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.

Black Friday: Celebrate the American Way!

An increasingly popular event in the shopping calendar, the deals and savings to be found on 'Black Friday' is an American tradition, taking place the first Friday after the national holiday of Thanksgiving.

This year it's set to take place on Friday, 27th Nov - so why not join in on the American theme?

Our Stars and Stripes characters have been very successful in the past in embracing an American loving of shopping for savings before Christmas. We've also sent out American icons like Marilyn Monroe!

We also offer a different take on the American-theme with our Native American characters!

An alternative take on Black Friday might include our toy characters, as Santa starts his Christmas shopping!

There are loads of ideas and options available for Black Friday events, suitable for any theme or promotion. 

Contact Q20 now for ideas and prices!

Email: info@q20theatre.co.uk 

Tel: 01274 221 360

Presenting ... our new website!

If you follow us on Facebook or Twitter, you may have already noticed that we're very excited about our new website, which launched last week.

We're very proud of it, and grateful to everyone who put in so much work to bring it to life!

Be sure to stop by for brand new images, inspiring ideas, fabulous themes, slideshows showcasing our most successful events, and information about the company and the kind of work we do.

We hope you'll enjoy browsing through our new site, but most of all, we hope you'll be inspired to work with us to make your events spectacular and memorable!

www.q20events.co.uk

Halloween is almost upon us!

It promises to be our spookiest Halloween yet with so many of our ghosts and ghouls heading out across the UK this October!

We're once more taking to the East Lancashire Railway spooky trains with a few grizzly characters to frighten you half to death. See this brilliant video from last year for a taste of things to come ...

To get your tickets, just go to the East Lancashire Railways website.

We're sending our spectacular new characters - the Mexican-themed 'Day of the Dead' stilt-walkers, and last year's new creation, 'The Bouncing Bats' to Bradford's Oastler Market for the 30th & 31st October.

We're sending Dracula and a Wicked Witch to the Lowry Outlet Mall ... be sure to stock up on garlic!

Esme & Beastie are off to Darlington! He's such a cuddly monster!

There's also fabulous Halloween cut-n-colour workshops in Chester and Hatfield's Galleria and so much more!

So keep an eye out - you may just see something spooky from Q20!

Shipley Street Arts Festival: Half Term Theatre School

We're very exciting about the upcoming Shipley Street Arts Festival: Half Term Theatre School!

The Theatre School - which will be taking place 26th - 29th October - is a great opportunity for all youngsters (aged 11-15) who may be interested in a future career in theatre and the arts.

The four days of fun include taster sessions in four theatre disciplines: Circus, Theatre Arts, Stage Fighting and Movement.

Each day will include two workshops on a specific area within those categories, all run by theatre professionals who can provide a great insight in what being an artist really involves.

The Theatre School is being run in partnership with Calderdale Theatre School and the local DM Academy.

Whether your child would like to attend all four days or just one, they're more than welcome to come along and have a fantastic time dancing, clowning, designing their own creations or taking part in an epic (staged!) duel.

Prices:
4 days: £30 per child
2 days: £17.50 per child
1 day: £10 per child

Contact info@q20theatre.co.uk for further information.

The Shipley Street Arts Festival Master Class Series: The Line-up is Complete!

The Master Class Series line up is complete!

We're pleased to announce that we have put together a fabulous series of workshops as part of Shipley Street Arts Festival: six brilliant opportunities to hone your skills or learn some new ones!

The complete list and all the details can be found here, with links to buying tickets on each event. Don't forget to join the groups on Facebook to let your friends and family know you're going!

Tickets are just £20 per class, with each one run by a leading professional in their particular field. It's a fantastic chance to learn from the master!

17th Oct - Hula Hoop
24th Oct - Improvisation
7th Nov - Clowning
14th Nov - Circus Skills
21st - Stage Fighting
28th - Cabaret & Comedy

Places are limited so don't miss out on a spot - order your tickets now!

For further information, please contact info@q20theatre.co.uk

Master Class Workshops: Coming Soon to Dockfield Road Creative Arts Hub

The Master Classes workshops are on their way!

The Shipley Street Arts Festival team have been very busy organising some amazing workshops led by leading theatre professionals, who will be running sessions that are six-hour long for an extensive insight into some of the fabulous skills that are involved in being a professional performer.

Already confirmed is the 'Improvisation' workshop, taking place on Saturday, 24th October 2015 - with Displace Yourself Theatre's Jennifer Nevin and Mike Auger providing indispensable tips on the techniques of movement and improvising.

We're also exciting to announce confirmation of Martin Mor's 'Clowning' workshop on Saturday, 7th November 2015. Drawing upon both ancient and modern principles of clowning, this workshop aims to free the imagination, and allow participants to access their true creative potential.

Martin Mor: running our 'Clowning' workshop

Join the Facebook event to let us know you're planning on coming along! You can also purchase tickets from the link on the FB event page.

Stay tuned for more information on the workshops.

Each workshop will take place on a Saturday at Dockfield Road Creative Arts Hub, Shipley - and will cost £20 for a six-hour workshop with an expert performer. Places are limited so please do make sure to get your tickets for any workshop you wish to attend!

Workshops are intended for intermediate to advanced performers. For more information, please call 01274 221 360 or email info@q20theatre.co.uk