It’s the signing season. Showcases and graduate shows take place every day at this time of year. I saw two of the latter last week, and agents – unmistakable in their focused, professional demeanour – are out in droves.
The students who have what the agents are looking for get signed. Really talented young actors …
Read the rest of this column at: https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/2016/susan-elkin-job-offers-graduation-can-headscratcher/
Remember Joey from War Horse? Well, meet Oona the elephant. She’s full size and spectacular. Puppeted by four people, three inside her and one on her serpentine expressive trunk, she flaps her ears, rocks her head, farts and responds to everything going on around her. There’s also a magnificent tiger, pounding and snarling, a terrifying crocodile, a whole colony of orang-utans along with stick puppets representing bird, fish and butterflies. It’s an entire, wow-factor ecology in puppetry. Full marks to puppet makers Finn Caldwell and Toby Olié and the performers who operate these wonders!
Regents Park is colourfully transformed into a magical and breath-taking tropical rain forest in Indonesia by Paul Will’s bamboo pole set in harmony with the real trees which surround the stage.
Michael Morpurgo’s tsunami story about a British child who was rescued by a beach elephant and then lived wild in the forest until eventually found by a wildlife conservationist has been adapted for theatre by Samuel Adamson. It is a transfer from Chichester Festival Theatre where it played as a promenade piece last summer.
The large ensemble provides sound effects, imaginatively choreographed (by Georgina Lamb) movement and uses a simple but effective form of choral speaking. It is drawn largely from London schools. A cast of adult actors works among them when not playing specific roles.
At the heart of all this is Ava Potter as Lilly – alternating with two boys as Will. It was Ava in the performance I saw. Rarely off stage she’s a very compelling actor. She is grief stricken at the loss of her father at the beginning, terrified when the tsunami strikes, in total harmony with Oona and angry at some of what happens in the forest. It’s a remarkable performance for one so young – nuanced, convincing and skilfully controlled.
Michael Morpurgo’s writing is always sentimental and his anti-war views are as strong in Running Wild as they are in, for example War Horse or Private Peaceful. This show stops short of mawkishness, however, partly because of the horror of the hunters. Family audiences (and school parties) have to think about the complex issues relating to palm oil production and the need for poor people (exploited by ruthless rich ones) somehow to make a living. Because it’s such a watchable piece the “worthiness” doesn’t grate too much.
Originally published in Ink Pellet, June 2016: http://www.inkpellet.co.uk/2016/06/theatre-review-running-wild/
RUNNING WILD by Morpurgo, , Writer – Michael Morpurgo, Adaption – Samuel Adamson, Director – Timothy Sheader & Dale Rooks, Designer – Paul Wills,Puppetry Design and Direction – Finn Caldwell and Toby Olié for Gyre & Gimble, Regent’s Park Theatre, 2016, Credit: Johan Persson/
Chichester Festival Theatre’s recent production of The Enemy of the People featured two boys, alongside Hugh Bonneville and the rest of the cast. Alfie Scott and Jack Taylor are both members of CFT’s thriving and far reaching youth theatre. Not only does it offer classes and small scale shows for parents and friends but sometimes there’s also the chance to audition for something bigger, such as The Enemy of the People. Five Chichester young people are in the Open Air Regents Park joint production of Running Wild too which first played (in a different, promenade format) at CFT last summer.
“And the highlight of the year is the Christmas show when the theatre is turned over to the youth theatre” says Dale Rooks, CFT’s Education Director, adding that the 2016 show is Peter Pan. It plays to the paying public and local people simply regard it as CFT’s contribution to the festive season. “It speaks volumes for the commitment of the CFT management to Learning, Education and Participation (LEAP) that for two weeks the theatre belongs to young people who learn about every aspect of theatre from the show.”
She continues: “CFT invests heavily in its youth theatre and gives it the best possible resources so that production values are as high as for any other show in the theatre. You have to set the bar high in order to do the best work.”
CFT youth theatre works with 750 young people a week in 39 sessions across West Sussex. In addition to work at the theatre itself, there are nine satellite centres based in schools, academies, universities and the like in order to make the opportunities as accessible as possible. “We have a lovely diversity amongst our members who have different abilities and come from all sorts of backgrounds. And we have a bursary scheme to support young people from low income families” explains Dale who used to be head of performing arts at a residential school in Midhurst for children with disabilities.
“Of course as a teacher I already had links with CFT. Then my school closed in 2002 and I was offered the job of assistant youth theatre director at CFT. Since then I’ve worked up to the post I now hold.” Dale heads a department of nine full time staff and employs large numbers of facilitators to lead sessions. “About half of those are actors by training and most of the rest teachers” she says.
Youth theatre members are taught every possible aspect of making theatre including technical theatre, dance, combat, puppetry and much more as well as performing in productions. “And they work towards the Gold Arts Award which carries UCAS points so that’s another bonus.”
The local ethos is encouraging too. “Lots of school parties come to see shows at CFT and there doesn’t seem to be any difficulty getting children out of school and into the theatre. Schools and teachers are committed to it and convinced of its value”. Several times in our conversation Dale uses words such as “inspiring” “nurturing” and “developing” to describe the impact of all this on the lives of young people. “Every young person needs youth theatre!” she declares firmly.
Although youth theatre is the biggest strand in CFT’s LEAP work, there are three other fields of activity. First, there’s community engagement. “We run classes for adults aged over 25, but most are over 50, with opportunities for play writing, dance, singing, acting and so on” says Dale mentioning in passing that there are also pre and post show talks, theatre days and masterclasses. “We have a current project for people with dementia and their carers and we’re trying to establish ways in which we can operate in isolated areas, perhaps with storytelling sessions in collaboration with mobile library vans.”
Then there are career development opportunities including a traineeship scheme. “At present we have eight trainees learning jobs in, for example, production, building services and directing. CFT also runs an annual creative careers day at which it tells and shows young people what’s possible. “Almost any skill can be applied to theatre but young people typically are only aware of acting”
Lastly Dale tells me about her department’s schools programme. “We recently sent playwright Rachel Barnett into a school to run a play writing course for underachievers and the results in terms of raising attainment were excellent. So we’re hoping to repeat and extend this.” Then she mentions show-related set play boxes which CFT sends out to schools, especially primaries. “It’s a fantastic resource with a hexagonal box shaped like the theatre and including bits of props, scripts and sound recordings. “It’s ideal for kick-starting a cross-curricular project and it’s a way of introducing them to theatre” says Dale adding that these are available for a number of shows including Macbeth, The [SIC] Hundred and One Dalmatians and The Wind in the Willows.
Dale Rooks, who has already directed over 20 shows in her years at CFT, bubbles with enthusiasm and is thoughtfully passionate about the importance of bringing theatre and children together. We sit to chat on the pretty leafy terrace outside the green room backstage at the Open Air Theatre between Running Wild rehearsals and she convinces me totally of her dedication to learning. CFT and the people of West Sussex are lucky, I think.
Originally published by Ink Pellet, June 2016: http://www.inkpellet.co.uk/2016/06/the-power-of-youth/
I saw and enjoyed Blackout by Davey Anderson at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury in April. It opens dramatically with 30 or so teenagers staring silently and balefully at their phones and then unravels the story of what happens to one particular misunderstood boy who finds himself in trouble. But I could probably have seen this sparky new play about teenage disengagement and its dreadful potential consequences, inspired by a real incident in Glasgow, at Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Brewery Arts Centre Kendal, Lyric Theatre Belfast, Norwich Playhouse – or at the 40 other venues across the UK which acted as partner theatres for this year’s National Theatre Connections. It’s an annual nationwide youth theatre festival and it’s huge.
It’s hard to think of another education project which has not just lasted, but also grown and developed for 21 years and continues to do so. Originally called Shell Connections in deference to the then sponsor, it’s a carefully thought out scheme and invites youth theatres and school drama groups to rehearse and present a new play.
Each year the National Theatre commissions new work for Connections from eminent playwrights. For 2016 that included Mark Ravenhill, Simon Armitage and Partrick Marber. This year there were a bumper twelve plays in honour of the 21st anniversary of the project’s start. In the past it has been six. For 2017 there will be ten.
Groups apply to take part and the cycle begins each summer for the following year. The company I saw was the Marlowe Youth Theatre. The plays are carefully structured to use flexible numbers in ensemble – so the texts can be made to work effectively with both small and large groups of young actors. What I was watching was the Marlowe’s own contribution in preview on its home turf and there were around 30 in the cast. Later there was a Canterbury festival of other local groups with different NT Connections plays because the Marlowe is one of the 45 participating partner theatres nationwide.
Every show is seen by someone from the National Theatre and one version of each of the twelve plays will be performed in a culminating festival at NT itself next month. “A celebration of hard work” as the National Theatre describes it.
Youth theatre leaders and school drama are supported through the process of directing their plays, from choosing the script from the commissioned plays – you have to state a first and second choice – and attending a directors’ weekend in October. And there are opportunities to seek help and guidance throughout the rehearsal period.
Thousands of young people have taken part in National Theatre Connections in 150 new plays since 1996. For 2017 the hope is that there will be 5,000 participants both on stage and backstage.
And for the plays themselves, the performances are only the beginning. All are published in anthologies and you can buy previous years’ plays via the National Theatre bookshop.
It is probably the most ambitious and largest youth theatre festival in the world. Here’s to the next 21 years.
National Theatre itself reserves the right to mount a professional production and if it does so the performing rights for that particular play will not be available to others for a while. If it does not, then you need to contact the playwright via his or her agent for permission to stage the play with your school or group. Agents’ details are printed in the anthologies.
Applications are open until 8 July 2016.
020 7452 3313
First published in Ink Pellet, June 2016 : http://www.inkpellet.co.uk/2016/06/connections-comes-of-age/
Many young people fall in love with theatre but soon discover that, for whatever reason, acting is not for them. Yet they want to be very actively involved in what happens on stage and to work with actors. Directing may be the way forward.
Yes, there’s a career path for theatre directing which usually starts with an English literature or drama degree at university or training in a drama school. There are also plenty of post-graduate degrees to help refine the skills – and from this autumn, for the first time, there’s a £10,000 student loan available for post graduate study provided that both the student and the course meet the criteria.
But what then? How do you get established as a director given that there’s no substitute for hands-on experience which is hard to come by at the beginning? Ideally you’ll find an opportunity to assist, and learn from, an experienced director but such chances are thin in the ground and it can be difficult to work your way in.
Enter the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme (RTYDS), set up by Granada TV in the 1960s and later supported by other TV companies but they withdrew their backing during the 2008 financial crisis. Today it functions as an independent company and registered charity.
It is a scheme whereby young directors are assigned to (mostly) regional theatres and it functions at three different levels. A one-week introduction to directing can be a toe in the water for people who just want to know what the job entails. Or there are three-month placements for new directors.
Thirdly RTYDS organises a 12 or 18-month placement, for people with some previous experience and a commitment to a career in directing. The arrangement is that the participating theatre guarantees an opportunity for the trainee to direct a show.
This top tier of the scheme has certainly done wonders for Jo Newman, 26, for example. After a drama degree at the University of Birmingham she did a confidence-boosting MA in directing. Since then she has co-founded a company and tells me she just wants to “keep making theatre”. She has recently come to the end of her RTYDS 18-month placement at Salisbury Playhouse, having directed This Land, which ran in its Studio in April. Now she’s been offered a one-year assistant director post at Salisbury – clear evidence that the quality of her work is recognised and valued and that the scheme works
There are more than a hundred participants in the scheme and 25 participating theatres but who pays for it? I recently met Sue Emmas (associate director of the Young Vic) who runs RTYDS, and asked her this question. “Since the loss of the TV company funding, Arts Council England has provided £450,000 and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation £114,000. The ACE money was for three years so re-application is now underway.” Sue and her colleagues are, inevitably, also keen to raise money from elsewhere.
Having helped to train many well known theatrical names – such as directors Michael Boyd (RSC 2002-2012) Rupert Goold (Almeida Theatre), Vicky Featherstone (Royal Court Theatre) and Elizabeth Newman (Bolton Octagon) RTYDS started afresh in 2014 with a mission to target under-represented groups. Today 69% of participants come from these groups: 48% black, Asian and minority ethnic and 15% register a disability. But when I ask about these figures Sue declares: “This is about individuals not statistics” adding that she sees it as very important “to change the stories theatres tell by changing the people at the top.”
Natalie Ibu – now artistic director of Tiata Fahodzi – participated in the RTYDS scheme in 2008. Last year she helped interview RTYDS applicants. “The three tier structure really helps with diversity and I was impressed with the breadth of diversity among the young directors I met last year” she says.
Sue hopes that RTYDS offers a training pathway, allowing people to move from one step to the next, perhaps starting with the one-week option and then doing longer placements.
Relatively generous funding means that the 25 participating theatres can pay a salary to participants on the longer placements and some pay expenses on the short ones in the interests of inclusivity and accessibility. “It isn’t much. I doubt that they do much dining out,” Sue says.
I suppose it’s all a question of point of view, age and experience because Jo Newman says: “It was more than I’d ever earned before. It meant I could pay my rent every month.”
So there are ways of acquiring directorial skills. Let’s tell the young people we work with about them.
Contact RTYDS. Artistic director: Sue Emmas [email protected] 020 7922 2823 or executive director: Fredrica Notley [email protected] 020 7922 2993
Originally published in Ink Pellet, June 2016: http://www.inkpellet.co.uk/2016/06/young-directors-given-a-chance/
It’s anniversary time in Bristol. 250 years ago, in 1776, the city’s Old Vic Theatre opened, probably now Britain’s oldest surviving theatre still in business. It has a long and illustrious history including actor training since 1946, when the associated Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS) was founded. So happy seventieth birthday, BOVTS.
At the beginning – when Stephanie Cole trained there in the late 50s for instance – the training all took place at the theatre. Over the years the school has established a separate identity for itself and functions independently. Today it is based in two large Georgian houses in Downside Road. This academic year – part of the anniversary celebrations – the school has completed its “Link Building”. It fills in the former space between the houses, provides a businesslike entrance and reception area and some fine studio and rehearsal space. “It makes a terrific difference to the feel of the place now that the main campus has become a single building” said Jenny Stephens, artistic director, when she showed me round.
The school also has studios elsewhere in the city for TV and film work and a busy, bustling site on an industrial estate where its technical theatre courses are taught.
BOVTS is the alma mater of many successful actors, including Jeremy Irons, Olivia Colman, Laura Carmichael, Daniel Day Lewis and Amanda Redman. Today it operates, along with RADA, LAMDA and five dance schools, as part of the Conservatoire of Dance and Drama. The CDD functions like a collegiate university with eight member institutions although, of course, each school has its own distinctive identity. Students at all the CDD schools are entitled to student loans and related funding exactly as if they were studying, say, history or business studies in a university.
“Our 160 students are a very diverse bunch and come from all sorts of backgrounds” says Jenny, adding that many (she shows me a photograph of students and tells me their life stories to prove her point) come from families whose income falls below £25,000 a year.
BOVTS is a much smaller school than some of its counterparts. It teaches only acting and technical theatre. There’s a two-year foundation degree and a three-year BA in acting as well as degrees in various aspects of backstage work. The school also runs a number of specialist post graduate courses. “But we don’t do musical theatre, for example, separately”, explains Jenny, “although of course many of our graduates go on to work in it very successfully because it’s taught within the acting course.”
Unlike some other drama schools, BOVTS has no theatre of its own. “And we see that as an advantage, because it means that we take student shows to every venue in the city where they play to the public”, says principal Paul Rummer, adding that his students also regularly tour shows in the West Country, which is also very good training experience because the schedules are long and exacting and the shows go to a wide range of venues from mid-size theatres to village halls. “Bristol is a culturally vibrant city and we are a key part of that, with many collaborations and partnerships” says Paul.
The flagship project for this anniversary year is a production of King Lear (18 June to 10 July) which is a fine example of how BOVTS works to the advantage of the students and everyone else involved. The show is directed by Tom Morris, artistic director at Bristol Old Vic with which the school has now re-established some links – and it will play in the old theatre.
Three crowd pulling professionals in the cast will ensure that paying audiences come in large numbers: Timothy West is playing Lear, Stephanie Cole the Fool and David Hargreaves, Gloucester. Every other role is played by a BOVTS third year student. I sat in on part of a rehearsal of a scene featuring Goneril and Edmund and it looked very promising. “The students are learning a lot from working with high calibre professionals” said Jenny Stephens. “And once term ends we shall pay the – by then – former students the fees recommended by the actors’ union, Equity, so that it becomes their first professional experience.”
Paul adds: “But it’s definitely a BOVTS production in partnership with the theatre not the other way round. The creative and technical team are a mix of our students and professionals so there’s a lot of scope for learning there too.”
All in all, there’s a lot going on then. The atmosphere is very vibrant and the work and successes exciting. Here’s to the next seventy years.
Originally published in Ink Pellet, June 2016: http://www.inkpellet.co.uk/2016/06/seventy-and-getting-stronger/
Chickenshed Theatre, Southgate. Lou Stein is the new artistic director of Chickenshed.
What did you do before you came to Chickenshed? I was born in Brooklyn, New York City. I’m not going to tell you when but I’m younger than Hilary Clinton. I trained at Northwestern University (Bachelor of Science Communications), University of Iowa (Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Directing) and with BBC Training (TV Director’s Course, 1992). I’ve been Freelance through my own company since 2000. I was Artistic Director at Watford Palace Theatre from 1986 to1995 and, before that, Founder/Director at The Gate Theatre from 1979 to 1985.
Many people associate Chickenshed with disability but that’s misleading isn’t it? Yes, I want to stress inclusion. Some Chickenshed participants have learning difficulties and/or visually obvious impairments but many don’t. It’s a reflection of society as it is.
How do you plan to develop that though theatre? Chickenshed is going to be a confident, highly skilled professional company, staging unmissable plays. And for that I have the support of the entire staff of 70 full timers. It might take a while, but that’s where Chickenshed is headed. It has to present theatrically entertaining shows which people will flock to see. It’s theatre we’re creating not documentary. So I shan’t be doing anything earnest. Of course, at the same time, I want work at Chickenshed to explore interesting or controversial issues in a way which makes people want to talk about them afterwards. And I shall collaborate and build partnerships so that we can transfer some of our work into central London, although if it’s good enough audiences will come to Southgate too.
You mean you’re going to improve standards? Yes. I want to raise the bar and to do so systematically. First I need to take the staff with me. Everyone needs to understand that we are staging professional theatre and it has got to be absolutely first class. Then the people on the Chickenshed degree course and our Btec students will follow and everything will spiral upwards.
When did you first come across Chickenshed? My son Ethan, who is 9, has Down’s syndrome. He has been a Chickenshed member for five years and it was as a parent that I first became fully aware of Chickenshed’s way of working. You see, I understand just what a person like Ethan is up against. So many doors are closed but at Chickenshed he has been welcomed, treated by staff, and crucially other students, with love and empathy and the growth we’ve (Lou’s wife is the composer. Deirdre Gribbin) seen in him as a result is remarkable. Because theatre is my life, I wanted something theatrical for him to do where he wouldn’t be marginalised.
How difficult was it to get the job, as you’re the first new director since the company was founded? Yes, until now Mary Ward who co-founded Chickenshed in 1974, has been the artistic director so this is a big change and major new phase for the company. Even now Mary remains on the board. Perhaps it’s because of this background that the interview and recruitment process for the job was the most rigorous I have ever been through.
So how important is that history? It may seem a bit controversial but I am not actually that interested in the history. Of course the work that Mary and her co-founder Jo (Collins) have done here is what has made Chickenshed what it is and that’s terrific and very important, but my concern now is to move forwards and reach new levels of excellence. And to do that I need to keep a very clear and objective eye.
Chickenshed is a complex organisation isn’t it? Yes, it’s effectively a further and higher education college as well as a theatre. Chickenshed is a busy place because it operates on so many levels, something which is not fully understood by people who think it’s a youth theatre, producing house, a dance school, “a place for disabled kids”, or a further and higher education provider. In fact, of course, it is all of those and more.
What about lobbying? Lobbying for inclusion is like lobbying for air. We’re not going to do it because it’s just a fact of life.
What are you working on at the moment? It’s a new Oz story which I’m writing for Chickenshed’s Christmas show. There will be a group of associate directors whom I shall oversee and they’ll work with a cast of 800 in four cast groups.
And your longer term future? I am a person of possibilities. And I shall keep my own company Lou Stein Associates Ltd on the boil creating new work and new opportunities alongside Chickenshed.
Originally published in Ink Pellet, June 2016: http://www.inkpellet.co.uk/2016/06/a-day-in-the-life-of-lou-stein/
Welsh National Opera. Royal Opera House, July 1
The anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme was a poignant day on which to experience this powerful opera based on David Jones’s epic World War One book-length poem. Iain Bell’s lush lyrical score is melodious but, a
part from one or two set pieces, stops short of being tuneful. Instead, with hints of Britten, it evokes atmosphere and emotion. The colourful use of instruments adds a lot to the drama and it’s all in excellent hands under Carlo Rizzi with Welsh National Opera Orchestra in the pit.
Apart from two quasi narrators The Bard of Britannia (Alexandra Deshorties) and the Bard of Germania (Peter Coleman-Wright) and Andrew Bidlack as Private John Ball this is very much an ensemble piece. Baritone, Coleman-Wright brings terrific weight and gravitas to his role, Deshorties is gentle and moving as a mourner and exciting when she morphs into the Queen of the Wood dispensing death with random ruthlessness, Bidlack’s role epitomises the ordinary scared, chirpy Tommy – most definitely not a professional soldier and very much an everyman conscript. Bidlack makes him very moving.
WNO has invested in a magnificently large chorus for this production. When the men are marching they are convincing partly because of the size of the group. Their ensemble singing is impressive too. There is also a large chorus of women who
float in and out of the action but are not part of it. Symbolically, I presume, they represent mourning, lament and everything the men have lost although I overhead one audience member commenting in the interval that she didn’t understand what the women were for because everyone knows they weren’t there. In places it certainly takes a leap of imagination to make sense of what seems to be happening.
Full marks, though to designer Robert Innes Hopkins. His extraordinary set encloses the action in an oval space within the large ROH stage. Lowering and raising a semi screen in faux bronze with a grandiloquent inscription creates a huge elliptical expanse of sky on the back wall. This is flushed red for blood, grey for storm, black for night and at one point sports a lovely rising moon. There is also a neat transformation into an underground trench. And the costumes for the women when they morph into sinister twiggy bits of Mametz wood are a real tour de force.
It’s a compelling and very original piece of theatre. It was hard to see in theory, how In Parenthesis could be adapted into an opera. Librettists David Antrobus and Emma Jenkins have provided a fine way of working it and director David Pountney has more than developed it into something theatrically resonant.
Originally published by Sardines: http://www.sardinesmagazine.co.uk/reviews/review.php?REVIEW-West%20End%20&%20Fringe-In%20Parenthesis&reviewsID=2468