatre maker the acclaimed New Wolsey Young Company is an ideal stepping stone onto University, Drama School or even as a direct route into employment in the performing arts.
Every year there’s 30 places for young theatre makers to work together as a performance company to present 3 major productions, to develop their skills and understanding of theatre practice through weekly workshops, and to use theatre to change the world for the better!
We make a mixture of existing and original work that’s presented at both New Wolsey Studio, New Wolsey Theatre, and beyond.
Previous productions include; Yellow Moon, The Dice House, The Dumb Waiter, Woyzeck, Our Town, Spring Awakening, Passion, Vernon God Little, Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay!, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Punk Rock, The Elephant Man, Four Nights in Knaresborough, The Crucible, The Turn of the Screw.
Previous collaborations include; Doug Rintoul/Transport, Punchdrunk, Daniel Bye, Gecko, Rich Rusk, Analogue, Nigel & Louise/Shunt, Emma Frankland, Laura Mugridge, Danusia Iwaszko, Company of Angels, and Slung Low.
‘Each performance is astonishing in its detail…’ ***** Whatsonstage.com ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’
‘The next generation has arrived and are determined to make their mark immediately.’ The Reviews Hub ****½ ‘The Elephant Man’
‘Performances are pitched perfectly…’ ***** Whatsonstage.com on ‘Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay!’
The Young Company is led by Rob Salmon, Associate Director, as well as other visitng practitioners such as Mark Curtis, an actor, director and practitioner.
Ages 11-20
Monday evening workshops
1 annual presentation
Yearly cost: £150/ £120 for a second child, £90 if you’re in receipt of means tested benefits
If you’re a young person with a disability or additional need who wants to explore theatre making and develop your creativity, come and join us at these weekly sessions. There will be the opportunity to take part in games and techniques, which allow participants to explore the world around them, build their confidence and develop their theatre making skills. The group works towards a presentation to friends and family in the Autumn term.
The group is led by Liam Gregory and Rachael Morrison, and assisted by Lorna Garside and Debbie Grant.
There is no audition for this group, instead we hold a meet the practitioner session in January, please contact us for more information.
Ages 16-25
Cost: Places are free but limited
Every year we run a free course each term for young people age 16-25, who want to develop their knowledge, skills and employability as young directors, writers or technicians. No audition – just register your interest by emailing Marcus mneal@wolseytheatre.co.uk
Young Writers
Intermediate – if you have an active interest in writing it will really help!
Are you interested in writing for the stage? Learn how to develop narrative, characters and theatrical structure and write your own short play.
Weekly sessions: Thursday 6.30pm-9pm
DATES 5, 12, 19 Oct/ 9, 16, 23 Nov
There are open access sessions every season for anyone who wants to see what we do and try it out.
Dates for 2017:
Junior Youth Theatre taster sessions: 2pm – 3.30pm on Saturday 22 April and Saturday 9 September
Senior Youth Theatre taster sessions 4pm – 6pm on Saturday 22 April and Saturday 9 September
To register your place at any of these sessions, get in touch here
Our schools engagement programme has bags of opportunities for both students and teachers. We can offer you a wide range of ongoing workshops, Creative Learning Lounges for teachers, production specific events, Arts Award support, the chance to perform on the New Wolsey stage for Youth Perform!, and every year we tour two productions across Suffolk schools – one for primaries and one for secondaries.
We are constantly developing links between our productions, the people who make them and schools, and as such are always updating our offer. So keep an eye on what’s on, and get involved!
Creative Learning workshops
Each year we produce two schools touring productions, one for primary and one for secondary. This year’s secondary tour is partly funded by Suffolk County Council and the Drugs and Alcohol recovery grants scheme. It includes engagement opportunities such as post show discussions and workshops. We use professional actors, designers, writers and directors to develop original theatre both with and for schools. Last year’s production visited 47 schools in the region and reached over 3000 students.
Please find below details of our autumn 2017 touring production for secondary school year 9 students.
The New Wolsey Theatre Presents:
An interactive experience for students in year 9 to explore risk taking in connection to drug misuse.
Who to Follow will present four independent stories, each relating to a young person’s experience of risk, but from distinctly different perspectives. Students will choose their own journey between the four stories, which will either challenge or confirm their assumptions about what they believe.
The experience will culminate in an opportunity to decide on the fate of an unseen character at the centre of each story. This multi-agency project is a serious discourse with young people about their relationship to risk, and will give them the space to ask an adult questions and reflect on their own decisions.
As with all of our school productions, Who to Follow will challenge young people’s perceptions, make them ask questions and allow them space to reflect on their own lives. There will be a supporting workshop available for class sized groups to further explore the themes of the production.
We bring the show to you. We perform the show to an entire year group over the course of a full school day. We would need access to the school hall and possibly other classroom spaces to facilitate the experience
Cost: £440 plus VAT for secondary schools inside Suffolk
Curriculum Links: PSHE, GCSE Drama, SMSC Requirements & British Values
Tour dates: Monday 18th September 2017 until Friday 6th October 2017.
Do get in touch if you have any queries or if you would like to book a performance!
The Youth Perform festival brings children and young people from all over Suffolk together to showcase their skills as young theatre makers. It is a unique opportunity for schools (KS2-4) to create a 10 – 15 minute piece of original theatre and perform it on the New Wolsey’s main stage.
This year the festival takes place between Tue 27 – Fri 30 June, and for 2017 Great Explorers are our inspiration!
Read on for more info…
Who Invented the Sausage?
Discoveries in science and technology have changed the world…
Archaeologists’ unearthed ancient civilisations, Explorers found lost tribes… and Arthur Smith found £3.91 in a coat he’d forgotten about at the back of his wardrobe.
We can’t all be great explorers, and discover the next big thing, but with help from children and young people from schools and community groups from all over Suffolk he might just answer some really big questions like… how does Argos work? Why shouldn’t you eat yellow snow? And who invented the sausage.
Groups can use dance, drama, music or a mixture of any of these to present their 10-15 minute theatre piece. They will also have two workshops from one of our practitioners, the first to kick-start the project, and the second to give input later on in rehearsals.
If you’d like to get involved in Youth Perform!, get in touch with us to register your interest: mneal@wolseytheatre.co.uk
Creative Learning Lounges
These events are a chance to have a drink and some nibbles, chat to us and meet the creative teams and companies behind some of our productions. Oh, and see a show…all for free!
Each session includes meeting a theatre company or industry creative who will be bringing their work to us. These sessions may be chatty or practical, or both – but are always informal, and are designed to give insight into a variety of rehearsal processes and theatre techniques, and will give you invaluable tools for use in the classroom or rehearsal room.
Previous guests include Kate O’Donnel, China Plate, Susie McKenna, Original Theatre and our very own Peter Rowe – who have all shared creative practice as well as some fantastic resource material to accompany their productions. Here’s what teachers have thought so far…
“Incredibly interesting with a lovely atmosphere”
“The wealth of opportunities sounds wonderful for our pupils”
“Excellent resources…love it!”
“Very relevant and understanding to the needs of teachers”
“Very welcoming session, everyone was approachable”
On Wednesday 4th October 2017 we will welcome Graeae Theatre Company to the learning lounge with their performance of Reasons to Be Cheerful. If you would like to come along just contact us.
The Open Season provides access to our venues, facilities and resources for the amateur and community sector in the local area. It’s their chance to display their achievements in a professional environment, celebrate their identity and showcase their talents. The season includes performances of small scale drama in the New Wolsey Studio, runs of performances of major musicals in the New Wolsey Theatre with our schools festival, charity and community focused events, and performances from the New Wolsey Young Company in between. Places are offered on the basis of a successful application. Applications are required to express an understanding of the potential audience for the work to be presented, demonstrate artistic ambition, or good cause i.e. historical or contextual.
For further information and to apply to perform your show, please contact Marcus Neal at mneal@wolseytheatre.co.uk or on 01473 295960.
Open Access provides structured opportunities for advice, guidance and mentoring, as well as increased access to the New Wolsey Theatre to the local amateur and community sector as a part of our ongoing commitment to supporting the development and sustainability of the amateur sector. We will offer time limited packages specific to their needs, advice, guidance and some mentoring will be offered at no cost, however specific forms of support and training will include a charge to the participant or group. Packages are offered on the basis of a successful application. Applications are required to express an understanding of the need for support and a description of what is required, which can include artistic guidance, technical training or marketing support etc…
The Open Platform is a web based resource. The page provides ongoing access to free and paid resources. Scripts for devised projects such as No Ball Games, workshop plans, design specifications etc will be offered at no cost thereby extending the life of these resources. We will also offer some resources at a cost such as the sets from Young Company/Youth Theatre productions that cost too much to store and therefore can be offered with a small charge.
Working with actors from the New Wolsey programme the Creative Learning Team will create short interactions, role plays and sketches designed to reflect the training or learning needs of a corporate client. We will build on our success in delivering short performances for Learning and Skills Council and the Suffolk Leadership Consortium by promoting our capacity to deliver this as a service to the wider business community.
Establish a new programme that uses theatre to transform perception, increase personal confidence and illuminate decision making. We will provide local businesses and corporate clients with bespoke training designed to provide them with the means to develop their businesses for the future. This falls into 2 distinct strands – 1: Working with an identified corporate training provider under the umbrella of the New Wolsey Theatre to offer specific packages around customer service, negotiation, etc. 2: Using the skills and expertise of the Creative Learning Team to provide enrichment opportunities including Combat Training, Make-up Training, Team Building etc.
The New Wolsey Theatre is well placed to provide corporate and private business clients with high quality entertainment attached either to the repertoire or by designing performances for specific events. This will take the form of small scale events for small parties, dedicated performances within a longer production run, and full scale performances commissioned for notable events.
Arts Award Support
Arts Award is a range of unique nationally recognised qualifications for anyone up to the age of 25. It encourages the growth of artists and arts leaders, and inspires participants to connect with the wider arts world.
We are an Arts Award Supporter – meaning that we don’t run the Arts Award ourselves, but support schools and other organisations who are registered as centres, taking young people through their Arts Award.
Many of the workshops we offer could be part of building your students’ Arts Award portfolios, so do take a look at our ongoing workshop offer. Below are some examples of how we could help your students complete their Arts Award:
Arts Award Discover: Take part in and discover the arts
Industry Day: £80 plus VAT for a class sized group
Give your students an insightful and hands on half day visit to the theatre. They will see how a theatre operates on a backstage tour, take part in a workshop to find out about theatre making, and meet some of our staff to discover all the different roles that make up a theatre.
Arts Award Explore: Explore, create and present your own work
Drama Club: £350 plus VAT for 6 sessions
This is a 6 week project for students to explore theatre as an artform. The series will develop their theatrical awareness and skills, and give them the creative language to develop new stories, characters and ideas, and ultimately present a short piece of theatre to an audience.
Bronze Arts Award: Take part, review and share your skills
Choose from one of our many one off workshops to take part in – you might fancy:
Staging Shakespeare’s Stories (KS2-3): £60 plus VAT
A lively workshop exploring the story and characters from one of Shakespeare’s plays
Shakespeare: Breaking the Barriers (KS3-4) – £80 plus VAT
A two hour workshop designed to engage young people with Shakespeare’s text, unpicking meaning and presenting the text using their own interpretations.
Blood, Guts and Gore: £80/ £120 plus VAT for 15/ 30 participants
A workshop in the art of gory theatrical effects for any age!
See and review a production – our tickets for schools are £10 or less, and for every 10 students you bring you get one complimentary ticket.
Want to stay in touch with the New Wolsey Theatre? Of course you do!
Tickets +44 (0) 1473 295900
Email tickets@wolseytheatre.co.uk
The New Wolsey Theatre
Civic Drive
Ipswich, Suffolk
IP1 2AS
© 2017 New Wolsey Theatre
