I hope you are having a lovely Summer!
This is just a wee reminder that there is an open meeting for everyone who is interested in participating in the amazing 1d Tenement Opera project, on
Thursday 14 August at 11am at North Edinburgh Arts.
I attach the flyer once again (below) and please forward this to everyone who you think will be interested. Looking forward to seeing you next week,
Stephanie Knight
We first revealed news of this exciting new North Edinburgh Theatre community project last month, and a date’s now been set for an introductory meeting to get the ball rolling.
Whatever your skills and interests, there’s sure to be something for you in the 1d (that’s an old penny!)Tenement Opera project! Why not attend the first meeting at North Edinburgh Arts on Thursday 14 August at 11am? It could be the start of a something big – and there’s even free tea and cake!
Interested? See the flyer for details …
Do you want to be a zombie in the ‘most exciting show ever to hit the Edinburgh Festival?’
Have you got what it takes to be a zombie? The Generation of Z hurls you head first into a world ravaged by the undead. The survivors will fight for their future as they journey through a battle against extinction. Set within a maze-like security containment depot swarming with zombies, the audience are in the thick of it until the bitter end, be it rescue … or death. Inspired by the movies and video games of the zombie genre, The Generation of Z is a multimedia horror play on steroids that takes a chainsaw to the fourth wall
After two hugely successful seasons in New Zealand , Royale Productions are bringing their fully interactive immersive Zombie Horror experience to the Edinburgh Festival.
The Generation of Z is a site-specific, immersive, theatrical event set within the maelstrom of a zombie apocalypse. There are no seats, no stage, no niceties and definitely no “fourth wall”. As a zombie you’ll play an integral part, you are in the thick of it from the first gunshot to its violent and thrilling finale. You will be made up in Hollywood style zombie make up and trained on how to be a zombie by our friends at ScareScotland. You will be trained by some of the best professional scare actors in the country at the Undead Academy.
All zombies will be volunteers, and we can guarantee you a whole lot of fun as you scare the audience witless.
We ask that you attend the “Undead Academy” on the 20th July( venue tbc) and fill in the registration form that will be emailed to you.
No performance experience is required. This event will be running for three weeks from the 31 July -25 August with two performances a night. We don’t expect you to be able to take part in the full run, but to perform when you can. The more you perform the more fun you can have.
Interested? Tthen contact Stevie Douglas of ScareScotland at
fellinidays@hotmail.com
and a registration form will be sent to you with the time,date and venue of the Undead Academy.
Yes, no, still don’t know? Then maybe some live theatre can help you make up your mind with The Great Yes No Don’t Know Five Minute Theatre Show!
Craigroyston Community High School will be streaming a series of live five minute theatre plays made by everyone for an audience of everyone on Monday (23 June) from 5 – 7pm.
There’s tea, coffee, juice, bacon rolls – and if your not on the Electoral Register yet there’s an opportunity to register too!
Everyone welcome!
Pictured: Performing arts programme leader Scott Johnston, David Robertson, Karen Gillan, Marlee Pearson and Kay McAllister.
Local lass (and soon to be Galactic superstar!) Karen Gillan returned to Edinburgh College Granton Campus – where she studied performing arts – to give students an insight into the life and career of a top actress.
Karen, who studied at the college’s Performing Arts Studio Scotland (PASS) from 2004 to 2005, met around 70 students during her visit, answering questions and posing for pictures.
She spent 45 minutes with the students from the NC and HND Acting and Performance courses at the waterfront campus, talking about the career that has taken her from the BBC’s Dr Who to Hollywood films and a starring role in an American sitcom. She discussed everything from the intricacies of working with the green screens used to add digital effects, making her way as a Scot in Hollywood and London’s media worlds, and how her college education has helped her progress in TV and film.
Karen visit came at a busy time – she’s never been in higher demand. She features in two major major films to be released this summer: the unsettling horror Oculus and the latest Marvel blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy. In Guardians of the Galaxy, she will share the screen with the universe’s toughest talking raccoon and his walking tree creature friend, as her blue-skinned villain Nebula does battle with the heroic Guardians!
She also has a starring role in a new sitcom called Selfie on America’s NBC Network.
The visit to Edinburgh College was arranged by performing arts programme leader Scott Johnston, who taught Karen at the college and has stayed in touch with her since she left.
Karen said: “It was such an honour to be welcomed back into the college that taught me so much. It was great to see so many enthusiastic students. It made me nostalgic for my time spent studying with Scott and the things I learned.”
Scott said: “It was an absolute joy to have Karen back at the college. The students loved meeting her. They got the chance to ask her loads of questions and learned a lot about what it’s like to try and make it as an actor, so it was really valuable for them. After the Q&A she stayed behind to pose for selfies with the students so they were delighted. She’s a great actress and a lovely person, and we’re very proud of how she’s doing.
“We try to give our students as broad an understanding of the industry as possible to make sure they appreciate all aspects of it when they begin their careers, so we arrange regular visits by actors, writers, directors, agents and other roles. When it’s someone like Karen, who studied here on the same course they did, that can be incredibly inspiring. She’s a brilliant ambassador for the college and we hope our students can follow in her footsteps.”
North Edinburgh Arts has been awarded £11,794.00 from the People’s Health Trust towards the North Edinburgh Theatre project’s 1d Tenement Opera, which will be performed in January 2015.
NEA’s Theatre Group will be hosting an information-sharing, discussion and fundraising session this Friday evening to support the exciting initiative.
The 1d Tenement Opera is a story based on the lives of people who have
lived in a tenement in Edinburgh over two centuries. The tenement
eventually becomes part of Edinburgh Corporation’s Slum Clearance
Programme: some of the tenements were sold for just 1d (a penny), and in 1959 one of the last tenements collapsed and a little boy was killed.
Local people told stories of being in the bath and the end of the room falling
away, others spoke of desperately trying to save their babies and children as the floor boards started to slope away from under them. This was known as the Penny Tenement collapse.
The 1d Tenement Opera is devised with the local people of North
Edinburgh, some of whose families had been living in the city centre
before the Slum Clearance Programme.
North Edinburgh Theatre project is delighted to be working with the
following artists for this project: designers Ali Maclaurin and Alice Wilson,
musical director Lynda Peachey, dancer and choreographer Monica de
Ioanni, and dramaturg Lynne Clark. Stephanie Knight is the project
director.
The North Edinburgh Theatre project was developed in 2011 after
research into the requirements of local people. The main finding of this
research was that local people wanted to make theatre again, after a
history of using theatre and other art forms to create work which
highlights their community and its needs and aspirations. In November
2011 North Edinburgh Theatre project developed Yes We CanCan – a
Cabaret of Resistance which was the cementing of the project.
Since then, North Edinburgh Theatre project has participated in a
number of performances including Theatre Uncut in 2012 & 2013 and the
project regularly offers Sharing-of-Work and Work-in-Progress events.
The opportunity to develop 1d Tenement Opera through the support of
the People’s Health Trust is an exciting and important development for
North Edinburgh. It supports the participants’ aspirations and hard work
for well-being and full creative lives, making strong contributions to their
own communities as well as participating in the North Edinburgh Theatre
project.
The funding includes additional resources to develop the Theatre Skills:
Life Skills course that is currently running in parallel with workshops and
preparations for the performances.
‘Kate Wimpress, Director at North Edinburgh Arts, said: “The enthusiasm and commitment shown by the participants of the North Edinburgh Theatre group has been overwhelming for the staff team here at NEA and it was fantastic news when the project won the support of HealthShow, part of the People’s Health Trust.
“We are sure the 1d Tenement Opera will bring out a renewed sense of pride in the participants and their community and look forward to being able to
share this with everyone during the performances in January 2015.”
The North Edinburgh Theatre project invites you to the short Sharing-of-Work, discussion and fundraiser this Friday (13 June) at 7pm. There will be tea and cakes for sale, with funds going towards the 1d Tenement Opera production.
The Health Lottery is operated for and on behalf of 51 Community
Interest Companies across England, Scotland and Wales, all holding
society lottery licenses issued by the Gambling Commission.
www.healthlottery.co.uk
People’s Health Trust is an independent charity addressing health
inequalities across Great Britain. It works closely with each Community
Interest Company distributing grants. www.peopleshealthtrust.org.uk
The sensational St Serfs players are back next week!
Visit wwww.stserfsplayers.org.uk for more info
An informative play about the dangers of misusing fireworks will be performed to around 1,500 pupils in schools across Edinburgh during the run up to Guy Fawkes night. TOAST shows pupils how dangerous fireworks can be, as well as raising issues such as peer pressure, bullying and managing aggression.
The production involves two actors playing 11 different characters, with the scene shifting between a hospital, a home, a school and a housing estate. The principal character is drawn into an ill-fated escapade with stolen fireworks, with ultimately tragic consequences.
The play, originally commissioned by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) in Northern Ireland, has been adapted for Edinburgh and is being staged by the Strange Theatre Company. It lasts for 30 minutes and has been organised by staff working in the City of Edinburgh Council’s West Neighbourhood Office.
It will run until Friday (1 November) and will be performed to all S2 pupils in sixteen Edinburgh schools, including locally at Craigroyston – approximately 1,500 young people aged between 12 and 13 will see the drama.
The weeks leading up to Bonfire Night are a time of increased complaints to police and councillors about excessive fireworks noise, with elderly people, the very young and domestic pets often left particularly distressed by fireworks noise.
Councillor Lesley Hinds, Environment Leader, said: “Guy Fawkes night is great fun and families enjoy the spectacle of fireworks as the nights get darker. However, fireworks can be extremely dangerous if handled improperly.
“The play ‘Toast’ is an excellent way of helping young people understand the risks and dangers of misusing fireworks. We will be carrying out test purchasing in shops where fireworks are on sale to make sure that retailers are adhering to the legislation.”
William MacDonald, Group Commander for The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Bonfire Night is the busiest time of year for the fire service and we are urging parents and carers to be mindful of the potential risks from fireworks and the need to heed fire safety advice to ensure this year’s Guy Fawkes celebrations stay safe.
“We work closely with partners agencies including the City of Edinburgh Council to raise awareness of the risks and dangers associated with bonfires and fireworks as well as delivering fire safety advice to schoolchildren across the area. Toast, which highlights the dangers associated with fireworks, is an excellent example of this type of initiative. “Every year, hundreds of people in the UK are injured by fires and misusing fireworks which are very similar to explosives. Most at risk are unsupervised children, particularly those who play with fire or who get too close to bonfires. We want everyone to enjoy this time of year but to stay safe and advise they stick to supervised bonfires and firework displays.”
I have attached (above) a copy of a leaflet publicising ‘We Will Be Free’, a new play by Townsend Theatre Productions, about the Tolpuddle Martyrs and their fight for justice (see blurb on back page). It’s being hosted by North Edinburgh Arts next Friday (25 October) as part of our Power to the People Autumn programme. Tickets are only £3 for local folk with good neighbour cards (free from the arts centre).
This is Townsend Theatre Productions second visit to North Edinburgh. Last year, they brought us ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’ which they performed brilliantly.
Hope to see you at the performance!
Lynn McCabe
British superstar and Oscar award winning actress Emma Thompson has become the new face of Edinburgh College’s Performing Arts Studio of Scotland (PASS). 
The Nanny McPhee and Sense and Sensibility star (pictured above), who is also a screenwriter and well-known human rights activist, has shown her support towards the performing arts arm of Edinburgh College by accepting the honour of being its patron.
Emma Thompson said: “Edinburgh College’sPerforming Arts Studio of Scotlandis an exciting, high octane, cutting edge centre that will attract much of the wealth of talent in Scotland and beyond. I’m very proud to be patron.”
The much-admired British actress became familiar with PASS after meeting Edinburgh College acting and theatre performance lecturer John Naples-Campbell when he was training as a theatre student at the Scottish Youth Theatre in Glasgow.
John said: “I first met Emma when I was 18 years old at the Scottish Youth Theatre (SYT). She came along to the theatre to hold a Q&A session with SYT students and, after listening to her talk about her career in the industry, I felt driven to continue with my career in performing arts – which is why I am anacting and theatre performance lecturer today.”
“We are absolutely thrilled to have Emma Thompson as patron as this means that our training at Edinburgh College is truly recognised by the very best in the industry. We look forward to welcoming her to our productions in the college’s theatre wherever possible, and we hope to work around her schedule to hold workshops with our students.”
John added: “Emma is an inspirational person, not only because of her many Academy Awards, but also because of her work as a human rights ambassador. Her tremendous work on stage and screen gives hope to any young person wishing to pursue a career in the arts and I know that having her as our patron will motivate and inspire our students to reach their full creative potential.”
As one of the world’s most respected actresses, Emma Thompson is known for her versatility in acting as well as screenwriting and she most recently appeared in The Boat That Rocked, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and as the voice of Queen Elinor in the Pixar animation Brave. As well as her work on screen, Emma Thompson also works as an educational ambassador for a UK-based human rights organisation, the Helen Bamber Foundation, to help rebuild the lives of, and inspire a new self-esteem in, survivors of human rights violations.
Edinburgh College offers a selection of dance, acting, technical theatre, costume design, and make up artistry courses.Former graduates from performing arts courses include Scottish actress Karen Gillan, who starred in the BBC’s Doctor Who. Previous students from PASS have also performed live at the O2 Arena and collaborated with Jon Lord at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, and have also performed live on stage with Lady Gaga.
