Performing Arts Summer Season 2011
Our National Diploma in Performing Arts students usually bring the curtain down on the Bradford School of Arts & Media Summer Show with two separate shows highlighting the varied talents of years one and two. However this year a season of different shows were staged throughout the period of the Summer Show better reflecting the varied creative input of the students.
Damien O’Keeffe, Head of Media, Music & Performance, explained “This year we decided to present a season of smaller productions so that students could pursue their interests, whether drama, comedy, physical theatre, music or more dance based. They were able to plan, manage and deliver their own shows through their production company, Green Monkey. This was also a way of using the space within College and at external venues more imaginatively. For instance, Kim Casagranda came up with the idea of an experience based on Robbie Burns, which include a film, dance, poetry and narration, and the show began in the corridor before moving into the studio. She wanted to take the audience on a journey.
Billy Liar was a fun interpretation of a British classic by the second years. Since the classic movie was filmed in Bradford it perfectly suited the City of Film status and the department’s new direction with new progression courses in film performance and film production.
Shakespeare On Love had the first years performing excepts on a theme with the holding form for it the idea of Puck and Ariel almost competing with each other to show different aspects of love. Steven Normandale and Dominic Scott performed a collection of iconic Monty Python and Two Ronnies sketches plus one piece they devised as a tribute in Stop That, It’s Silly!
Idols and Lost Legends was song and dance inspired by stage, screen and iconic pop arti
sts. This featured the second years plus acoustic performances from two of the Music Diploma students. The second year music students also put on a gig at the Alhambra Studio when several bands played over the course of the evening.
Bound To Linger On was an innovative piece of physical theatre about a victim of abuse from a predator who was a malignant force in a family where everyone was having to deal with it. This was driven by Sophie Kelly, Tom Shearer and Katy Holdsworth and was probably one of the most challenging pieces we have ever staged and the second year students handled the mature material very well. There was an element of redemption at the end as he recognised what he had become. The staff team insisted on this. In a world dominated by angst and misery it is important to allow young people to explore feelings and communicate without too much emphasis on angst and misery. Building empathy by placing students in a position where they walked in someone else’s shoes has been another theme for us this year.”
With so many fabulous things happening we cannot show you everything but you can see season highlights following the links below:
Billy Liar
Idols and Lost Legends
Bound To Linger On
Shakespeare On Love
An Evening With Robbie Burns