SpaceWorks

With five weeks left to go, WorkSpace Productions are in the thick of rehearsals. Meeting each Tuesday evening (with additional rehearsals to come), more scenes are being blocked, more lines memorised and new concepts are coming through.

Rehearsal periods are always tough over summer with people on holidays or busy catching up with family, but now the days are getting a little chillier, attendance has been at maximum capacity. This creates new challenges for the director, what with the re-allocation of lines and re-positioning of actors within the scenes. However, the WorkSpacers have been coping well and are very malleable when it comes to sharing lines and roles - one of the strengths of being a tight-knit community company.

Perhaps the actors have been learning from their monster after all, using down-time between scenes to go over their lines and work independently. As aforementioned, it is a struggle having to slot new actors into existing scenes. There is a lot of repositioning and therefore opportunities for the other actors to work on their own. This is a great skill to be able to learn at any stage of theatre, as not everyone will always be needed in the rehearsal at all times. The WorkSpace crew are doing well at developing this skill and being productive and proactive.

Speaking of crew…

Further developments have been made on the production team front, with each sector putting forth a solid idea of how the show will be designed. Lighting has been locked in, sourcing of SFX has begun and there are whispers of animal prints and neon colours about the costume and set crew. Sounds vibrant, doesn’t it?

With live nominations, evictions, monsters and mayhem, this is one show you surely won’t want to miss.

Tickets are now on sale via the website: http://space.org.uk/?page_id=1409&event=frankenstein

Wednesday night saw the Pub Quiz held at the Lord Nelson in aid of raising money for the SpaceWorks Community Theatre Company, which was a great success. Teams flocked from far and wide to compete, but the winner was a local, Nigel from the Lord Nelson himself! The raffle raised over £200 and the night was enjoyed by all. Thank you to all those who came and contributed to keeping SpaceWorks at the Space as strong as ever!

It’s time to get back into it! Below are the details for the Winter term at the Space:

SPACE CADETS (7-11 years)  4 - 6PM @ the Space each Monday

Term: 24th September - 3rd December with a brand new tutor!

First Session Back: Monday 24th September

No Workshop on: 29th October (half-term break)

Fees:

• £20 per term

• £15 concession rate (for unwaged parents, those on low incomes and/or siblings)

• 3 free scholarship placements are available per term *enquire upon registration

WORKSPACE - 8 - 10pm @ the Space each Monday

• The session will begin back after Summer on Monday 3^rd September 2012 with Adam Hemming returning as tutor.
• There will be no workshop on 8^th October

• We will be hosting a SpaceWorks Surgery in Hubbub Cafe date and time to be confirmed next term. This will be a chance for Workspace members to talk to Space staff about the project, ideas they might have for future projects and what else the Space could do in the community.

• Finally, the last workshop of term will be held on 10^th December. Please be aware that short performances and informal contributions will be arranged throughout the summer term, rather than providing you with a final ‘performance’ date.

Fees:

Each adult will have to pay £5 per week to join in with the workshops. As the classes are drop in, this payment can be payable ‘on the door’ however, the Space is also offering a £40 per term. That’s a saving of £25! Or a fee of £120 for the year, saving you even more! These will need to be paid before the term begins.

There is a 25% discount for the unwaged.

For more information or to register, please contact the Space on 0207 515 7799 or e-mail info@space.org.uk for more information.

Hope to see you at the Space soon!

Tuesday night saw the WorkSpace crew hard at work in rehearsal for Frankenstein. Ready to face the challenges set by combining classic literature with contemporary drama, the cast rehearsed two scenes under the guidance of their director.

The night began with a production re-cap of the week before, where Donna took in new ideas from the cast regarding set, lighting, costume and sound. Challenges included having a live fire onstage (To have or not to have? That is the question…) and the negotiation of ensemble to lead transition. 

Many a great Shakespearean actor would have been familiar with interchanging gender roles, but how will our WorkSpacers cope with playing male and female roles within the same production? This is one obstacle they have to learnt to navigate around while rehearsing. Adaptability and fluidity are key to making these scenes successful, and elements that the actors have been working hard at. 

But what of the Big Brother house? With talk of perspex, astro turf and blow up furniture, the production is not always shrouded in the macabre and mysterious. The modern setting will put quite a bright and often quite comical twist on this well loved classic. Each week the team are bringing fresh ideas on how to achieve this, with each idea updating the structure of the play. 

All in all, the production is coming together very nicely and will continue to strengthen over the coming weeks. We look forward to seeing what new and ingenious ideas lay ahead next week!

WorkSpace are currently working on a fresh interpretation of Frankenstein during their sessions, meeting Tuesdays 7 - 10pm at George Greens Secondary School. The production is due to be staged in September and rehearsals are now in full swing.

Last night saw the WorkSpace Productions crew meet together to brainstorm and collate their ideas for a production meeting. Everyone involved in the production will also be performing a role on the production team, which will give them a chance to be involved with the design and framework surrounding the piece, as well as being onstage.

The night began with initial visual research, watching past episodes of Big Brother for inspiration and word association. The cast also brainstormed the Director’s vision for the show, adding their own input to her ‘Cold & Abstract’ vision. This was beneficial for all members to extract the most out of their performance and production, and to also aid the Director with their ideas.

The team then split up into separate areas, consisting of Set & Costume, Lighting and Sound, and Assistant Director/Producer. In these teams, they answered a number of questions in order to solve problems which they faced with the staging, spacing and audience framework. The design teams worked closely together to devise an appropriate styling to suit the the setting of the play. Lighting and sound followed accordingly, with the team members closely following the script to create their psychedelic soundscape.

The production roles set about devising a schedule, setting tight deadlines for costuming, photographs and rehearsals from here on in. The Producer also has a lot of big ideas for marketing and publicity, so stay tuned!

The evening came to a head with everyone very clear of their roles, and the type of production they wanted to create. There was even a bit of homework assigned! Next week looks promising, and by the amount of enthusiasm in the room, our Director will definitely have many suggestions to choose from!

We look forward to seeing the finished product from our very talented and creative WorkSpacers soon!

Last week at The Space saw our Cadets engage in a fun-filled week full of drama games, improvisation, and rehearsing for the showcasing of Oliver! for the Friday afternoon. It was a cosy group of seven, but that didn’t get in the way of teamwork, productivity and putting on an excellent show!

The week was run by regular Space Cadets tutor, Sean, with support from our Aussie intern Katie. The days began with a warm-up, stretching and vocal exercises. We didn’t want to strain our lovely singing voices. The weekly activities varied with a mixture of games such as Buzzy Bees, Yeehaw!, Splat and Pass the Key. Most days we continued on to acting warm-ups: Sean would give the Cadets a situation, a character and a line which they would then turn into a short improvisation play or skirt containing the information they had been given. They really put their minds to work: A ninja-king’s guard-detective, a queen who was admitted to hospital and a cupcake-poisoning hostess!

The latter part of the day was reserved for Oliver rehearsals, where the Cadets learned all about the bravery of Oliver, greedy old Fagan and the craftiness of Jack Dawkins, who was “…better know to [his] friends as The Artful Dodger”. Due to the smaller number of the group, we decided to share all the parts around. The cast worked on their scripts, singing, dancing (with many numbers self-choreographed by the Cadets themselves!) and costuming. To show the transition of the characters and cast between scenes, a few key items were chosen to represent each: Oliver would wear a blue cap, Dodger wore a brown baker boy hat and Fagan, a brown cloak donated kindly by one of our enthusiastic Space Cadets. This also helped when rehearsing the scenes in a full run.

Before we knew it, it was Friday and everyone was well excited to perform for their parents. After a morning spent rehearsing and polishing, and a quick lunch break to the park, it was showtime. There was a great turnout and the Cadets put on a wonderful show, performing the classic songs ‘Food, Glorious Food’, ‘Consider Yourself’, ‘You’ve Got To Pick a Pocket or Two’ and ‘Omm Pah Pah’. Adam came along to watch and was very impressed with the quality of work the Cadets had produced in only a week. It was an emotional show for Sean too; after 3 years as the Space Cadets tutor, he will be returning home to Ireland to further pursue his theatrical endeavours. We thank him for all his hard work and wish him all the best for the future.

A big thank you also to all the parents who came along on Friday to see the showcase. Hopefully you enjoyed watching it as much as we enjoyed putting it on!

The Space Cadets program should resume mid-September, but stay tuned for more details to come!

This summer we have a whole lot going on at the Space, including a week of Space Cadet fun!

This year the scheme will take place from Monday 6th August - Friday 10th August at 10.00am - 2.00pm at the Space.

The programme promises to provide a week of fun, games, singing, dancing and acting with a short performance at the end of the week (1.30pm on Friday 10th August). 

Regular Cadet tutor, Sean will be running the sessions, as the group work towards putting on a mini-production of the classic ‘OLIVER!’. The Space is asking for a small contribution of £20 for the week, to be made payable in advance of the workshops. Everyone is welcome (as long as you’re aged between 7-11!), so come along and join the fun!

FOR ANY CADETS PARENTS OUT THERE READING:

The Space is offering Progres Reports on your children and their behaviour and contributions to the workshops. If you would like to receive a report, please email mandy@space.org.uk to discover more about your little stars!   

Workspace Productions has speant the last few months tirelessly working on their up-and-coming production ofA Matter of Life and Deathwritten by Tom Morris and Emma Rice. The story follows the journey of an airman, Peter Carter, who was supposed to fall tragicly to his death but was found alive by his soon to be love, June to the dismay of Heaven itself.

The cast has been meeting at a local high school to prepare their comedic performance. Even with the limited rehearsal time and space the Worrkspace Production members have worked hard to memorize their lines and bring their many characters to life.

Come out and join the fun from the 14th of June through the 16th of June and support the diverse cast and crew as they bring propse to you A Matter of Life and Death

Name: Tevin

Age: 9

Born: England.

Live: I live with my sister and my mum in London, on the Isle of Dogs. My sister is 16 and we like each other. She’s called Tamica, she’s doing her SATS and only has one more year until she goes to college. She wants to be a designer when she grows up.

What’s your favourite subject at school? Art

What do you do after school? I go swimming on Saturdays, Fridays and Mondays after Space Cadets because it’s not until 7 o’clock.

What do you like to do on the weekends? Go and play football with my friends. I support Chelsea. I like to play on my Wii, rugby and tag rugby on it and I’m good. I like playing with my sister and with my mum. My mum doesn’t that much, but she likes tickling me. My mum works at the department of health, she’s a very clever lady.

What do you want to be when you grow up? An artist. Sculptures I think.

How long have you been coming to the Space? 2 years. I like doing drama and acting and musicals. My favourite thing to do here is singing and dancing.

After a short break for May bank holiday, all of the groups were back yesterday for a SpaceWorks filled evening.

First came the Cadets. Once the group had settled down and shared their news (there was a lot as it had been two whole weeks!), Sean set about dividing the Cadets into 3 groups and asking them to create an advert for an imaginary robo-product. This provided some excellent results including robo-toilet (comes with an X-box and toothbrush, available for £99 from Argos) and robo-slave (a clone that will go to school and do your chores for you and the best bit? It’s buy one get one free!). After a short break from a successful first half, Sean then told the Cadets that they would begin work on a dance to ‘Fat Sam’s Grand Slam’ from the amazing Bugsy Malone. Although it was a very quick dance, the kids soon got the hang of it and Tevin’s cartwheels and Melissa’s splits took centre stage as the group showed off their best prohibition dancing.

Next up; the SYD. Sean had previously asked the group to bring in some script ideas for the term, resulting in readings of Billy Elliot and Blood Brothers for the first half of the session. Although the group seemed to really enjoy this (with Blood Brothers being the favourite…maybe due to the Scouse accents?!), Kirsty then came up with the inspired idea of creating a music video. This was incredibly well received and the SYDs set about deciding upon a song and some ideas for a dance. Watch this space as an SYD video could be gracing your screens very shortly! 

Last night’s WorkSpace was directed by Space volunteer, actress and all round wonder woman, Kaye Conway. She had decided that she would like to explore Commedia Dell’Arte with the group and maybe teach the gang a thing or two about this in the process. After a quick induction (every one seemed to be pretty clued up on the art form already which was a plus), Kaye began with a couple of warm-up exercises and then moved on to getting the group to portray animals, status greed and intention in their movement and conversation. Kaye introduced some mask work and tried to get WorkSpace members to be really exaggerated and over the top in their approach to these characters. After creating a short scene based mainly on death and master/servant relationships, the group were thoroughly worn out. We cannot wait for next week’s master class with Kaye again! 

Last Monday’s WorkSpace session, ran by the Space’s very own Adam Hemming had somewhat of a Shakespearean theme to it. After a few quick warm-ups and name games, Adam handed out a script (haven’t seen one of those in a while!) with a couple of Romeo and Juliet and King Lear extracts on it, getting the group slightly nervous but excited.

We began by looking at different ways which we could use movement and gestures in that oh so famous ‘Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?’ scene from the classic romantic tragedy. It’s very interesting to note how this impacts the comedy or drama of the scene as the slightest movement can have a great influence. We then looked at a balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet and the storm scene in King Lear, practicing various ways in which to say the lines and how this effects that audiences’ interpretation of the piece. 

Overall, last Monday proved to be a highly successful session for WorkSpace and fantastic to see the group prove that the challenge of Shakespeare can not phase them!

Yesterday marked the second installment of the Docklands Youth Forum event management training for young people. This week, Justine was leading the group and talking them in to organising their first event, getting their creative juices flowing! 

The session was great. The group had come up with some really strong ideas for a venue and we had some great conversations about what kind of event would work and when…it all seems to be coming into place! With a summer fete, family day event decided upon and some  homework into researching venue and price to be done over the next coming week, this July event promises to be incredibly successful.

Next Monday will be the first of the SYD training sessions, however the group will be meeting at the earlier time of 5pm to get the ball rolling and work on their action points from yesterday. Cannot wait!

Last Monday was the first WorkSpace session back after Easter and the big SpaceWorks changeover….but how did the group cope?!

Everyone has been aware for a while now that last month marked the end of the SpaceWorks phase one, Alex’s position and as a result, the funding :( This, however didn’t phase the WorkSpace gang as they were all back with a vengeance last Monday to get stuck in to some drama! After a lovely reunion with everyone and a big welcome to new-commer, Heidi, Adam Hemming revealed himself as the new WorkSpace tutor.

The group kicked off with some warm-up exercises and games, reminding us of everyone’s names and easing the gang into the swing of things here at the Space. Adam worked on some concentration exercises in which a few apples were thrown around the room, making sure that WorkSpace members were on the ball at all times! He then laid out some objects around the room (ranging from a French flag to a toy spider) which the group had to react to and create short improvisations based on these reactions. This proved to be a very funny exercise, and Antonella’s argument with Andy about his deceased wife’s fan was a particular highlight. Adam then encouraged the team to make three smaller groups and chose three objects in which to base a devised piece of drama on. This was a great success! Steven’s representation of a woman was amazing as was Christine’s teddy bear voice! Once the team had created their scenes, we played around with the inclusion and exclusion of props to highlight the fact that they shouldn’t be relied upon so much and then it was time to part!

What a great session back Monday was and a fantastic way to start the new WorkSpace term. 

Yesterday marked the first in a series of Event Management Training sessions for our Space teenagers. This training promises to teach the young people how to create an event; making them think of the smallest of details (legal fees, informing emergency services etc) and telling them NOT to leave anything to chance. After the end of the course they will have (successfully) put on three separate events of their choice, whilst working as a team in order to do so. 

The session proved to be a great success! We had a fantastic turn out, including quite a few new faces which was lovely. The group had some amazing ideas for events that they would be interested in producing (a summer fete for families, music evening and sports day) and got really stuck in with their ideas. After they had been taught the basics, they let their imaginations run away with them and discussed having branded ponchos for an outdoors event and security if the party was in a public place….all very clever! They then worked on planning timings and when certain things should be done by (deciding upon the venue by next week!) and everything seemed a bit more real.

Overall, the event management training proved to be a great session. The teenagers were engaged and really seemed to enjoy the planning and negotiating. With pizza in the break (Kirsty shotgunned the garlic sauce) and sweets being munched throughout, the group had a fantastic time and we look forward to seeing how their plans will develop in the following weeks. 

Last Saturday was the first performance of the SpaceWorks Triple Decker; a chance for all SpaceWorks members to perform on the same date in between Space Production’s two part performances of Nicholas Nickleby. This was the first time EVER that this had occurred and all SpaceWorks members were very excited by the proposition. Everyone arrived promptly at 5.45pm, in costume, ready to perform. After a stressful few moments of getting people seated, collecting money for tickets and preparing the groups, we were ready to perform!

Kicking the evening off began the Cadets and their rendition of Smike songs plus some devised scenes created by the groups. This was fantastic! The children provided us with some excellent entertainment and did not disappoint. Singing, dancing and acting was all top notch and the performance went on without a hitch. Special recognition should be given to Space Cadet Tevin Edwards who stood in for Bailey at the last minute and delivered both his and her lines without flaw. Well done, Tevin, top banana! 

Next up was the WorkSpace gang who were performing a cut scene from David Edgar’s adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby. This went down a storm and once again, the group wowed the audience with their tremendously humorous and over the top scene detailing the goings-on of a corrupt political system. Last but by no means least, was the SYD performance. During this show, the group performed a few scenes for a couple of plays including ‘That Face’ and ‘You Can See the Hills’. This proved to be wildly entertaining for the audience and despite having a few members missing, the SYDs provided the audience with a fantastically entertaining show.

All in all, a massive congratulations and well done should be said to all SpaceWorks members who performed last Saturday. For those who missed out, the Cadets have only ONE more performance left whereas WorkSpace and SYD have two over the course of the next couple of Saturdays. For more information and how to book tickets, please visit out website here http://space.org.uk/?p=6551 or call 020 7515 7799