Youth Theatre Blog
1st May 2012
What a lovely session last Tuesday night turned out to be! Though it is true that, when Anna said we would be holding an ‘evaluation’ session enthusiasm was not high, we were soon pleasantly surprised by the slightly abstract activities she had planned for us. This was a chance to look back on the past six months, from beginning work on our Open College Accreditation (which we have all passed, pats on the back for us!), to the end of the ‘In Our Times’ project. I’ve done a fair few project evaluations in my time with the youth theatre, yet this time I particularly appreciated the influence we are given over the nature of future projects. The last activity involved one member sitting in the middle of the circle at a time, while the others wrote anonymously about how each member has developed positively whilst attending C.E. We all went home with a collection of heart-warming post-it-notes, which I’m quite sure we’ll all keep for a very long time, if not forever. A few people looked ready to cry!
Amber-Page x
22nd March 2012
One aim of Collective Encounters has always been, it seems to me, to expose people to different art forms- or, in some cases, any art at all. What better way of fulfilling those aim than taking a bunch of 15 – 18 year olds to see an opera? We were all a little surprised at first when, on the trip to see ‘Anya 17′ at the Philharmonic two weeks ago, we were confronted with a group of orchestral musicians playing some unusual symphonies. Yet I saw this as a brilliant experience, a chance to see professional musicians in action, especially as expeditions to the Philharmonic are in short supply when C.E. aren’t there to provide them. Then ‘Anya 17′ itself began, and we were blown away by the beautiful, tragic, shocking music of the story. We left inspired, full of ideas for the reworking of ‘Transparent Truths’- and humming the songs!
The past two sessions have also been musically themed, as the ‘In Our Times’ project reaches its final stages. The group have all been very brave, working with a medium that they are unused to, and though there are a few problems with our differing ranges, we are steadily picking up the tune, harmonies and all! Danny, meanwhile, has been wowing us all with his wonderful singing skills, and I’m sure the audience will be the same in June!
Last, but most certainly not least, congratulations go to Aaron for receiving a place at L.I.P.A. on the Theatre and Performance Technology course, and to Rach for her offer to study Music at the University of Liverpool. Good luck, guys!
Amber
07th March 2012
There is a lot to cover in this somewhat belated blog entry. First, our clown doctoring session with Julie Walker and Lisa Chae deserves a huge round of applause and many thanks! It was a wonderful night of flannel ‘pancake’ flipping, improvisation, and some entrepreneurial skills of the craziest kind! Having just finished our OCN facilitation course, it was also interesting to see how Julie and Lisa took the ideas that we presented and seamlessly incorporated them into the workshop, as if that had been the plan all along. It was a skill they called ‘Using what you have’, and definitely one that we could try to adopt in future.
The week after saw us considering some serious issues in the youth theatre, and having a discussion that has been needed for a while, which I hope all members will take into account. But it wasn’t all serious- Anna was equipped with a selection of her CD’s and an envelope of paper numbers for a new game, ‘Chance Operation’, which saw us plan a series of movements, then scramble them up according to what numbers were drawn out. It was surprising to see how the alternative could be even more effective, particularly with a random track that was often strangely appropriate behind it.
Meanwhile, Simon and Tim have been ordering our lyrics into something that is- lo and behold- a song (albeit an extremely long one)! We haven’t yet heard how these will fit together with the tune, but I can’t wait to find out. We are also looking forward to the trip to the Philharmonic to see ‘Anya 17’, about human trafficking; it will be really great to see how another group has tackled the theme, especially as we are due to turn once again to ‘Transparent Truths’.
Amber-Page Moss
14th February 2012
Hi my name is Aaron, and I form part of Collective Encounter’s Youth Theatre for Social Change! I am writing today about Occupy Liverpool, which some of you might have seen over the Christmas period at St George’s fountains (yes all them tents).
You may have thought that they had all gave up, because the tents are not there anymore but, you are wrong. I thought they had given up too but they’re still going strong. They now reside in Renshaw Street in the old Rapid building next to Lewis’s!
Occupy have faced tough discrimination from the police and security guards around Liverpool. I think this is not right because everyone has the right to a peaceful protest, no matter how big or how small.
After being interested in what it was all about I searched Facebook to find someone who could shed some light into the whole movement. I found a really friendly person who goes by the name of Rouge Trooper who I had a conversation with. I asked Rouge, “what is the whole movement about?” He gave me this response, “As a working class male, who has put himself through the university system and worked for the past 17 years in social welfare I decided to become involved in Occupy as a movement for social change because it is clear to me that greed, corruption and disregard for honest working folk have become the norm in Western society. It is wrong that we the tax-payers were not consulted on bank bail-outs by the then Labour Government and it is wrong that we have to suffer the consequences of austerity instituted by a government that was not “first past the post” as our so-called democratic system dictates. The current cabinet has around 26 millionaires sitting in it who have no idea as to the daily struggles of honest ordinary people yet they seem more than happy to cut services, slash jobs and attack the most vulnerable in society. It is clear they (the ruling elite) are enjoying this golden opportunity to launch an ideological attack that goes way beyond money in the simplest terms. The age of austerity is as much about putting people in their place as it is anything else. I won’t stand by and do nothing in response to that. Will you?” His response was something I could relate to due to the government recently sending university fees sky high. Parents not being able to afford rent or tax, I think that it is seriously not right. I totally support Occupy and everything they stand for but I do think they need all the support you can give them! You can find there Facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/OccupyLiverpool?ref=ts
Thank you for reading.
Aaron!
1st February 2012
Congratulations go to Ste for receiving an offer to study at LIPA, Amber for receiving an offer to study at the University of Cambridge and good luck to Rach for her Music interview at the University of Liverpool this week!
Anna.
31st January 2012
And again, creativity shines through! The greatest thing about this project is that it utilises all of our different skills- Rach’s piano playing, Aaron’s lyrics, Ste’s thoughts. We clapped and stamped a beat along with the wonderful tune Simon and Tim have written. Even then it had a certain poignance to it, once we’d got the hang of the rhythm! Then we worked more independently, some of us continuing the discussion on the state of the country and how it impacts upon the lives of Liverpool young people, others transferring those thoughts into the verses and choruses. It was really lovely for me to see one particular member who said he didn’t feel comfortable with writing to come up with a brilliant spoken piece. It’s starting to take shape, and when it all comes together it’s going to be amazing.
Amber-Page x
24th January 2012
Having had my A-level English exam in the afternoon, I can think of no better way to have spent Tuesday evening than in C.E. this week! Sitting around the table in the office with cups of tea, biscuits- which were soon demolished- and all the mass of our own thoughts spread out before us that, somehow, we will turn into a song. First, we shared songs which held some sort of political or social message to get inspired; from The Beatles to Pink Floyd to Avenged Sevenfold, our varied and somewhat unusual music tastes came through. Then we began to talk about… everything. The economy, the country, the world. The world as we see it, with all it’s problems, which we, with our future both terrifyingly uncertain and excitingly incomplete, have to find a way past. A young person’s optimism in a world of welfare-raking, riot-sparking, penny-pinching pessimism? This is sure to be an interesting song…
Amber
19th January 2012
This week’s session had a much more creative and expressive atmosphere than we’ve seen in a while, and I think we were right back into our element. Joined by Simon and Tim, we began a new project on folk music, one which will eventually bring together five different aspects of Collective Encounters. After starting with some rhythmic games, we divided into groups to come up with a short verse and chorus about something we care or are concerned about- naturally, the economic downturn featured in a few, which is a good start as this will be the focus of the project. It was great to hear all the different styles in each group, and I can’t wait to hear what we come up with next week!
Amber
