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.

Shipley Street Arts Festival: Summer School

You didn't think that the Shipley Street Arts Festival was over for another year, did you?

No - this year, we've expanded the event beyond the three days of festival fun: first with our forerunner events, like the Dockfield Road Creative Arts Hub "Open Day", our stall at the Dragon Boat race, and the Windhill Community Centre Arts & Crafts Day ...

But wait, there's more! There are workshop days coming up later in the year, another fabulous evening of "Carabet Heaven" hosted by our good friends at Irregular Arts ... but next on our list is the Shipley Street Arts Festival Summer School.

This is a great chance for young, budding actors, aged 11-15, to get a taster of the many disciplines involved in theatre work. Including everything from physical theatre to mask work and puppetry, the three-day course will be run by seasoned actress Gillie Kerrod, on behalf of the illustrious Calderdale Theatre School, so this really is an amazing opportunity for young people who have an interest in theatre to find out what's involved.

Held at the Dockfield Road Creative Arts Hub in Shipley from 17th August - 20th August, the entire course is just £20 per student - if you know somebody who might be a future Oscar winner, tell them not to miss this fabulous opportunity!

Contact:
Q20 Theatre @ Dockfield Road Creative Arts Hub
Email: info@q20theatre.co.uk
Tel: 01274 221 360

Join the Great Duck Race!

Announcing the first Shipley Street Arts Festival and Baildon Woodbottom WMC "Duck Race"!

Come along to Baildon Bridge on Saturday 27th June and join in with our fabulous fun - racing ducks down our little stretch of the Bradford Canal!

Don't worry, you don't need to raid your bathroom to dig out your shower caps and old rubber ducks ... we'll be providing the little yellow ducklings which you can back for 50p per duck - enter as many times as you like to win one of our cash prizes!

The Duck Race is just one of a great series of events and activities being run as part of the Rivers & Canals theme for Shipley Street Arts Festival - be sure to check out our website for details of everything else to come!

Let us know you're coming along by joining our event on Facebook!