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By Harriet on July 17, 2008

The final session of the Southwark EIP Youth Theatre for Summer 2008 was certainly a challenging one, but was also lots of fun. Everyone arrived early and received a t-shirt before commencing a mammoth ninety-minute film-making session. After deciding that they would like to be on TV, the Youth Theatre scripted nine different endings to Shakespeare’s As You Like It.

Only due to the Youth Theatre Company’s dedication, focus, and passion did we manage to pull it all together and screen the world premiere in the Nancy W Knowles Lecture Theatre last night.

The Youth Theatre did a fantastic job on and off the camera – taking photos, holding microphones, and providing moral support for their fellow performers.

We would like to thank Sands Film and Squirrels Film for making our screening possible, as well as all of the parents and carers who have supported the Youth Theatre this term. Finally, we would like to congratulate all of the members of the Youth Theatre for their incredible hard work this term. You should feel very proud of the event you hosted.

On a personal note, this will be my last Youth Theatre Blog, as I will be heading back to Australia in September. I would like to farewell the Youth Theatre Company, and thank them for allowing me to go with them on this journey.

I wish you the best of luck for the future. It has been a pleasure working with you all.

Harriet Devlin
Globe Education Assistant: Southwark Community Projects

By Cicely on July 16, 2008

Today we all got to watch a wonderful film. A film showing the talented children who have worked so hard at the Globe. Big thanks to all of the people who helped to make this possible. My daughter has nothing but praise for the Globe staff and practitioners- she has benefited so much from this positive experience.

By Harriet on July 3, 2008

The Youth Theatre Company has decided over the last few weeks that they would like their final performance for the end of the term to be filmed. They have therefore been working with a few different techniques that a film director would use with the help of Jack and Chris (both Globe Education Practitioners). Film directors often use ‘marks’ to ensure that their cast hit the same spot every time, and for the last two weeks, the Youth Theatre have been able to pick their own mark and practice hitting it at different times during the session.

The company has also continued their examination of the text of As You Like It. Using the technique of Forum Theatre, the Youth Theatre was able to improvise their own endings to the scene between Oliver and Orlando – two brothers who are fighting over their inheritance. At the end of the session, they had acted out a grand total of NINE different endings!

This week, the company remembered those ideas together and worked in pairs to write a script of each scene, based on their original ideas. One of the groups even tried out some original Shakespearean language!

Now the whole script has been collated, and will be sent to Sophie (Globe Education Practitioner) who will write an ending for the play to be performed in the last Youth Theatre session.

We are all very excited about the focused and creative work that the Youth Theatre Company are putting into this performance, and are thoroughly looking forward to screening their work for friends and family to see on Wednesday the 16th of July.

Harriet Devlin
Globe Education Assistant: Southwark Community Projects

By Harriet on June 16, 2008

One of the Globe Education Practitioners, Sophie, who has been working with the Youth Theatre, has gone away this week to work on writing some original material for the Youth Theatre to perform. So instead, the company worked with Jack Murray and another new face, Chris Nayak. Jack and Chris did some very interesting work with the company about decision-making. They examined what makes a good decision or a bad decision, and then we all talked about some decisions that we have made and whether the consequences were sad, embarrassing, funny, hurtful, scary, dangerous or exciting.

After that, the company divided into groups and workshopped some different ideas. They agreed on one situation as a group and dramatized a worst case scenario for the outcome, and a best case scenario for the outcome. Each group then performed their work and we all guessed which outcome was the best and which one was the worst.

The company then looked at some text from a play by Shakespeare called As You Like It. The story was about two brothers who were fighting over some money which they inherited from their father. The older brother was using his position of power to his unfair advantage, and he forced his younger brother to do horrible things, like working with the pigs! Next week, the company will look more in-depth at the story and think more about the decisions that both brothers made.

We look forward to seeing you all again next week!

Harriet Devlin
Globe Education Assistant: Southwark Community Projects

By Harriet on May 27, 2008

Congratulations for your hard work in creating a story and acting and directing your own performance.

This week is half term and from everyone here at the Globe we would like to wish you a relaxing and enjoyable break. We would also like to extend an invitation to all Youth Theatre participants and their families to come along to Globe Education’s half term Events on Wednesday 28th, Thursday 29th or Friday 30th May (10am - 5pm). Please contact Lucy for details on Tel. 020 7902 1435 or email lucy@shakespearesglobe.com as soon as possible.

Over half term, Jo will also be thinking over your ideas for filming the end of term Youth Theatre performance and seeing what is possible!

We look forward to seeing you back next week on Wednesday 4th of June, have a great half term!

Harriet Devlin
Globe Education Assistant: Southwark Community Projects

By Harriet Devlin on May 12, 2008

The Summer Term of the Southwark EIP Youth Theatre has kicked off with a group of 17 participants which includes lots familiar faces, and some new ones. Among the new faces are two Globe Education Practitioners of Jack Murray and Sophie Stanton, who will be working with the children this Term.

Jack and Sophie will be focusing on acting and the skills that you need to be a good actor. In the first session, we talked about the best possible thing about being an actor and came up with some very interesting ideas – having lots of fun; being popular; having people clap for you; having lots of money; meeting the Queen; having a whole house made of chocolate and special fridges to keep the chocolate cold!

The children also came up with some fantastic ideas about the skills you need to be a good actor like confidence, talking in a loud voice, energy, being able to captivate an audience and having a good memory so you can remember all those tricky lines! The children then did some improvisation work in groups about their ideas.

Thank you to all who attended the first session, and well done for your dynamic and focused work. We look forward to seeing you all again next week.

Harriet
Globe Education Assistant: Southwark Community Projects

By Harriet Devlin on March 4, 2008

Over the last few weeks, the Youth Theatre Company has been investigating storytelling, incorporating techniques including frozen pictures and narration.
The children have been telling lots of different stories – some of them are their own stories about their every day lives, some of them are about characters like nosy grandmas, wicked witches, angry shop keepers, pretentious actors and mischievous magicians. Some of the stories are about Shakespeare and his plight to move his Theatre across the Thames, or the Globe Theatre burning to the ground in 1666.

Kieron and Alex have also played lots of games with the Company that helped them to understand different characters. They played a game last week that required the children to walk through the space, leading with a body part (like their nose or their hands) and think about what kind of character their physicality could represent. One of the Company’s favourite games is called Wizards, Giants and Dwarfs. This game is similar to Scissors, Paper, Rock but with a different sound and action to represent each character. All of these games have enabled the Company to develop original and convincing characters whose bodies are connected to their voices and actions.

‘I liked when we were doing Wizards, Giants and Dwarfs because you don’t know which one you’re going to do and it’s funny’.

The children have recently had a chance to stage one of the stories that they had heard in the Globe Theatre. They chose to perform their stories in three different parts of the Theatre – the Stage, the Yard, and the Tiring House.

We hope that you had a happy and safe half term, and we look forward to seeing you all next week.

Harriet

By Cicely on February 15, 2008

What a lovely activity for children in Southwark! Great fun and good quality theatrical training right there at the Globe- one of the country's most significant & historic theatre venues. My child is excited about each session. Thanks!

By Harriet Devlin on February 11, 2008

The Spring Term of the Globe’s EIP Youth Theatre has kicked off with a full group of 30 children from schools across Southwark. This term, the children are working with two Globe Education Practitioners, Alex and Kieron, who will by exploring storytelling. Many of the children suggested that exploring the theatre was their favourite thing from last week’s session.

‘The thing I thought was the most fun was when they take us to different parts of the Globe to hear the stories’.

Every week, Kieron and Alex tell the group a different story which relates to a space in the Globe.

‘I like going inside the Theatre’.

So far, the children have been to the Upper Gallery of the Globe, where they could see the thatch roof; the Tiring House, where the actors change their costumes; and outside the entrance overlooking the Thames River.

‘I like when we play the game were you walk around and you have to act happy and different emotions and stuff’.

‘I like that you’re not a class being taught - you’re all equal’.

Each week, the group do activities that help them build their skills in teamwork, storytelling, physicality and voice.

See you all again next week,

Harriet