Drama Club

Drama Club Wrap-Up Session.

2010-04-21T20:10:00.009+01:00

On Fridag 16th April 2010 the Drama Club and The Fiasco Division met for a wrap-up session at The Howbury Centre.

We started off with playing games as big booty, the clapping game and so on.

Then we did individual interviews about the process of working on an intergenerational project, for the documentary, whilst different games still were played. We got some great interviews from the participants.

Mid-way through the session we all watched the work in progress documentary film.

Some of the participants brought lovely chocolate cakes, short bread and lemonade, that we all enjoyed, followed by a group discussion about the process, performance and the project in general.

We all had a good time, and it was a great way to wrap up such an amazing project.

Above are some images from the last Drama Club Session for this time.

Anna.

Images from 'Happiness Begins'

2010-04-13T11:00:00.011+01:00

The pictures are taken by Photographer: Lubos Horvat.

Performance Day.

2010-04-12T12:56:00.010+01:00

The Fiasco Division's Happiness Begins in Slade Green: corridors filled with balloons, elders in school uniform scoring fantasy football penalties, a gorgeous video capturing individual moments of joy, Bollywood disco dancing, and a rousing chorus of Daydream Believer – proof that 'community arts' projects for teens and older people doesn't have to mean TV-inspired soap. D. Max Prior, Total Theatre Magazine

On saturday 10th April, 72 audience members, the Drama Club and The Fiasco Team including performers and photographer gathered at The Howbury Centre in Slade Green for 'Happiness Begins', on a beautiful and sunny spring day.

Preparations were made; including blowing up about 500 balloons, setting up the space, making the tickets; a balloon attached to a string with the program and a message. Everyone helped out with the preparations before warming up.

The cast was concentrated, focused and slightly nervous during the warm up.

At the end of the warm up we all gathered in a circle and shared with each other what we would bring to the performance and why we wanted to do it.

Then it was time to get in positions and start the show. Alex introduced the project and had a small explanation about the performance, that it was a promenade piece and that the audience had to follow the explorers. Then the performance started.

The audience appeared to be excited about joining us on our search and journey for Happiness. Scene after scene ran smoothly and was packed with concentration, focus and spontaneity. It was very touching to see how each and everyone really played and enjoyed themselves on stage.

All the participants have come so far in their own development as performers and players. It was magnificent to see how each individual gave something very special and unique to the performance.

When the audience travelled through the second corridor, which was packed with colourful balloons and performers whispering: 'It's through there!' I was all ready in the drama-hall ready to cue the music, and I could hear one balloon after the other pop which added great tension and excitement in the performance as a whole.

The audience entered the drama hall to find Tony and Ginny sat on chairs in sadness, who all of a sudden bursted out in joy and jumped around together. Now the other participants appeared outside, looking through the window and shortly after joined Tony and Ginny for a big dance celebration,watching a music video and the whole ensemble singing Day Dream Believer. Followed by applauds and bows.

The participants exited the drama hall and Alex said a couple of final words, thanking the audience for coming. During his speech we could hear all the performers outside, cheering and being very happy. This is a moment I will remember for the rest of my life, it was truly magical.

This project has been magical in itself, I feel very lucky to have had a chance to get to know the people in The Drama Club and to be a part of this fantastic journey.

The participants really gave what they could in the performance and created wonderful moments that I believe will stay on with people.

Hopefully The Fiasco Division will embark on another project like this in the near future.

I want to thank all the performers in the Drama Club for all their hard work. I also would like to thank The Howbury Centre and Mel Hudson for always being so helpful and giving. Other thank you's goes to: Michael Wearing, European Youth in Action Scheme, Bexley Council and Rose Bruford College, for contributing to make this fantastic project possible.

The cast for 'Happiness Begins'

James Benbow

Owen Davies

Anthony Day

Carol Eastaugh

Kyra-May Hudson

Lewis Hudson

Nikita Hurst

Lisa Lemos

Lauren McCullum

Win McGhee

Ginny Povey

Iluminada Pérez Puche

Angela Quilala

Tony Saunders

Almudena Segura

Katie Simes

Krystal Uttridge

Jenni White

Amy Wisheart

Keep on smiling and laughing.

Anna.

Last rehearsal.

2010-04-10T08:32:00.006+01:00

Yesterday was the last rehearsal before the final performance 'Happiness Begins'.

The rehearsal went very well, and the work and play was taken to another level. We went through the final changes and worked on detail, and then had a run through without stops, which went brilliant.

It was amazing to be able to witness all the creativity, play and creativity that came out in the run.

It seemed to me that the participants were really enjoying them, and what we in The Fiasco Division always seek, play and pleasure within the work. The concentration and focus was magnificent!

I am extremely proud and excited about sharing with an audience today, what we all have been working so hard on.

See you at 13.00, at The Howbury Center today for a very touching journey.

Anna

'Happiness Begins' is supported by The European Youth in Action Scheme, Bexley Council and Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance.

Second last rehearsal.

2010-04-07T10:04:00.006+01:00

On Tuesday 6th we all met for our second last rehearsal before the performance.

We worked on the ending scene, then did a stop-run through, and finally we ran the performance from beginning to the end.

The last couple of days have been filled with final discussions about how the piece runs, what changes that needs to be done, planning and editing of the film that will be showed at the end of the performance.

Now everything is coming together and we are all ready for our final rehearsal this evening. Bring on great energy, concentration, creativity and playfulness!

Anna.

3rd last rehearsal!

2010-04-06T10:31:00.007+01:00

On Tuesday 31st March our aim was to run through the whole structure of the show without many stops.

We worked on the final scene and then went through the whole piece. The first two scenes were run in the actual spaces we will be using in the Howbury Centre, and they really started to come together. The participants were all very concentrated and dedicated with the work.

Throughout the process we have been trying to build up this common theatrical language with the participants, and now are starting to understand the language we are working with, and are improving greatly in every rehearsal.

We are now working on editing the documentary and some other video clips that will be a surprise on the performance day.

Over the easter weekend we have had a little break because the Howbury Centre has been closed, but today we all ready to go in to rehearsals, make the most of it, play and have fun.

We have six hours left of rehearsals before the performance, the nerves and excitement are slowly approaching!

Be quick to get your ticket, and come to Slade Green, The Howbury Centre at 13.00 for the performance 'Happiness Begins' on Saturday 10th April.

Anna.

3 Rehearsals to Go!

2010-03-29T15:44:00.004+01:00

Yes my friends, three more rehearsals to go for the show: Happiness Begins. Time to start rallying up your friends and family and members of the Slade Green community to come and attend the FREE sharing on Saturday 10th April, 1pm.

To book tickets, please email tfd@hotmail.co.uk
or
call and leave a message stating your name and the amount of tickets you require on 02082917263.

And now for an update of last week's workshops: The 23rd and 26th March.
The basics of the first scene have been set now as we explored being rebellious, nerdy and naughty school children sitting an exam- working alongside music to help create character and atmosphere. We then tried incorporating the swimming, space man and opera scenes into the equasion. Again, the foundations of the scenes are there, but they do need tweaking and polishing- a feat which must be executed swiftly in the 3 remaining rehearsals!

Working in the reception corridor as a site we tried to create a happy atmosphere using Daydream Believer and smiling. Genuine smiles and giggles definitely worked best. We have found in our own practice as a company that when there is a ripple of truth and integrity in every action then it becomes somewhat more fun to perform and to watch :)

Kids! Why not get the poster I have emailed to you put in your school newsletter? The more you advertise and promote, the bigger the audience! If you have not received an email from us then it may be because I don't have your address, please email me at tfd@hotmail.co.uk and I will forward you our promotional poster!

See you tomorrow at rehearsal and remember we will not be meeting this Friday (2nd April) as Howbury is shut.

Thanks guys!
Lauren x

Update from 19th and 23rd March 2010.

2010-03-24T14:31:00.007Z

We are now getting closer and closer to the performance day which will be the 10th April 13.00 at the Howbury Centre, Slade Green.
The structure of the performance is ready and the material is coming nicely together.

Last Thursday we worked on the individual scenes, and then we embarked on the big ending scene. This scene requires a lot of concentration and focus as there are many things going on in the space at the same time, and it is the grand finale. But, all in all the scene started to come together nicely.

On Tuesday after having a warm up with excellent group energy, we continued working on the scenes. We had individual showings around the different spaces at the Howbury Centre and then we combined all the smaller scenes together to create one big scene.

I think the concentration in the work was really focused, and the scenes are really on their way. People were open, playful and in the moment when we ran the scene.

We have now 5 rehearsals left before the show. I cannot wait to share the performance with an audience, that is a result of so far an amazingly rewarding, highly creative and playful journey.

Here are some quotes on Happiness...

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony."

Mahatma Ghandi, (Political and spiritual leader, 1869 - 1948.)

"If you are happy and people around you are not happy, they will not allow you to stay happy. Therefore the much of our happiness depends upon our ability to spread happiness around us."

"If you can't enjoy what you have, it is less likely that you will enjoy what you want in your life."

Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of Laughter Yoga.

Join us for our search for Happiness at The Howbury Centre, Slade Green the 10th April 2010.

Anna.

Some images from the last couple of weeks.

2010-03-18T13:10:00.009Z

Searching for happiness...

2010-03-17T14:56:00.003Z

Workshops on the 9th and 12th March.

Listen to me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amZaoONrDO8 whilst reading this...

So the Fiasco team have decided on the basic structure of the show: A promenade piece travelling around the Howbury Centre, based on the notion of looking for happiness. At Slade Green. With others. Through our dreams and fantasies.

We asked participants to fill out a questionnaire based on what makes them happy and what they believe in. The uniqueness of each individual was again highlighted here as the responses were all so different, with happiness being evoked by everything from chocolate and ice-cream, through to a niece's smile, their wives and sunshine. Later exercises were then developed based on these responses.

We went round in a circle asking people to recall a happy moment in their lives and a game which we play during the Drama Club which makes them happy. The positive nature of our group shone through as nearly everyone had a story to share, of which we incorporated later into developing a scene which combined people's fond memories with an underscore of participants singing Day Dream Believer. Here is The Monkees singing it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQNqk54HPdE

We also explored a bit of happiness training, trying out jumps and greetings which sparked an inner happiness within us. We are looking for a genuine happiness within the teenagers and adults, rather than something forced.

Other scenes we started to devise incorporated intriguing spies, tranquil opera singers and naughty school children. Euphoric moments of happiness were explored within a 'Winning Goal', 'Olympic Swimming Race' and 'X-Factor Final' scenes which were extremely well composed and rather comedic when played with emotive atmospheric music.

A rather long post I must admit, but so much is happening within our two hour sessions!

Aaaand smile.

Lauren.

Time is Marching On!

2010-03-10T10:39:00.004Z

Some thoughts from Lauren on Tuesday 2nd and Friday 5th March:

Filming and dancing were high on the workshop agenda this week. We started to create a music video to Whitest Boy Alive 'Burning', and the kids and adults responded very well to our seemingly strange requests! The task definitely required full use of their imagination, concentration and spontanaeity, all skills The Fiasco Division value highly when creating performance.

A variety of dance techniques were explored this week, ranging from Anna (Fiasco) teaching us all a superhero bollywood-inspired sequence, to Lewis Hudson, one of our teenage participants, passing on some of his break-dancing skills, to the entire group freestyling it up on the dancefloor, offering a move to the group, then everyone repeating it back. What energy. What enthusiasm. The medium of dance and music certainly seems to trigger a spark in our workshoppers, especially when they don't worry too much about getting moves 'right.'

This is one big experiment. There are no wrongs or rights. Just an open space where people can try out creative tasks and be respected for giving something of themselves. We encourage a give and take approach to drama, aiming for a mutual respect across the group when creating and presenting work.

Over and out.
Lauren x

The last Friday in Februray 2010.

2010-03-03T12:38:00.014Z

After an experimental session last Tuesday, we decided to take the group back to basics and run this session without the clown element.
We worked on new material, and potential scenes exploring the zoo-dude, a spying and a swimming scene. These are all ideas that the participants came up with, and the Fiasco team are using these ideas for inspiration to create scenes.
The spying sequences worked really well when we added the layer of actually spying on someone. A lot of nice images appeared, people sneaking through tunnels, hiding behind hospital beds, massive gates and giant umbrellas.
The participants were really concentrated and worked very well together, both children and adults together. It is fascinating to see the work run so smoothly and witness so much great creativity.

We are still working on and developing the dance-exchange scene and it is really getting somewhere interesting. Incredible moves are appearing at all times, to Phoenix's Lasso.

Time flies, and we are already in week six in the Drama Club Project. Next week we will crack on to more scenes. Time for play and creativity!

Anna

Listen to Phoenix's Lasso here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okbDmEGrCZ8

Some images from 23rd February.

2010-02-24T11:46:00.010Z

Photographer: Katinka G. Levorstad

Let's make some drama!

2010-02-24T11:29:00.004Z

Here are some thoughts on Tuesday 23rd February's session:

The kids are often asking us when we will begin working on the show, the answer to this is that we have already begun! Actually from the very first workshops we were creating exercises that we hoped would allow the participants to grow in confidence, team work and performance ability, all of which contributes to the final performance we are creating.

However, hopefully this week's sessions will be a little more illuminating to the workshoppers as we started to work on creating mini-scenes based on ideas straight from what they had written. Everyone seemed very supportive when viewing each other's work which included a journey around a zoo and spy's paradise. Today we also introduced red clown noses to the proceedings, quite a tricky concept to grasp as quite surprisingly when performing with a nose, subtlety is the key. A few people were a bit weary of the little mask, but as we in Fiasco Division do enjoy a bit of clowning around we do hope we can enthuse participants to the wonders of the theatrical clown by next workshop.

I think the participants are now really starting to let their imaginations go, which just opens up the door of possibilities for us all. Let's hope there is such a strong turn out for Friday's workshop too.

Lauren.

The fantastic day of concentration, Friday 19th February 2010.

2010-02-24T10:35:00.006Z

Friday's workshop was a very concentrated session. To only be the second workshop with the groups united, this was very impressive. The participants had a proper laugh during the laughter yoga exercises, and we started to introduce ways of moving in the space that we might use in the performance. This week we also introduced three Spanish actor's to the group, they all played very well together, and interesting and funny situations appeared.

Everything we do in the workshops now are explorations of exercises in order to generate material we are going to use in the final performance 10th April. At the moment, we are working with the themes fantasy, childhood heroes and childhood dreams. Based on the information we have gathered from the participant, we are coming up with exercises and exploring different aspects of interesting things that appeared in the last workshops.

The participants made some interesting and sharp still images and danced away in two big groups. This was excellent! We also saw an amazing human piano and other interesting interior in the real estate miming game.

Next week we will introduce red noses and clowning to the group. I am really excited about this. Bring on the silliness!

Anna.

Some pictures from Tuesday 16th Session

2010-02-17T22:45:00.007Z

The groups unite!

2010-02-17T13:40:00.003Z

A week The Fiasco Division has been eagerly awaiting; the time has come for the children and adult workshops to join forces!

Tuesday's Session:
Once again we raised the bar for all participants, not only did they have the challenge of high concentration drama games, but they had the added element of working alongside a group of people where the age gap was at least 40 years. This did not seem to hinder anyone's spirit though. The group was perhaps a little tentative at first, but when we threw them into deep water with some character building exercises based on archetypal heroes they successfully stayed afloat. Memorable moments included a determined cowboy ("Where's my horse?") and an ethereal spaceman ("Whoosh!").

The drama clubbers were also introduced to tableau frames, where snapshot images of potential scenes are created by people's bodies. A challenging task as we set short time periods in which to complete tasks to encourage spontaneous decisions and swift, creative team work.

I spent this workshop behind the camera lens and often found myself blurring the photos as I was laughing at the beautiful moments that were happening in the room. Keep up the good work and the smiles guys.

Lauren.

2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th February sessions and Concept Update.

2010-02-10T18:53:00.016Z

The aim of the workshops last week was to try out the same games with all the groups.

The Children's workshops were as usual very energetic and loud, yet with moments of focus and concentration. We challenged the children with difficult and demanding ball exercises with complex throwing patterns. They were thrown into spontaneous improvisation exercises such as Yes Let's, The Gift Game and The Pantomime Race where we witnessed creative mountain climbing, drawing and hunting. The two groups managed this very well, being imaginative and inventive in their explorations.

The adults workshops had the same games as the children's session and they managed the challenging exercises such as the co-operative ball race, and improvisation games equally well. Some brilliant true stories were shared, for instance about a sheep's journey in Asda, and other more complicated lies were told in the Liar Liar game. We also revisited the world sing songs with more Elvis, Beatles and The Monkees.

The conclusion of the weeks sessions was that when looking at the two group's approaches to exercises and games, we noticed that they shared many qualities of working and the gap was not as big as perhaps anticipated.
This week we will bring together the two kid's groups to one and the same with the adults.

This will be an interesting phase in the project, especially next week when we will bring the kids and the adults together in the same session.

The Fiasco Division has this week been in long meetings regarding coming up with the concept of the piece, we are almost there and cannot wait to share it with the participants. It will be challenging, but a very interesting, imaginative and fun exploration.

Anna.

Adult's sessions 28th and 29th January!

2010-02-03T13:58:00.007Z

We have recruited a few more people in the adult workshops, and last weeks sessions went really well. Here is a little update:
Thursday's session was a smaller group but even if the group was small the energy was high and engagement large. Friday's session was a slightly larger group of just women. Great!

Rhythm and co-ordination exercises and skills were explored in the name-clapping game, listening and reacting in colombian hypnosis, twisting of faces in pass the silly face, and giggling and breath work in laughter yoga. The Lion laughter is always a good rib-tickler.

Our aim for working with laughter is to access the playfulness and imagination of the participants, and to build trust and creativity within the group. Although it can be embarrassing and make one feel vulnerable I think both groups managed this very well.

We also had wonderful sing song sessions paying tribute to Beatles, Elvis, and The Monkees songs. This was fantastic.

In Friday's session some of the participants brought in objects, and fascinating stories were shared in the space. We are looking to explore these stories more, add new objects and work on the material gathered from these objects.

All in all, the energy, intensity and commitment was very high! Good one!

Anna.

Feel free to put on this link whilst reading:) :
http://www.popmodal.com/video/824/The-Monkees--Daydream-Believer

Youth Dramaclubbers Session!

2010-01-28T11:54:00.010Z

This weeks' youths sessions were great! On Tuesday the same group of youths turned up, and on Wednesday there were some new faces. All were ready and excited to play.

Numbers of lives got saved because of good teamwork through the bacteria-tag. I witnessed some very sharp reactions from the prisoner guards, some ultra-fast spinning washing machines and and cool James Bond's in the Bibedi-bobedy-boo game.

During 'The Sheriff 'guns were quickly drawn, which ended in entertaining melodramatic deaths. The two who were left had to do a MOO-OUT, where the one has to try to 'moo' out their partner without laughing. This game was very well received by both groups and ended in a massive group MOO-OUT. This was absolutely hilarious...Bring on more big expressions!

After a bit of healthy 'going-mad-time' we played complex ball-pattern games which both groups managed very well, especially the Tuesday Group (We managed to do two complex patters at the same time!) The youths really listened to each other, which is essential for creating drama and theatre! If the concentration, expressivity and playfulness keeps going in this direction it will be interesting to see how far we can reach with our work.

Anna.

Update from the Senior session.

2010-01-25T16:52:00.007Z

On Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd we had workshops for the seniors. Thursdays consisted of an informal chat over tea and biscuits with the one participant that came along. We had a stream of consciousness about where the process and piece might go.

After the poor turnout on Thursday, we were met with six excited women for the Friday session.
We cracked on to various loosing up stretches, shaking and passing of silly faces. Then we laughed away with some of Doctor Madan Kataria's Laughter Yoga exercises, before we played some ball games, sang two Beatles and one Elvis song, counted to 18 with our eyes closed and much more!

This week we will explore more games, playing and messing around. We will also be looking at storytelling related to objects.

The group was very enthusiastic and ready to play. I was surprised by how willing everyone was to take on the challenges given, and it seemed to me that majority could not wait to take on more!

In this session, as in the youngsters', there are many hidden talents, from disco dancers to on-command criers. It was full of concentrated yet high energy, interesting confusion and laughter.

Can't wait to hear all the stories this week!

Anna.

Hi Everyone

2010-01-22T20:27:00.001Z

The first days have been a certified roller coaster ride. We've had our ups and downs smiles and silly faces. All in all it's been exciting. Recruitment is still going on, and we encourage everyone who wants to get involved to contact Stephanie on 07708136240 for more information and to sign up.

I'm very happy with the participants. Their level of commitment and willingness to have immense fun has surprised me to the max and I hope that this mentality will stay with us throughout the project.

I'm looking forward to the workshops and hope that we will be able to have a good time in the space.

Adios amigos.

Kàri.

A little workshop update...

2010-01-22T11:18:00.004Z

The workshops 19th and 20th January were playful, loud and creative, filled with funny faces, gestures, and laughter. The groups went on small journeys and explored the silliness of games like the 1,2,3-game, and shook themselves loose with exercises like the 'shaky syndrome'. We all witnessed many brilliant slow-motion-death moments performed by Kung-Fu-Masters, Cowboys and riding Elf''s during the slow-motion game.

The groups consisted of approximatley eleven participants Tuesday 19th and two on Wednesday 20th. We still have places to be filled, so don't hesitate to sign up!
The kids participating were positive, energetic and enthusiastic.
Everyone seemed to have a great interest of dancing, singing and music. These are elements we want to look further at for the final performance in April.

The community of Slade Green appears to be very strong. There are a lot of things going on, all from after school clubs, street dancing classes and ball-room dancing for the over 60's.
However, these two age groups seem to mix little. So we wish to bring these two groups together to explore the process through our performance practice based on the principle of games, silliness, spontaneity, play and laughter.

There was a bucket load of deck-scrubbing, climbing of rigs, greetings to the captain, all done with excitement, playfulness and intensity.
The group had a great sense of teamwork. We managed to keep the ball up in the air together (a record of 45 was set!).

The community of Slade Green appears to consist of people with many skills and talents. I can not wait to see the development and progression of the coming workshops and rehearsals.

Anna.

Drama Clubbers

2010-01-21T14:33:00.006Z

Recruitment Day Saturday 16th January 2010.

Photo: The Newsshopper.
To read the full article in The Newsshopper, click on the link below.

Recruitment Day.

2010-01-16T23:45:00.005Z

Hey Drama Clubbers.

Today we had our very first recruitment day at the Howbury Centre. Some of you are already on board, but we still have places left available. So sign up quick!

This is a brilliant opportunity to learn some acting skills, share stories, work with a professional theatre company and have lots of fun.

Together we will create a piece of theatre to be presented in April for the community.

We will be around during the evening on Monday 18th January at the Howbury Centre, where you can sign up.

Or call Stephanie on: 07708136240.

tfd@hotmail.co.uk

To all Drama Clubbers.

2010-01-13T19:27:00.003Z

Preparations are under way for the new free Drama Club at the Howbury Centre in Slade Green, Bexley.

Next on the agenda is flyering in Slade Green on the 14th January and meeting the local community.

On Saturday 16th January there will be a recruitment day at the Howbury Centre between 10am - 1pm.
The Fiasco Division are inviting people to come along, sign up to get more information about the Drama Club. Have a chat, have a laugh.

Workshops begin the following week:
11-16 year olds: Tuesdays or Wednesday 4pm-6pm
60+ year olds: Thursdays or Fridays 4pm-6pm

We look forward to seeing you!