Music & Drama Education Awards nominations now open
The Music & Drama Education Awards have been re-launched under a new name: previously focused on the music education world, from 2020 the annual awards ceremony will finally offer an opportunity to celebrate in equal measure the numerous professionals, companies, charities, schools and other organisations that contribute to Drama education in the UK, with a star-studded awards night to take place in London in March.
The new awards for drama are:
- Outstanding Drama Initiative
- Outstanding Drama Education Resource
- Drama Inspiration Award (for an individual educator), sponsored by Trinity College London
- Outstanding School Drama Department sponsored by the London College of Music Examinations
- Drama & Theatre Magazine Editor's Award, and
- Young Theatre Critic of the Year.
Categories in which both music and drama nominees will be considered include:
- Excellence in SEND
- Excellence in Early Years/Primary
- Excellence in Musical Theatre, sponsored by the ABRSM, and the prestigious
- Lifetime Achievement Award
With a number of Music education-specific awards also open for nominations.
Co-chair of the judging panel, Sarah Lambie, says: ‘I'm absolutely delighted that we have been able to give drama educators and the companies and charities that support them equal recognition with their music counterparts in the new Music & Drama Education Awards. This sector is characterised by passionate individuals who battle not inconsiderable financial and ideological odds nowadays to bring inspiration to learners of all ages through the arts. It's wonderful to be able to recognise and celebrate their efforts.’
The 2020 awards will take place on the evening of 4 March, following the first day of the Music & Drama Education Expo, at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square. Nominations close on 18 October and the shortlist will be announced before Christmas.
For full details of the awards criteria and more information on how to nominate, visit: www.musicdramaeducationawards.com
National Theatre launches new digital archive for students
Celebrating ten years of National Theatre live broadcasts, National Theatre Collection is bringing the best of British theatre to libraries, schools and universities around the world through their new online archive service.
Launched in association with Bloomsbury Publishing and ProQuest, the online service will contain archive recordings of several iconic productions.
Made available by Bloomsbury's award-winning digital library Drama Online and EdTech giant ProQuest, the collection will go live in September with 15 plays: works frequently studied at secondary school or undergraduate level, including classics such as Medea and Twelfth Night.
A greater range of productions is also now available through the National Theatre Schools Collection. Recordings and learning resources will be free to access for state-funded UK schools, ensuring that theatre is made more accessible for young people whatever their background.
Lisa Burger, joint chief executive of the National Theatre says, ‘This new service will provide a comprehensive insight into British theatre-making and aims to transform learning in schools, libraries and universities across the globe in today's increasingly digital age. We believe that accessibility to theatre is of paramount importance and by expanding our offer internationally, we are able to maintain our free streaming service to state schools across the UK, ensuring that drama remains an integral part of a broad education.’
Katie Birch, director of product management at ProQuest says, ‘ProQuest is thrilled to partner with the National Theatre to help scholars everywhere access an incomparable wealth of diverse content. Many students are simply not able to invest the time and funds into travelling to see the National Theatre's world-class productions. This new collaboration creates unprecedented opportunities for research, teaching and learning in the performing arts, all with the power of streaming video and primary sources.’ www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
Registration open for TheatreCraft 2019
TheatreCraft, the UK's largest careers event for anyone aged 16 – 30 interested in a backstage theatre career, is now open for registration. Practitioners, professionals and representatives from hundreds of different arts and theatre organisations – past exhibitors including the National Theatre and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School – will come together at the Royal Opera House on 11 November to offer a packed exhibition floor, as well as Q&As, workshops and talks.
Covering a range of backstage careers including stage management, producing, sound, set design, casting, props, directing, playwrighting, make-up and costume, among others, the event aims to open young people's minds to the myriad of theatrical disciplines available, helping them to take that essential first step in their career.
Students can register for free by visiting: www.theatrecraft.org/theatrecraft-2019
© ALI WRIGHT
News from examination bodies: Trinity College London announce upcoming specification changes
London-based international exam board Trinity College have announced upcoming specification changes that will affect subjects such as Acting, Musical Theatre, Performance Arts, Speech & Drama and Communication Skills. These new adjustments aim to make working towards graded exams even more vital and relevant.
Working across a range of contemporary drama teaching contexts – including one to one, small groups, whole class and performing arts schools – they have been developed by industry professionals while ensuring modern performance is at the heart of the experience.
In updating the specifications that date from 2017 – 2019, the exam board will ensure that teachers are fully supported, while providing clear assessment criteria, learning outcomes and attainment descriptors. There will also be a variety of digital resources available, in keeping with the exam's flexible style of teaching, which will allow teachers to access resources at any time.
This news follows on from Trinity College's new Communication Skills qualification – available at ‘initial’ level to Grade 8 – which was launched earlier this year. The qualification allows students to develop a range of transferable skills, including problem-solving, creativity, team working and organisational skills. It features practical tasks that mirror real-life situations such as delivering CVs for interview and debating current issues through detailed presentations.
For more information visit: www.trinitycollege.com
New Era Academy announce new filmed group exams
Awarding body New Era has announced that it will now be offering ‘Filmed Performance Group Exams’ in Acting, Speech & Drama, Musial theatre and Shakespeare, making them the first awarding exam board to do so.
These new group exams – regulated by Ofqual – will see each learner performing as part of a group while being assessed and marked individually, allowing students of different abilities to work together, without their overall grade score being affected. One examiner will then mark the students via a filmed version of their group performance, with UCAS points awarded for higher grades. In addition, the participating students will undergo an interview after their performance, where they will reflect on their fulfilment of assessment criteria, making up the reflective element of the performance that is usually fulfilled by written work.
New Era Academy says, ‘We discovered that Drama teachers and schools wanted a large group exam to be regulated by Ofqual with each learner receiving their own individual marks, report forms and certificates; and also for their learners to be of differing grades in a group exam. Therefore, learners can now be of differing grades and be examined while performing, allowing one examiner to view and then review the film to best assess each learner's contribution to the group performance.’
For more information contact examination director Miranda Jacobs on 01903 246 790 or New Era Academy on 0203 143 8381; alternatively visit: www.neweraacademy.co.uk
The Old Vic reveals plans for £12million ‘Education Hub’
The Old Vic has announced details of a twelve-million-pound on-site education hub which will look to reach as many as twenty thousand young people a year, playing a crucial role in its social mission.
As part of the theatre's new redevelopment programme – which began with the restoration of its front of house areas – a five story annex will be developed in a former pub adjacent to the theatre, which will subsequently house all its education and community-based projects and feature a physical space for its outreach theatre programmes, the lack of which the theatre has described as a ‘major barrier.’
Thanks in part to a 3.75-million-pound loan from Southwark council, the hub will include a learning centre and free play text library for schools, a studio and performance space, and a café and bar, as well as an office space for the theatre's education team. The annex will also allow the theatre to implement new community-based productions, including a two-week tour of the Southwark borough, taking in youth centres, libraries, hospitals and parks.
Artistic director Matthew Warchus describes the project as ‘the final key in consolidating our identity and something we very much want to get done within our tenure.’
He adds, ‘We have a very confident identity as a producing theatre in the heart of its community. And so everything that we do at the theatre now is carefully considered in terms of its social mission as well as cultural and artistic excellence…this new annex will consolidate that.’
Continuing on from the theatre's Front Line Lambeth scheme, the annex will run a series of initiatives based on training and mentoring, such as drop-in sessions, work-experience weeks, paid front-of-house placements and apprenticeships in the technical, creative, operations and events departments, which will be aimed at encouraging local Southwark residents to join the world of theatre.
The Old Vic plans for the annex to be fully operational by December 2022.
© BENNETTS ASSOCIATES
Dance development body Dance Manchester closes after 27 years
Greater Manchester's leading dance development organisation, Dance Manchester, has closed its doors after 27 years, due to a lack of funding from Arts Council England (ACE) last year.
Formed in 1992, Dance Manchester's aim was to raise the profile, accessibility and awareness of dance in the Greater Manchester area via a range of projects, such as the biennial international festival, ‘Urban Moves’. The organisation's remit will be transferred to Company Chameleon, also based in Manchester, who say they will continue to provide ‘support for the local dance ecology of Greater Manchester.’
A statement on Dance Manchester's website reads: ‘Dance Manchester has had a fantastic run and our longstanding record of creative output and support speaks for itself. We are grateful to all our generous donors and our loyal audiences for all the support we have enjoyed to date[…]We extend our heartfelt thanks to our former Director, Deb Ashby, for her many years of service and unstinting creativity and commitment, and to all the creative artists who have worked with us over the last 27 years to propel Dance Manchester into the highly successful creative enterprise it became, but now feels like the right time to pass the torch.’
Touring theatre announcements: The Woman in Black to tour the UK
© TRISTRAM KENTON
Matthew Spencer as The Actor
In celebration of its 30 years in the West End, the iconic production of The Woman in Black, based on Susan Hill's 1983 horror novel, is set to tour the UK this month, with producer Peter Wilson saying: ‘In celebration of The Woman in Black's incredible 30 years in the West End, I am thrilled that this iconic production is to tour the UK once again. This show is set to thrill and scare audiences like never before and I can't think of a better way to mark our birthday!’
Beginning at Blackpool Grand Theatre (11 Sept – 14 Sept) the play will continue to tour around the country featuring performances at Cheltenham Everyman Theatre (16 Sept– 21 Sept), Southampton Nuffield Theatre (23 Sept – 28 Sept), Northampton Royal And Derngate (30 Sept – 5 Oct), Sheffield Lyceum Theatre (7 Oct – 12 Oct), Dartford Orchard Theatre (28 Oct – 2 Nov), Stoke Regent Theatre (5 Nov – 9 Nov), York Theatre Royal (12 Nov – 16 Nov), Darlington Hippodrome (18 Nov – 23 Nov), Aylesbury Waterside Theatre (26 Nov –30 Nov), Southend Palace Theatre (13 Jan 2020 – 18 Jan), Oxford Playhouse (16 Mar 2020 – 21 Mar) and Nottingham Theatre Royal (5 May 2020 – 9 May 2020).
The tour will run concurrently with the West End production, which offers schools bookings and education workshops. For more information visit www.thewomaninblack.com or websites of the individual touring theatres.
Everybody's Talking About Jamie to embark on a 2020 UK Tour
© JOHAN PERRSON
Shane Ritchie will feature in the touring production of the show
Commencing in February 2020, the touring production's first performance will take place in Sheffield, where it opened four years ago, and will feature cast members from the West End including Layton Williams as Jamie and Shane Ritchie as Hugo.
Inspired by the documentary film Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, the musical is based on a significant period in actor Jamie Campbell's adolescence where he overcame prejudice and bullying in order to become his truest self. Featuring songs penned by Dan Gillespie Sells, the lead singer-songwriter of The Feeling, and lyrics by Tom MacRae, the show has been nominated for 5 Olivier awards as well as a WhatsOnStage award for Best Musical.
The tour will commence at Lyceum Theatre Sheffield (8 – 29 Feb) and be followed by dates at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre (3 –7 Mar); Northampton Royal & Derngate (10 –14 Mar); Birmingham Alexandra Theatre (16 – 21 Mar); Canterbury Marlowe Theatre (23 – 28 Mar); Newcastle Theatre Royal (30 Mar – 4 Apr); Brighton Theatre Royal (6 –11 Apr); Nottingham Theatre Royal (20 – 25 Apr); His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen (28 Apr – 2 May); Llandudno Venue Cymru (5 – 9 May); Southampton Mayflower Theatre (12 – 16 May); Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff (18 –23 May); Norwich Theatre Royal (1 – 6 Jun); Glasgow King's Theatre (8 – 13 Jun); Liverpool Empire (16 – 20 Jun); Wolverhampton Grand Theatre (23 – 27 June); Leicester Curve Theatre (29 Jun – 4 July); Woking New Victoria Theatre (6 – 11 Jul), Leeds Grand Theatre (13 – 18 July); and the Lowry, Salford (21 Jul – 1 Aug).
Education resources are available for both PSHE and Drama. For more information visit: www.everybodystalkingaboutjamie.co.uk
Access Entertainment donates £300,000 to drama education charity, Masterclass
The new owner of the Theatre Royal Haymarket – Access Entertainment – is to donate a large sum to the venue's in-house charity, Masterclass. The generous donation of £300,000 will allow the charity – which specialises in providing masterclasses, careers advice, apprenticeships and performance experience for young people aged 16-30 – to improve its digital presence, especially with regard to online streaming, making theatre education more accessible for young people across the UK. In addition, the charity is looking to relaunch its apprenticeship scheme as well as develop a Masterclass Company and new shows.
To celebrate Masterclass's continued contribution to arts education, Ed Sheeran performed at the Royal Theatre Haymarket on 14 July with all proceeds being donated to the charity.
President of Access Entertainment, Danny Cohen says: ‘When we bought the theatre last year, for us, an important part of it was the Masterclass charity and all of the work it does to develop new talent, create opportunities for and inspire new talent. It's a charity that has a long-term association with the theatre and does terrific work, so we wanted to keep finding ways to support it. In doing this we’re able to give it stability for the coming years, which will allow the charity to operate at its most effective… Because the wider Access Industries group also owns Warner Music, and Ed Sheeran is one of the great artists from Warner Music, we’re hoping that other Warner Music artists will also agree to do these intimate shows at the Haymarket in aid of Masterclass.’
Masterclass’ programme director, Blayne George adds, ‘This generous donation will go a long way to ensuring we are able to continue nurturing creativity in the next generation of theatre makers, as well as opening the door for those who may not see theatre as an accessible or viable career path.’
For more information visit: https://trh.co.uk/
A Masterclass given by Tanya Moodie
Liverpool Theatre School to merge with Studio 76 to form performing arts centre
© MICHELLE HOTCHKISS
Opening in September, a new performing arts hub formed of a merger between Liverpool Theatre School and dance college Studio 76 will be based at the former Alima Centre. Liverpool Central Studio will be run by Maxine Ellis, who is the principle of both Liverpool Theatre School and Studio 76.
The hub is set to feature two acting studios, five dance studios and three singing studios – two of which will be used primarily for one-to-one vocal lessons. The courses will bring together the offering from both schools’ original curriculums, such as Liverpool Theatre School's Trinity College London diplomas in Musical Theatre and Acting, as well as Studio 76's BTEC in Dance. The merging of the two schools will also make for the arrival of an entirely new course, a BTEC in Musical theatre, as well as new opportunities for weekend classes aimed at young people aged 4 to 16.
President Maxine Ellis says, ‘Liverpool Theatre School is predominantly musical theatre and acting, and Studio 76 was more dance training, so I thought that merging them would mean we’d have the best of everything[…]The facilities we have in the new premises outweigh what we had in both the other premises. The studios are larger and they have lovely dance floors, so I think the opportunities are going to be greater for both the juniors and the college students, because they’ll have a better experience in their training.’
For more information visit: https://studio76.org.uk and www.liverpooltheatreschool.co.uk
ALRA launches a new MA in Teaching for 2020 entry
© NINA ROBINSON
Days of Signifi cance at ALRA
ALRA North has announced that it is launching a course for performing arts professionals who want to develop their teaching skills in a conservatoire setting, with applications open from September 2019 for first teaching 2020. Billed as ‘a high-level, practical and vocational experience’, the course offers a chance to work inside a drama school with student actors as well as in the industry.
Based in the campus of ALRA North in Wigan, greater Manchester, representatives of ALRA say that ‘the new one-year Teaching (Creative Performance Practice) masters level degree is the perfect next step for drama teachers, practitioners and graduates who want to be fully prepared to work in a teaching context with students who are training for the profession today.
‘With a broad range of skill development and an ethos of creativity, this course will also develop a network of skilled professionals who will nurture the next generations of performance talent.’
For more details, contact info@alra.co.uk