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Get Involved Opportunities Royal Shakespeare Company Uncategorised

Call-out for Actors and Directors to work with Hall for Cornwall on the RSC’s 37 plays programme

37 Plays – Actor and Director Call Out for October 2023

We’re looking for 10 Actors and 5 Directors to work together this October to perform 3 Rehearsed Readings across Cornwall of 5 new scripts.

Hall for Cornwall are proud to be one of 12 Regional Theatre Partners of the Royal Shakespeare Company. We work collaboratively with the Royal Shakespeare Company across a number of programmes including The Associate Schools Programme and Shakespeare Nation.  Following on from their successful 37 Plays programme launched last year (you can read more about the project here: 37plays.co.uk), we are delighted to be producing 3 Rehearsed Readings of the new 37 Plays scripts this October.

Working with our colleagues at The Writers Block, we’re seeking 10 professional actors to read 2 Full Length scripts that have been selected by the panel from the Royal Shakespeare Company. You can read more about the panel and the plays here: 37plays.co.uk. We are also adding 3 extracts of 3 new scripts, written and submitted as part of the programme to the Writers Block and Hall for Cornwall. The evening will consist of sharing these 5 new plays and a facilitated post show Q&A with some of the writers and directors.

What are we looking for?

We’re looking for ‘teams’ to read the 5 plays (2 full length and 3 extracts).

The pay is £120 per day, plus travel to be arranged at the start of the contract. As per our environmental policy, we will be aiming to car share and use public transport where possible.

Actors 

If you’re interested in applying please email the following information to [email protected]

  • Your CV, Spotlight or Showreel (whatever you have, don’t make one especially)
  • An email, voice note or film (from your phone is fine – it’s applying in a way that suits you) to tell us the following:
  1. Why you’d like to do this and your experience of delivering script/text.
  2. Your playing age and your accent range.
  3. Tell us if you’d like to be in team A,B or C (see dates below)

(Please note that films / voice notes need not be longer than 2 mins)

You’ll need to be free on the following dates:

7th, 11th,13th October (these are the 3 rehearsed reading dates in Truro, Redruth and Liskeard)

  • Team A: 1st , 6th October (10am-5pm) and 7th, 11th,13th October (3pm – 10pm approx.) – There is a fee of £600
  • Team B – 1st, 2nd, 6th October (10am-5pm) and 7th, 11th, 13th October (3pm-10pm approx.) – There is a fee of £720
  • Team C – 1st,2nd, 4th, 5th,6th October (10am-5pm) and 7th, 11th, 13th October (3pm-10pm approx.) – There is a fee of £960

Directors

If you’re interested in applying please email the following information to [email protected]

  • Your CV or Showreel (whatever you have, don’t make one especially)
  • An email, voice note or film (from your phone is fine –it’s applying in a way that suits you) to tell us
  1. Why you’d like to do this and your experience of directing so far.
  2. Your suitability for directing a Rehearsed Reading (there will be no physical staging of the work, the sharings are to focus on the text and delivery. There will be no lighting or props or costumes)
  3. Tell us if you’d like to be in team A,B,C or D (see dates below)

Please note that films / voice notes need not be longer than 2 mins. The one day rehearsals are to work up a 10-12 minute extract. The 2 days are the full length pieces.

Rehearsal days are with the actors being called from 10am-5pm, and Rehearsed Reading days are approximately 3pm-10pm.

  • A  – 1st,2nd October– plus a pre planning meeting with the writer and attending 1 Rehearsed Reading (7th, 11th or 13th October) to take part in the post show Q and A – There is a fee of £670
  • B – 1st October  – plus planning meeting with the writer and attending 1 Rehearsed Reading (7th, 11th or 13th October) to take part in the post show Q and A – There is a fee of £470
  • C- 6th October  – plus planning meeting with the writer and attending 1 Rehearsed Reading (7th, 11th or 13th October) to take part in the post show Q and A – There is a fee of £470 (there are 2 Director positions available for these dates)
  • D – 4th, 5th October plus a pre planning meeting with the writer and attending 1 Rehearsed Reading (7th, 11th or 13th October) to take part in the post show Q and A – There is a fee of £670

 

The closing date for both applications is the 7th September at 12 noon.  We will let you know by the 9th September at 5pm .

 

How to Apply

Please send your application to [email protected]

If you’d like to ask any questions or talk to anyone ahead of submitting an application please email [email protected]

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Get Involved Heritage Stories HFC Youth Theatre Royal Shakespeare Company Schools & Colleges

Hall For Cornwall Youth Theatre present Hells Mouth by Nick Darke

Hall For Cornwall Youth Theatre present Hells Mouth by Nick Darke

Part of Nick Darke 70

A celebration of the life, work and legacy of Nick Darke throughout 2018 & 2019

Nick Darke (1948-2005)

Young people and professional artists are presenting the work of Nick Darke throughout 2018 & 2019 in a celebration of the work of this unique playwright and film maker in his 70th Birthday year.

Jane Darke told us ‘Nick would have been 70 in August of this year, he died in 2005. It’s wonderful to be able to share this birthday with so many talented people, some who knew him personally but many who have come to know him through performance of his work. It’s really good to be able to make this a year of celebration for him and his friends, old and new. So thank you in advance to everyone sharing Nick’s 70th year!’

Hall For Cornwall Senior Youth Theatre will be presenting Darke’s Hells Mouth on the main stage during the venue’s last week before it closes for redevelopment. Over the last 20 years 100,000 young people have been given performance opportunities at Hall For Cornwall.

As part of Nick Darke 70 Hells Mouth is the second of two Youth productions of Darke’s work this year after Cornwall Youth Theatre toured The Riot across the county.

When a deadly game of chicken on the Tamar Bridge ends in tragedy, civil unrest threatens to break out in war torn Cornwall. In a cynical to bid to placate the press and suppress the ‘revolting’ locals, a clay worker and part-time rock star from St Stephen, is elevated to the lofty position of Duke. The only person standing in the way of Kernow’s subjugation is feisty local girl, Gonietta.

Post apocalyptic, passionate and poignant, Hells Mouth is Nick Darke’s hilarious retelling of Sophocles Ancient Greek tragedy, Antigone. The play will be directed by Simon Harvey and Sam Colborne, with musical direction from Richard Healey and choreography by Helen Tiplady.

The cast have been enjoying the exploration of Darke’s writing, Chloe Endean who plays the part of Gonietta in the play said: ‘Hells Mouth is such a beautiful text and I feel very grateful to be bringing Nick Darke’s art to life as part of the HFC team. Working under the direction and guidance of the creative team is a joy, their inventive visions inspire everyone and we are all incredibly proud of the material we’re creating.’

Hells Mouth was originally written by Nick Darke and performed by a company of young people brought together from all over Cornwall under a Royal Shakespeare Company Education project exploring the story of Antigone. Darke was present throughout the improvisation process, over several residential weekends and rehearsal days, asking students key questions about loyalty, courage, patriotism, survival, stubbornness, pride, status and who or what they would die for. Drafts of the play were read and re-worked until the final play was produced in October 1992. Under the direction of Mike Shepherd the actors portrayal of the characters were playful, poignant, inventive and relevant.

The culmination of the project was at Stratford upon Avon at The Other Place, where the 6 regional projects joined together and shared the performance work. Not all the projects had worked as successfully as Cornwall, but nevertheless, it was incredible to see an Antigone based in medieval Scotland, an inner city court room in London, a tenement block in Solihull to contrast with alongside our play set in Kernow’s land of silent rock.

Nick working with the original Hells Mouth cast at the RSC

Hells Mouth helped to begin the careers of Carl Grose, now a successful playwright and Jenny Beare, a well known Cornish actress amongst many others.

As one of the earliest reviews of Darke’s work, in The Financial Times stated: “Darke gives shape to a Cornish idenitity that feels vital and real and has nothing to do with clay pipes and clotted cream”.

Come and support HFC Youth Theatre’s production of Hells Mouth on May 31st. It is full of potential stars of the future who sparkle in this unique, contemporary and passionate version of the play.

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Get Involved

Autumn Update – Celebrating 21 Years

It has been a very busy few weeks at Hall For Cornwall. Our building may be closed for our transformation project, but we are working hard to continue to provide Cornish audiences with the opportunity to enjoy world class entertainment.

Over the past month we have helped to bring the wonderful new play Hireth to the stage at St Just and presented Live Screenings of the West End productions of Red and The King and I at Truro ’s Plaza cinema. This included giving audiences the opportunity to hear some of the biggest name from stage and screen talk about how their award winning productions were put together. At the same time members of our youth theatre and youth dance groups took part in the moving Pages of the Sea event and Truro’s City of Light’s parade, and are now busy rehearsing for some forthcoming activities.

Just to add to the excitement we also staged a special event to celebrate our 21st birthday, and are supporting other local venues, including Truro Cathedral and St Mary’s Church in Penzance , to promote their works. Definitely a packed schedule!

This month has seen the completion of the soft strip demolition works in the interior of the upper level of the auditorium, with giant steel beams and other materials removed from the site using specialist equipment. Kier teams have also removed the internal fixtures and fittings in Back Quay, exposing the original stonework along the back wall behind the bar area. This beautiful stone work will form part of the new ope which will provide a pedestrian link between Boscawen Street and Lemon Quay when the building re opens in 2020. Work has also begun on taking down the three lighting galleries on the ceiling of the auditorium area and crews are now soft stripping the former Tourist Information Centre.  Kier are also protecting the original granite columns, steps and floors in the Boscawen area from the impact of the building works with plywood.

A huge congratulations to everyone who was involved with staging Hireth at the St Just Miner’s Chapel. It was an incredible production which really brought this little known story of the Cornish miners who left Geevor to dig trenches in the First World War to life. It was fantastic to see such a high level of support for a new play written and produced in Cornwall and we were honoured to play a part in supporting it.

Our Talent Development team are continuing to support professional artists and work with schools and young people to bring arts to local communities across Cornwall. Both our Youth Dance and Youth Theatre companies performed at Perranporth Beach on 11 November as part of the series of special events devised by internationally renowned Director Danny Boyle to mark 100 years since the Armistice and the end of the First World War Boyle. The events saw communities from around the UK gather on beaches to say thank you and goodbye to millions of men and women who left their shores, many never to return. Our young dancers performed a series of new works they had choregraphed on the beach as installations, with members of the senior youth theatre showcasing a specially commissioned poem. This was a very moving experience and it was lovely to see members of our youth companies taking part.

We are always very keen to support local community events. Some of our youth dancers braved the rain, hail and wind to perform a specially choreographed new work as part of Truro’s City of Lights event.  This is always a very special evening for Truro and we were so pleased to be able to take part.

We were delighted to welcome multi Tony award-winning director and Cornish resident Michael Grandage to Truro’s Plaza Cinema to talk about directing his production of RED as part of our exclusive season of Stage to Screen Live Theatre Events.  Michael has directed many of the biggest names in stage and screen, including Dame Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Derek Jacobi, Colin Firth and Sheridan Smith, and it was a rare honour to have the opportunity to hear one of the true theatrical greats talk about his work.

Last week the multi-award winning Lincoln Center Theater’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King And I, took centre stage as the Plaza cinema hosted its UK Screening Premiere. We are very grateful to General Manager and Executive Producer, Joanne Benjamin , who came to Cornwall to talk about the show, its history and the role she played in bringing the production to the stage– providing audiences with a once in a lifetime opportunity to talk face to face with one of the West End’s most acclaimed General Managers.

If you missed these events, you can still book tickets to hear award-winning actor, writer and director Simon Callow discuss his much-anticipated production of his one-man theatrical extravaganza and Christmas must see, A Christmas Carol on 10 December.  Simon will be taking part in three sessions – a post matinee show talk at 12 midday, a pre-show talk at 1.30pm and 6.15pm ahead of the evening screening of the show.

It was amazing to welcome so many people to our 21st birthday celebration last week. As work takes place to safeguard the future heritage of our building and transform it into a dynamic and high-quality venue, it was fantastic to watch some of the talented performers we have supported and given opportunity to over the years, as well as enjoy performances from our youth theatre and youth dance groups.

With the festive season fast approaching, we are finalising arrangements for members of the public to come along and see the progress being made with our building project. The first hard hat site visits for the public will take place at the end of January and we will be putting information on the dates, together with information on how to book a place on our website in the New Year.

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Get Involved Redevelopment Project

Hall For Cornwall Trustees

TRURO, ENGLAND - MARCH 18 2022: The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in rehearsal on stage before their live performance. Photographed for the HfC by Hugh Hastings

This month HFC has welcomed three new trustees to its Board. Alan Davey CBE, the controller of BBC Radio 3; Vin Govender a leading technology and business expert; and James Bennett, a former HFC staff member, have attended their first meeting as formal members of the Hall for Cornwall Board of Trustees.

Initially set up during the 1990’s to lead the fund-raising campaign to create Hall For Cornwall, members of the board have played a key role in developing the theatre and setting the overall direction of the organisation during the past 30 years.

Our current trustees, led by joint chairs Chris Pomfret OBE and Dame Rosemary Squire DBE, have worked closely with the HFC leadership team to develop our plans to refurbish the building and theatre, and secure the funding we need to deliver our ambitious £20 million redevelopment project.

They join an illustrious list of former trustees, including Dennis Arbon MBE, former Chair and President of the Board who donated Upton Towans beach to Hall For Cornwall to help raise funds to support the theatre; David Brierley CBE, former general manager of the Royal Shakespeare Company; actor Jenny Agutter OBE; international soprano and music teacher Wendy Eathorne; Sue Hill, founder of WildWorks; James, Lord St Aubyn; Peter Davies MBE DL, now Chair of the Cornwall Maritime Museum, and film producer Martin Schute who is remembered for bringing in the Oscar awarded to cinematography for Fiddler on the Roof for display in the foyer when the film was shown in the venue.

It is fantastic to see the enthusiasm of our new trustees for the redevelopment project and we are looking forward to working with them during this next phase of our journey.

So who are our new trustees?

Alan Davey CBE

Vin Govender

James Bennet

Alan was appointed as controller of BBC Radio 3 in January 2015 following six years as Chief Executive of Arts Council England. Before then he worked at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the Department of National Heritage and the Department of Health. A passionate music fan, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the arts in 2015.

Alan describes himself on Twitter as a “northern bloke who thinks the arts really do matter.”  He says he has long admired our success in bringing fantastic performances and championing  Cornish artists and is delighted to support us in achieving our aim of serving the people of Cornwall in an even better way in the future.

Vin has extensive experience in using new technologies to help businesses to grow and has worked with companies in the UK, US, Australia and mainland Europe. He has also been involved with building new theatres and major capital refurbishment projects and will be bringing his expertise to help us to enhance the experience for our customers, both on and off the stage.

James was a member of staff at HFC and has previously been the staff representative on the Board. He is passionate about the theatre and acting and has worked as a supporting artist on a number of film and TV series. We are delighted he will now be bringing his passion and enthusiasm to support our exciting plans for the future.

As you know ours is a very ambitious as well as a very exciting project. While 90% of the £19.8m re-build target has been raised, we still need to raise a further £1.8m to turn our aspirations for a new theatre a reality. Over the coming months we will be launching a series of initiatives for people to get involved and support our project and our trustees will be supporting our fund raising campaign.

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Associate Artists Bursary and Funding applications Get Involved Opportunities Resident Companies

Wealth of dance skills developed across the South West

Wealth of dance skills developed across the South West

Hall For Cornwall, Plymouth Dance and Dance in Devon CPD Dance Card Bursary

The CPD Dance Card Bursary is a partnership support programme set up by Hall For Cornwall, Plymouth Dance and Dance in Devon which has impacted on the development of a wealth of skills in dance practitioners and artists across Cornwall, Plymouth and Devon from 2010 onwards.

The CPD Dance Card Bursary has been available from 2010 to February 2018 aiming to open up opportunities for individuals working in the dance sector to attend training and continuing professional development events that are self-determined, specific and high quality giving ownership over career development and ensuring that a diverse experience and range of skills are brought back into the South West.

The organisations within the partnership value the wealth of skills and knowledge of dance practitioners in the South West and the CPD Dance Card Bursary has enabled many practitioners to access high quality, career enhancing training in a national and international context whilst still working from a base in Cornwall, Plymouth or Devon.

Over the course of 8 years of Dance Card activity 134 people across Cornwall, Plymouth and Devon have received the CPD Dance Card Bursary which across this time has had a total spend of approximately £30,000. It allowed individuals to apply for a bursary of up to £250, making up to 75% of the overall costs of each practitioner’s professional development project which could take place anywhere in the world. A broad range of activity has been explored by dance practitioners from wired aerial training to Dance for Parkinson’s CPD to the Gaga Intensive in Tel Aviv.

The partnership organisations are working together to review the Dance Card programme moving forward so that we can best support artists from Cornwall, Plymouth & Devon so we are not taking further applications at this time. However there are many opportunities for dance practitioners across the South West, so subscribe to our newsletters and social media channels in order to keep informed about developments for the future of dance!