Creative Midlands West

Bruntwood Prize Roadshow
Birmingham City Council Arts & Culture Summit – Oct 18-19
For Walsall artists there is an afternoon tea meeting tomorrow (Saturday) at 1.3...
Blue Orange Theatre seeks ‘Dracula’ cast
Not Known at this Address – Book Tickets Now!
Mono/Duologue Slam – 12th November
Experienced drama workshop leader required for part-time work in primary schools in the West Midlands
The Rep’s 100th Birthday Season Announced
Vamos Theatre have a new base
One day left to apply for New Art West Midlands! http://t.co/ZjFtiAzB #tpwm #tpn
Latest Artists' News & Opportunities Bulletin released http://t.co/8IPZq2to #tpwm #tpn
One day left to apply for New Art West Midlands! http://t.co/WbrF1f8Q
Latest Artists' News & Opportunities Bulletin just released! http://t.co/2KpdjIzD
One day left to apply for New Art West Midlands!
Latest Artists' News & Opportunities Bulletin released
writingwestmids: Thank you for your time @alyson_hall ! We enjoyed having you :-)

Posted: 14 Sep 2012 02:08 AM PDT

Click here for more details

Birmingham City Council Arts & Culture Summit – Oct 18-19

Posted: 14 Sep 2012 02:04 AM PDT

Birmingham City Council is holding an Arts & Culture Summit on 18-19 October at University of Birmingham, to develop the next phase of the city's cultural strategy.

The Leader and Dep Leader of the Council will attend (they now have joint overall responsibility for Arts & Culture following the axing of the cabinet member for Arts, Sports and Culture in May).

Ian Ward (dep leader) spoke about this summit at a recent Equity open meeting and seemed keen to hear from all the sectors involved.

If you're interested in attending, email Frances Murphy at cypfcomms@birmingham.gov.uk and asked to be placed on the invitation list.

For Walsall artists there is an afternoon tea meeting tomorrow (Saturday) at 1.3...

Posted: 14 Sep 2012 01:55 AM PDT

For Walsall artists there is an afternoon tea meeting tomorrow (Saturday) at 1.30 at the Village Hub in Caldmore. Please bring a piece of work in progress for a bit of a crit. There will also be Tai Chi and cake xx

Blue Orange Theatre seeks ‘Dracula’ cast

Posted: 14 Sep 2012 01:55 AM PDT

The Blue Orange Theatre are looking for male and female actors for various roles in Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Dracula by Bram Stoker
Produced by Blue Orange Arts Ltd
Director Simon Ravenhill

Dracula – the classic story of gothic horror which has inspired so many others.

Synopsis:
On the coast of England, a ship with only a dead man strapped to the wheel and dark sails flying from its mast crashes into the shore and a mysterious black dog leaps to land and disappears.
Elsewhere in England, psychiatrist Dr Seward is confused by his patient Renfield's obsession with life and the nearby property recently purchased by a foreign noble.
English lawyer Jonathan Harker has been missing for some time. He parted from his fiance Mina and headed to Transylvania when he was commissioned by a Count Dracula to come to his native land and assist in the count's purchase of property in London.
And what is the mysterious fever afflicting Mina's friend Lucy? Can Dr Seward, or his old mentor Dr Van Helsing, halt the slow drain of her blood….?
This tale is not for the faint-hearted.

We are currently looking for:

Actor 1 – Dr Jack Seward playing age 25 to 40
Actor 2 – Arthur Holmwood playing age 30 to 40
Actor 3 – Jonathan Harker playing age 25 to 38

The play will run from 25th October to 3rd November

Daytime rehearsals will take place from 1st October – 20th October, Monday – Saturday, usually 10am – 6pm, and production week commences on Sunday 21st October. (For the first week of rehearsals we will probably only use 3 days for read-throughs/workshops).

Auditions will take place on 21st and 22nd September.

Payment will be in the form of a profit share with a minimum guaranteed payment of £100 to help cover expenses. (You will receive either a profit share OR £100, whichever is the higher amount.)

To apply please send CV's and a photo to casting@blueorangetheatre.co.uk, Application deadline is 19th September

Not Known at this Address – Book Tickets Now!

Posted: 14 Sep 2012 01:51 AM PDT

Hello everyone! We just wanted to let you know that tickets for Not Known at this Address at mac birmingham are selling fast! We can also now announce another venue of our tour! For all you Londoners, we're performing at The Last Refuge in Peckham on the 21st October at 8pm!

Not Known at this Address

"I didn't mean to take the first one … it just fell into my bag"

Obsessed by the secret world of letters, Martin Simons, a post office worker, has collected 1,463 of them.

Not Known at This Address invites the audience into Martin's personal sorting office of stories, people and places. Through physical, visual theatre, puppetry and live music, the audience are drawn into the world of Martin's letters as they come to life around him. The piece explores the emotive quality of letters in an age where communication is vast, instant and readily available. It is a story of unrequited love and a man who is lost. As Martin clutches onto his secret, the contents of his letters take him further from his inescapable reality.

Not Known at this Address was performed as part of China Plate's First Bite festival at mac Birmingham in September 2011, and developed at Battersea Arts Centre in January 2012.

"Innovative … poignant … incredibly touching" Metro on Stop the Clocks (2011)

"One of the most uplifting and life-affirming pieces I have seen in a long while … we came out, barely a dry eye among us; all of us charmed, thoughtful, and joyful … the two Jos are ones to watch out for in the future" The Good Review on Stop the Clocks(2011)

"Beautiful sensory hit … lovely and engaging" Audience response on Not Known at This Addressscratch at BAC (January 2012)

Fancy a free ticket?

You can get free tickets, your own private performance of the show and more! Click here to find out how!

Click here to view the Tinboxletter blog! Coming soon is a feature about the research behind the piece!

Mono/Duologue Slam – 12th November

Posted: 14 Sep 2012 01:48 AM PDT

NEW DATE

Equity Central England General Branch will host a MONO/DUOLOGUE 'SLAM' event on Monday NOVEMBER 12^th7.30pm at the Old Joint Stock pub, off Colmore Row, B'ham. This is a change of date from October 8^th.

Anyone interested in performing please contact jennystokes@blueyonder.co.uk

Open to non Equity members

Experienced drama workshop leader required for part-time work in primary schools in the West Midlands

Posted: 14 Sep 2012 01:47 AM PDT

Freshwater Theatre Company is seeking an experienced and passionate, freelance, drama workshop leader based in the West Midlands for work starting from November 2012. The work will be in schools in Birmingham, the Black Country, Worcestershire and Warwickshire.

People with other flexible part-time/freelance employment and at least two days availability a week are particularly suitable.

The company has been offering nursery and primary schools interactive drama activities, which support the curriculum, since 1996, with most of our work being in London and the south east.

See the website www.freshwatertheatre.co.uk for more about the company.

The curriculum-based workshop sessions are led by one person, usually in character, and involve role play, storytelling and drama games.

Applicants not only need to be versatile performers and improvisers but also have considerable experience single-handedly organising and leading groups of primary aged school children, aged 4 to 11.

The fee is £53.50 for the first hour long workshop in the day (which includes travel costs). A fee of £30 is paid for further hour long workshops in the same school on the same day. Two workshops in one school is the norm and these are usually booked together for the morning or the afternoon.

All applicants should have an Enhanced CRB or be prepared to undergo and pay for a CRB check before they can commence work.

Applicants must have their own transport as bookings can be for schools in rural areas.

We will be holding an audition session in Birmingham during the afternoon of Monday 8th October. Please only apply if you are available on that date and if you are very confident of being available for freelance work from November onwards.

Please send your c.v. and a covering email, outlining your workshop experience and availability, to:

helen@freshwatertheatre.co.uk

Deadline 25/9/12

The Rep’s 100th Birthday Season Announced

Posted: 14 Sep 2012 01:44 AM PDT

The REP's 100th birthday season has just been announced.

The 100th birthday season will take place at the original home of the company, The Old Rep Theatre in Station Street throughout February and March 2013 with two new commissions and a programme of talks, exhibitions, tours and activity days which celebrate the company's heritage.

The birthday season opens with the world premiere of Philip Pullman's fantastical tale, I Was A Rat! (12 February – 2 March). This moving and darkly comic tale is brought to life on the professional stage for the very first time by the internationally acclaimed Teresa Ludovico, local writer David Watson with music composed by Frank Moon and recorded by Birmingham Balkan gypsy folk band, The Destroyers.

Heather Gardner (14 – 28 March) is Birmingham writer Robin French's fresh take on Ibsen's classic Hedda Gabler. This powerful and emotionally charged play about a woman's separation and isolation from the affluent, materialistic society of which she is a part will be set in 1960s Edgbaston.

During the run of Heather Gardner, the weekend of 23 and 24 March will be devoted to a series of talks and discussions on Sir Barry Jackson's achievements and significant influence on the development of British theatre. Topics to be covered will include his ground-breaking productions of Shakespeare in modern dress in the 1930's, the theatre's championing of women performers and writers and Sir Barry's pivotal role in setting up both the Malvern Festival and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Details and dates to be announced in due course.

Alongside the programme of shows and centenary activities, our new artistic director Roxana Silbert has outlined some of her plans for the future including a new initiative REP Foundry.

Finally, to kick start the centenary celebrations, 100 tickets for the two birthday season shows will go on sale at 1913 prices. Tickets for a seat in the stalls at The Old Rep in 1913 cost 5/- (five shillings) which equates to 25 pence. Tickets for the birthday season, including the 100 tickets at 1913 prices, go on sale on Friday 14th September to members and Friday 21st September to the general public.

Vamos Theatre have a new base

Posted: 14 Sep 2012 01:41 AM PDT

Vamos Theatre is pleased to announce that it will have a new base at Worcester Arts Workshop from this month onwards. Vamos will be there as an independent tenant, but will feed into the ambition and vision of its new home.

Rachael Savage, Vamos Theatre's Artistic Director, says 'This is such an exciting time for Vamos Theatre: it's the start of a new era with office, wardrobe, mask making and rehearsals all under one roof. It will also be the new home of the weekly Vamos Young People's Theatre sessions, as well as audition space for our next professional touring production, Finding Joy.'

Our new address:

Vamos Theatre
Worcester Arts Workshop
21 Sansome St
Worcester
WR1 1UH

Tel: +44 (0)1905 312 921