Drama Association of Wales
TRAINING
SUMMER SCHOOL 2008
BEING BOLD: Steps Towards Braver Productions
Tutors: Phil Clark and Becky Gould
THE TUTORS
This year’s course should be a humdinger! Following the positive feedback we received from last year’s Summer School we have invited Phil Clark back to tutor on this year’s course. Phil has worked extensively in the UK and Europe as a Director and established Britain’s largest annual Youth Theatre Festival. From 1990 to 2006 he was Artistic Director of the Sherman Theatre Company in Cardiff where he directed nationally and internationally to all scales of audience, prioritising new writing and commissioning some 104 new plays for the company. Phil directed over 45 productions for the Sherman Theatre Company for the stage, TV and radio. Phil teaches regularly at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Actors’ Centre London, Tishe School of Performing Arts New York and the National Association of Youth Theatre’s Summer Festival.
He will be co-tutoring with Rebecca Gould. Rebecca is a Theatre Director and Producer who has specialised in directing new plays. Until recently she was Associate Director at the Theatre Royal Plymouth. Currently she is a Learning Associate at the RSC, where she is directing a new national initiative, leading to a Celebration Festival in Stratford in July. She is also currently directing her second show for Adverse Camber, which tours nationally in the Spring.
She has recently directed as an Education Associate at the National Theatre. She was director of the English Shakespeare Company’s Education Company and Associate Director of Made in Wales Theatre Company, Cardiff.
She’s produced and directed productions and festivals internationally and also co-founded Tinderbox Consultants which worked closely with the Wellcome Trust, setting up a series of ‘Imaging the Future’ new writing Festivals which foster a wider awareness of advances in science, in dramatic and dynamic new ways.
THE COURSE
Summer School 2008 will explore plays with BIG ideas. Working in groups, participants will discover the poetics and structure of the language of plays that ensures vital theatre.
So often during short rehearsal periods, amateur theatre companies are forced to work to tight deadlines. The advantage of a week-long summer school is that it allows the artists to experiment with new, challenging and exciting rehearsal techniques that can invigorate a pressured rehearsal period. The course will encourage the artist to be brave and experiment with new rehearsal techniques that could lead to a more ambitious theatre making process.
Using techniques of Brainstorming, Unitting, Actioning and the discovery of short term and super objectives alongside character motivation the participant will investigate a number of classic and popular texts for large groups of actors with a view to creating exciting, relevant theatre.
At the end of the week there will be the opportunity to show back the work created.
THE LOCATION
Swansea University is set in rolling parkland overlooking the majestic sweep of Swansea Bay. The campus is a stone’s throw from the old fishing village of Mumbles, whose unique seaside atmosphere is complemented by a vibrant social scene. Travel just a few minutes in the other direction and you reach the Maritime Quarter, a modern waterfront village complete with restaurants, art gallery, theatre and a busy marina.
The Gower Peninsula, Britain’s first “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty”, is within easy reach from the University. Unspoilt beaches and dramatic cliff top views provide a stunning location for water-sports, cycling and walking.
Swansea University is easily accessible by road, rail, sea and air. Cardiff International Airport is less than an hour away and the M4 motorway, the main east-west arterial route from London, passes through the northern outskirts of Swansea. Swansea railway station is on the main West coast line from London Paddington, less than 3 hours away. There are also frequent ferry crossings from Swansea to Cork in the Republic of Ireland.
SOCIAL LIFE
The week involves a schedule of hard work but, as ever on DAW Summer Schools, we don’t forget the
social life. An “Escape Committee” will be organising extra mural activities to help unwind at the end of a packed day.
PRICES START FROM JUST £420!
And that includes tuition, accommodation and all meals
DAW Individual Member rate £420
Non member rate £450
And we can even offer the facility to spread your payments to make things a little easier.
We offer a reduced rate to DAW Individual members. If you are not a DAW member but would like to become one in order to take advantage of this discount as well as gaining access to all of DAW’s services, just give us a call to arrange this.
For full course details contact: Gary Thomas
Drama Association of Wales
The Old Library, Singleton Road, Cardiff CF24 2ET
(T) 029 2045 2200 (E) aled [dot] daw [at] virgin [dot] net
supported by the Arts Council of Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government
SUMMER SCHOOL 2006 – ACTING SKILLS: Creating that Element of Magic
We returned to Lampeter University in August for our 2006 Theatre Summer School. Rather than singing our own praises on the successes of the course, we asked two of our attendees to give us their thoughts on how it went for them.
Steve has been to several of our Summer Schools in the past and Wendy was not only new to Summer School but new to drama too. We thought it would be interesting to find out what the “old hand” and the “newbie” made of our latest theatre training project.
FINDING THE MAGIC by Steve Vernon
It is said that if you have enjoyed something or somewhere in the past, you should never revisit it for you are bound to be disappointed. I used to be a regular attendee at Summer School in the dim and distant past at Brecon & Atlantic College. I learned huge amounts about drama and acting and had fantastic fun. After a bit of a lay off, other than a brief sojourn two years ago, I decided to go to this year’s course in Lampeter.
Was it as good as I remember?… You betcha!
OK, so the rooms are not the Hilton, but there is an en-suite option. The beds are designed for full length adults and the mattresses aren’t wrapped in a plastic bag (those who remember Brecon will smile – or wince, whichever!). As for the Lampeter food… (remember Steve – try to be positive), let us say, you are unlikely to put on weight (see, there can be a positive side!).
As for the course: brilliant, as ever!
This year’s tutors Janys Chambers and Kevin Dyer are working Actors/Writers/Directors and brought an up to date freshness to proceedings. Faced with a large group (34) they managed to juggle getting everyone to work together whilst breaking into smaller groups at times in order to give everyone a chance to present their work and to benefit from the guidance and expertise Janys and Kevin brought. Owing to limited work spaces available in the university Gary and Aled had to utilise a hall a short walk from the campus. This caused some problems for some people with mobility problems, but needs must, as they say. This meant that there were some problems with people unsure about which workspace they were working in for the next session and the necessary organic nature of the course, not being too rigidly timetabled, caused problems to some attendees but generally we all adapted very well.
Did it achieve its aims? Yes, wholeheartedly so! We learnt new techniques and confidence to explore deeper into our use of “truth” – not “acting”. The “sharing” at the end of the week, where we all presented some of the things we had been working on and watched our fellow students was, to coin an oft over used modern phrase, “awesome”. It was a privilege to see so many talented and committed people and to see how some had grown in confidence since the beginning of the week.
Why should you go if you haven’t been before? It is a week of positive, supportive energy, a terrific learning experience, enormous fun, and addictive. The bonding that occurs naturally during the week is intense and the emotional farewells are like trying to separate super glue.
Should you go? NO! (Because if you all do, there might not be room for me to go again!)
IN AT THE DEEP END by Wendy Ward
What an extraordinary experience! Having never performed in a theatre before, I did fear that I would be totally out of my depth and slightly intimidated by the course, but instead I was made to feel very welcome by all.
It was unusual to feel detached from the real world (but not a bad thing!) being pretty much confined to campus. The entire week was a unique experience, totally new to me and the emotional effect of the week, culminating the final day was not what I had anticipated. It was as though I was leaving my new family. I did reflect that perhaps I had been a guinea pig in the DAW thespianic ‘Big Brother’ house.
The course tutors Janys and Kevin were marvellous. They were professional, passionate and totally dedicated. Each day was intensive and packed full of various activities. The majority of which was a revelation to me, the group exercises especially. Unable to hide when it was ‘my turn’ any initial fears of embarrassment due to my relative inexperience were quickly dissolved, as on each occasion I was rewarded with insightful advice and support. Not only did Kevin and Janys deliver expert tuition, their ability to draw out hidden talents from each of us meant that the week balanced both individual and group development.
The organisers, Aled and Gary (or is it Gareth?!) worked very hard in planning the night time activities, allowing the students to relax and interact, all of us having been fed and watered at the college refectory, I know now the diversity of recipes that can be adapted to include rice!
The week’s social activities, ranging from quizzes and games through to our being unleashed on an unsuspecting Lampeter for a treasure hunt, culminated in a fancy dress extravaganza; top marks for Kevin and Janys in throwing modesty to the wind and getting those swimming cozzies out!
Our final exercise, in which we presented our item of personal significance brought from home, was perhaps the most profound for me. I will definitely honour my pledge to join an amateur dramatics society, drive forward my acting ambitions and polish the skills that I learnt from tutors and colleagues alike whilst at Lampeter.
I would recommend the course to anyone with the acting bug, from untried novices to experienced players.
Page 1 - Introduction
Page 2 - Training
Page 3 - New Writing
Page 4 - DAW Publications and Activites
Drama Association of Wales
The Old Library, Singleton Road, Splott, Cardiff CF24 2ET, Wales UK
(T) +44 (0)29 2045 2200
(F) +44 (0)29 2045 2277
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