Here we are on Day One of our First Respond Try Out Week. We are:
Saz Moir - recent graduate from RWCMD Design course, with an interest in puppetry, circus, site-specific performance and fire poi.
Laura Jeffs - recent graduate performer from Atrium, University of Glamorgan with interest in devising and non-linear narrative.
Patrick Jones - playwright and poet.
Lynn Hunter - actor with lots of…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on September 14, 2009 at 3:54 —
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I am now in the first stages of testing out the RESPOND strand of National Theatre Wales' work and I need some help.
What is the Respond strand?
The respond programme enables us to create new work quickly in response to the urgent, important and interesting news and events that are happening right now. It is also a way that National Theatre Wales can work with a greater and more diverse range of theatre makers whilst providing a space for artistic development for…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on September 2, 2009 at 2:00 —
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This Thursday 3rd September we have our Second National Theatre Wales
Cardiff Sandpit in partnership with Hide&Seek!
The first one back in July was such a success, we decided to have another one! Only this time, we have 4 games being created and run by Welsh makers; as well as a further 11 games created and run by Sandpit stalwarts. That's…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on September 1, 2009 at 4:30 —
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Last weekend I was at the Green Man Festival, which takes place in the beautiful Brecon Beacons just off the Crickhowell-Brecon A Road. I had gone with Lucy to see one of the loveliest festivals in Wales and to see if there was any way that National Theatre Wales could plug into this activity.
It rained Thursday in fits and starts but was then quite warm and sunny for Friday when the…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on August 23, 2009 at 23:30 —
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Equity says Reality TV producers on X-Factor are exploiting performers by not paying them an Equity wage. Equity are calling for all contestants who reach the final round to be paid and have legal status as workers.
X-Factor producers say Equity rates "do not apply" because its shows were competitions and not employment.
This BBC news article describes how X-Factor producers justify not…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on August 19, 2009 at 6:27 —
5 Comments
It was a beautiful setting. Tall trees, green embankments, mist-covered valleys. It was the Afan Forest Park and I was there on Saturday evening ready for
Taking Flight Theatre's production of
A Midsummer Nights Dream. As were seemingly thousands of midges, who swooped and dived at…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on August 17, 2009 at 5:25 —
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I read this
BBC News article this morning.
It describes how filming for Michael Sheen's new film, Submarine, based on the novel by Swansea writer Joe Dunthorne, is casting its young roles online.
They are using an
online auditioning site to ask unknown talent to apply for the roles in the film.
Virginia Heath, creative director…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on August 14, 2009 at 0:29 —
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Last Thursday, I was invited to see
'Come Fly With Me', a brand new musical based around Rat Pack Songs, in the Wales Millennium Centre's Weston Studio. I had been to see Rich Tunley's last production,
A Midsummer Night's Dream, so…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on August 11, 2009 at 6:30 —
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I used to see this every day when I lived in London. It's Tower Bridge. I used to live in Tower Hamlets and felt like London was my home. Last weekend, I went back for an extended working weekend - to move the rest of my stuff out of my old flat in a hired Ford Mondeo and to see some shows. It was the first time I'd been back to London for more than 24 hours since I stopped being freelance and moved to Cardiff to start working for National…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on July 10, 2009 at 5:10 —
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Yesterday I went to see Black RAT Productions'
A Midsummer Nights Dream. It was an 11am matinee at the Swansea Grand so I set off on the 9.14am train from Cardiff Central. It was an old-school cattle type train; the last time I was on one of these I was crossing to Oldham on the Manchester Victoria to Rochdale service in January 2008. Good times. Only this time, it was a sweltering day and the…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on July 2, 2009 at 3:11 —
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We would like to say "Hello and Welcome" to our 500th member, Glender Charles, who joined our community today, on Wednesday 24th June, at 10.20am!
Glender, the winner of this auspicious title, will receive a glamourous, glittering prize - a bottle of our finest bubbly!
So our community has reached 500 and continues to grow. Who will be our 1000th member? And what do you think their prize should be?
Added by Catherine Paskell on June 24, 2009 at 0:24 —
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I came upon this holiday snap in my uncle's facebook account. Since moving back to Wales, the Paskells have all befriended me on Facebook and welcomed me back to the bosom of my hometown... well, they live in Penarth, but I guess that's close enough to Cardiff...
It made me think of Marc Rees' recent road trip around the Welsh coast and his blog on here. How tied we all are as Welsh families to the sea and to the caravan spots that…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on June 22, 2009 at 5:30 —
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Off they go in their little red hired car...
Marc Rees is a fantastic visual artist who produces exciting site-specific projects, curating the work of international and Welsh artists. This week, he is on a 5-day road trip around Welsh coastal towns with his producer, Sian Thomas. Sian is the designated driver. Marc was the designated sandwich buyer.
They are on a Creative Visit for NTW, exploring different places…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on June 15, 2009 at 5:30 —
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Are you interested in playing?
Are you interested in immersive experiences?
Are you interested in completing tasks or solving clues that can win you a prize?
Are you interested in exploring the city in which you live and work in a totally different way?
Are you interested in getting to know and connecting with other people in a shared experience?
If you say yes to any of these, then you should like theatre.
If you say yes to any…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on June 4, 2009 at 5:30 —
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During my London visit this week, I spent a day in the
Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) where I saw 6 shows as part of their BURST Festival.
The theme this year was '51 Reasons for Living', inspired by Barack Obama's presidential acceptance speech and they managed to pack 51 performances into this 16-day festival. Some of these were plays, some were installations, some were performance poetry, some were gigs, some were journeys for one person with a…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on May 31, 2009 at 10:24 —
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I have just come back from spending a wonderful evening watching a fantastic theatre event. It was in London and it was a play by a young Welsh company.
It was
True/Fiction's newest show,
The Exquisite Corpse at Southwark Playhouse.
I arrived in an atmospheric cavernous space under the railway arches at London…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on May 31, 2009 at 10:00 —
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On Thursday 2nd July, we have got one of our first National Theatre Wales events and we would like you to take part.
It's called
SANDPIT and it is organised by us, with Hide and Seek, a London-based company run by
Alex Fleetwood.
Sandpit, like its name suggests, is a place where people can come together and play games and have…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on May 30, 2009 at 4:17 —
6 Comments
Last Thursday, we had a really exciting creatively-charged day! I went on a Creative Visit to the valleys with John and Renny O'Shea, a really exciting theatremaker who makes up one-third of theatre company
Quarantine
A Creative Visit is the first stage in the Research and Development (R & D) of a new project, where we ask artists to explore their ideas for the long and short term. A Creative Visit involves artists spending time with the NTW…
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Added by Catherine Paskell on May 19, 2009 at 6:07 —
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It is 10am on Monday 18 May and National Theatre Wales are learning how to blog. We are sat around a table in our new office, listening to the rain and the clicks of each others' keyboards as we try typing our first tentative paragraphs. I am wondering who will read these and who will respond. I am also looking forward to putting my thoughts down on virtual paper, seeing others' responses and replying to them all!
Added by Catherine Paskell on May 17, 2009 at 22:57 —
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