TAG Theatre Company

Jill's placement blog

noreply@blogger.com (Helen (Citz)) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:33:00 +0000

I have just finished my third week of my six week placement working here at TAG at the Citizens Theatre.  

I arrived at the beginning of a two week tour of a play exploring the origins of crime and post-show drama workshops as part of the Glow project. The project is based around a multi-school intranet service called Glow where primary 3 and 4 classes can interact with each other sharing their experiences of participating in the tasks and events set up by TAG. Prior to the tour, the schools also had the opportunity to join a “Glow Meet” so they had already met the TAG team and the actors online. 

After watching the performance at Dalmarnock Primary School I assisted in post-show drama workshops designed to further explore the issues raised in the play. The workshops were great fun and proved very interesting in relation to the variety of responses to the issues explored. The workshops then followed the production on tour around 18 different primary schools in the east end and south side of Glasgow. I think I arrived at just the right time in the project as the workshops have been so amazing to be apart of. The encouragement I received from everyone to take a turn of leading parts of the workshops was amazing and I enjoyed leading games and activities and interacting with all the pupils general.  

As well as jumping from school to school I have also been working in the office. I have mostly been collating evaluations of the Glow project but also have been getting a great insight to the running of TAG. Although office work does not seem quite as much fun as facilitating, the atmosphere in the office is so welcoming and fun that admin work is not so boring! 

I also got the opportunity to check out the wardrobe department. I had never been in the wardrobe department of a theatre before and it was so amazing to see all the costumes from shows that have been on in the theatre as well as seeing some being made.  

In addition I have attended meetings and also a community performance of “On the Rim of the World” which was a great experience of opera and really interesting too.

I have had an amazing time in the three weeks I have been here although it seems like I’ve been here so much longer. Everyone is so helpful and welcoming and with some exciting projects coming up I can’t wait for the next three weeks.

Jill

Glow Meet

noreply@blogger.com (Helen (Citz)) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:51:00 +0000

I have just had the pivilege of sitting in on our first fully blown Glow Meet. Glow is LTS's online learning portal for schools.

Today's "Meet" involved 16 Glasgow Primary Schools connecting to us online via Glow to view, what was essentially a live broadcast direct from the rehearsal room of Don't Start Me.

It was with some intrepidation that we waited to find out if all the schools could connect. Technology and bandwidth issues have been known to cause problems in the past. Fortunately all those we were expecting appeared online.

Angela Smith hosted; in her words, she was "Davina" for the hour's event. She did an amazing job of presenting, co-ordinating between all the schools and leading discussions. Davina would have been proud!

An introductory whip round the schools allowed the p3-4 pupils in each school, to cheer loudly in turn, to let us know they were online. The first sound of their voices sent delight round the rehearsal room as we realised we had a fully fledged audience.

After watching a clip of rehearsals (from earlier today) the pupils were able to ask the cast and Director questions via live chat and even speak to us from microphones at their schools. Hearing the pupils engage directly in this way, was definitely a highlight for everyone in the room.

We hope all the schools had as much fun as we did listening, watching and interacting via Glow.

Our next "Meet" will be this Thursday when pupils will get to chat with PC Geoff from Strathclyde Police.

Hx

Don't Start Me! Glow project kicks off

noreply@blogger.com (Helen (Citz)) — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 10:50:00 +0000

It's been a very exciting week for the TAG team as we have now started rehearsals for our production of Don't Start Me! TAG was chosen as one of only 10 arts companies in Scotland to run an innovative drama project using the new Scottish schools intranet system GLOW. We are working alongside Strathclyde Police to deliver a range of activities exploring the origins of criminal behaviour. We will be working with P3 and P4 pupils in Glasgow schools.

The cast arrived on Monday morning with only ideas and a skeleton of a storyline. The following 2 weeks will be spent fleshing out and then polishing until a full play has been created. We have 4 actors involved and they will all play different parts throughout the performance.

As well as rehearsals happening this week we have had two practice 'Glow Meets'. These are interactive video conferencing sessions on the Glow site. Teachers from our 20 primary schools all logged on at the same time and we could chat to each other, share information etc, and the teachers didn't even have to leave their classrooms!

The reason for these practice sessions was because on 18th January we are holding our first proper Glow Meet session as part of our project. Approximately 1000 pupils from all over Glasgow will log on to our Glow Meet and will get to see behind the scenes at the Citizens Theatre. The pupils will see the actors rehearsing and they will be able to ask them and the director questions about the play and about what it's like to work in a theatre. This session will allow the pupils to see a part of the theatre making process that they would never normally get to see.

We also have another Glow Meet happening on 20th January with PC Geoff Smith of Strathclyde Police making a presentation to the children. Again, the pupils will be able to ask PC Smith questions which he will answer live as the Glow Meet happens.

The tour of our theatre production starts on Monday 24th January. There will also be post-show drama workshops taking place and classroom activities and resources for teachers to access as part of the overall Don't Start Me project.

Angela

Joe's work experience

noreply@blogger.com (Helen (Citz)) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 11:49:00 +0000

Last week, Joe spent a week away from school, working mainly on TAG projects for his work experience:

I have liked so many things in the Citizen’s Theatre during work experience like going to Bannerman high school to see a rehearsal of their play and then going to the royal concert hall to see their performance and learning about the rosey project.

I have also liked being about the office and meeting everyone here, They are all very helpful , friendly and great to talk.

I have been about the theatre and seen a rehearsal of a play called “The Monster in the Hall” it was great to watch and everyone had a pleasant mood about them.

Even just doing normal work is fun because the atmosphere is so nice and everyone is really cheerful. I’d say I have had a very nice experience here and I would happily do it again.

Joe

Teachers' Resources ready for The Monster in the Hall

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Black) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 11:07:00 +0000

Here is a flickable copy of our Teachers' Educational Resource Pack for The Monster in the Hall. Recommended for 14+, this educational resource pack contains interviews with cast and production team members, as well as case studies, activities for classes and related Curriculum for Excellence outcomes.

You can click the image below to view full screen or visit Issuu to download or bookmark a copy. You can also download a copy from the Resources section of our website, under "Secondary Resources".

Secondary Schools Newsletter Sep '10

noreply@blogger.com (Helen (Citz)) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Here's our brand new secondary schools Autumn newsletter, with news of forthcoming productions, as well as training and workshops. You can click to view full screen or visit Issuu to download or bookmark a copy.

Vroom, sha-boom and chocolate moles

noreply@blogger.com (Helen (Citz)) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 21:40:00 +0000

I had a great blast from the past today as I got out into the "field" to join the cast and crew of The Monster in the Hall as they rehearsed at Kirkland High School in Methil (Fife).

Photo by Richard Campbell

This is not usual practice for last week of rehearsals, but as this production is presented in association with Arts and Theatres Trust Fife we have upped and moved sticks to Methil to open up the theatre-making process to local English and Drama students.

As the Digital Marketing Manager, I travelled to Fife today to observe and be on hand as our friends at Urbancroft were making a short film/trailer about the show. It was a busy day for lots of departments: our Education Officer, Louise was also present to lead workshops with students and I took the opportunity to start formatting the teachers' resource pack.

It was great to see David Greig's script properly come to life. The company rehearsed all day (...even into the evening). During the day two separate classes sat in to observe. This was no performance or contrived scenario, but rather a genuine glimpse at how professional rehearsals operate.

It was a surprise to the students how long could be spent on any one section of the script, even down to actors perfecting their vocal sound effects to make the most accurate "vroom" they could for a scooter.

They saw one of the particularly physical scenes involving lifts and some of the amusing musical numbers involving the "Duckettes"...a sight very much worth beholding!

After a bit more rehearsing, the Director, Guy, was kind enough to let us borrow his cast for a short while to run some scenes for the trailer. Time is always very tight with these things; so our film-maker Martyn had to do lots of thinking on his feet to determine his approach and prioritise footage.

So after they'd run a few scenes, we took actress Gemma McElhinney outside to film some close-up shots of her character. I can't say it's my proudest moment, but at one point - for want of anything better - I found myself trying to create a fake mole from some lumps of chocolate cake!? This was not my idea...and fair play to Gemma she was totally game! You'll be pleased to know we all bailed on that idea, hoping the audience would forgive this tiny missing detail.

The things we do eh?

So rehearsals continue tomorrow, the show will open for an invited audience including Fife Young Carers (who feature in the story) on Thursday night. After a schools and community tour, The Monster in the Hall will reach the Citz on 2 November. You can click the show name for more info or call 0141 429 0022 to book.

As for me, it's back to the grindstone tomorrow.

Claire's blog - Summer school and beyond

noreply@blogger.com (Helen (Citz)) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:05:00 +0000

Regular Young Co. member Claire Dyer blogged for us about the recent summer school week and her own exciting news:

Summing up this Young Co Summer School week without giving away too much about our upcoming new play will be barely possible - but I'll try.

This week we were joined by the lovely Darren who on day one (after the first in a series of strenuous warm-ups) had us moving as the elements - air, water, fire, earth. I was intrigued by the power of air, in that it is inescapably needed. Creating our representations of the elements to music was fascinating. On Tuesday we bumped it up a notch and, with animal characteristics and traits, conducted a frantic search for a certain Tall Tales character who you'll meet in October. The image of Scott leading this procession of personified animals as the elegant, strong stag will bring a smile to my face for a long time yet. Scott and Rehanna's movement instructor Jayne also joined us on Wednesday and taught us how to move fluently and intricately, shifting and sharing weight. This was picked up again by Darren on Friday morning before a game of "Eastenders" which went above and beyond the realms of good old fashioned Whoosh!

(Photo of Claire from the Rosey Project)

Meanwhile, Scott "the music man" worked with us on creating a lovely piece of Scottish music - rather nostalgic of The Singing Kettle or any of the Scots/Gaelic children's programmes we used to watch as kids. We read through the play, ironed out any issues with the text - particularly its authentic Scots dialect - and worked scenes of it on its feet. It was also good to have Mairi with us on Wednesday and Friday afternoon.

It brings me great sadness to admit that this will be my last blog for some time, but from juggling unravelling pairs of socks in a circle to miming horror scenes of childbirth, this week has been the greatest send-off ever. The movement skills and techniques that Darren and Jayne have taught us been a brilliant head start for the sort of work I'll be doing in Manchester - not to mention adding a whole new layer of creative expression to the production - and it's amazing to see all the new faces of the Young Co, which I'm sure will continue to grow and thrive forever!

Right til the last minute, Neil and Louise were giving me excellent advice, and I can safely affirm that if it wasn't for the Citizens Theatre and all the wonderful people I've met and worked with, and the unique opportunities I've had, I wouldn't be going to do this job. It starts in less than two weeks, and from now until next July I will be touring the UK with a company called Rhema who focus mostly on children's theatre and are based in Manchester.

Tall Tales For Small People will be one of the Young Co's greatest and most memorable challenges yet and I know without a doubt they'll pull it off - and then some. I regret not being able to be part of it in many ways, but I am also excited to come and see it, having been involved in the early stages of its development this week - and I hope you all will be too.

Thank you all from the depths of my heart.
Be back before you know it.

C x

15 Minute Shakespare 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Helen (Citz)) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:17:00 +0000

This year our Community Drama Artist Kate Black was one of the judges for the annual Citizens Theatre Society 15 Minute Shakespeare competition. She blogged about her experience from the two days:

"As a first time judge I expected the judging to be a lot easier than it was. All the pieces performed over the two days were incredibly well performed.

We used the word ‘mature’ a lot when summing up because we couldn’t believe how well the performers understood the text they were delivering and how good the characterizations were in many of the pieces. St Roch’s ‘Midsummer Nights Dream’ made me laugh so much, St Paul’s energy and chemistry as a group in Romeo and Juliet was impressive, the pace of Shawland’s Othello was so engaging with some of the acting really quite remarkable, the funky fairies of Govan High were brill, as were the others ( I can’t believe that they were first years and they don’t have a drama department. Can you believe that 3 English teachers and a group of 1st yrs would be able to pull off something so good!!).

All secondary competitors. Photos by Helen Black

Bannerman High’s performances of King Lear and Hamlet were so sophisticated and polished and as they were first up on each day, they really set the bar high for the others to follow. St Magaret Mary’s, I thought really pulled the rabbit out of the hat as they managed to make Macbeth funny as well as dramatic and Ross Hall’s performance of Macbeth was so intense with the relationship between Mac and the wife brill (and again mature) for such young people.

I actually felt quite humbled as Shakespeare isn’t really my bag and all the performances pulled me in and left me wanting more. What more can you ask of any piece of theatre?

Kate"

This years' winners were:

Lower Secondary Competition - Rosshall Academy with Macbeth

Upper Secondary Competition - St Margaret Mary's Secondary School, also with Macbeth!

Winners pictured with Jeremy Raison (Joint Artistic Director) and Kathleen Hamilton (Citizens Theatre Society)

Well done to all competitors. Another great year of work. If you weren't lucky enough to take part this year (or even if you were), we would welcome additional submissions to our Shakespeare Shortz project. This competition ran last Autumn for members of the public to submit video of themselves "doing some Shakespeare", but you can still submit clips via YouTube to be published on our website.

Hx

Drama Network Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Helen (Citz)) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:56:00 +0000

Today, the Citizens Theatre is hosting the annual Drama Teachers' Network Conference. With workshops from leading directors, writers and educators, this one day event is a great chance for teachers to think outside the box and gather new ideas.

From our perspective, we've been letting folk know about our Autumn tour of The Monster in the Hall. From the same writer, director and composer as Yellow Moon, comes another blistering play for teenagers. The Monster in the Hall is billed as an indie-comedy-musical, which will feature live music.

This cool image was created for us by Glasgow artist and designer Duncan MacDonald from Make Studio.

To book tickets to see The Monster in the Hall at the Citizens Theatre, click here, or to find out more about booking the show for your school or venue, visiting our Touring Work page.

Our drama workers offer Continuing Professional Development sessions for teachers. Find out more about CPD on our website. Currently this section just gives an overview of the subject matter we can cover, but we will be announcing some specific dates for training in Glasgow soon.

For full Citizens Theatre season listings, see What's On.

Hx

Thanks to all for Easter Academy!

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Black) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:49:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone who came to Easter Academy this year. We had a brilliant week. It was all over so quickly. There weren't any official snaps take this year, but you can see the ones from Easter 2009 on Flickr.

We had loads of new faces, including folk who don't come to our regular weekly classes. So there's no need to worry about coming on your own for the first time. We have loads of new starts. It's hard to believe, as by the end of the first day it's like you've known everyone for ages!

The holiday fun kicks off again in July when we offer a range of 1 and 2 week courses for 4-15 year olds. Summer Academy 2010 promises loads more fun.

Hx

Tam O'Shanter

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Black) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 16:48:00 +0000

This isn't related to a TAG project, but I just came across this great video made by S2 students from Holyrood Secondary School and thought you might enjoy it.

"To keep the light, of our legacy of hope, burning"

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Black) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:08:00 +0000

Scott from Young Co. writes about his experiences working on the Voices From The Holocaust project:

“Holla amigos! By the way if you guys don't already know by now, I'm not too good with the whole blogging shindig, so please bear with me. Well...where to begin. When Neil first mentioned this project to the Young Company I knew I had to become a part of it. Now that might sound a bit big headed, but hear me out first. The topic of the Holocaust was and still is a very important subject to me, personally, and I wanted to use the knowledge I already had to educate the young people about the past. That was my mission. Help them remember those that perished and why we should never allow the Holocaust to be repeated.

So many things have happened over the course of the project, and it's been a very moving experience. So many things actually I'm going to struggle to put everything on this here lovely blog. Over the performances, ranging from secondary schools to the City Chambers, from the Glasgow Film Theatre to the wonderful Citizens Theatre itself, I took many notes on what was going on at these locations. Instead of giving you a long list of bullet-pointed data, I'm going to give you my version of the events, the human version. The very thing which we were performing in the piece; the personal stories of the past.

Like many of my fellow Company members, I auditioned for a place on the project, but knowing only four of us could get positions placed a justified sense of nervousness on me. I can't remember how many exactly auditioned but it was well more than four. Neil than dropped the bombshell when interviewing after: I would have to cut my hair really short. Now if any of you fine people came to see ''Lend Me Your Ears'', you may have seen yours truly sporting a rather full head of curly hair. The prospect of this happening was always there, I knew that and was prepared to do it. Nevertheless when the time came I didn't enjoy it. A necessary sacrifice I told myself. The resulting project members that were selected were myself, Jack, Rehanna and Keren. I offer my condolences to my fellow members who auditioned, but I'll be honest I was glad I got a place. I mean this was a chance to represent the Citizens Theatre, around the city and a chance for me to really educate by doing something I loved.....That kind of opportunity doesn't come round often.

Work began full-on in early January, we all met up before Christmas and discussed the details of the project with Neil and Louise. It was at this point we were issued our 'homework'. Over the Christmas period we were each to research testimonies from Holocaust survivors, more specifically survivors from Auschwitz. I moaned non-stop about the temperature of the room, it was freezing. I'm talking Arctic temperatures here. Funnily enough it was these cold work rooms that allowed me to focus into the work, helped me get into these people's shoes. That was the first step towards building a character, in my mind at least, the cold. Returning after Christmas and we had all brought lots of material to work with. The play was supposed to be twenty minutes long, so we had to cut certain stories. This felt kind of disrespectful as not all these stories were being told, but I'm afraid that for the purposes of the piece it had to be done. The first readings of the pieces were, really quite disheartening. Although stories of survival and hope, I couldn't help feel down beat. Progress was rife however. We had selected the pieces which sounded the most interesting to us, in a performance sense, by the first day and by day two we already had a rugged running order. I remember feeling really good about the progress. Within the fourth day we had begun putting movements to the pieces and by the end of the week we had a complete play, with a slight story arc involving stories from before the war begun to the liberation of the camps.

The week beginning the schools’ tour and we were all quite perky, really up for the task ahead, but over the course the week I found myself more and more drained by the experience. I was nervous about showing to school children, as I knew what their responses would be. I too would have done it as a child, the nervous laughter and so on. Contrary to my beliefs all the schools we went to had magnificent responses to the piece and I have to admit that the questions and comments they made during the Q and A surprised me. Some questions genuinely challenged us. We did our best to answer them, but in my opinion I believe we had done our job by showing them the piece to begin with. It got them thinking. Even when we left the school, I believe the piece stayed with them. Asking themselves questions as well as their peers, and that was one of our goals. We had many different venues and audience sizes so our performance was never the same twice, which kept our energy levels up. This was until the end of each day were I, personally, found myself falling asleep once I got home. I remember once sleeping for twelve hours when I arrived. I wasn't the only one, we were all feeling the strain. By the end of the tour week, we were exhausted. It was all I could do to wake up at the weekend.

It was dawn. Sunday. I got up extra early. It was the day of the Glasgow Film Theatre performance. I was not so much nervous at performing at this point but at finding the actual building. I'm not joking here, I couldn't find it. I eventually found it when backtracking. I was the first one there. The place was quiet, apart from a few people in the bar, where I decided to have a drink of juice while waiting for the others. I sat in the bar of the GFT and the realisation of what was happening hit me; I was in a theatre group who was not only representing the Citizens but the people of the Holocaust. The survivors and those that didn't. I had a slight moment of panic and rushed into the toilet. I was breathing heavily as I splashed my face with water. I knew it was a big responsibility but then I realised it was also a great honour. To give the people of the Holocaust, the ''little people'', the people who didn't get recognised by the mass media, a voice. A chance to be heard. To not be forgotten. This calmed me as I went back to the bar. Later on the rest of the cast and crew arrived and we prepared for the performance. More and more arrived into the theatre as we had our own personal warm-ups. The audience sat and so did we. We all watched the short film made by Shawlands Academy. It moved me, very deeply. So much so I didn't move the entire showing. Nobody did. It ended and there was a deep respect as we were introduced onto the performance area. In my lines in the piece, I was on the brink of tears. The short film had moved me so greatly. We finished the piece and sat on our chairs ready for the audience's comments. The comments made by the people in the audience were very touching. One person, who we later found out to be an actual Holocaust survivor, said our piece was the thing that he could most relate to out of all the films, plays and shows he'd seen. As you can guess, this humbled us to the point of silence. I remember having my jaw dropped in reverence to this man's comment. A great compliment, which I didn't know how to thank. Myself, Rehanna, Keren and Jack were stunned by it. It was at this point we met Seth, the film director who filmed, directed and edited the short film from Shawlands Academy. He expressed his deep congratulations to us and his deep desire to film our piece. I was interested in the prospect but doubted it due to false promises in the past. Long story, and I won't go there. The day ended with farewells to friends and family, as we knew we still had two more performances left.

Tuesday. The day of the City Chambers and Citizens Theatre performances. Another grand day of reverence and respect to the Holocaust. We performed with microphones, which was strange, but I'll be honest I felt a little empowered by it. This meant however greater diction was demanded from us, as our booming voices would be heard but our words would be missed. When it came to the Citizens performance, we were ready for the finale. The one last show before the end. I'll admit that I was completely run down by the whole project. I knew that it was to be expected, but I still wasn't prepared for the effect of the characterisation. We finished it and a tremendous amount of relief washed over me. I got downstairs and started mingling with the audience, they were complimenting us all every minute or so. I found myself saying ''Thank you'' very rapidly. I found my fellow cast members utilizing the free wine at the bar. I don't like wine, but I enjoyed myself nevertheless by laughing at their drunken antics. I won't name names, but they know who they are. Suddenly I got hit with a bombshell: we got the green light for the filming. I was stunned. I didn't think it would happen. But it looked like it would happen. Excitement pumped through me like the many pints of blood that keep me standing. Knowing full well the high quality of the short film, I wondered what our piece would be like filmed.

The filming began a week later. Inside the Citizens Circle studio. Many angles were shot, lots of time was used and lots of Irn-Bru was drunk, on my part that is. I've got a bit of filming experience so I wasn't too fazed by the cameras, and the others handled themselves well also. When they said that this film would be seen by school kids, not only in Glasgow, but in the whole of Scotland, I knew I had done my job. The personal mission which I had taken into the project was going to be completed.

Now we come to the end of this project, called ''Voices Of The Holocaust''. I know I will never forget this experience. I find myself even now typing this blog, reliving every moment it describes. Hopefully you will too. If you do you will be helping me fulfil my mission. To remember the past. To not forget. To learn from our mistakes. To keep the light, of our legacy of hope, burning.”

''Do not fear shadows, for it simply means there is a light shining nearby''

Scott McKay.

See the rest of the Voices From The Holocaust photos here.

Young Co. talk about Holocaust project

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Black) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:05:00 +0000

Following up Neil's AudioBoo from last week, I caught up with two Young Co. members today, who are in filming Voices From The Holocaust today so that their performance can be distributed to schools across Scotland along with the Auschwitz film created by students from Shawlands Academy.

Scott and Rehanna told me about their experiences working on this project:

Listen!

Hx

Voices From The Holocaust

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Black) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:28:00 +0000

This week members of Citizens Young Co. have been out on tour in Glasgow schools performing a piece they created using words of Holocaust survivors.

I spoke to Neil Packham, Community Drama Director to find out more:

Listen!

Hx

Workshops, glittery slippers and bendy roads

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Smith) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:54:00 +0000

Hello all

Today is my last day of placement here at TAG and I have to say I'm very sad to be going. (oh no I'm sadder than that...Gotta love a panto joke) It's been such a great experience, from workshoping to admin tasks, making a giant glittery glass slipper, nearly breaking a Camera...but let’s gloss over that!

I have had so much fun and learned so much from all of the very talented staff here, I'm so thankful I have been given this opportunity as I know six weeks of a pestering placement student can be a toll order.

To highlight a few of the finer moments, workshops in the Gorbals were always so much fun. Dressing up, playing games all followed by the ever so tasking decision of what to have for lunch, but lets just say I’m a creature of habit and if I like something then it is totally justifiable to have that every day for 6 weeks- well maybe not a shinning example of a balanced diet then.

Trips to Ayrshire, with our resident Alfred Nobel and Stacey Solomon sound-a-likey, a queazy stomach from the bendy roads not made any better with a little emergency stop at traffic lights. A Trip to Dalbeattie to put us in the festive mood, congratulations to all involved, an absolutely fantastic production, really, really enjoyed myself.

On another festive note, went for a nice power walk with Louise after a delicious...but I really didn't need that last bite...Christmas lunch, to go back to the Citizens and see the snow start to fall. Quite the magical moment followed by a little frolicking and general excitement.Well I could actually write a 6 page essay, but who wants to read that!

So I will round up with a big thanks to all the TAG team and the whole of the Citizens, I have met so many lovely people and have memories to last a life time. - thank you

and Merry Christmas

Amy x

Family Day Fun!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Smith) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:26:00 +0000

On Saturday 12th December the Citizens Theatre held its first ever Family Day to accompany the Christmas production of Cinderella.

A number of family groups attended and it was a really fun afternoon. The families were given the opportunity to see some behind the scenes props and costumes from previous Citz productions. They also saw Jason Southgate's original designs for Cinderella and the set model box that the technical crew worked from when creating the set.

We also had lots of fun playing some games, doing some drama and making masks for the Prince's Ball. Everyone got stuck in and it was lovely to see family groups working together on tasks, having a great time.

We'll definitely be doing more of these events, so watch this space for details about the next one...

Ang x

Straight from the crayons of babes!

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Black) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:40:00 +0000

We were chuffed to receive some drawings from Southpark Primary School who watched Museum of Dreams earlier in the year. I love kids drawings so have posted a selection on Flickr.

You can see a slideshow of the rest here.

Hx

A school production...with a difference!

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Black) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:42:00 +0000

Without further ado, here's a glimpse at the production shots for A Christmas Carol.

All photos by Tim Morozzo

Hx

A Christmas Carol preparations

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Black) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:34:00 +0000

As you may know TAG has worked with Dalbeattie High School in Dumfries and Galloway over recent years to produce the school plays and teach students about the jobs that are entailed in theatre-making.

This year Guy Hollands and Elly Goodman directed A Christmas Carol. This opened last night and if you're quick you could grab tickets for tonight and tomorrow's shows (from the school or at Gowans in Dalbeattie).

Here's a wee slideshow to whet your appetite, but also to show you a little of the range of areas the students have been working on:

Hx

Time-lapse of the Darwinascope set-build

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Black) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:36:00 +0000

I have just realised that I didn't post the This View of Life time-lapse on the blog. Given that you've already seen the set model and the great polystyrene vertebrae taking shape, this is the most logical ending to the series. Tomorrow is actually our last day of the tour and our hard-working cast will wend their way home for a well deserved rest (hopefully!).

This time-lapse was captured for us by a great company called Design is Central. It shows Moley Campbell's awesome design transitioning from a pile of components to a fully erected set. You can see the last minute dress rehearsals and finally the arrival of a local school group to see the play.

Well cool.

Hx

"It hits your heart. Your lungs. Everywhere."

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Black) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:54:00 +0000

Holla amigos! This is my second blog so please, bear with me. I'm here to tell all you fine people about the Citizens Theatre Young Co.'s latest production, Lend Me Your Ears, and my own personal thoughts on the performances over the course of the three nights we were performing.

In the beginning, I wasn't very confident in the whole concept. We were to be performing Shakespeare's ''Greatest Hits'' and given the few rehearsals each piece had, I was really worried that we would fumble and taint the Bard's works with idiocy and lack of focus. I feel that Shakespeare's works are the most beautiful and powerful pieces of theatre in existence and I didn't think that we were going to be able to do them the justice they deserved. We had so little rehearsal time, my Romeo and Juliet piece only had three rehearsals before the actual performance nights. I realise this was necessary and all, but it didn't help the great frustration I was feeling. My confidence in the performance was lowered still with the improvised scene: ''Lear Luvies''. I honestly thought that this scene was not funny and that the audience wouldn't laugh. All these things gave me great tension and worry before the actual performance nights.

The first night was quite an experience for me. For many reasons. One being that I was to begin the performance out in the main foyer, which in itself isn't very conventional and was quite nerve racking. I wasn't confident that my voice could fill the hall and that the audience would switch off to mine and Rehanna's performance. These thoughts were racing through my head before we suited up in costumes, and were actually making me really worried. I had to do a massive vocal and body warm-up before the performance to calm me down, if that makes any sense. When I started the performance I couldn't have been more nervous, I jumped up on that chair and saw the whole audience staring at me. I spoke and they listened! They were tuned into the dialogue even if I did have to jump over banisters and run past the audience members. After beckoning them upstairs I felt so much better. When performing the ''Lear Luvies'' scene, the audience loved it! They were in hysterics! In that moment all my worries for the performance dissipated and I knew that we had nailed it.

The second night was even better. I started my Romeo scene and the crowd was bigger! This threw me into overdrive and I really enjoyed myself. I felt like I was back in my starting years, back in secondary school, the first time that rush of adrenaline hits the back of your neck. It hits your heart. Your lungs. Everywhere. The audience loved the whole performance. Every piece, at their end, received a round of applause. It really did feel like the ''Greatest Hits'' of Shakespeare.

The third and final night was the big finale. I was a bit laid back. Maybe too calm but when Chris came off-stage, he was absolutely buzzing! His reaction alone spurred me on and the final night felt like the greatest. With my last piece I fed right off the audience and delivered a very solid and energetic performance, well in my eyes at least. It wasn't just me either. All the cast went all-out with their pieces, knowing full well that after tonight there would be no performance. We were louder, stronger, more energised and were having fun. Actually enjoying the role you have and the time you have on stage is one of the most important parts of being an actor, again this is my opinion, and I can't speak for my fellow performers out there...

In the end, it all came together. The less than desired rehearsal times, the worry of not giving the works we had been handed the proper respect they demanded and indeed my own personal stresses, disappeared when we actually performed. Thanks to the huge amount of talent, commitment and dedication within the company, we rocked the Circle Studio! But more importantly we did the pieces justice and honestly?.....I think Shakespeare himself would be proud!

''We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded in a sleep''
Prospero, The Tempest

Scott McKay (Young Co. member)

See more photos on Flickr.
Photos by Helen Black

This View of Life - AudioBoo

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Black) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:38:00 +0000

We have recently started recording quick interviews (using AudioBoo) to give you more insight into our work. You can listen to all our "Boos" here.

This morning, I spoke to Peter Arnott, writer of This View of Life, to find out a little more about our project, which looks at the life and work of Charles Darwin.

Listen!

Listen!

Hx

Some birthday present!

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Black) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:17:00 +0000

Happy 21st birthday to Young Co. member Chris McCann who is celebrating his birthday in style by taking on his very first part in a professional show at the Citizens Theatre.

Chris has a small part in Guy Hollands's Othello, which commenced rehearsals this morning.

Chris, who is studying acting at Langside College will have a hectic week ahead in the run up to a show at The Arches this weekend and evening rehearsals for Lend me Your Ears. I think he'll have Shakespeare coming out of his ears!!

Good luck Chris and congratulations from all of us!

Hx

One of our dinosaurs...

noreply@blogger.com (Helen Black) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:45:00 +0000

It's a strange world we work in. I caught sight of the epic construction of the Darwinascope in the workshops this afternoon. The giant skeleton set for This View of Life is really taking shape. Check out these giant vertebrae:

Hx