#neighbourhoodplay

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Quarterly Meeting #2 (Year 3) - 7th January 2019

As usual, there were lots of exciting things to update members on tonight.  Shereen, new Head of Neighbourhood Theatre, led the meeting, and there was lively discussion around new initiatives and hopes for the future of NhT.

Shereen talked about the new initiatives she has launched since taking up position three months ago, So You Want to Be...., Neighbourhood Play, and Neighbourhood Voices.

So You Want to Be....is a series of masterclasses, currently available to NhT members only (see details in earlier posts below).  

Neighbourhood Voices will be a year-long writing programme, run by Dramaturg Ola Animashawun, meeting once a month, and including an introduction to playwriting, trips to see a range of plays in fringe, regional and West End venues, as well as gig theatre.  There will also be visiting playwrights teaching one-off sessions.  

There have been over 100 applications for the twenty places on the course.  Shereen is keen to make it a progression route in to the industry for those seriously wanting to make a career in playwrighting, hoping that the course will bridge the gap between community and industry.   

Neighbourhood Play is an ongoing series of workshops for those aged 55+ centring around the themes and ideas of Main House shows.  Participants will see a show at the Young Vic, and will then take part in a set of three workshops, using movement skills to create a short piece for a ‘soft sharing’.  The workshops will be facilitated by Movement Director, Corinne Meredith.  The project launched in December with a taster session, including a trip to see Spring Awakening (see earlier posts below), and has proved extremely popular, with 80 applicants for sixteen places.  The next set of workshops will revolve around The Convert, currently showing at the Young Vic.

Other work Shereen updated members on included Our England, the community response to the Young Vic’s My England project (see earlier posts below for details), for which selected writers from the community were mentored by professional playwrights, and wrote monologues.  These monologues are being rehearsed this week, and there will be a sharing this Friday (11th January) for an invited audience of friends, family and industry professionals.  There is very limited space for audience as it is a one-off sharing, and it is important that the writers are able to share their work with family and friends, but NhT members are invited to express interest if they would like to come.

NhT members have also been invited to see a preview of Draw Me Close by Jordan Tannahill, a National Theatre and National Film Board of Canada production, presented by the Young Vic.  The production combines virtual reality and animation and is experienced in separate sessions that start every 25 minutes and last about 70 minutes.  NhT members will be asked for feedback on the experience.

Shereen also talked about the next community show, which will be American Dream, in response to the Main House production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, which opens in May.  Recruitment workshops for this piece will be held in the next few weeks.  Many members have already signed up for these.

There will also be a community response to the show Bronx Gothic, which opens at the Young Vic in June.  The show is written and performed by Okwui Okpokwasili, and uses theatre, dance and visual art installation, to explore her memories of growing up in the Bronx.  Shereen suggested that the community response could also entail a multi-disciplinary approach, inviting different artists of different disciplines in over the course of a week to teach their skills, meaning that participants could choose the form which best suits them to express their ideas.  NhT members were very enthusiastic about this idea, and the proposal that the performance would take the form of a cabaret night.

Before closing the meeting, Shereen invited feedback from members about the projects she has initiated so far, and what else they would like to see coming up.  Members had the opportunity to discuss this with the person next to them, before feedback to the whole group.  Discussion included terminology for what is currently called the ‘recruitment’ or ‘selection’ process for community shows, and how individuals might obtain feedback from these processes if they are unsuccessful in securing a place/part; and the desire for more opportunities to learn about directing.  

One of the key areas of discussion was around members’ thoughts about initiating a forum for skills sharing and creativity that is not purely reliant on NhT/Young Vic staff.  Mathilde suggested some form of intranet which could host members’ profiles so that members are able to ‘”tap into each others’ skills” if they wanted, for example, to put on a show independently, or contact each other to create their own social activities.  Many members are already proactive in asking to use space or resources at the Young Vic, and this seems to be an area that could perhaps be developed more formally.

There was also a lot of praise for what NhT is providing for members.  In particular, members were pleased about the provision of activities for over 55s.  Deborah talked about how difficult it can be to change career at that age, and how exciting it is to have the opportunity to do this through the Young Vic.  

The desire for more opportunities to socialise was another key area of discussion.  The provision of refreshments at workshops and meetings was also mentioned, as it is an opportunity for everyone to meet and socialise equally before an event begins, removing the need to purchase food or drink elsewhere.  Many members also really valued the Kitchen Conversations that have taken place.  The opportunity to use the quarterly meetings as a chance to socialise as well as meet was raised; and one member also suggested a ‘pot luck’ dinner (where everyone brings a dish), which Shereen has agreed to organise before the next meeting in April.

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Neighbourhood Play Sharing - Jesus Hopped the A Train - 14th March 2019

This morning I was lucky enough to observe the final session in response to Jesus Hopped the A Train, and be audience for the sharing of their work.

The sessions are being held at St Andrews Church, across the road from the Young Vic, and there’s a lovely, relaxed atmosphere in the room.  Participants seem really at home, having worked as a group already over three sessions in response to The Convert, earlier in the year; and having already done two sessions on Jesus Hopped the A Train.  There is a little kitchen attached to the room, and tea and coffee is provided, and participants have been encouraged to bring their own mug, so it really does feel like ‘home from home’.

The sessions are facilitated by Corinne Meredith, who is friendly and relaxed with the participants.  After a gentle warm-up, which takes into account individual needs and abilities, the group set about finishing the creation of their piece.  Participants are professional and serious about their work, but the atmosphere is supportive and inclusive.

The final piece is interesting and engaging.  It uses the group as an ensemble to create a sense of both the isolation of prisoners and the intimidating nature of the judicial system.

Further sessions this year will respond to Death of a Salesman, Bronx Gothic, Tree and Blood Wedding.

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New Head of Neighbourhood Theatre - Shereen Jasmin Phillips

In September, Shereen Jasmin Phillips was welcomed as the new Head of Neighbourhood Theatre.  She was introduced to Neighbourhood Theatre members at their quarterly meeting in October.  I met with her to talk in more detail about her plans for Neighbourhood Theatre going forward.

Shereen has worked in a number of different theatres and institutions, including the National Theatre, as well as as a support worker in a hostel, so has experience of marginalised groups both within and outside of an arts context.  The Young Vic is her favourite theatre and, she told NhT members, “we can achieve whatever we want to achieve”.

One of Shereen’s ideas is Neighbourhood Play, which will entail workshops for those aged 55+.  The aim is to create long-lasting relationships with people, who will have the chance to become part of a regular group.  The idea is that participants will see a show at the Young Vic, and the next day will take part in a set of three workshops that will revolve around themes from the play, and movement skills.  The workshops will be facilitated by Movement Director, Corinne Meredith, and will culminate in a ‘soft sharing’.  A taster workshop will take place on 6th December 2018, after participants have seen a performance of Spring Awakening, by Young Vic Unpacked.

Shereen is particularly interested in new writing, and helping to develop this strand of work with NhT.  Neighbourhood Voices will be a year-long programme, meeting once a month, and including an introduction to playwriting, trips to see a range of plays in fringe, regional and West End venues, as well as gig theatre. The idea is to help make people feel connected and supported.  The course will be run by Dramaturg Ola Animashawun, but there will also be visiting playwrights to teach one-off sessions.  Shereen hopes this programme might lead to supporting one emerging writer to write something for the Young Vic.