As we are now into the second year of our Big Lottery project, we continue to be very busy running Arts Award projects in different settings.

Jen, Angela and Rob are still working with So Many Words Theatre Company delivering the Silver Arts Award. The group are now planning their Unit 2 – which will be a series of workshops that they will lead for young people in the Easter holidays. This work continues to be very inspiring as we watch the young people develop into positive and creative drama workshop leaders.

Jen and Joan have been working since January in New Park School in Eccles with a group of 6 pupils doing their Bronze award. They have just completed their Part C – arts heroes and heroines – for which they made a shoe box decorated with and full of ideas and facts all about their heroes.

We have an interesting and fun time planning and evaluating what we do with the rest of the Friday group and Debbie our support worker – each week.

Embrace, Create, Connect

DIY have been asked to attend the Embrace Create Connect conference in Leicester – a national event about arts and learning disability which is taking place in Leicester on 15th and 16th March. Jen, Sue, Angela and Robert will do a short presentation and be on a panel to share ideas about our education projects and ways of working.

Sycamore

DIY’s current production “Sycamore” has been inspired by Andrew McKeown’s “Seed” Sculpture and the poetry of Lois Keith. DIY’s new devised production explores the themes of connection and separation, of independence and inter-dependence.

“Sycamore” is one of four temporary commissions which celebrate the re-launch of the Irwell Sculpture Trail. In addition to a live performance piece, we have been working with Wynter Productions to create two DVDs; one of these is a process piece, which gives an insight into the way the company has been exploring the sculpture and using both the sculpture and the space in which it is sited, as inspiration. The second, very short, DVD is based on a poem called “Tomorrow I will re-write the English Language” by Lois Keith.

The first performance of “Sycamore” will take place at a special event being organised by So Many Words on Monday 19th March 2012 at the Lowry Studio Theatre.

‘On a Starry Night We Met’ will provide a platform for talented disability arts groups to present original pieces of theatre, music, dance and film, which will combine to create a magical evening of entertainment. Tickets and info from www.thelowry.com

DIY Theatre Company is also planning to perform “SYCAMORE” on Tuesday 27th March 2012 at 1 p.m. at The Angel Centre. There is no charge for this event, but places are limited. E-mail us at diytheatre@googlemail.com or ring us on 0161 212 4984 to book your ticket.

Arts Award Training

Upcoming Arts Award Adviser Training being run by DIY Theatre Company includes:

• Bronze & Silver Adviser Training: 17th April, The Angel Centre, Salford
• Gold Adviser Training: 25th April, Creative Media Centre, Salford
• Discover & Explore Adviser Training: 26th April, The Edge Theatre and Arts Centre, Chorlton

For more information or to book a place, go to: www.artsaward.org.uk

The first performance of “SYCAMORE” took place at a special event organised by So Many Words In March 2012 in the Lowry Studio Theatre.

‘On a Starry Night We Met’ was a platform for talented disability arts groups to present original pieces of theatre, music, dance and film, which combined to create a magical evening of entertainment.

DIY also performed “SYCAMORE” at an action-packed showcase of the four specially commissioned arts projects exploring journeys, narratives and land-marking along the Irwell Sculpture Trail, which took place at The Angel Centre in March 2012.

Download the Sycamore Project flyer for more details.

Created and performed by actors with learning difficulties in collaboration with playwright Aelish Michael, “Ellie’s Story” looked at communication and control from the point of view of people with learning difficulties and raised key issues of importance to young people with learning difficulties. Follow-up drama workshops led by DIY actors explored these themes and how young people could “take charge” in situations where communication is difficult.

DIY has been commissioned by Salford Community Leisure Limited to create a short theatre piece as part of the re-launch of the Irwell Sculpture Trail.

We are working on ideas inspired by the “Seed” sculpture designed by Andrew McKeown, which is sited close to the Angel Centre, outside St Philip’s Church. The sculpture takes the form of two sycamore seeds.

DIY members are working with Wynter Productions to create a short film to document the start of our devising process. The film and performance will be performed during February / March 2012.

 “Don’t Call Me Babe!”

DIY’s next major performance project will be a tour of “Don’t Call me Babe!”.

The play will be adapted from the piece created with professional writer Danny Start, who worked with us as part of our “In Other Words” project. We hope to build on the success of this year’s successful tour of “Ellie’s Story” with a tour to Special and Mainstream Schools across Greater Manchester during 2012.

Leading it…Our Way

 Thanks to the Big Lottery Reaching Communities Programme, DIY is busy running lots of exciting Arts Award projects.

 We meet every Friday to plan and evaluate all of our outreach programmes. As a group of facilitators, we plan new ways to deliver drama games and we are working together to explore many different aspects of leadership and what that means to different people.

At the moment, Joan is working at the Youth Centre in Irlam and Caddishead where we have a large group of around 25 young people each time. We have been using drama to promote confidence and self-esteem and develop team-building skills. We have done lots of drama games, made newspaper costumes and dramatic recipes!

Angela and Rob are delivering the Silver Arts Award to a group of young actors at So Many Words Theatre Company in Eccles. We have done lots of exciting exercises to make the Arts Award accessible and relevant and will continue to work with this group up until Easter 2012.

Next term, Joan and Jenny will be going into New Park School in Eccles to deliver a Bronze Arts Award project. Busy times ahead!

All members, supporters , friends and family are welcome. Please arrive for a 1pm start. Refreshments will be available at 2.30pm. We look forward to seeing you there.

DIY ‘s tour of schools across all ten Greater Manchester Authorities culminated in a special performance and exhibition event which took place at The Angel Centre on Tuesday 5^th July.

Feedback to our tour of performances and workshops has been fantastic:

“Both staff and students were very impressed with how well the message behind Ellie’s story was acted out…Students joined in really well and enjoyed watching the performance and then attending the workshops afterwards. Thank you for visiting our school. Everyone enjoyed the day and would welcome the company back any time”. (Julie Friel, Redwood Special School)

“The exploration of the life of a woman with disabilities from her perspective was dealt with honestly and positively. The students were able to watch and participate in the work of an adult theatre company something that many of the participating young people aspire to.  This has boosted the confidence and self- esteem of the whole group”. (New Bridge School, Oldham)

“ The show was fabulous and really got the point across well. Very well produced and choreographed. Held children’s attention. The children found it very enjoyable and could answer lots of questions about its content. Many thanks for all your hard work – it is an experience the children will remember and take a lot from”.

(Yvonne Heywood Ladywood School, Bolton)

DIY is grateful for support from AGMA and Grants for the Arts which  supported our tour of “Ellie’s Story” to Special Schools across Greater Manchester during Spring and Summer 2011.

Arts Award success at Lancasterian School

Congratulations to 13 young people from Lancasterian School in Didsbury, who have been successful in achieving their Bronze Arts Awards!

Angela, Robert, Anna and Sue have been working with pupils at the school on Friday afternoons to develop as artists and as leaders.

The project has been documented on DVD by Wynter Productions.

The Lancasterian Project is the first project in DIY’s new “Leading It…Our Way!” Programme, which is funded by the BIG Lottery Reaching Communities Programme.

Over the next three years, DIY company members and DIY’s Education and Outreach Coordinator Jenny Harris will be running a total of ten Arts Award projects with young people with learning difficulties aged between 11 and 25 from across Greater Manchester.

The “Leading it…Our Way” programme is all about opening up new opportunities for young people with learning difficulties. Young people will:

• Gain an Arts Award
• Develop leadership skills and experiences
• Develop life skills such as communication and decision-making
• Increase their confidence, sense of achievement and ambition.

Watch this space for further details!

DIY Theatre Company has been busy during the spring and summer touring ‘Ellie’s Story’ to schools across    Greater Manchester. Thanks to the generosity of AGMA we are delighted to be able to invite you  to an exhibition of work created by DIY members and the young people we have been working with during the tour. Come along, explore the exhibition, see the show, enjoy a scone and   find out more about DIY’s current work and plans for the future.

Tuesday 5th July  1.45– 4.00pm in The Ballroom at The Angel Centre.

1.45pm  Welcome to the exhibition and performance of Ellie’s Story.

2.15pm  Refreshments and an opportunity to see the exhibition.

3.00pm  Premiere of DVD from our Arts Award project at Lancasterian School.

4.00pm  Event closes.

“How can Ellie escape from the hustle and bustle of modern life and find a bit of peace and quiet? Will her special remote control allow her to zap a bit of space for herself?”

DIY is grateful for support from AGMA and Grants for the Arts which have supported our tour of “Ellie’s Story” to Special Schools across Greater Manchester during Spring and Summer 2011.

DIY will be performing “Ellie’s Story” in all ten Greater Manchester authorities. The performance will be accompanied by a workshop, exploring themes from the play and co-led by company members.

Performance dates are as follows:

• Tuesday 1 March : Redwood School, Rochdale
• Tuesday 8th March : Ladywood School, Bolton
• Tuesday 15th March : Heaton School, Stockport
• Friday 18th March : Lancasterian School, Didsbury
• Thursday 24 March : New Bridge School, Oldham
• Tuesday 29 March : Brentwood School, Trafford
• Tuesday 5th April : Elms Bank School, Bury
• Tuesday 24th May : Edge Arts Centre, Chorlton (Chorlton Arts Festival)
• Tuesday 7 June : St John Fisher Catholic High School, Wigan
• Tuesday 14 June : New Park High School, Salford
• Tuesday 21 June : Samuel Laycock, Tameside
• Tuesday 28th June : Oakfield School, Wigan

DIY DROP IN

• Do you want to make new friends?
• Do you want to do more acting?
• Are you curious about drama?
• Do you want to try something new?

Then our Drama Drop In sessions are for you!

The DIY Drama Drop In meets once a month:

• WHERE? The Angel Centre, Salford
• WHEN? 1—2-30 p.m.

DATES:

• Thursday 17th MARCH
• Thursday 14th APRIL
• Thursday 12th MAY
• Thursday 16th JUNE

New DIY Administrator

DIY are very pleased to welcome our new administrator Lynn Seymour-Price, who will be working in the office on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Many thanks to Carol Kubicki who has helped us out while we were appointing to this post.

We are also pleased to welcome Andrew Beswick who will be working for us for the next six months as our new Communications Assistant. This is a Future Jobs Fund post.

Lancasterian School

DIY are starting a new Arts Award project at Lancasterian School in Didsbury. Angela, Robert, Anna and Sue are working with pupils at the school on Friday afternoons to develop as artists and as leaders.

Arts Award Adviser Training

At DIY we offer a specialist training programme for professionals hoping to offer Arts Award.

On 10th and 17th May DIY Theatre Company will be offering an exciting new opportunity for practitioners.

Interested professionals will have the opportunity to train as Arts Award advisers.

If you haven’t yet heard of Arts Award, it is an established and respected way for young people to explore their creative skills. It also leads to:

• A nationally recognised qualification
• A framework for learning new skills and sharing them
• A link between young people and creative professionals in arts and media

Arts Award can be based around any arts or media activity, and can be completed in a wide variety of settings – like youth clubs, arts centres, schools, colleges, theatres or community groups. There are three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold.

Gold Top Up Adviser Training: 10th May 2011

Gold Arts Award is our highest recognition of a young person’s abilities as a creative arts leader. At Gold level, young people are working as arts practitioners while broadening their horizons within the arts world.

Working at this level will extend young peoples’ creativity, communication, planning, teamwork and leadership skills. The Gold Arts Award is a nationally recognised Level 3 qualification and also recognised on the UCAS Tariff (35 points).

• Cost : £90 per person and is a half a day.
• Venue: The Angel Centre

Bronze/ Silver Adviser Training: 17th May 2011

Our team of experienced practitioners will take participants through a full day of Bronze/ Silver advisor training. This will cover how to deliver and assess the award with special emphasis on learning disabled artists. Through a mixture of presentations, case studies, practical tasks and discussion successful participants will be taken through all that is necessary to become an Arts Award Adviser.

• Cost : £140 per person (including lunch) for a full day
• Venue: The Angel Centre

Both courses will be held at The Angel Centre in Salford. For further details please contact Lynn on 0161 212 4984 or register online at www.artsaward.org.uk

Now we are planning to tour “Ellie’s Story” to schools across Greater Manchester. We’ve received funding from AGMA and Arts Council (Grants for the Arts) towards the tour.

During the Autumn we are contacting schools to find out who is interested in hosting the show. We will be touring in the Spring next year.

DIY members will also be running workshops, alongside performances, to help young people develop their own skills and ideas.

The Friday Group has also come up with some great ideas for new DIY T-shirts. This includes adding a person in a wheelchair to the logo. We will be working with Bernie from PRESCAP, who will be helping us to design and make our own T-shirts.