Welcome to Sarah-Jane, General Manager (Maternity Cover)!

This week Women & Theatre welcome new staff member, but old friend of the company, Sarah-Jane Watkinson. Sarah-Jane joins us as General Manager, to take care of the company while Jess is away on Maternity Leave. She will be heading up a number of the exciting projects we have in the pipeline for 2010, including Wasted, an interactive musical theatre production which gives voice to the relationship between women and alcohol.

Meanwhile we all wish Jess well with her exciting new “production”, and she will be back with Women & Theatre in February 2011.

Posted: March 5, 2010 in Announcements, news
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Cervical Monologues on tour in Dudley, March 2010

W&T have been commissioned by Dudley PCT to take perennial favourite, The Cervical Monologues to Dudley this Spring.

Regular cervical screening is essential for all women, yet there is a low rate of take-up of screening services in the Black Country. By demystifying the screening process and encouraging women to talk about their feelings, The Cervical Monologues aims to ensure that women are informed about their own health needs and empowered to take up screening appointments.

With the support of Dudley PCT, Women & Theatre’s Janice Connolly and Melisa Harrison have performed additional research with GPs and community groups to explore issues around the take-up of cervical screening services. From the research, Janice will write four new monologues to incorporate into the existing script, and increase the local relevance and impact of the piece. With these new voices that really reflect the local opinions in Dudley, the tour will aim to spark discussions about overcoming real and perceived barriers to accessing cervical screening services for Dudley’s diverse communities.

This is a great example of how W&T’s flexible and in-depth scripts can be used and adapted within local contexts. If you’re interested in a similar project, whether with Cervical Monologues or any of our other plays, please do drop us a line.

Thursday 4th March, 12.45pm @ St Thomas’s Network, Beechwood Road, DY2 7AQ
Friday 5th March, 12.45pm @ Lye Community Centre, Cross Walks Road, DY9 8BH
Wednesday 10th March, 12.45pm @ St James Medical Practice, Malthouse Drive, DY1 2BY
Everyone living in Dudley is welcome, but please book for groups of 5 or more on 0121 440 4203.

Posted: January 21, 2010 in Announcements, Community, Health, news
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The Creative & Media Diploma

Spring term sees W&T develop and deliver a new programme of work with Bishop Challoner Catholic College, forming part of the Level 3 Creative & Media Diploma curriculum.
Fulfilling the ‘Commission’ unit, W&T will set students a creative brief requiring them to develop their own drama-based alcohol awareness programme targeting young people. We will then work with students and share Women & Theatre’s trademark style and approaches to develop and pilot an effective interactive programme that is rooted in research and the stories of real people.

For details of this project or other ways that W&T can support the delivery of the Creative & Media Diploma, please contact us

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Tuned In: Young People’s project for Spring 2010

Tuned In is an exciting new radio drama project, made possible with funding from Birmigham City Council’s Creative Futures. We will be working with young people from two schools in Birmingham – a group of year 9 students from St Alban’s school (in Highgate) and the whole of Priestley Smith school for the visually impaired (in Perry Barr).

The idea is to create a collection of 6 short radio plays – three from each school – which will be written and rehearsed by the young people from their own thoughts and ideas under the guidance of experienced writer Steph Dale, radio director Jenny Stephens and W&T’s associate director Terina Talbot. Once the play scripts have been written they will be ‘swapped’ with the other school and rehearsed in readiness for recorded performance at the BBC studios in The Mailbox. The young people will have opportunities to meet and work together and the project will culminate in a celebratory event which will include a recorded performance of each of the plays. We have already had an ‘ inspiration day’ with all staff, students and artists involved in the project – this was held at the Botanical Gardens and was a wonderful day!

We look forward to beginning work with students and getting the script work going …. watch this space … and stay ‘tuned in’ for more!!

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New training commissioned by Walsall Manor Hospital

Paper-lite
Women & Theatre have been commissioned by Walsall Manor Hospital to create a piece of training around paper-light office systems. The Manor are in the process of introducing an electronic document and records management system which will radically reduce the amount of paper records that they keep. Women & Theatre are delivering training to raise awareness of the changes and support the implementation of the new system.

Our theatre based training will use drama, humour, interaction and discussion to explore and demystify the complex issue of organisational change. As usual, we have started the process by talking to the people in question, the hospital staff who will be affected. Terina and Janice from W&T have interviewed everyone from Consultant Radiologists to Theatre Managers, Matrons and Secretaries. Their feelings and responses are all feeding into the writing and devising process, in some cases used as the basis for short sections of drama to spark discussions with training participants. Sessions will be delivered hospital-wide in December.

The training was commissioned after one of the Manor Hospital team attended a recent Equality & Diversity Training session run by Women & Theatre on behalf of Walsall tPCT. She thought our trademark straightforward, humorous and human approach was just the thing to help communicate system changes to staff. If you have training needs in your organisation that you’d like to discuss with us, we are very happy for you to get in touch. If you’d like to see our training process and methods in action, you can come and observe one of the sessions in December, please contact us if you would like to do this.

Feedback from other Women & Theatre training programmes:
“I found the style of presentation very good. It was inclusive to everyone (understanding and ability) and useful to reflect on in all workplaces”
“Enjoyed what I thought was going to be a boring topic. Very thoughtful.”
“Best course I have ever been on.”

Posted: November 13, 2009 in Announcements, news
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Upcoming sharings of Woman First on 16th November

It you get it right for disabled women
You’ll get it right for all women

We are holding two special sharings of Woman First, a collection of monologues which explore disabled women’s experiences of pregnancy and birth and take a wider look at disability rights. You might find Women First interesting if you are a professional in midwifery services, social care, disability support and advocacy, or if you yourself or someone you know are affected by the issues.

Monday 16th November 2009 at 12pm & 5pm
The Friends Institute, 220 Mosley Road, Birmingham, B12 0DG

If you join us for the lunchtime performance why not join us for a bite to eat and an informal discussion at the Matchbox Cafe – great food at reasonable prices!

Commissioned by the Royal College of Nursing Midwifery for the International Congress of Midwives in Glasgow 2008, the monologues were researched with a range of women and health professionals across the UK.

Woman First was recently performed at Birmingham REP during Birmingham’s Artsfest. The packed audience loved the piece – they were moved, amused and outraged by the stories we told. The strength of their reactions convinced us that the monologues need to have a wider audience and that they are of great value to the community at large as well as the professionals it was originally written for.

We would love to share the piece with you, to discuss your thoughts and reactions to it with the rest of our audience in a post-showing discussion and have your help in identifying possible future audiences so we can maximise the potential of this piece.

If you can’t make this date please let us know if you would like to be kept up to date with the progress of this wonderful project .

Please RSVP to Pippa Frith – pippafrith@womenandtheatre.co.uk or call 0121 440 4203

Posted: November 3, 2009 in Announcements, news
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Touch Wood – Touring for Breast Awareness Month in October 2009

Women & Theatre favourite and Healthy Alliance Award for Cancer Prevention winner Touch Wood is on the road again for Breast Awareness Month in October 2009.  Touch Wood tells the touching and funny story of Sheila, who receives her first invitation to Breast Screening.  Touch Wood was developed to increase the uptake of breast screening amongst over 50s women, and the play takes a friendly approach to promoting the importance of screening and dispelling myths.  Performances of Touch Wood are available for booking in October 2009 for community venues and schools, for more information or to register interest, please get in touch.

Posted: July 15, 2009 in Announcements, news
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Park:Life Summer School – 27th July – 7th August 2009

This Summer, Women & Theatre are holding a two-week Summer School with local young women, to create a piece of drama about being a teenage girl in 2009.  Park:Life will explore issues that are important to the young women, including relationships, exam pressure, safety and life in urban spaces, particularly in the context of Birmingham’s urban regeneration.  Over a two-week creative devising process they will create a performance to be held in Highgate Park on 7th August, linking in with the public launch of Birmingham City Council’s Big City Plan.

We are currently recruiting participants and are interested in working with young women, and girls who are at risk of exclusion.  Please contact us if you would like to register interest on behalf of yourself or young women that you work with.

Park:Life has been made possible with funding from Connexions, Birmingham City Council, The Grantham Yorke Trust and the Charles Henry Foyle Trust

Posted: July 14, 2009 in Announcements, news
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Hooded at the Birmingham Rep on 12th and 13th June

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Thursday 11th & Friday 12th June 2009, 6.30pm
The Door, Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Tickets: £3 (£1.50 concs.)
Box Office: (0121 236 4455 / www.birmingham-rep.co.uk)

Are they carrying knives? (Or books?)

Exploring young people’s lives, alliances and prejudices in our multicultural city, Hooded is a refreshing, fast moving, and seamless piece of contemporary theatre created by a diverse group of teenagers working with Women & Theatre.

Is it any different being a teenager now than it was then?

Real stories from the lives of “The Hooded Ones” are played out with verve, passion and conviction whilst original music, film and projection made by the young people weave an authentic back drop.

They may all look the same but everyone’s story is different…

Hooded has been developed with funding from Birmingham City Council’s Creative Futures, Awards for All, The Bryant Trust, The Baron Davenport Charity and The Harry Payne Trust.

Posted: May 27, 2009 in Announcements, Community, Education, news
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Women & Theatre announce new Artistic Programme for 2009/10

Women & Theatre step into Spring with the announcement of our new Artistic Programme for 2009/2010.  Follow the links to find out more about each project, or download our information sheets  below. If you would like to discuss how each project could work for you, please do get in touch with us.

Scoffing: Available for touring in Summer 2009
Theme: Obesity – causes and diagnosis
Target audience: Weight management professionals, GPs, those diagnosed as clinically obese
Powerful and moving, Scoffing is a one-woman show full of music and images which resonates with people of all ages, shapes and sizes about eating, body image and self-confidence, exploring the complex factors which affect obesity and weight management.

We are holding a sharing of Scoffing on Wednesday 13th May 2009 at 3pm at The Friends Institute, Highgate. Please let us know if you would like to attend

Step by Step with May & June: Available for touring 29th June – 10th July 2009
Theme: Healthy Eating and Healthy Lifestyles
Target Audience: General community, Schools (Year 6, Secondary & parents’ groups)
Larger than life characters May & June tackle healthy eating in this interactive performance.  A great way to get people thinking and talking about the big question: why don’t we eat healthily when we know we should?

Bare Drama: Available for touring in Autumn 2009
Theme: Gang Prevention
Target Audience: Schools (Years 7 and 8 )
An exciting new play about how gangs form and gang prevention.   The programme encompasses a play and workshop where pupils have the chance to engage in-depth with the issues raised.

The Learning Curve: Available for touring in October 2009
Theme: Breast Health and Breast Awareness
Target Audience: Community Health Promotion, Health Professionals’ Training, Schools (Year 9 and up, Colleges)
This audience favourite is back for Breast Awareness Month 2009.  Covering a range of issues from body image to breastfeeding and screening, the play is ideal for health awareness and promotion.

If you have a burning issue you think we could help with, we are also available for new commissions and projects.  Each year we work with a range of partners to produce new pieces of theatre about issues that are important to them; recent partners include Leicester YMCA, Action for Inclusion, Scope, RoC Drama, Walsall tPCT, and Walsall Community Arts.

Downloads:
Health & Community Programme for 0910
Education Programme for 0910

Posted: May 7, 2009 in Announcements, news
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