Red and the Wolf: there’s still time to get involved …
Tag: drama
Musical Director? Choreographer? Join the A-Team!
A-Team Productions are seeking a musical director and choreographer for their 2016 production, Next Stop: Broadway.
Rehearsals span October through February, twice a week on Wednesday and Sunday evenings.
This year we are not in a position to pay our Musical Director therefore this is a voluntary opportunity open to someone who has the time to commit to auditions, rehearsals and production week.
Do you know someone who has got what it takes? Can you please spread the word and let relevant people know.
Candidates should email
with a cover letter and CV.
A-Team productions are a not-for-profit organisation based in North Edinburgh, run by a team of experienced volunteers. Our ethos is simple: to provide a platform for young people ages 11-18 to construct and perform one musical per annum.
Kind Regards
Sean Quinn
Chair, A-Team Productions
Theatre opportunity for young people at North Edinburgh Arts
Red and the Wolf: An exciting theatre opportunity for North Edinburgh’s young people – and it’s free
Red and the Wolf by Liminal Dance is an immersive theatre performance working with a locally-based community cast of young people aged 8-16 years, in partnership with North Edinburgh Arts.
- Explore movement, dance and storytelling
- Perform with professional artists
- Create your own unique performance
- Open to all, no experience necessary
- @ North Edinburgh Arts
- Places are FREE
Rehearsals on:
- Thursday 30 July
- Saturday 1 August
- Monday 3 August
- Tuesday 4 August
- Wednesday 5 August
Rehearsal times: 10-5pm (except Saturday, 10-1pm)
Performance on Wednesday 5 August, 7pm
To book places and tickets: 0131 315 2151 / admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk
North Edinburgh Arts
15a Pennywell Court
EH4 4TZ
Students take Stardust to Romania
Edinburgh College acting students are stars in Romania
Edinburgh College acting students brought a sprinkling of stardust to Romania as they performed to a sell-out crowd at one of the country’s prestigious national theatres.
Twenty-one students from the HND Acting and Performance course travelled to Romania to perform a show and take part in workshops and theatre tours, and watch performances by their Romanian contemporaries.
The students were visiting the country to present their show We are Made of Stardust at the National Theatre in Târgu Mureș, where they played to a full house and received a five-minute standing ovation. The students previously performed this show at the college’s Performing Arts Studio Scotland in Granton.
We are Made of Stardust was originally developed in Romania by college lecturer Scott Johnston, who has been travelling to the country for 22 years. Scott worked with the first youth theatre based at the National Theatre Târgu Mureș to develop the show, before developing a new version with his Edinburgh College students.
He said: “This was a hugely exciting opportunity for our students to perform on a prestigious stage and share their experience with Romanian actors. The students organised a Scottish theme night, attended Romanian and Hungarian nights and saw five productions at the national theatre and other venues.”
To help his students put their own stamp on the production, Scott used a technique he developed called bookends devising. He said: “Simply put, this means that I have written and designed the beginning and end 10 minutes of the production. The cast along with me devise and write the piece in between. The show I will take to Romania has exactly the same beginning and ending as the one I made here at college.”
In 2010 the University of the Arts in Târgu Mureș awarded Scott the university medal for developing artistic and academic work at the university – the first Briton to be awarded this honour. Last year, supported by the college, he completed a Masters in Stage Directing at the University. He has worked throughout Romania and done workshops and directed plays in many of the major theatres. He has also directed international professional co-productions for Romanian and Scottish companies including Stellar Quines and Cumbernauld theatre.
Students from the college’s performing arts courses will be taking part in performances as part of the college’s Let’s Glow festival throughout May and June. Let’s Glow is a celebration of the college’s creative students, featuring performance and exhibitions covering everything from music, theatre and dance to photography, film, art animation, textiles and design. The full programme of events can be found at www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/letsglow
To find out more about performing arts courses at Edinburgh College, which include dance, musical theatre, acting, technical theatre, textiles and make-up courses visitwww.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/courses
Electrifying talent on show in Let’s Glow festival
Let’s Glow festival shines a light on Edinburgh College’s creative talent
Edinburgh College’s dazzling creative students are about to light up the city with a two-month celebration of their luminous talents.
The Let’s Glow festival gives Edinburgh the chance to enjoy performances and exhibitions from college students covering everything from music, theatre and dance to photography, film, art, animation, textiles and design. The programme of events will showcase the skills and talents of the students, demonstrating the work they have undertaken at Edinburgh College over the last year.
Let’s Glow runs from 4 May to 22 June, with events taking place at venues across the city – including the college’s campuses, Summerhall, The King’s Theatre, The Traverse Theatre, The Edinburgh Filmhouse and The Queen’s Hall. Photography students are also taking their work to exhibit at Brick Lane in London.
The festival will feature students from all the college’s creative industries study programmes: Art and Design; Broadcast Media and Photography; Computing; Music and Sound Production; and Performing Arts.
The programme includes large-scale end-of-year shows by music, arts, photography, film and animation students; the PASS Cross Currents dance event choreographed by college staff and performed by students; an exhibition of make-up artistry; a graphic design exhibition; performances of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale and contemporary Scottish play My Romantic History; the PASS Out showcase for final-year Acting and Performance students; a musical theatre revue; and the premier of an original musical about Scotland’s most revered and most controversial instrument – the bagpipes!
The festival launched last night with sneak peek performances at the city’s La Belle Angele.
Jon Buglass, head of the Centre for Creative Industries at Edinburgh College, said: “Following the success of the first Let’s Glow festival last year, we’re delighted to showcase the incredible talents of our current crop of students. The events at this year’s festival allow us to celebrate and share the remarkable work our students have been producing over the last year. We are constantly blown away by the quality of their work and the time, effort and dedication they put into its production.
“The diversity in the programme means there really is something for everyone on offer. So if you want to be inspired by the talents of our students, get along to one of our Let’s Glow events.”
The full programme of events – some of which are free – and details of where to buy tickets can be found at www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/letsglow.
Keep up to date with Let’s Glow events on Facebook and Twitter.
#letsglow15
Cafe Cabaret at North Edinburgh Arts
May Day fundraiser for Theatre Project
North Edinburgh Theatre project presents:
Friday Night Café Cabaret: A Pop-Up Fundraising Event
Friday 1 May, 7.30pm
North Edinburgh Arts
Tickets: Minimum £2 donation
A series of short comedy scenes, juggling, readings of writing and poetry, human puppets, with dance and stage combat. There will be a raffle with exciting prizes.
Teas, coffees, wine and nibbles will be on sale on the evening too. All profits made on the night will go towards the North Edinburgh Theatre project.
Tickets: Call 0131 315 2151 or email admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk
North Edinburgh Arts, 15a Pennywell Court, EH4 4TZ
‘Rangers – The Musical’ set for Festival Fringe
I suppose it was inevitable. Drama, tragedy,comedy and farce; the trials and tribulations of the once-mighty Rangers FC have been turned into a stage musical.
Successful producer/director partnership Kelvin Grove and George Square will bring their latest production to the Fringe this August.
‘Rangers – The Musical’ boasts an impressive cast. Comedy wrestler Grado – (‘catchphrase: ‘it’s yersel’!’) – (pictured above) will play lead role William ‘Billy’ Boyne and Glenda Govan, his feisty wee love interest, will be played by feisty wee newcomer Easter House. Billy’s mouthy maw will be played, of course, by Elaine C Smith and Billy ‘Big Yin’ Connolly is to play Billy’s wicked (i.e. Celtic-supporting) stepfather.
It’s understood Tim Healy has been cast as Mike Ashley, Christopher Biggins will play Sir Alex Ferguson and Johnny Vegas will play Ally McCoist. Les Dennis is Craig Whyte, Brian Blessed has been cast as King William of Orange and David Tennant will play a senior HMRC official. Jimmy Nail has been pencilled in to play Rangers latest star striker signing and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini plays his glamorous girlfriend. There are roles too for James Cosmo (the ghost of Bill Struth) and Wee Jimmy Krankie, who will play broadcaster Chick Young.
The cast of Scottish soap River City are also heavily involved in the all-star production. The Shieldinch team are going to be busy: they play a flute band in the first act, fans on a supporters bus in the second – and during the ‘half-time’ interval they’ll be serving pies and bovril and leading the audience in some fine traditional songs from the bygone days of yore!
It’s a dream come true for actor Billy McElhaney (pictured above, right), who plays Jimmy in the popular soap. “I’ve follow, followed the Teddy Bears since I was a laddie so this production is a real pleasure for me. When I read through the script I thought to myself: hullo, hullo … this is the Billy boy’s! I can’t wait for August – rehearsals are going well and it’s great to be working with Grado (catchphrase: ‘gaun yersel’!) again.”
Audiences will be delighted to see the return to the stage of popular 1980s game show host Jim Bowen (above), who has an all-too-brief walk-on part as His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
The Bullseye funster quipped: “I must be the only cast member to have been alive when the original Rangers was formed! I don’t have too many lines to remember – well, just one: ‘you get nothing in his game for two in a bed’. The writers cut my other one ‘you can’t beat a bit of bully’ as they don’t want to offend anyone. So it’s not exactly hard work, but the pay is ridiculously generous – perfect for someone of my advancing years. Actually Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller were saying just the same thing the other day!”
Set in trendy west end bistro Bar Linhe, ‘Rangers – The Musical’ tells the story of young shipyard apprentice Billy Boyne. Young Billy, who is played by comic wrestler Grado (catchphrase ‘**** yersel’!). Billy lives for his football – until Glenda comes along. Inevitably, love blossoms and the happy couple save up to get married – but things are going downhill fast at Ibrox Park. Should young Billy keep saving for that dream home in Bearsden – or invest their life savings in shares to save his beloved Rangers?
Songs from the show include ‘Money, Money, Money’, ‘Don’t Walk Away’, ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’, ‘Fog on the Tyne’ and that rousing, ever- popular showstopper ‘The ‘Tash My Father Wore’.
Speaking from his accountants’ office in the Cayman Islands, Mr Grove (above) said: “The Ibrox story is a tale that simply had to be told, and what better way than through the medium of drama, music and dance? This show has the lot – laughter, tears, great songs, court cases, everything.
“The original plan was to launch the show in London’s West End -we had a couple of prestigious venues lined up, but the bottlers pulled out at the last minute – so we’ve decided to take ‘Rangers’ to Edinburgh. It’s a bit of a gamble, as the snobs, poseurs and luvvies through there are not sure to ‘get’ the Glesca banter – but we’ll perfect it through there before bringing the show back to our dear green place, our spiritual home. And if no one likes us? We don’t care! And yes, of course everyone will get paid …”
Tickets, priced £16.90 (strictly cash only, preferably used notes – no concessions) go on sale soon. Don’t miss it!
‘It’s criminal, so it is’ – The Hun Currant Bun
“It’ll huv ye in stitches!” – The Daily Ranger
‘Mair twists and turns than a Davie Cooper mazy run’ – The Govan Gazette
‘Disappointing’ – The Catholic Herald
Chess: The Musical takes to the Church Hill Stage
Edinburgh Music Theatre took to the stage last night (10 March) to present the first performance of a week’s run of Chess: The Musical.
EMT will be performing the musical theatre classic, best known for the popular duet “I Know Him So Well”, at the Church Hill Theatre in Morningside until Saturday 14 March.
The musical follows the story of two of the world’s greatest chess masters as they battle it out at the world chess championships, but their greatest contest is for the love of one woman. Amidst political intrigue and international conspiracies, the American and the Russian fight to win her heart in a romantic triangle that mirrors the heightened passions of the Cold War.
Performances of Chess will take place in the Church Hill Theatre from 10-14 March at 7:30pm, with a matinee performance on Saturday 14 March at 2:30pm. Tickets are available through the Usher Hall website and booking line 0131 228 1155.
Listing Details:
Edinburgh Music Theatre presents Chess: the Musical.
The Church Hill Theatre, Morningside Road, Edinburgh.
7:30pm (Saturday Matinee 2:30pm)
Tickets: Wed – Sat £14 (£12 conc.). Sat Matinee – all tickets £12.
Love drama? Sign up for Summer Festival course
TALENTED youngsters who love drama are being urged to apply for Scottish Youth Theatre’s acclaimed Summer Festival flagship theatre courses by actors from the hit comedy Still Game and the hugely successful Harry Potter films.
SYT patrons, Oscar-winning actress and screenwriter, Emma Thompson – who played eccentric professor Sybill Trelawney in the Harry Potter films – and Paul Riley, who played lovable rogue Vincent in Still Game, believe that Summer Festival courses are a great way for young people to develop the acting and theatre production skills needed to follow a career in the industry.
Summer Festival, now in its 39th year, consists of intensive courses for ages 14-25 years covering all aspects of theatre and drama including production, acting and stage management.
Places are highly sought-after, so entry to the courses, which range from three-six weeks-long in July and August 2015, is by audition only in February. Applications for Summer Festival can be made throughout February at www.scottishyouththetare.org.
There are also shorter courses available for ages 8-11 and 12-15.
Paul Riley, is just one of a long list of actors who started their career at SYT’s Summer Festival. Others include Gerard Butler (James Bond, How To Train Your Dragon, 300), Karen Gillan (Dr. Who, Guardians of the Galaxy), Colin McCredie (Shallow Grave, River City), Blythe Duff (Taggart, The James Plays) and Kirstie Steel (Waterloo Road, Glasgow Girls).
Paul said: “I remember taking my bow on the Olivier stage at the National on the south bank the same day Laurence Olivier died. I was 17 and a member of the Scottish Youth Theatre.
“I’m now proud to say I’m now one of their patrons. There is no question that attending SYT put me on the path to becoming the professional I am today. I’m one of hundreds, if not thousands, who passed through SYT and went on to have a career in the arts. Just as important are those who didn’t but still draw on the life skills and confidence that attending SYT provides.”
Long-term SYT patron, Emma Thompson, who also starred in numerous successful films including Howards End, Sense and Sensibility, and Nanny McPhee, added: “I had the privilege of visiting SYT’s Summer Festival in Glasgow in 2013, and meeting some of the talented young students along with my mother, and fellow patron, Phyllida Law.
“We were blown away by the energy, commitment and creativity of these young actors who were rehearsing two critically-acclaimed productions: Mary Queen of Scots got her Head Chopped Off, by the uniquely brilliant Liz Lochhead, and Now’s the Hour, about the independence referendum, which was a huge success at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe.
“It was very clear to us that Scottish Youth Theatre is unique in its ability to create a safe, fun and stimulating environment where children and young people can express themselves, take risks and reach their creative potential.”
Mary McCluskey, Scottish Youth Theatre’s chief executive and artistic director said: “Summer Festival is SYT’s sector leading flagship course. These intensive performance courses allow young people to build on their personal, social and performance skills in a professional theatre environment.
“Our Production and Performance Learning Programme for ages 16-25 also leads to a SCQF qualification equivalent to Advanced Higher. In 2013, Summer Festival created Now’s the Hour about the independence referendum which went onto to a huge success at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe.”
Theatre double bill at Edinburgh College tomorrow
Edinburgh College performance students unveil showstopping double bill
Edinburgh College HNC Acting and Performance students are putting on a double bill of plays tomorrow (12 February), performing the works of two of Britain’s best modern playwrights.
The students are performing two shows – Desperately Seeking Scotland by Roderick Stewart and A View from the Boundary by John Harvey.
Desperately Seeking Scotland is about the search for Scottish cultural identity. This ‘dark pantomime’ features original music from acting and performance student Euan Stamper.
A View from the Boundary is a bittersweet comedy about marriage, longing and lust.
Both original writers have attended rehearsals and updated their scripts in order to suit the performing casts. The text of “Desperately Seeking Scotland,” which deals with Scottish cultural history, was changed to reflect recent history such as the Scottish referendum.
Performing arts lecturer and show coordinator Scott Johnston said: “Our students have worked really hard to create new and exciting versions of these two contemporary texts. We are delighted that both casts had the opportunity to work with writers John Harvey and Roderick Stewart during the rehearsal process. We believe that our students will become the next generation of Scottish theatre-makers and are excited to present work that showcases their talents.”
Event Details:
Two performances of the double bill will take place at the PASS Theatre at the college’s Granton Campus at 2pm and 7pm:
PASS Theatre 350 West Granton Road, Edinburgh
Thursday 12 February
Tickets: £10 (£7 concession) available on the door.