Open Mic Night – account by Crispin Howell-Jones

Posted on by
Reply

Friday March 9th at eight o’clock and we we’re all gathered in the Lovegrove Theatre for an open mic night. A hubbub of chatting as old friends meet and greet each other and all the news is exchanged.

Ben and Chris have got everything organised wonderfully well as always, the lighting’s great, the tables laid out artfully casually are crowded and an expectant hush falls. Pete Hunt the compere announces the first act and Oscar Edwards came up on stage.

From then on we were all swept along – such a variety of acts, songs old and new, songs happy and blue some performed by familiar faces, people who’d been coming to workshop groups at the centre for anything up to forty years, some performed by stalwarts of the Youth Group and yet others by people who had become part of the family by joining the friends recently.

There were amazingly polished performances from several of the Youth Group, Bob Munton, George and Louis Gilman (with their able roadie), James Robinson, Flo Tolson to name check just some of the talent on display, and I for one had come along hoping we’d see some of them again having had such a great time at the last open mic night.


It all ran flawlessly due in no small part to the work that Ben and Chris put in and all of us went home uplifted and having had a great night out. For my part as somebody who just went along for a night out (and you’d better hope I never get up and sing on the stage in the future) it was just a great evening and thanks to everyone who contributed.

Chatting afterwards we realised that there was a real groundswell of interest in these sort of events and it was agreed we’d have these regularly – it still remains to be decided exactly how frequently, but at least every couple of months.

We propose to spread the word as widely as possible to contact people from all sorts of groups and backgrounds who might be looking for the opportunity to showcase their musical talents.

So if you know anybody who might be interested outside the immediate circle of Friends of the Drama Centre, let them know, and when we publish a list of dates let them know that too. This is another opportunity to bring the Centre and the great work it does and the special environment it creates to the attention of a wider audience.

A Wealth of Unexpected Experiences – Testimonial by Diane Geller

Posted on by
Reply

As a newly qualified teacher in Redbridge my first experience of The Redbridge Drama Centre was as a member of the audience. The Youth Group were staging a production of “The Canterbury Tales”, directed by Hugh Lovegrove, at Loxford Secondary School in Ilford. I was knocked out to see the vitality and enthusiasm they brought to the stage.

Street theatre at Edinburgh Festival for "Canterbury Tales"

I needed to be part of this, but would I have to audition?  I had no previous drama experience. Why would they take me on? But the open door policy of the RDC – turn up, all accepted, meant that within weeks I had become part of a drama “family” headed by Hugh Lovegrove, which was to have an enormous influence on both my professional and personal life.

I took children from Primary schools in Ilford and Seven Kings to the RDC for weekly sessions with their skilled team of teachers and technicians. They gave those children, many of whom had difficult home lives, a rich experience which allowed them opportunities to express themselves in a very positive way.

My first tour with RDC was to Prague, Czechoslovakia, with a production of Willy Russell’s “Our Day Out“. This was a huge experience for everyone involved. We were going from a life of relative freedom and luxury in the West to a very different culture. To a people used to years of repression and occupation by the various countries surrounding its landlocked borders.

We were also taking a new play by Willy Russell which had been written for television and recently shown by the BBC. He had given us the go ahead to convert his screenplay into a stage production.  After he had seen the results at RDC he then gave us his blessing to perform Redbridge Youth Theatre Workshop’s own production to audiences in Redbridge and on tour.

The Youth Theatre trip to Prague was a true voyage of discovery. We were travelling as a large group with a united purpose, working hard to produce a first class piece of theatre for our Czech audience. Also every member of workshop stayed with Czech families for the entire 10 days of the visit. We learnt about their many customs, the hardships they endured every day under a strict regime and experienced the
wonderful hospitality of a people in very difficult circumstances.

Hugh Lovegrove rehearsing the cast of "Our Day Out" in Prague

We all came home with amazing memories of unexpected experiences and I think, a better understanding of ourselves and the world around us. This trip was only one in a long history of RDC youth partnerships hosted at drama festivals around the world. Many of these festivals have been and still are hosted at the Redbridge Drama Centre.

Too many years later than I wish to count, I am still very much part of the RDC family, a vibrant network keeping old and forging new friendships. Children I have taught, my own children and those of friends and family have been through the drama centre doors. I fervently hope they never close.

Thank you Redbridge Drama Centre.

International Experiences – A Testimonial by Theresa Edwards

Posted on by
Reply

I have been involved with amateur dramatics from a very early age, joining my parents and siblings in many shows throughout my childhood years, but joining the Redbridge Youth Theatre Workshop (RYTW) at the Drama centre in 1993 was one of the best things I have ever done.  I was able to experience things you don’t get to experience anywhere else; touring with productions to other countries such as Finland, Czech Republic, Ireland and America and the experience of working together in a group of sometimes 27 young people, everyone individuals from all walks of life, but coming together to perform in a drama production as one.

My first production with RYTW was ‘Lark Rise’ and we took the play on tour to Finland, something you don’t get to do with many many local drama groups! We stayed with host families for a few days and it was amazing to learn about their culture, foods and trying to pick up some words and phrases from their language, something I would never have had the chance to do if I had not been a member of RYTW. We performed our production of Lark Rise which was fantastic, performing to an audience in another country. We also had the chance to spend some of our time on tour staying in the middle of a forest with the Finish youth company and working together in drama workshops. We were put in to groups of mixed English and Finish workshop members and each group was given a different scene from the Greek tragedy ‘Oedipus’. No script was used, we had to devise the work within our groups. Each group also had a different performance space within the forest to perform their scene, one group even used the lake to perform in! We moved around the forest watching each groups devised scene in turn and it was an amazing piece of theatre, it was something I had never experienced before and will never experience again. This was a once in a life time opportunity that the RYTW gave me and our tour to Finland is one I will never forget.

The international connections with the Redbridge Drama Centre are amazing and give centre users the chance to bring countries, cultures and drama together as one.

Theresa in The Odyssey in 2009 with Adult Theatre Workshop

Two London councils threaten major cuts to arts spend – The Stage

Posted on by
Reply

Published Friday 17 February 2012 by Natalie Woolman in The Stage.

Redbridge Drama Centre in east London is facing a 100% cut to its £292,000 local authority funding by the end of 2014, while another London council is threatening to terminate its support for the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival. Drama officers at the centre in Redbridge work with local children aged from five to 21 as well as presenting a full professional programme throughout the year. Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith recently described it as “a fantastic resource for young people in the local community”. However, Redbridge council is proposing to cut all of its £292,000 annual subsidy by 2014/15. This means annual reductions of £89,000 up to and including 2014/15, when financial support will stop completely. The figures include a £25,000 cut already administered in 2011/12. Pankaj Pathak, secretary of Friends of Redbridge Drama Centre, said: “I see the drama centre as not just contributing to the cultural welfare of the young people, but to the general overall wellbeing of Redbridge. Redbridge would lose a magnificent resource.” The centre is part of Arts Council England’s national portfolio, which will provide core funding from April 1 this year. A spokesman for ACE suggested the council’s decision had come as a surprise. He said: “We will be seeking discussions with the council and make it clear that our investment is conditional on their commitment to the centre, which we thought was steadfast.” A spokesman for Redbridge council said: “We have put a robust business plan in place that will maintain the current level of service at the drama centre through efficiencies and income generation. “These difficult funding decisions are being taken at unprecedented times and are being made to help protect the council’s front-line services. By making these tough decisions, the council has been able to freeze council tax for three years, increase spending on care for older residents and people with learning disabilities, and give the green light to capital investment to fund much-needed school places.” Meanwhile, Tower Hamlets council is proposing to cut its £25,000 annual support to the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival from the end of March. Tower Hamlets and Greenwich are two of the six ‘Olympic boroughs’ for this summer’s games. GDIF artistic director Bradley Hemmings said that “if this cut is carried out, audiences and the street arts sector will lose out and the profile of the borough will be diminished at a time when east London should be showcasing itself at its best”. A spokesman for Tower Hamlets council said: “We have previously been able to support the Greenwich and Docklands festival, however the current three-year funding agreement comes to an end on March 31. “While we are still committed to providing residents with excellent cultural activities, we have reviewed funding agreements as part of our budget-setting process.” Tower Hamlets is expected to make its decision on February 22 at a full council meeting, while Redbridge will finalise its decision in March.

Cuts To Redbridge Drama Centre Set To Be Amended

Posted on by
Reply

Very encouraging news today from the Wanstead and Woodford Guardian, as they have broken a story that the cuts to the Drama Centre will be restructured.

Please see the full story below … or you can read it here.

STARTS

A VITAL service helping vulnerable people will not be cut after hundreds of residents called for it to be saved.

Redbridge Council was set to axe some transport for children and young adults with learning difficulties.

But more than 200 people registered their opposition to the proposal as part of the Redbridge Conversation, an annual public consultation on the authority’s spending plans – the highest number of objections to any proposal.

David Lee, 45, of Wavertree Road in South Woodford, who has two autistic children, welcomed the move.

He said: “This is obviously welcome news and it highlights that it was a wholly flawed idea in the first place.

“It’s produced unnecessary levels of anxiety among families like ours across the borough. Councillors need to think about the impact of cuts on the most vulnerable members of the community.”

A £1 million cut to children’s services, which involved a reduction in youth and drug service staff, will be scaled back in response to residents’ concerns. The exact budget change is yet to be announced.

A £267,000 cut to funding for the Redbridge Drama Centre planned for 2014/15 will now be spread over three years under revised budget plans published this week.

That equates to £89,000 each year which, on top of the £25,000 cut already made last year, adds up to the centre’s total funding of £292,000.

Pankaj Pathak, of the Friends of Redbridge Drama Centre, said he was cautiously optimistic.

He added: “This has the makings of good news but it’s not yet clear what’s happening with the funding.

“You can increase something by an extra year but you don’t want it to lie terminally ill for an extra year. I’m viewing it all with a little uncertainty.”

“But I know we’ve had cross-party support from a number of councillors to whom I’m very grateful.”

Redbridge Music Service will also have an extra 12 months to find alternative funding streams. The budget amendments will be considered by councillors on February 14th

ENDS

Of course the Friends of Redbridge Drama Centre feel their work has only just begun in ensuring Redbridge Drama Centre has an enduring legacy for future generations. We will be at Ilford Town Hall on the 14th and we hope you will too!

 

 

Friends of Redbridge Drama Centre present a valentines pamper and presents evening

Posted on by
Reply
Pamper and Presents Evening on Friday 10 February 2012, 6.30 - 10.00 pm

Pamper and Presents Evening on Friday 10 February 2012, 6.30 - 10.00 pm

Please come to our Pamper and Presents Evening on Friday 10 February, 6.30 – 10.00 pm

Redbridge Drama Centre
Churchfields, London,
E18 2RB

020 8504 5451

Entry £2.00 on the door which includes a glass of fizz

The perfect opportunity to treat yourself and loved ones

Plus our winebar and teashop with yummy snacks

The Unique World of Redbridge Adult Theatre Workshop- a testimonial by Eugene Czauderna

Posted on by
Reply

 

I was never part of the youth group at the Redbridge Drama Centre, so when I crossed the threshold for the first time I was already 38. Not much of a youth, I think you’ll agree. I had been hanging around, being dramatic in various venues – Hornchurch, Bath, Edinburgh, trickier parts of East London and the Kenneth More Theatre for a long time, so you could say I’d paid some sort of dues. I had also experienced a whole spectrum of theatrical methodology, from Stanislavski (‘what kind of floor covering does your character remind you of?’) to the more conventional (enter, go to mark, deliver line ‘Take that *one second pause* Carruthers!’ and march off, stage left).

So when I first entered the Drama Centre (first line ‘Which one’s Keith?’) I wasn’t exactly a neophyte. Nevertheless, it took a little while for the unique characteristics of the Adult Theatre Workshop to become apparent.

And what are these unique characteristics? To start with the group has usually done one project in an academic year, starting in September when the schools come back, and climaxing in a piece of dramatic work which usually is performed sometime in late May or June. This is an unusually long gestation period for any theatre group, where 8 to 10 weeks might be more normal, depending on circumstances. This sometimes, or even often, leads to a project disappearing down a blind alley and then having to renegotiate its way back to near the start.

Redbridge Adult Theatre Workshop in Ireland, April 2009

Redbridge Adult Theatre Workshop in Ireland, April 2009

Every now and then the play isn’t happening, for one reason or another and in a scenario resembling changing horses in mid-stream, we start on a completely different piece of theatre.

Another unusual aspect is the size of the cast which is usually greater than 20. And when you flick through most plays, you will see that they are 3, 4 or 5 handers. A play with 8 or 10 characters is a large play. Which is also to say that plays written for 20 or so characters are comparatively rare. And yet for the last 16 years or so, an Adult Theatre Workshop play has appeared with only 2 cases of repetition. One of the reasons the cast is so large is that (nearly) everyone who comes along and, more crucially, stays the course, will have a part. There are a fair few who come back year after year but every year there are new faces, some of whom have never been on stage before and who come along for a variety of reasons. This could be a recipe for artistic disaster and yet every year there is praise for, dare I say it, the professionalism of the company. So there is some sort of alchemy that turns a bunch of posturing prima donnas into a disciplined (!) bunch of posturing prima donnas who work together to produce a play.

Amongst the other things that make the company unique is the catch phrases (‘Be honest’ and ‘Act better’ among others ), the high spirited high jinx that make life more fun, the self-financed tours of various exotic climes (Ireland and Czech Republic so far but at least it’s different to South Woodford) but most of all the warm, family-like feeling of mutual support that means that even if you do fail, next time you can fail better.

Dreams, ambitions, skills and confidence – a testimonial by Jennie May Dunne

Posted on by
Reply

So I have just come home from having lead a two hour physical theatre workshop at the Redbridge Drama Centre. What a thrill and what a pleasure to be able to return to the centre which gave me so many hours of enjoyment when I was younger, and to give something back. The workshop was based on an eclectic mix of skills (including mime, movement and improvisation) which I learnt at the Jacques Lecoq International Theatre School in Paris during a year spent training there. Although nervous to start with, I believe the session went well and it was a joy to see the youth members taking delight in the work they were creating. This was no surprise to me, of course, as, having been a youth workshop member for five years myself, I understand only too well the sheer excitement that coming to the drama centre on a twice weekly basis meant- on both a social and professional level. Indeed, the drama centre was the hub of my friendship group, and saw me through the entirety of my adolescence- it was here that I found my first boyfriend, here that I was invited to my first houseparty, and here that I found friends that will be by my side till the day I die. The drama centre, for me, however, gave me so much more than a social life- it gave me my actual life- that is: my life plan, my dreams, ambitions, skills and confidence I need to succeed. For it was the passion for drama and performance instilled in us by the fantastic staff at the Redbridge Drama Centre which made me realise that I want to make drama my life; I want to act, perform, teach and share the incomparable joy which theatre brings to its participants and audiences alike with the world.

Jennie in Paris

Last year, at the Lecoq school was the first step towards entering the profession, but I would never have got to this stage in my life without the Redbridge Drama Centre. I really do owe everything to my workshop teacher Chris Bocking, and all the fantastic staff at the centre, because if I hadn’t have been lucky enough to experience the fantastic services offered by the centre, I may never have discovered my path, and more than anything, it was thanks to the skills I learnt as a workshop member that I was able to enter into a professional training school. I’m hoping to continue my training over the next few years, and I will always return to the centre, hopefully to lead more workshops and to share more of my discoveries, but most of all to show my appreciation for a wonderful place and team, which really were the making of me.

Cutting Creativity

Posted on by
Reply

A guest post from Dawn Hallybone, primary teacher and author of the excellent blog From Dawn till Dusk – Games and life, where this post first appeared.

Anyone reading this blog, probably knows an organisation that is having their funding either wholly cut or partially cut – this is true for the borough that I work and live in.  One of these is the Redbridge Drama Centre,

I had my first involvement with the Drama Centre when I moved to Redbridge as a teacher.  It is an amazing resource that has so far been running for 40 years.  Last year alone there were 37, 000 attendances.  Our school is part of that number, as we take children to the centre for workshops to extend their drama skills and work on skills such as team building.  This is a fantastic resource for teachers in the borough as it engages the children and enthuses their love for drama, builds their team skills and co-operation.  Watching the children flourish and develop in these workshop is fantastic to see, from a teaching point of view it is also an opportunity to observe drama specialists in action and pick up ideas to take back into our classrooms.

Not only does the centre provide this fantastic resource, it also supports the school in hosting a production every other year, where staff share their skills in direction, acting, stage management and lighting – a great week for the children involved.

As a mother, my own child now takes participates in drama activities at the centre every Saturday morning. To watch her grow in confidence in new skills and leave every week brimming with enthusiasm is fantastic.

It would be such a shame if this resource that has supported so many young children in our borough for so long was to close because of budget cuts that being enforced by the borough, for if this is not here then where will our young people of the future go to thrive, flourish and be encouraged to be creative.

Cutting creativity does not seem to be the way to move forward and support our young people in having a life long love and passion for the creative arts.

Cabinet urged to reconsider cuts to Drama Centre budget

Posted on by
Reply

We’ve been pretty quiet here at the Friends of Redbridge Drama Centre, but that’s all set to change. Everyone has had a nice break for Christmas but in 2012 the campaign to keep the Drama Centre open continues.

The following story was taken from the Wanstead & Woodford Guardian this week after our very own Pankaj Pathak went to see Redbridge Council to talk about the upcoming cuts to the Drama Centre budget …

STARTS

THE Council was accused of endangering the ‘cultural nourishment’ of Redbridge’s children last night.

The claim was made by Pankaj Pathak, who pleaded with councillors at a meeting of the council’s Cabinet in Ilford Town Hall to reconsider cuts to the budget of Redbridge Drama Centre.

Mr Pathak, 42, a member of The Friends of Redbridge Drama Group, said the plans to cut £186,000 from the centre’s budget in 2012-13 and £292,000 the year after that would prove terminal.

He said a business plan prepared by the Drama Centre which had been used to work out cuts needed to be examined more closely.

And he added: “To what extent has that business plan been subject to any serious scrutiny?

“We know that the Director of Redbridge Drama Centre (Keith Homer) is an inspirational leader, but he is an arts man not a management consultant.

“To what extent was it even fair or equitable to invite him to present the plan in the first place?

“I will be very concerned if the council say, ‘well we have heard from the Drama Centre that they can survive a cut of this size, so we can wash our hands of them.’ “

“I invite the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Councillor Weinberg, to meet with us and give us a clear indication of how he believes this centre can continue to survive.”

Councillor Weinberg replied that he was committed to the survival of the Drama Centre.

And he added: “The business plan has been prepared in conjunction with the relevant council officer, and the head of the Drama Centre is confident that these savings can be made.

“I have no reason to doubt what he says.

“I can assure Mr Pathak that over the course of the coming financial year I will be looking very closely at the savings for 2013-14 to see if they are achievable.

“I’m also happy to tell Cabinet that I will be doing the same for the music service and the youth service in general.”

Cabinet also approved initial budget proposals at the meeting, including a raft of proposed cuts to services, which will now be referred to the appropriate scrutiny and Area Committees for comment.

It was also announced that Council tax would be frozen for a third successive year but that council tenants would see rents rise by an average of 6.57percent, Service charges by an average of 10.8percent and heating bills by 17.7percent.

Cabinet member for Housing, Robin Turbefield, also confirmed that the council would take over the management of its housing stock from Redbridge Homes on August 1, leading to annual savings of almost £400,000.

ENDS

There will be more news about what is coming in 2012 coming soon, so please keep checking back and Happy New Year!