New Writing SouthOurSpace with Falmer High School
Initiated by New Writing South and working with partners Theatre Royal Brighton and Brighton Dome, OurSpace was a two-term school project where students were given the rare opportunity to work with top professional practitioners to create and produce their own piece of theatre. The project was designed to give students an insight into the many aspects of working in the performing arts through talks, workshops and visits, and equipped them with new theatre skills. Students collaborated to devise, script and produce Insomnia, as well as starring in it, and were involved in every aspect its development.
Writer Jo Smith introduced the young people at Falmer High School to the craft of playwriting. With the help of award-winning filmmaker Simon Wilkinson, they explored ideas of how film and performance work together on stage. Workshops with professional practitioners included a session on writing musicals with Olivier winner Stephen Clark (playwright and lyricist of Zorro and The Return of Martin Guerre), a workshop on collaborative theatre-making with Simon Harvey of internationally renowned Kneehigh Theatre, physical theatre sessions with zany Brighton based Unpacked Theatre, and an exploration of theatre skills with ex Eastenders actress Victoria Gould, who has also worked with ground breaking Theatre de Complicite.
The group took part in other workshops in costume design, sound design for the stage, and a workshop with professional voice coach Nancy Wigglesworth, on training the voice for stagework plus insights into stage management, lighting and sound from the Theatre Royal staff. There were also backstage visits and theatre trips to see Brief Encounter by Kneehigh Theatre at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, A Christmas Carol at Chichester Festival Theatre and Justitia by Jasmin Vardimon Dance Company at Brighton Dome.
Katie Westein, a student on the project said, ‘I enjoyed having visitors in helping us devise and write Insomnia. I think everything I have learnt in the workshops will help me in my future career.’ Another student, Jack Leonard said, ‘I’ve really enjoyed doing this because of the amount of live performances I’ve seen; they have really inspired my thinking’.
Tania Banks, Head of Drama at Falmer High School said ‘The improvement in their self esteem, self belief and in their support for each other has been extraordinary. They have had so many fantastic opportunities of going to the theatre for free and backstage tours and finding out how a theatre space works. Most of them are now considering a career as an actor or working in theatre and have seen this project as a step towards this goal.’
Funded as a pilot by Arts Council England and Brighton & Hove City Council, it is hoped that the legacy will inform future large-scale schools projects. The students performed the piece in front of a packed house on 10 June 2009, at the Pavilion Theatre, Brighton.
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