Theatre
Archive
Projects
Fun
With the Sun (2003)
Washday
Circus (2005)
North
Ayrshire Children's Festival (2002 - 2004)
Making
Links (2004)
Getting
together (2004)
Collins
(2002, 2003)
Two
Halves Make a Whole (2002)
Dreamscape
(2001)
Tonic
Water (2000)
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Fun
with the Sun (2003)
Devised
by the company
Conceived
and Directed by Katrina Caldwell
Fun
with the Sun was devised for 3-6 year olds and their
families. It took a different format to previous
productions. The experience was created in two
separate spaces: one for the actual performance and
the other for a creative play workshop related to the
show. Half of the audience went to the performance
and then the workshops and half the workshop, followed
by the performance.
The
show was set in a garden environment and explored the
changing seasons through the lives of Trowel and Nora
who shared a garden. The interactive performance
was enhanced by the creative play workshop where children
and their families played games and heard stories about
the seasons.
...first
time we attended a show and really enjoyed it. Seeing
my little
boys face full of excitement and fun was worth it all.
Audience Member, Aberdeen
On
the trip back to the nursery by bus we heard lots of
the bit I liked best.
Nursery, Inverness
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Images
by Kevin Low
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Washday
Circus (2005)
On
19th March, friends and family attending the Family
Learning Day at Thornliebank Primary School , Glasgow
, were in for a treat! Over 7 weeks, 21 children
and 8 mums from local families worked together to devise
a new piece of theatre. The group made props,
learnt new theatre and circus skills to form the Washday
Circus which was performed twice to rapturous
applause!
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North
Ayrshire Children s Festival (2002-2004)
For
three years, Giant programmed a week of holiday events
for children in partnership with the Harbour Arts Centre,
Irvine as part of the Children s Festival. Each
a year a loose theme was chosen for the week of workshops
and live performances which included everything from
jokes and games to Chinese drumming, story-telling and
magic.
In
2004 the programme travelled around four different towns
in North Ayrshire bringing Big Arts for Wee People right
to their doorstep.
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Making
Links (2004)
Giant
was invited by East Dunbartonshire to develop a new
project in partnership with the RSNO, the Scottish Mask
and Puppet Centre and two SEN schools, Merkland and
Campsie View.
The
two schools worked on either music or puppet making
and then came together to rehearse a short devised piece
of theatre. The pupils worked with a movment specialist
and used the music and puppets they had made in the
previous weeks to tell a story of the sea. The
result was a wonderful performance for parents and friends
hosted at Merkland school with accompaniment by some
of the member of the RSNO.
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Getting
Together (2004)
Working with
the Cultural Co-ordinators Giant worked with two schools
in Paisley , Mary Russell and St John Ogilvie primary
schools. The aim of the project was to use performing
arts to develop a relationship between an SEN and mainstream
primary so that the children could meet and share experiences.
The initial
project was three weeks in the summer term of 2004.
The schools took it in turn to host the project and
Mary Russell provided transport for both of the schools
to use.
The theme
of planets was chosen and three artists worked with
the children on their planetary visits: a musician,
a dancer and a drama artist. Live music, scent and props
were used to create the journeys and by the end of the
three weeks, the children were at ease with each other.
Together they attended Up the Stairs and In the Attic
and the schools ‘got together' to share their sports
day.
Towards the
end of the year, artists returned to the school to work
with children for another four weeks, again the relationship
between the children was brilliant.
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Collins
(2002, 2003)
In 2002 and
2003, Giant ran a series of workshops in the Collins
Gallery, Glasgow, linking in with the exhibitions.
These were based on creative play – a combination of
drama and visual arts.
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Two
Halves Make a Whole (2002)
This project
was the pre-cursor to Getting Together.
Two
Halves Make A Whole developed methods of working
from the Artful Antics
Project in summer 2001. The purpose of this project
was to establish an inclusive group of children from
a local SEN school (Broomlea) and a local Mainstream
school (Jordanhill). Children from primary one were
chosen in order to embed the relationship throughout
their primary education.
Using visual
arts, movement, music and drama the children worked
with artists and their teachers, developing an empathy
for each other and bringing together English and Makaton.
The workshops
happened at weekly intervals in October and culminated
in June with the children working together to create
a piece of sculpture - a totem.
The totem
is in two halves, each half representing the joint efforts
of the group. As with all totems it tells a story of
recorded events and the presence of certain individuals
thus allowing each child the opportunity to make their
own personal mark on the final piece. Following a celebration
party at the end of the project, each school retained
one half of the totem, representing their role in an
exciting and unique project.
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Dreamscape
(2001)
Devised
by the company
Directed by Katrina Caldwell
Toured
by Giant in 2001, Dreamscape
was an innovative and challenging piece
of inclusive theatre for 6 to 10 year olds. Created
for children of all abilities, their friends and families,
it was set in a specifically designed sensory world
where the audience discovered magical places, fantastical
characters and a mysterious dream catcher.
Stimulated
by sound and sensations, Dreamscape
was set under a colourful tent which was
transformed into four magical dream worlds; each section
includes music, story-telling, circus and puppetry.
Dreamscape
marked a significant milestone in the development of
Giant Productions' Arts for All Children policy and
was the result of a Creative Arts Forum held in Glasgow
where teaching and care staff, parents, children and
arts professionals were presented with initial performance
ideas. These were rehearsed over three days and formed
the first stage of the development of a performance
style which aimed to be truly accessible to all children.
Dreamscape was the result. Dreamscape
undertook week-long residencies in the
autumn 2001 in Fort
William
,
Inverness
,
Elgin
,
Dingwall and Glasgow
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It
appealed to all the senses...
- Audience member, Dreamscape
I
was blown over by the look of joy on the children's
faces and the understanding of what they enjoy. - Audience
member, Dreamscape
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Tonic
Water
In
2000, Giant and renowned children's theatre company
Oily Cart came together to develop inclusive performance
for children with profound and complex learning disabilities
(PCLD) their families, friends and teaching care staff.
The result was Tonic Water.
Developed
by Tim Webb, Artistic Director of Oily Cart, and Katrina
Caldwell, Theatre Director of Giant Productions, Tonic
Water was a unique piece of theatre based in and around
a hydrotherapy pool.
Three
performers worked with the production team to create
a magical and intimate experience for an audience of
two children and two adults. Children and their parent
or carer enjoyed the many sensations of the pool, floating
on bubble boats to the 'Waterfall of Wonder' and 'Jacuzzi
of Joy' and relaxing in a Marquee of Marvels with all
the senses being stimulated by exotic smells, textures
and sounds.
This
performance was complemented by The Wish Fish which
allowed the children with PCLD and their families to
enjoy the performance experience together as a family
unit.
Thank
you, to the Tonic Water and Wish Fish company, for such
a wonderful time...both experiences we will remember
with joy.
Parent, Tonic Water
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Giant, Centre
for Inclusive Arts,
100 Beith Street,
Glasgow, G11 6DQ, Scotland, UK
Booking/Enquires:
0141 357 5000 Tel: 0141 334 2000 Fax: 0141
357 4100 Email:info@giantproductions.org
Web: www.giantproductions.org
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