Category Archives: Directing

Arts & Health, Community, Directing, Events, Performance, Research, Writing

Boscombe Fringe Festival

So I have been incredibly quiet on the solo performer front since way back before the sun had really shone and when the optimism of early summer was still upon, now as the nights draw in and the sun shines once again, alas I am indoors.

But that’s a fair sacrifice to make for Boscombe Fringe Festival  which is taking place 13th &14th of September.

There’s some wonderful work and I’ve my director’s head on three shows, my events management head on the whole affair and my marketing head hoping it will all look beautiful and that the word will spread far and wide… and we’ll get some funding to make it bigger and better next year!

Having originally hoped to simply programme a small in house affair in Vita Nova’s new venue in Boscombe I was quickly approached by other companies and artists wanting to programme work… so with virtually no budget and a bit of whim, blind faith and a stubborn attitude we have a really exciting line up (here) including, photography, film, spoken word, theatre, live art & workshops!

Testament to the power of thought – the secret is out of the bag and best of all the whole lot is free to attend, however if you thought we did a good job … well we’d like you to pay what you think it was worth on your way out!

I do hope this sunshine lasts all September.

Arts & Health, Community, Directing, Events

Pssst…..

… still fairly top secret, yet very exciting new project on the horizon.

I can say this though….exactly how much power might a rumour have?

So many other exciting things in life in Bournemouth too.

Just spent an Arvon week, with the most exciting emerging talent, raw, fresh, vital and simply screaming to be heard, and the best bit is I get to keep working with them all – its my job. Although consequently, as all beautiful new projects have a tendency to do, ‘The Distance Travelled’ and dear old Joyce are slipping further out of reach.

Decidedly time for some to do lists and action plans!

Arts & Health, Community, Directing, Teaching

Out of Character: An Evening of Brecht, Beckett & Hare

Directed by Gemma Alldred
December 2009: York St. John University
 

We presented an evening of text based work, using three short scenes from three playwrites.

The company split into three groups, and with the assistance of the collaborating theatre students, worked on the performing and staging of:

What, Where by Samuel Beckett

Plenty by David Hare

Baal by Bertolt Brecht

Arts & Health, Community, Directing, Events

Out of Character: Reception

Reception

Directed by Gemma Alldred
October 2011: Holgate Reception, York St. John University
 reception-poster_final1

A site-specific intervention in the Holgate building’s reception at York St. John University. Commissioned as part of the well-being initiative for World Mental Health Day.

The space was invaded by suspicious men with suitcases, gentlemen/women exchanging top hats and newspapers, the world’s most miserable party, Mr.Hat and Mr. Bucket, two chatting cleaners, a group of camp cleaners, aliens intrigued by suitcases, a Greek Chorus, and people being manipulated by the person beside them.

 
 

 
 
Arts & Health, Community, Directing

Out of Character: Speaking Ourselves

Directed by Gemma Alldred
Subsequent additional direction by Gina Vickers
2011 / 2013 Create 13, York St. John University
2013 ongoing performances
speakingourselves_create13-poster_final_lq 
Speaking Ourselves is Out of Character’s second mental health themed show. This performance has gone through various permutations and developments since work began on it in 2011 with founding director Gemma Alldred. It’s progression to a final show has been the least linear due to alternate projects arising (including Henry IV with York Theatre Royal) and changes within the company, most notably Gemma leaving to pastures new and Gina Vickers arriving to take on the director mantle.By the time of Create 13 at York St. John University, the company had a more finalised performance, although audiences may have been aware that some of the material had been performed in various guises and progressions previously.

Community, Directing, Events, Performance, Research

Live Art Therapy

Live Art Therapy | An Exploration of Fear | An Exploration of Exclusion

Live Art Therapy is a durational, interactive installation which asks if we can find an answer to the question, ‘what is live art?’.

Participants are invited to view materials, contribute to discussion and to create for camera their own stills and write description for work they might make and call ‘live art’.
Live Art Therapy becomes a show all of its own in which it becomes less clear who is artist; an effort to make Live Art the sort of work anyone can feel part of.

‘The Meloncholy of Van Gogh in the Shadow of Gauguin’s Nosferatu’

Performance created and documented by audience participants

A performance work looking at the little known episode of how Van Gogh lost his ear whilst working under the vampiric Gauguin.
A meditation on the fall out between two well known impressionist painters.

Arts & Health, Community, Directing, Teaching, Writing

Out of Character: Homespun

Homespun

Directed by Gemma Alldred
May 2011: Create 11, York St. John University
 

Homespun was a performance on the theme of ‘home’, and was a collaboration between Out of Character and the Converge students from the Working Towards Performance course.

More information and performance photos can be found on the blog that was created during the process:

homeandaplay.wordpress.com

 
 
Arts & Health, Community, Directing

Out of Character: Tales from Kafka

Adapted and Directed by Juliet Forster
July 2010: York Theatre Royal

“I think you cope quite sensibly with the difficulty of living…We tremble in the balance, we don’t fall, we flutter even though we may be uglier than bats”

Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Franz Kafka. Drawing on a rich vein of early writing and less well-known short stories, this entirely new play presents a layering and interweaving of eerie dreamscapes. It is shot through with Kafka’s hallmark foreboding and alienation, absurdist humour and struggling humanity.

-York Theatre Royal publicity leaflet-

Tales from Kafka was our first collaboration with Juliet Forster from York Theatre Royal. The play was based on a collection of short stories by Franz Kafka.  Juliet directed us through a  combination of adaptation and group devised work based on the source material.

The show was a surprise success for the company. All three nights at York Theatre Royal’s Studio sold out.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Arts & Health, Community, Directing, Research

Out of Character: Episodes

Directed by Gemma Alldred
Various ongoing educational performances including –
March 2010: Mental Health in Higher Education Conference, Lancaster
October 2010: World Mental Health Day, The Carriage Works, Leeds
episodes_front_oct2010_jpegEpisodes was our specifically made mental health show.

It came as a response to an increasing number of requests for the company to perform as part of the education of health professionals, students and those interested in the link between arts and health. We undertook a period of development to create and focus work with these audiences in mind.

Episodes is a series of fragmented works, developed to be performed by any number of the company in a variety of locations and differing audiences.

Two distinct themes instigated this work: an interrogation of the stories within, and the performative aspects of mental ill health experiences through the investigation of blurred boundaries between audience and performer in an attempt to break, rather than reinforce, stigma and assumption.