Writing Style 2 Draft 2

As I sit in the dressing room on the opening night of the show I can feel the adrenaline of the other cast members ricocheting off the walls. I am sat quietly in a corner going over in my mind all of my cues, the dance routine in the opening scene and my lines for the second act. My thoughts are interrupted by a tannoy announcement “The cast of Pinocchio, this is your beginner’s call. Please start standing by; this is your Act 1 beginner’s call”. This was it; I gather my group, ensuring everyone is ready and set to go on stage. As we walk through the dark corridors, lit only by the blue backstage light, my stomach reiterates my nerves by doing a slight flutter.
In the auditorium the stage is set with a large red and gold circus tent hanging from the ceiling. As the audience take their seats and the house lights begin to dim, three objects and dragged on stage by cast members. All is quite apart from the distance sound of whistling which becomes increasingly louder as Geppetto walks through the auditorium and onto the stage. While he whistles he removes the cloth covering two of the objects to reveal two very brightly coloured puppets.
Backstage, behind the curtain I am stood holding a washing basket watching the monitor, awaiting my cue. Gepetto begins to sing about carving a puppet as he uncovers Pinocchio, the third puppet hidden under the cloth. As he carves, the puppet comes to life arm by arm, leg by leg until the puppet Pinocchio is larger than life and ruder than ever! “You are the worst father a puppet has ever had” booms Pinocchio, “and you, are the rudest puppet a father has ever met!” retorts Geppetto. This is my cue. As I walk onto the stage, through the blinding lights that are painting the stage with a fountain of colours I can just about make out the silhouettes of hundreds of people. All of whom are staring at me, awaiting the next instalment of the story being told to them.
My job at this point is to show my distain towards Pinocchio’s behaviour through body language and facial expressions. Pinocchio begins to run around the stage causing havoc and distruction, including emptying the contents of my washing basket across the stage! He runs through the audience singing and performing aerobatics.
We begin to sing and dance telling the story of how we are able to catch this puppet and find out why he is behaving in such a way. We finish the song and run off stage. We did it, the first scene is over with, and as I walk back through the dark corridor and up to the dressing room, my heart is pumping and adrenaline is pumping through my veins at a rapid rate. I now wait, wait for the next scene and for another rush excitement.

Writing Style 3

“We work using an inclusive creative process which means everyone is welcome, and everyone is valued”

(http://www.chickenshed.org.uk/about/main)

Chickenshed Theatre Company was founded in 1974 by Mary Ward and Jo Collins with the vision of creating a theatre company that would be accessible and available to anyone with a passion to perform, 35 years later this can still be seen in every aspect of their work. They would describe their method of theatre as inclusive theatre, an ethos that aims to make every aspect of the workshopping, rehearsals, production and performance accessible to all, be it performer or audience member.

This vision can be seen today within Chickensheds workshops, education programs and regular performances and shows, both onsite and at outside locations. It runs workshops either as a regular commitment or as one off events, for children, adults or schools/companies. These aim to include everyone who is interested regardless what their situation might be, as long as there is an interest, anyone is welcome. As the Chickenshed website states “These workshops are all underpinned by our inclusive creative process which harnesses the creativity of each individual, and magnifies it, to make theatre that belongs to everyone.” At present Chickenshed has over “600 amazing children and young people” involved in workshops, as members, on a regular basis. Anyone can become a member however the waiting list has over 2000 names of potential members all waiting to become a part of this unique setup.

In terms of education Chickenshed was the first centre, and remains the front runner, to teach inclusive performing arts. Like the workshops it is open to anyone who shows interest in the arts and is willing to do what it takes to develop and progress. Not only does it provide the chance for youngsters to learn about the world of performing arts it also provides nationally recognised and accredited qualifications such as courses at BTEC, foundation degree and MA level. As well as working in workshops, both active and written based, students also take part in performances alongside company members.

Chickensheds values and visions can best be seen through its performances. In its current production of Pinocchio, an adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s original story from “The Adventures of Pinocchio”, it combines drama, dance and music, sign language, audio description and captioning to create an inclusive experience for both audience and cast. The ethos of inclusion can be seen in the 600+ cast, which is split into 4 rotas that perform 15 shows each throughout the run and is lead by a group of core cast who participate in all 60 shows. This allows all of the members of Chickenshed’s children, youth workshops and its students to partake in the show if they so please, without the story or quality being compromised. The involvement of sign language in the show not only allows deaf cast members to follow cues on stage, it also does not exclude certain audience member from being able to watch the performance.

So with this in mind can Chickenshed’s vision of “everyone is welcome, everyone is valued” still be seen to be working today. I feel that their latest production of Pinocchio not only shows this but also shows the potential the company has to further this vision in the future.

Writing Style 2

The stage is set with a large red and gold circus tent hanging from the ceiling. As the audience take their seats and the house lights begin to dim, three objects are dragged on stage by cast members. All is quite apart from the distance sound of whistling which becomes increasingly louder as Geppetto walks through the auditorium and onto the stage. While he whistles he removes the cloth covering two of the objects to reveal two very brightly coloured puppets. Gepetto begins to sing about carving a puppet as he uncovers Pinocchio, the third puppet hidden under the cloth and as he does so one of the other puppets begins to sign as Geppetto sings. As he carves, the puppet comes to life arm by arm, leg by leg until the puppet Pinocchio is larger than life and ruder than ever! The stage suddenly comes to life with cast members, some doing washing, others gossiping, all doing intriguing things for the audience to feast their eyes on.

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Writing Style 1 Draft 2

Chickenshed Theatre Company would like to cordially invite you to their Christmas production of Carlo Codolli’s Pinocchio.Chickenshed are bringing this production back to life for a second time in what promises to be even better than the first. Experience the magic as the two hundred strong cast inclusively incorporate dance, drama, music and sign language to re tell an age old classic!
Follow Pinocchio along his journey as he transforms from a wooden puppet into a real life boy, from naughty to nice, and even into a donkey! Watch as the 7ft tall, hip HOPPING cricket bounces his way across the stage and marvel as the Blue Fairy enchants you with her aerobatics on the suspended circus ring.
This production is the perfect outing to get you into the Christmas spirit as the Chickenshed cast turns this fantastic classic into a truly unique and original experience for all the family. Never has a production made the audience feel so involved in a story as this one does, with characters popping up in the auditorium and magical songs encouraging them to sing and clap along.
Brought to you from their theatre in the heart of London’s Southgate, this production runs from the 9th December until 16th January.

Ticket prices:
Previews (Wed 9 – Sat 12 December):
Stalls: £12, Gallery: £10

Peak performances (Fri 18 December – Saturday 2 January):
Stalls: £19.50, Gallery: £13.50

Standard performances (all other dates):
Stalls: £18, Gallery: £12

Concessions are available for all performances.

Sign Language is integrated into all performances

Captioned performances:
Friday 18 December at 7.30pm
Friday 8 January at 12pm
Saturday 9 January at 3.30pm

Audio-described performances:
Wednesday 23 December at 7.30pm
Wednesday 6 January at 1pm & 7.30pm
Friday 8 January at 7.30pm

www.chickenshed.org.uk

Box Office: 0208 292 9222

Writing Style 1

Chickenshed Theatre Company would like to cordially invite you to their Christmas production of Carlo Codolli’s Pinocchio. Experience the magic as the two hundred strong cast incorporate dance, drama, music and sign language to re tell an age old classic!
Follow Pinocchio along his journey as he transforms from a wooden puppet into a real live boy, from naughty to nice, and even into a donkey!
This production is the perfect outing to get you into the Christmas spirit as the Chickenshed cast turns this fantastic classic into a truly unique and original experience for all the family.
Brought to you from their theatre in the heart of London’s Southgate, this production runs from the 9th December until 16th January.

http://www.chickenshed.org.uk/
Box Office: 0208 292 9222

Kolb's Learing Cycle

Following the session we had last week on Kolb’s Learning Cycle I am going to attempt to write four examples which will hopefully fit into the four categories outlined in the Cycle; Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Active Experimentation and Abstract Conceptualisation. Here goes...

Concrete Experience

After completing my A Levels in Nottingham and taking 2 years out to work at the BBC I decided it was time to get a degree. I knew I wanted to do my degree in Performing Arts, or if possible in Acting. I applied to a number of different universities and performing art colleges and waited to see if I would be given an interview. Quite late on into the year I received a letter from Chickenshed, one of the places I had applied for, asking me to come to an open day and for an interview. I spent the day there and watched a production of Vanity Fair that was being shown in the theatre at the time. I was amazed at the professionalism of the performance and was excited at the possibility of being able to be part of that. I wasn’t sure I was quite ready to leave Nottingham as I had a lot of ties there and had started to feel as though I had just found a good network of support there, but this course looked good and so I had a dilemma on my hands. Two months later my status on UCAS changed from conditional to unconditional and I realised how I was secretly hoping to get in and how excited I was about getting the place...so I packed my bags, left Nottingham and moved to London!

Reflective Observation

Having been in London now for two years and having just completed my Foundation Degree I can look back and reflect on whether my decision to move was the right one. In the two years I’ve been here I have been part of 7 professional theatre productions, performed in venues such as the Hard Rock Cafe and The Guildhall and learnt sign language! That alone is more than I did in the six years I was in Nottingham. I think that the decision to move was the right one as it has opened me up to experiences I would never have had if I had stayed where I was. Not all of it has been positive, I have struggled to build a good group of friends that I know I can rely on at the drop of the hat, with the exception to one or two people. This has made it hard and quite lonely at times and I still get homesick every now and then, but I haven’t lost my friends in Nottingham and I get to see them often. So I guess you could say I get the best of both worlds...the glitz and glamour that London brings, and the comfort and support from Nottingham.

Abstract Learning

Doing my Foundation at Chickenshed has opened me up to an entirely new type of theatre that previously I had very little knowledge of- Inclusive Theatre. I have learnt that unlike what most drama schools will tell you, it isn’t about being the best at what you do according to a bunch of people judging you from behind a desk, it’s about having the passion to do what you want to do and if you have that passion then who’s to say you can’t do. The director at Chickenshed often says to us that by thinking like this it doesn’t mean that we’re compromising quality because she expects nothing less than the best that we can offer. Being able to think this way, and being able to strive off of the passion and love that I have for acting has given me the confidence to go for auditions I wouldn’t normally go for because at the end of the day what more can I offer than a passion for acting and my own personal best when I do it.

Active Experimentation

Taking everything that Chickenshed has taught me about inclusion I can now take this and apply it to everything in life. I can look at the things that I do and look at how this may affect other people and about having a greater respect for different individuals’ situations. This can be applied in workshops where there may be a group of participants with a range of different physical abilities and adjusting the language you use in order to accommodate and make everyone feel comfortable with what you are asking them to do. For example, instead of saying “Ok, everyone stand up,” this could be changed to “Everyone rise to your working levels.” This simple change of language opens up the instruction to everyone in the group by being considerate of what people are physically capable of doing.

Links of Interest

Ipop

Ipop is an organisation based in High Barnet that work with disabled children to enable them to play and take part in social activities along side children without disabilities. They provide support workers to go into after school clubs and playschemes to provide one on one support for particular children. This organisation is of interest to me as I have recently started working for them and the work they do ties in with the work I have been doing with Chickenshed over the last 2 years. I am also interested in this organisation because I feel that it so important for every individual to be given the opportunity to participate in activities of their choice without having to come up against barriers.

St John Ambulance

St John Ambulance is a volunteer organisation which offers first aid support in a number of different capacities,such as big scale events like the London Marathon and the Lord Mayor's Parade. They also have division that are based locally that offer first aid training to companies and also attend community events such as football matches and fundraisers.

I have recently started volunteering with this organisation because I feel that first aid is a vital skill to have as you never know when you may need to put it into practice. It is also good to be part of a group of people wanting to help others and give something back to their local community