Shipley Street Arts Festival: Half Term Theatre School ... A Massive Success!

We're so fantastically happy that the Shipley Street Arts Festival: Half Term Theatre School was such a great success, and we'd like to say a special thank you to all the brilliant workshop leaders and participants who made it so special.

Every day was dedicated to a particular theatre discipline, with an exciting mix of things to try for these young beginners.

The first day was dedicated to Clowning and Circus Skills. The kids had a great time letting out their inner clowns ... the red noses helped! Workshop leader Stephen Finegold (and his son and assistant for the day, Joseph Finegold) were very popular - we had lots of requests to have them back for another Clown workshop!

In the afternoon, they tried lots of different circus skills, such as juggling, diablo and plate spinning. Dan Collins led the exciting class - he's been touring with circuses for a long time and has even been on the big screen!

Day Two was all about Theatre Arts. Jenny Birch - a past student of Calderdale Theatre School, with whom Q20 worked to create this theatre school - led the students in an introduction to puppetry. The kids got to try out some puppets made by Jenny, and also make some of their own, using every day items that can be found around the house.

The theme returned to clowning for the afternoon session - artist Morwenna Catt led a workshop in making clown costumes! Using old clothing and a few special accessories, the kids each made spectacular costumes - perfect for showcasing those clowning skills they learned yesterday!

Even the Corgi got dressed up!

Day Three was all about Stage Fighting. Ian Stapleton is an experienced director and teacher - and his assistant, Patrick Costello, is also one of his past pupils! It was an exciting day of performing armed and unarmed combat - with swords swishing, en garde!

Finally, Day Four was all about Movement. These proved to be a very popular sessions, hosted by our neighbour and friend, DM Academy and ex-Calderdale Theatre School pupil, Katie Allcott (with some assistance by Jenny Birch). In the workshops, the kids learned about how movement is used to express ideas and feelings, and how it can be used for physical theatre and dance.

We'd like to say a special thank you to everyone who was involved and thanks to all our attendees and parents for making the classes such a great success. 

With so many of our participants saying they'd like to do more workshops with us, we can't wait to start putting together the next lot!

Special thanks to: Stephen Finegold, Joseph Finegold, Jenny Birch, Adam Garrett, Morwenna Catt, Ian Stapleton, Patrick Costello, Deana Morgan and DM Academy, Katie Allcott and Gillie Kerrod.

Get Involved!

Our office doggies want YOU

Would you like to be involved in the Shipley Street Arts Festival?

We're currently looking for First Aid-trained stewards to work at the festival, overseeing the safety of our visiting audiences.

The dates of the festival are Friday 26th June, Saturday 27th June and Sunday 28th June, with hours of 10am - 5pm. Ideally we are looking for two stewards per day - whether you'd be available for one day or all three, we'd love to hear from you! This is a paid role.

If you'd like to apply, please send a relevant CV and cover letter to our office email address: info@q20theatre.co.uk

Did you meet our toy soldiers in Nottingham Intu Victoria Centre at the weekend?

Our Toy Soldiers went off to Nottingham at the weekend - they were very popular as always!

They helped out carrying shopping bags, calling lifts and having lots of fun with the shoppers out to take advantage of the Black Friday events.

See here for an article in the Nottingham Post!