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WHEELLERNEWS 2006 |
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Back to Mark Wheeller's front page
I have listed the items that appear, as you may want to scroll down to the ones that interest you.
1/ Sequinned Suits wins more award nominations!
2/ New Course: Sat 3rd Feb Arson About at Reading University with Andy Kempe.
3/ More reviews for Wheellerplays exemplified dvd
4/ Jamie’s School Dinners… news of a new production!
5/ Kill Jill – An Offer of free performing rights a first production?
6/ Punch Tops the chart!
7/Future school performances of my plays
Charlotte Wells – for best supporting role as Doris. Charlotte was in the production from the off… and was nominated last year… need I say more… stunning Charlotte!
Anthony Jennings – Younger Shakey. He was described as having a “camp pizzas” in the review… He will be up against Charlie and some other very tough nominations in this category… but Anthony who won the Youth Theatres peer award for being a star will know he has the support of everyone if he manages to get this award.
Finally we were nominated as the company who had the best ensemble… this is a stunning nomination to receive as it includes absolutely everyone. I would say that the success of Sequinned for us was the superb group feeling there was in every rehearsal, every meeting and every performance.
Sequinned is over for us (bar this awards night) but it is now published and available for you to have fun with. You can download a copy to look at before making any commitment to it… so do have a look… it is tremendous fun and a very lively school production. Also it’s only 50 minutes long so it can be entered for One Act Play Festivals. The songs are fab!
http://www.mavmuse.com/musical.asp?MusicalID=114
If that doesn’t tickle your fancy then perhaps the shorter version (35 minutes) The Rise and Fall of Eed Sud and The Luminous Earwigs… from Thornbury will:
http://www.mavmuse.com/musical.asp?MusicalID=121
I am given to understand that this will be used quite a lot in the forthcoming Paper 2 Drama exams in UK schools… please let me know how it goes if you do use it!!!
There is also a stunning review of Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots in this months edition of Amateur Stage.
Here’s a little extract:
“It superbly recalls those halcyon days of seventies rock and roll. As the promotional material proclaims, “bang a
gong, get it on….and get a script.” I would endorse that exhortation – you won’t regret it!” Charles Vance: Amateur Stage
Do have a look.
Here is the flier for the forthcoming course Andy Kempe and I are running at Reading University.
ARSON ABOUT
A one day practical drama course with
MARK WHEELLER and ANDY KEMPE
Saturday 3rd February 2007
In this one day course Mark and Andy will share a lively range of ideas they use to help students explore the form and content of texts. Techniques explained and explored through the day will include:
Focused games and warm ups The fast read
Imaging character development Mapping the text
From flat book to Reader’s Digest! Building body props
Reducing emotions Off text impros
Intrigued? You’ll be delighted! By way of example, the workshop will focus on Mark’s recently published exciting and imaginative play ‘Arson About’ published in NelsonThornes ‘Dramascripts Extra’ series. A copy of the complete text, which is suitable for use across Key Stages 3 and 4, will be given to participants.
Mark Wheeller is Head of Drama at Oaklands Community School and the author of several highly successful plays that often draw extensively on first hand testimonies. Mark’s plays are hard hitting but always dramatically engaging. ‘Too Much Punch for Judy’, ‘Legal Weapon’ and ‘Why Did the Chicken’ have been touring schools since they were written while ‘Hard to Swallow’ has become a particularly popular text with teachers in the UK and abroad.
Andy Kempe is now Senior Lecturer in Drama Education at the University of Reading. He has worked with students of all ages and abilities and has been providing training to Drama and English teachers in the UK and abroad for many years. His most recent publications include the ‘GCSE Drama Bitesize Revision Guide’ for the BBC, ‘Speaking, Listening and Drama’ and ‘Learning to Teach Drama 11 – 18’. He is series editor of ‘Dramascripts Extra’.
Places for this course are limited so early application is strongly advised. The cost for the day is £75 (including a cold buffet lunch of sandwiches and snacks). The course will be held in the Arts Studio at Bulmershe Court. If you wish to book your place please return the slip below to Tracey Pinchbeck, University of Reading, Bulmershe Court, Woodlands Avenue, Reading RG6 1HY before 19th January 2007.
_____________________________________________________________
Name School
Address Tel. no.
Please reserve me ___ (number of places) on the ‘Arson About’ course on Saturday Feb 3rd 2007.
* I enclose a cheque for £75 made payable to The University of Reading
* Please invoice my school.
(* delete as appropriate)
Please return this form to:
Tracey Pinchbeck, University of Reading, Bulmershe Court, Woodlands Avenue, Reading RG6 1HY before January 19th 2007.
We were all delighted with the first review of this dvd… from Paul Mills and Gill Chesney-Green on the wonderful Drama UK site (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/drama_uk/)… this is what he said:
Just been viewing the DVD from EG products using Mark Wheeller's play extracts
to exemplify various techniques used in his plays.... mint! Very useful and well structured and produced. I can see that some of my rather recalcitrant Year 11 and Year 10 students will be able to learn a great deal from this - energy in abundance for one thing! Precision is also an important aspect of using stylised theatre techniques - either verbally or physically and this DVD will also be very useful to illustrate the effect on their work of paying attention to these aspects of their performances.
Thanks Mark.... can't praise it enough.
Gill
And this from Paul Mills
To all those people who visit this site requesting examples...here's something for your Department's Christmas Stocking that will leave your pupils in no doubt about the magic of theatre!
I really can't praise the team at EG products enough. There's quite simply nothing out there that I'm aware of that would demonstrate all the skills and techniques needed to help pupils realise the rich dramatic potential in a Mark Wheeller play. Tim Ford (director) & Pete Hallmann (producer)have collaborated with Mark to produce a DVD that has a stunning selection of beautifully directed and skilfully choreographed extracts.
The concise introductions and explanatory comments from Mark Wheeller are likely to make you pupils want to take up playwrighting and will help you to inspire your pupils with the potential of both physical theatre techniques and the often-dreaded monologue.
I am biased it's true - I love Mark Wheeller's plays. However, I challenge any teacher to watch this DVD and not agree that it stands alone as a multimedia teaching resource for Drama!
To sum up this is an inspirational DVD: You'd be mad not to order a copy!
Paul Mills
Why don’t you have a look?
Please visit the egproducts web site:
You will also see that there are some clips on the site under the “Video” link.
Jamie in the Land Of Dinnersphere is intended to help to spread the healthy eating word into KS1 (& 2).
This will be touring into Southampton Primary Schools early next year and we have the full support of the School Food Trust http://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/index.asp who have committed to see the production once we are on tour with it.
Here is the synopsis:
Jamie loves healthy food. He has seen how a poor diet can mess you up… just by looking at his brother!
One day his parents run out of food to put in his lunch box. Jamie is appalled as they suggest that he has the dreaded school dinners instead! It is well known that the dinner ladies are embarrassed by what they have to serve up… but they haven’t even got a kitchen so the food is all brought in from an outside catering company! Jamie is convinced that company is run by a witch… the Dinnerwitch! Jamie goes to school and is promised that if he eats his dinner without any fuss he will be able to go and see his dad’s latest invention in his factory after school.
Jamie survives the school dinner (amazingly… but what story would there have been if he died?) but when he gets to the factory he presses a button he shouldn’t have touched and finds himself transported to Dinnersphere. There he finds some friends… one of whom is a member of the audience and together they confront the nefarious Dinnerwitch!
Fortunately they manage to sort everything out and all ends happily ever after… Jamie even opts in to school dinners!!! We are left wondering if the audience will… in droves.
This is an ideal play for a secondary school group to tour into Primary Schools (cross phase). There is much scope for audience participation. We are not sure of the running time but I reckon it will be about 30 minutes!
Scripts will be available from me in the new year as e-scripts you can photocopy prior to any publishing deal so do let me know of you’d like one.
Just advance notice that the final version of this has been prepared and will be published by dbda in January. If any schools are interested in performing it please let me know I am more than happy that the first performances are done royalty free! This is a particularly attractive offer for anyone who wishes to show off their multimedia although it can be done without any. Kids love it and the best performance time is the summer to tie in with Big Brother!
How nice that as it approaches it’s 5000th performance (sometime next year) Too Much Punch rises to the top of my chart. The sales figures this last three month period have been phenomenal. Why is everyone suddenly buying this? Have all the old copies suddenly worn out? I thought people would be opting into the newer plays… Drama teachers must be more wary than I had imagined… I’m not complaining… it took Punch ages to get out there… so it’s lovely that after 20 years it is still doing so well!
The following plays are all being performed by schools in the not too distant future (in alphabetical order):
Graham – World’s Fastest Blindman;
Hard To Swallow;
Missing Dan Nolan;
No Place For A Girl;
Too Much Punch For Judy,
Wacky Soap.
I hope everyone has a good Xmas
November Wheellerplays News Update:
Those were Pauline Nolan's emotional words after an inquest recorded an open verdict into the death of her 14-year-old son Daniel who disappeared on a night-time fishing trip nearly five years ago.
The tearful mum said she was happy with the outcome despite so many questions that she says remain about what happened, saying: "I think it was the only possible verdict. Nobody knows what happened to him."
The group later dispersed and Daniel was last seen by the Victory House in the High Street, by Daniel Redman.
"I believed that Daniel was returning to the pontoon to collect his equipment.
"He said to me 'could you help me with my stuff' and I said 'not really because I have got all of Hugh's stuff' and he seemed to agree with that and make his way back to the pontoon."
In a statement George said Daniel did not appear to be drunk.
It was at around 11.45pm that Daniel, who was an experienced swimmer, was left in the vicinity of the pontoon alone.
Detective Supt David Williams, senior investigating officer, said the teenager had been due to return at 2am the following morning after fishing at high tide.
Giving evidence Mrs Nolan said that Daniel, who had won a bursary to Southampton's King Edward VI School, had always let her know he was back "safe and sound."
She told the inquest how when he failed to return she had a feeling "something was wrong'. After calling his friends, she went to the pontoon and found her son's fishing equipment and gloves and called 999.
In a statement read out to the court, Daniel's father Greg said that while the pontoon was slippy, there was no marks to indicate anyone had slipped.
Forensic pathologist Dr Allen Anscombe told how he examined a left foot that was found in May 2003 at a beach at Chapman's Pool in Dorset.
He said that X-rays showed that the bone in the foot belonged to a 15-year-old male and DNA profiles strongly matched those taken from Daniel's parents.
The inquest was also told that other bones, including a hip bone, washed up on Warsash foreshore in February and March 2003 were found to be those of a male aged 14 to 16.
Although DNA tests showed no match with Daniel coroner Grahame Short said he was satisfied they were those of Daniel.
Mr Short said that on the balance of probability he believed Daniel returned to the pontoon where he slipped and fell into the water.
"The pontoon was icy, he was intoxicated and it would be very easy to slip in those circumstances," he said.
It is believed that Daniel's body became entangled in the moorings at Hamble Point marina and lay undisturbed until dredging of the Hamble River took place in February 2003.
It is thought that the rest of his body lies somewhere under the Solent.
I have listed the items that appear, as you may want to scroll down to the ones that interest you.
1/ A stunning review from Ken Taylor (Drama UK) on the new Wheellerplays DVD!
2/ Courses… the next being… 7th November (in London) Pupil Friendly Ways to Improve Performance in GCSE Drama.
3/ Wheellerplays on tour!
4/ Jamie’s School Dinners… news of a new production!
5/ Eed Sud
We were all delighted with the first review of this dvd… from Ken Taylor on the wonderful Drama UK site (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/drama_uk/)… this is what he said:
I am lucky enough to have seen an early release of 'Wheeller Plays Exemplified' and wanted to write this now in case you are looking for material over half term
If you have ever taught or directed any of Mark Wheeller's plays, you will know how
useful they are for all years but especially for GCSE. If this is the case then you should buy this DVD. Maybe you have never taught any of Mark's plays - then you should definitely buy this DVD. It has been skilfully compiled to illustrate a range of
conventions that are used in Drama classrooms. The extracts have been particularly well chosen and brilliantly directed to make clear and concise points. Between extracts Mark reveals his intention as a playwright. The extracts serve to explain the conventions but also excite the viewer about the potential and creativity that lies within any script.
In the past I have felt that the navigation of certain DVDs might be more intuitive. EG Products have even considered this element and it is easy to find the material you want with just a few clicks. This will make the DVD a valuable teaching aid; one where you can select the convention you want to illustrate and focus just on that without further distraction.
Yes, I know you might feel £40 + VAT is expensive, but for a DVD of this quality let me assure you it is not. Let me also remind you that you can purchase it using learning credits.
Egproducts are saying:
“Orders will take precedence over inspection copies and demand so far is quite heavy.”
I am delighted with the dvd… why don’t you have a look?
Please visit the egproducts web site:
You will also see that there are some clips on the site under the “Video” link.
Final notice on my upcoming Philip Allan course: There are still some places left should anyone wish to book a place. Pupil Friendly Ways to Improve Performance in GCSE Drama. Mark Wheeller. 7th November Thistle Hotel London.
Details of the course were in the last two months News so do scroll down should you require more information.
If you are interested to book for this course please phone 01869-338652 or have a look at their courses generally on their web site:
http://www.philipallan.co.uk/content.aspx?page=HOME
Philip Allan have booked me to do a couple of courses next term… and also in next months news will be news of a course I am running with Andy Kempe for National Drama
I am delighted to report that my plays continue to tour into schools. I was delighted to see a production of Missing Dan Nolan last week by the Queens Theatre Hornchurch. It was again a moving production that went down very well in the school I visited. Sadly this tour has now come to an end and at the time of writing there are no plans to tour it again which is a particular disappointment to me as we study this as our Paper 1 Unit 2 play (Edexcel) and we’d love to have it performed at our school!
Arson About is on a 140 date tour (and still growing) details of which regions this is being performed can be found at StopWatch Theatre Company’s web site on the Arson About Page: http://www.stopwatchtheatre.com/arson/moreInfo.htm
They are also on tour with Chicken… the new (all improved… honestly it really is!) version is proving even more successful as they embark on a 250 date tour! More details on: http://www.stopwatchtheatre.com/chicken/moreInfo.htm
Ape continue to tour with Legal Weapon… the II version… which like Chicken is a significant improvement on the original. I hope to be seeing Legal Weapon II this week! Here are the regions it will be on at in the forthcoming weeks… should you want any further details of how they can come to your school please contact the local Road Safety Officer.
Oct 30th - Nov 03rd MAIDENHEAD (& WINDSOR)
Nov 06th - Nov 10th LEICESTERSHIRE
Nov 13th - Nov 17th NTH. YORKSHIRE
Nov 20th - Nov 24th NTH. YORKSHIRE
Nov 27th – Dec 01st SHEFFIELD
On this tour Legal Weapon will pass the 2000 performance mark… quite amazing in just over ten years!
The Granddad of my touring plays, Too Much Punch For Judy is touring in three countries. Here in England and Wales it is being performed by Ape Theatre Company… and I have had some stunning reviews of this production which to be honest comes as no surprise… it never ceases to impress!
Oct 30th - Nov 03rd DARLINGTON
Nov 06th - Nov 10th PEMBROKESHIRE
Nov 13th - Nov 17th GWENT
Nov 20th - Nov 24th JERSEY
Nov 27th - Dec 01st DERBYSHIRE
Dec 04th - Dec 09th NORFOLK (P)
Dec 11th – Dec 15th ROCHDALE
Testo are also again taking this into schools in Norway this term! I wish them well and am delighted that the Norway tour seems to becoming a regular fixture in the Norwegian school curriculum!
At my school we have now developed a Student TIE group who will take on plays form the writers we have at our school and tour them into schools. Their first project is a re-working of a story I first worked on when I was teaching in Milton Keynes back in the early 80’s. Finally its time has come with the recent interest in school dinners from the inspirational Jamie Oliver campaign.
This production entitled Jamie in the Land Of Dinnersphere will help to spread the word into KS1 (& 2). I will be writing it along with Johnny Carrington (who recently co-wrote worked recently on the hugely successful Bang Out Of Order with Danny Sturrock… which by the way won another award & more nominations at last months Woking Drama Festival!).
If you are a friend of someone in an Infant school (are they still called that?) in the Southampton area do get them to get in touch with me and we will try to bring the production to their school. We have had significant interest in this project which will be ready to tour in February. StopWatch Theatre Company are providing a participatory workshop and hope to be taking the production on tour nationally following our pilot. Also the School Food Trust http://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/index.asp have committed to see the production once we are on tour with it. Dbda are keen to keep up to date with the progress of this play so that it can be made available to other schools who wish to promote a similar cross phase campaign tour. I have had one enquiry fro the script already BEFORE more than the first scene has been written! (Thanks Neil!)
Eed Sud...
My final Half term job is to proof read The Rise and Fall of Eed Sud and The Luminous Earwigs From Thornbury, the 30 minute GCSE version of my glam rock tribute play. If I manage to complete it today it should be on the Maverick site later this week! Take a look… I understand you can read the whole script online prior to ordering so there’s no harm in having a look… remember it is tried and tested… and that was in a very hurried form which to be honest didn’t quite hang together properly! This one does!!! http://www.mavmuse.com/default.asp
And for those who ask where did that name come from? My answer is that it’s a long story… the play tells most of it!!!
Right well that’s all for now… have a good half term!
I have listed the items that appear as you may want to scroll down to the ones that interest you.
1/ Wheellerplays on dvd… order now!!!
2/ Sequinned is out… order now!!!
3/ Courses the next one being… 7th November (in London) Pupil Friendly Ways to Improve Performance in GCSE Drama. Book now… and scroll down to find details of others in the not too distant future!
Wheellerplays Exemplified dvd
I’ve now seen the “rushes” (is that what they’re called?) of the dvd and am really impressed! Wheellerplays are finally available on dvd!!! Yes!!!
More so than I thought actually. It is always hard handing something over to someone else to direct… particularly something like this which could well be seen by so many people… a really important step for my plays I feel. As I was watching I was thinking how my Year 10’s and 11’s would react if I were choosing to show them these extracts. I am confident that they would have been impressed and that the extracts illustrate well skills I am encouraging them to use in their devised work… so all in all I am really excited about this. The dvd includes two extracts from each of the following plays: Arson About, Hard To Swallow, Too Much Punch, Missing Dan Nolan & Graham World’s Fastest Blind Man! There will also be one extract from the following: Chicken; Chunnel of Love; Legal Weapon; No Place For a Girl/Sweet FA.
It illustrates the use of a range of techniques I have found useful in writing my plays… techniques such as Body Props; Cheat mime & cheating into emotion; Human pyrotechnics and Précis Theatre. It also has some great examples of skills which will come in handy to anyone teaching Drama at GCSE or A’ Level… such as changing pace, contrasts, mime, narration, chorus work in a play & use of song.
I have to confess only having watched it very briefly but two sections stuck out to me as particularly memorable and useful to me in my teaching. In our Unit 2 (Edexcel) we ask our Year 11’s to present a monologue from Missing Dan Nolan. I will for the first time this year show them one monologue performed on this dvd twice (from Too Much Punch For Judy) which shows it when done as a static piece focussing on facial expressions and then re-presented with lots of movement and supportive mime. Even though we are not doing Too Much Punch for our exam… and even if we weren’t doing one of my plays… we will be able to show this as an excellent example of two different yet well performed ways of approaching the same monologue.
The other scene that really gripped me was the fantastic presentation of the accident scene that I have always thought was my best of the three car accidents I have written. This version of it is fantastic and gives a very clear illustration of how to stage such a scene really well on a nil budget!
You will also have the joy(?) of seeing me chatting about some of the extracts… and about the work I have done… now can you resist that?
The dvd will be available in the next two weeks and have already starting taking pre-orders… initial feedback tells me this could be pretty popular… it is also possible (I think) to buy it with e-learning credits! Egproducts are saying:
“Orders will take precedence over inspection copies and demand so far is quite heavy.”
If you would like to see the egproducts information about this dvd please visit their web site:
You will also see that there are some clips (from 4/10/06) on the site.
If you want to go straight to the order form here’s the link:
http://www.egproducts.co.uk/order.html
If either of these links don’t work copy and paste them into your browser.
Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots… finally out!!!
http://www.mavmuse.com/musical.asp?MusicalID=114
I am delighted to say that it was performed 7 times by a group other than my own last week… I await news of how it has gone but am delighted to see that even before it’s release it is attracting significant interest. Three other UK groups have already enquired about performing rights for their Christmas production.
Maverick have worldwide rights to the publishing of this play so UK schools should get their copies from Maverick and approach them if you want to do performances.
The GCSE (30 minute) version is not quite out… BUT will be probably by the time this newsletter reaches the wheellerplays News page. This has a different title… it is called The Rise And Fall Of Eed Sud and the Luminous Earwigs… from Thornbury.
With both plays it is worth considering Shakeys parents to be played by the “wrong” gender… i.e. the mum (Doris) by a boy in drag and the Dad (Norman) by a girl in… in men’s clothes. It will add to the humour and make the family even more bizarre!
Do take the opportunity to read it online… I had to do the proof reading today and was happily surprised by how good it was… even though I say so myself!
Courses
I am pleased to say that I am running a number of courses in schools this term. I will be presenting workshops based on my plays, often tailoring them to the Edexcel Paper 1 unit 2 and Paper 2 exams. I love doing this work and look forward to meeting the various people who have been generous enough to invite me in to their schools.
I am also running the following course which has attracted sufficient delegates to allow it to run. Pupil Friendly Ways to Improve Performance in GCSE Drama. Mark Wheeller. 7th November Thistle Hotel London.
Details of the course were in last months News so do scroll down should you require more information.
I am also involved in a One Day Student Conference AS/A2 Drama which (annoyingly) I can’ t find any mention of on the Philip Alan web site… however it is on the 28th November and features a number of people… Michael Earley, Professor of Drama at Lincoln University, Tim Ford (Who was the director on the egproductions dvd) Director at Birmingham Rep, Alan Perks, Chief Examiner, Richard Vergette (freelance perf arts advisor) and myself.
Please contact Philip Alan updates if you are interested to hear more: 01706 831002
Following this I am assisting in an A/AS Level course (AQA AS Unit 1 and Edexcel Unit 4 Drama and Theatre Studies); run by Richard Vergette. This is called:
A Devising Day – stimulating and creating original performance work.
This will be on Tuesday the 6th March 2007 in London. I will be leading one of the sessions entitled Students’ ownership of work… more details in a later news page.
If you are interested to book for this course please phone 01869-338652 or have a look at their courses generally on their web site:
http://www.philipallan.co.uk/content.aspx?page=HOME
That’s all folks… until next month
This is a particularly long news page this month (sorry!) so I have listed the items that appear as you may want to scroll down to the ones that interest you.
1/ Wheellerplays… success at GCSE… and A' Level
2/ Sequinned at Edinburgh
3/ Times Educational… and a complaint about their reporting!
4/ OYT Auditions
5/ Wheellerplays Exemplified dvd… news latest
6/ Details of a course I am running on 7 th November (in London) for Philip Allen Updates. Pupil Friendly Ways to Improve Performance in GCSE Drama .
Wheellerplays success at GCSE… & A' Level!
An amazingly successful year for Wheellerplays. An Edexcel examiner who I used to work with in my Epping days told me that this year she had seen more Wheellerplays in exams than ever before… I feel very flattered that my little old plays are being performed and seen up and down the country… and I hope enjoyed! They do seem to be all the old favourites rather than people trying out the more recent plays… she had seen LOADS of Too Much Punch 's and Hard To Swallow ' s. I will go on to talk about some of them and why they may fare EVEN better with examiners later on in this section. BUT I am very grateful to all of you who are using them… it was always an ambition to have my plays performed by more than just my School/Youth Theatre and now it is happening… so thanks!
I was also given a mention in this years Chief Examiners report:
UNIT 2: Drama Exploration II
Exploration of a Complete and Substantial Playtex
‘Blood Brothers' is still the most popular text but other old favourites such as ‘The
Crucible', ‘Find Me', plays by Godber, Wheeller, Churchill and Russell were also
popular. ‘A Taste of Honey' and ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' were used by
more centres this year.
Scripted Performance
As in previous series John Godber , Mark Wheeller , Berkoff and Brecht were
frequently seen.
At my school one of the greatest things for me was that for the second year in succession a group selected to present my Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots . I didn't write it as a GCSE piece (at all!) but after two years of it being presented for Paper 2 of the Edexcel GCSE know it really does work for both students… and examiners!
I have by their request developed a 30 minute script suitable for a cast of 5 or 6 entitled The Rise and Fall Of Eed Sud and The Luminous Earwigs… from Thornbury . It is a real feel-good piece and allows students the opportunity to do some great caricature work, some really styled acting and has lots of opportunities for movement skills with the vibrant seventies music… which the kids seem to love! I have described it as a wannabe musical and it certainly makes a change to the normal issue based work which I have done before and often (as an examiner) ends up being the subject matter of devised pieces.
The group at our school who chose to do this were an able group and when they decided to do it I was concerned that it wouldn't offer them sufficient opportunities to gain the highest grades… but I was wrong. Three of the group achieved 40/40. Two of them had the same roles as the two who achieved 40/40 last year… with a completely different external examiner… so clearly the roles do offer enough opportunities. The other two in the group achieved 38 and 33 out of 40… amazing! The 33 candidate had as her mock score 24, although once Johnny and I saw her work in this play we both predicted a “33” much to her disbelief! The Rise and Fall Of Eed Sud and The Luminous Earwigs… from Thornbury .
really is a play for GCSE that students can get into… they love the opportunities for costuming and set/light design (for the Performance Support candidates). It is a colourful show and offers lots of opportunities all round. Our performance support candidate (who up until four weeks before the exam had been on a lengthy exclusion) achieved a 32/40! I am making this version available to Maverick who are releasing it later in September.
Teachers will be pleased to hear that with Maverick they do not have to commit any money to getting the script until you've had a look. The script will be available to see online… and if you do like it you will be able to buy it as an e-script (in either the long 55minute or short 30 minute (GCSE) version). It will be great value for money as Mavericks prices are in my view low… one of the reasons I have gone with them. You buy one copy and photocopy the rest whenever you need them!
Performance rights are also similarly inexpensive through Maverick. When you get onto their site http://www.mavmuse.com/default.asp you will see that they also publish other of my plays… however they are not available for UK customers as dbda have the publishing rights to all of these plays. Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots & The Rise and Fall Of Eed Sud and The Luminous Earwigs… from Thornbury .) are both exclusively available to UK customers from Maverick… do have a look… it has worked for us two years in succession and we will be recommending it to our Year 11's in future years… there is something else to recommend it… it deals with a period in cultural history that may be of particular interest to examiners of a particular age… anything to get that extra little bit of interest. Clearly this will only be the case while the play is new… so get in quick and benefit!!!
One other little point to report is that the only other 40/40 my class achieved was in a performance of a play I regularly recommend Gagging For It by Danny Sturrock. Again the marks for this in my classes version of this were really high… deservedly so… and confirms that this is also a play that serves candidates well in exams… though at our school it has been seen more than Shakers and would be the most popular play ever for our students… they are always really surprised to hear that examiners don't know it!
My work is becoming familiar in GCSE exams but this year I was delighted to discover that Too Much Punch for Judy got a special mention in the A/AS level Chief Examiners report:
There were clear examples of exciting and interesting work on a range of texts that included ‘Metamorphosis', ‘The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich', ‘The Crucible', ‘Grimm Tales', ‘The Government Inspector', ‘Blood Wedding', ‘Two', ‘Too Much Punch For Judy', ‘Vinegar Tom', ‘Godspell', ‘Our Country's Good', ‘A Clockwork Orange' and ‘Blood Brothers' amongst many others.
To see the full reports follow this link: http://www.edexcel.org.uk/home and go to the Drama GCSE & GCSE section where you can download a pdf of the reports.
This is not all! I had an email from Mike Fleetwood from Parkside College who had used Graham – World's Fastest Blindman as their A level performance piece. He wanted to let me know how happy he was to have used the play following his discovery of it at one of the workshops I ran for Keynote in Manchester:
Mark, Thought that you like to know that the Yr12 students who performed Graham as part of their AS level did exceptionally well. Overall, they achieved 5 grade A's and 2 grade B's!
Even better than that was the breakdown of the unit marks and for Unit 2 i.e. the performance of 'Graham', they all got grade A's!
Topping that though was the fact that all seven of them not only got the top grade for the performance but they were all awarded 100% for it; 120/120 marks!
It's worth noting that the external moderator was accompanied that evening by her senior examiner also.
I didn't ever need convincing that 'Graham' was an ideal piece to challenge my group and that it ticked all the boxes for A level work, but if I ever needed justification, then the results have certainly given it.
Thanks again for the material and thanks to Graham, such an inspirational person!
Mike Fleetwood
Parkside Arts College
Thanks Mike for keeping me up to date with all of this.
I am convinced that there is benefit to showing examiners plays they have not seen before… so yes please continue to use Too Much Punch For Judy and Hard To Swallow … but also have a look at my other plays… all of the are ideal for GCSE presentation and may well have the thrill factor for your examiner… as all of the others are as yet undiscovered (gems!) that examiners will not have seen. Why not start with Graham – World's Fastest Blindman or The Rise and Fall Of Eed Sud and The Luminous Earwigs… from Thornbury.
By the way… Paul from Westgate… can you let me know how your guys got on with their performance of The Rise and Fall Of Eed Sud and The Luminous Earwigs… from Thornbury in this years exam .
Finally congratulations to all the Year 11's who were involved in our Youth Theatre production. All five achieved 40/40 in their performance examination and an A* overall… 4 out of the five are Oaklands Pupils… the fifth (Anthony Jennings) who played the main role of Shakey in the Youth Theatre production goes to Bitterne Park School… well done to him as well! In fact he is amazing… he got 14 GCSE's all A's or A*'s… makes me blush to think of the few CSE's I collected when I was at school!
Edinburgh Review & Sequinned Suits & Platform Boots… publishing…
We had a great time performing Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots at C Venues in Edinburgh. We had mixed reviews… a dreadful one from the Scotsman which you can see (if you dare) through the Edfringe site Sequinned page:
http://www.edfringe.com/reviews/read.html?id=SEQU
You will also be able to access all the other reviews we got.. including one that was written by www.one4Review.com who came to see what we consider to have been our best performance on the Thursday. And guess what… in the audience on that night on the front row was a lady who sang along and danced in her seat to every song… she was obviously having great fun… afterwards she came and introduced herself to me… she was none other than Jane… my host at the amdram site… it was great to meet you after all this time Jane… and thanks for coming to see the show! Here's the review (given 4 out of 5 stars) from that night… which was also the only performance to be filmed:
Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots, written and directed by Mark Wheeller, has as it's focus the Glam Rock era of British pop music, and I'm afraid to admit it is a period of time I remember only too well.
This is a feel good production from start to finish, the young cast obviously are enjoying this production, as much as their audience, their enthusiasm is almost tangible while performing.
The story told by a narrator, Shakey Threwer, who links the events on stage that tell his life story through this time.
The show has all the ingredients, ambition, unrequited love, slap stick, caricature roles and even a touch of panto, together with funny lines, singing and of course Glam rock music.
The audience I was in consisted of all ages, mums and dads joining along and fairly young kids clapping along to songs they probably never heard before, but caught up with the vibe that is generated.
One has to put this slightly in context, this company is a Youth Theatre and that is certainly the age it was been written for, and has a few rough edges in comparison to older groups. This does not seriously detract from this feel good romp and I can recommend this as one of the best ways to spend an hour during the late afternoon.
http://www.edfringe.com/reviews/read.html?id=BANG
http://www.festivalpreviews.com/previews/show.php?id=97
… and this one for Bang Out :
http://www.festivalpreviews.com/previews/show.php?id=96
Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots s being performed another seven times this month:
http://www.dibbletree.com/node/2314
Good luck to you Betty and your troupe hope it all goes really well!
It is not only a great play for school groups but possibly even better for Amdram (adult) groups who may have members who remember the musical soundtrack!
Two other groups have tentatively booked performances… Seems like this could be a popular play!
It was a great start to the month (of August) to get a phone call from Adi Bloom from the TES who wanted to do an article on the success of my plays at GCSE level. Thanks for that… however it was a shame that it was reported in the way that it was… it led my literary agent to write a letter of complaint to Adi. Sadly this was met with no reply… bad manners in my view… so I will allow you to see the item Adi wrote:
http://www.tes.co.uk/search/story/?story_id=2266466
and I have also with Sophie's permission copied her letter which outlines her (& my) problems with the article… as well as thanking Adi for doing on in the first place:
Dear Adi Bloom
I know Mark has been in touch with you to thank you for your article and coverage of his work in today's TES. It's great to see such a big piece at the start of the paper.
It is therefore regretful that I'm writing to ask you to print some corrections in the next issue of TES.
I know Mark has already written to tell you that it was reported that his play Too Much Punch For Judy has "yet to be performed by a professional company". This is one of Mark's most popular and successful plays and has, in fact been touring professionally for almost twenty years. It is a mistake which may at first seem inconsequential, but it has a large impact on the way Mark's work is viewed by anyone reading the paper. This is worrying as naturally the piece has been written for exactly the community for which Mark's plays are aimed. It not only casts him in a non professional light, but teachers reading the article, who are unfamiliar with the plays, will be mistakenly put off, as rules for the exam state that plays that have not been performed by a professional group cannot be studied. This would be disastrous for Mark and a great shame for all concerned – for the pupils missing out on really valuable material and for Mark as a playwright missing out on recognition and revenue. Incidentally, in Edexcel , one of the criteria for plays allowed to be used in the exam is that they have to have been performed by professionals. There are standards to be maintained and that is one aspect of Edexcel's quality control.
There is also no mention of the fact that Mark has seven other plays which tour professionally and with consistently good results.
I was not there at the interview so don't know whether Mark made the point that the plays were written for Youth Theatres and, as a consequence of their quality, have been taken up by professional groups who have performed them in schools. The circle was then completed when young people watching these professional productions wanted to perform them themselves for their exams. Your piece certainly brings across Mark's popularity and dedication to youth theatre and this point would have added some illustration of the far reaching and organic way he has reached audiences, which would have been of interest to the readership.
The paragraph about Marks' rejection by mainstream publishers is also unfortunate as it was referring to one incident on one submission in 1987. We've never had to approach any publishers since then as his plays have done so well. Unfortunately the way this has been reported (‘consistently rejected') gives a very different view.
We are grateful for the coverage and I don't want you to think I'm being a pedant, but the mistakes are such that it will have a direct effect on Marks livelihood and the way he and his work is viewed.
Therefore, I urge you to please print a correction in the next issue. I know you will it be your wish to portray Mark and his work fairly. Naturally I would be happy to discuss this when you have the earliest opportunity.
With thanks
Yours sincerely, Sophie Gorell Barnes
OYT/006 Auditions.
I will not be auditioning for my next OYT production ( Graham – World's Fastest Blindman) at the start of September as I previously stated.
However there will be some member organised productions happening as part of our ( 006 ) young Directors/Writers scheme which look very exciting.
Stewart Blackmore has recently completed an exciting new play called Through My Eyes which will be cast at our initial meeting on Sunday 17 th September at 6pm in Oaklands Theatre Lordshill (Fairisle Road).
I gather also Michael Johnston who was the award winning actor in Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots may have a new comic play to follow his hugely successful The Slee Pover.
Danny Sturrock may also be casting his new play about internet suicide.
OYT 006 is the group that originally gave life to Gagging For It and is a sub group of OYT who have won awards for every production they have ever entered for Festivals.
I will be doing a series of workshops throughout this term for both new and old OYT members, and from this group I will cast the Graham production in May to show it at the 2007/8 series of Festivals. The workshops will focus on a variety of skills (Musical/writing/audition/improvisation/devising etc.)… and will I hope culminate in some participants being involved in an evening of comedy improvisation with ideas from the audience!
The initial meeting is open to any young person (12 – 20+) in the area wishing to become involved. They do not have to be a student at Oaklands. I look forward to seeing members new and old.
I've just (tonight) had an email from egproducts saying that filming for the performance sections of the Wheellerplays Exemplified dvd has been completed today and has gone exceptionally well. I will be interviewed on film(!) early next month apparently! Exciting!
I will post news of this as soon as it is available tome… but the intention is to have this dvd on release by the mid October if not before!
Here are the details that appear on the egproducts web site:
Wheellerplays Exemplified
EG Products in collaboration with Mark Wheeller, author of 'Hard to Swallow', 'Too Much Punch for Judy', 'Arson About' and 'Dan Nolan: Missing', are preparing the production of a DVD for use by students devising plays for GCSE and AS Levels.
Using extracts from one of the country's most popular authors with Year 11 and Year 12 students, the DVD will illustrate a range of theatre techniques to take students beyond 'kitchen sink' drama.
The extracts will be directed by Tim Ford, the award-winning Director, who has produced and commissioned, plays by Mark Wheeller. Tim is currently the Director of the Young Rep at The Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
The DVD will also feature interviews with Mark about his approach to writing and his use of factual material in his plays.
If you would like to register an interest in the above products, please either email; info@egproducts.co.uk , or write to us at the address below. We will then inform you when the product is available.
EG Products Limited, 14 Leigh Road, Eastleigh, Hampshire SO50 9DE
Pupil Friendly Ways to Improve Performance in GCSE Drama. Mark Wheeller. 7 th November Thistle Hotel London
This intensive, one-day workshop is designed for Key Stage 4 Drama teachers wishing to use a range of practical skills to motivate and encourage students to work independently and create imaginative performance work. The course is also suitable for those teaching in Key Stage 3 to assist with continuity and progression.
The day focuses on Paper 2 of the Edexcel GCSE specification but is equally applicable to any GCSE exam where the candidates are expected to perform.
Course tutor Mark Wheeller will:
On arrival, all delegates will receive a folder containing detailed notes and materials for the day, which will be of immediate practical benefit in the classroom. It will also include a useful resource list for both scripted and devised work.
Programme
Devised– the easy option? Scripted - harder?
A discussion to introduce the day. Weighing up the benefits/problems of both pre-scripted and devised. Successful experiences of both scripted and devised work… the delegate's personal experience.
Structuring devised work. Simple ideas to help students start with more than a blank page.
Texts. An opportunity to work on text extracts offering opportunities to fulfil the criteria and maximise potential to achieve the highest marks across the ability range.
Maximising the experience by cascade learning from the extra curricular work.
Experience from Festivals
Using the criteria, Mark's and delegates own experience to establish how the (often inexpert) teacher can guide through various different performance support skills (e.g. Lighting/set/costume.)
Appropriate and useful documentary evidence for “performance Support students.
Preparing students for the five-minute presentation.
If you are interested to book for this course please phone 01869-338652 or have a look at their courses generally on their web site:
http://www.philipallan.co.uk/content.aspx?page=HOME
Phew!!! That's the end… until next month… now I'm off to prepare the latest editionAugust News Extra:
You may be interested to see a short video promo of SEQUINNED our wonderful technician (Danny Gagging For it and more importantly at the moment Bang Out Of Order) Sturrock has done for Edinburgh:
http://www.bangoutoforder.net/sequinned
You may not be! If so... please ignore.
We're off on Saturday... leaving at 5.30 am... look out for any news of our progress! As for the inaccurate TES article... more on that later in the month... it was good to get a picture feature on page three though!
Mark
Sequinned Suits & Bang Out Of Order at this years Edinburgh (Fringe).
Stop Press: I have just heard (literally… I was writing this news article when the phone rang!) that an article about my plays in general and this trip to Edinburgh specifically is to be printed alongside some colour pictures of the SEQUINNED cast in this Friday’s edition (August 4th) of the Times Educational Supplement. Oaklands is closed… so the cast are popping round to my house to film in the neighbouring streets… I hope it’s not raining!!! We’ve been told the photos MAY be on the front page… I’ll believe that when I see it!!!
My OYT cast tell me it is now nearly three years since we started work on developing Sequinned, and fifty (yes apparently it’s true… fifty!) scripts later… we are now no our way to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe… an idea we discussed in dreamlike terms right at the start!
None of the cast have been before so there is much excitement. I last went (with OYT) to perform LETHAL IN THE BOX which later became NO PLACE FOR A GIRL. We achieved stunning reviews:
Imaginative, exciting, disciplined, tuneful and very funny: Oaklands Youth Theatre’s production of Lethal In The Box is all of these. Sometimes productions that should be given plaudits never come to attention, and such was the case with this exuberant musical by Mark Wheeller and Brian Price. It is more than about football… it is also about growing up, pursuing your talents in the face of adversity, the temptation of teendom, sexual stereotyping, friendship, romance and family life. The ensemble work by this Southampton based company was immaculate and the way in which music, dance, mime and acting were brought together in the production were stunning. The five girl singers were captivating and the main actors, Gary Richards and Kate Noss, who played Sedges parents, brought an extraordinary maturity to their parts.
John Hart: Times Educational Supplement.
I guess if we get anything like as complimentary review for SEQUINNED we’ll be well pleased!
We are travelling with another group from Oaklands (the able Pupil Project) who are presenting another new play BANG OUT OF ORDER. Written by Johnny Carrington & Danny (Gagging For It) Sturrock it deals with anti social behaviour and in its previews has impressed all (including me) who have seen it. For my part I thought the final scene (that of a boy falling off a building) to be one of the finest pieces of staging I have ever seen. For anyone who saw a version of this scene before the July preview you have not seen this new stylistic presentation. It is stunning! It is not only me who has been impressed… it has won numerous awards at the local Drama Festivals gone on to be one of the representatives in the Southern Final of the One Act Festival and been awarded the prestigious national Taking a Stand Award from no lesser body than the Home Office. BANG is being performed at C Venues immediately prior (3.15pm) to SEQUINNED, so if you are planning to come and see SEQUINNED (4.25pm) why not come and see this excellent piece of TIE. It is a script that will soon be available from dbda for schools to use and will make an excellent GCSE text… though obviously not anywhere near as good as SEQUINNED!!!
If you do come and see either of the plays… please make yourself known to me… it would be great to put faces to names who are on my mailing list!
If you would like more information on BANG please see the web site Danny has built with information about it:
Here’s the press release that has just gone out to members of the press from C Venues.
Press Release Edinburgh Festival Fringe June 2006
Oaklands Youth Theatre and Blockbuster Productions Present
SEQUINNED SUITS AND PLATFORM BOOTS
Mark Wheeller’s glam rock tribute play Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots affectionately recalls the glittering 70’s and one teenage boy’s ambition to be Starman. The music of David Bowie, T-Rex, Suzi Quatro, Roxy Music, Slade, Mott the Hoople, The Sweet, Alice Cooper and Mud provides the upbeat nostalgic soundtrack. Already featured on David Bowie’s own website news page, SEQUINED SUITS AND PLATFORM BOOTS is will be embraced by All the Young Dudes!
The fun, flamboyant music and fashion of the 70s are the pulse of SEQUINNED SUITS AND PLATFORM BOOTS. Based on Wheeller’s own youthful admiration of glam groups in British and American musical culture, this is a tale of a young boy’s simultaneous efforts to be a rock star and to woo local girl Lorraine Izoff. The boy, named Shakey Threwer, is guided by a mystical superhero character called The Blockbuster.
‘Quirkily, original, funky and funny… looking at teenage dreams with an excellent portrayal of the animated characters. Set to a soundtrack from the glam rock era, the show is interesting for any music fan, glam rock or not’
Southampton Institute Newspaper
Playwright Mark Wheeller has six plays touring throughout UK schools. Too Much Punch For Judy has been performed 4755 times... quite a record for a contemporary play! Graham – World’s Fastest Blindman was ‘Pick of the Fringe’ under the title Race To Be Seen. Kill Jill was commissioned by and premiered at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 2005.
SEQUINNED SUITS AND PLATFORM BOOTS is a collaboration between Oaklands Youth Theatre and Blockbuster Productions. Oaklands Youth Theatre have performed at both the National Student Drama Festival in Scarborough, and Lloyd’s Bank Theatre Challenge at the Royal National Theatre. The group has toured in the USA (Texas), have performed in France, and have performed twice previously at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. SEQUINNED SUITS AND PLATFORM BOOTS will especially appeal to Young Americans and Children of the Revolution! Bang a gong, Get it On and get a ticket!
Listings information
Venue: C, venue 34, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Dates: Monday 14 to Saturday 19 August 2006
Time: 4.25pm (55mins)
Tickets: £6.50 / concs £5.50
Venue box office: 0870 701 5105 / www.CtheFestival.com
Fringe box office: 0131 226 0000 / www.edfringe.com
Further information available from the C venues press office on 0845 260 1060 / press@cvenues.com
Too Much Punch For Judy Premiere performance in every way.
How amazing to be reporting on a premiere of this play after over 4,500 performances of it… and a premiere that occurred in the UK!
Pepper’s Ghost Theatre Company performing at Madcap Theatre in my old home Milton Keynes presented an adult amateur premiere of this play. It was amazing to see this play I know so well performed by a group who had all the cast members played by people who are the right age for the parts! It worked… it really worked! Someone who I used to teach many years ago at Stantonbury in Milton Keynes… (Gundge… hi Gundge!)… said to me afterwards… I can’t imagine it being performed by students after seeing that. I know what he means. It really added a dimension previously missing in any of the amateur or professional productions I have seen. I have suggested to the group that they enter it for a One Act Play Festival so if you live nearby you may well get the opportunity to see it next year… it is really worth while doing so.
In the script I have suggested using only beer crates… borne out of my Youth Theatre productions never having much of a budget… and me probably not having much idea of set! Well Madcap ignored my advice… and set the play part stylistically and part naturalistically… with Vi (Judy’s Mum) having her own sofa and little bits of furniture. She remained in her front room throughout the play… and it worked a treat. It was as though she was dreaming (or nightmaring) the whole thing. It gave it an added poignancy. I really loved it.
Thanks to Rosemary and the whole cast who have so obviously worked very hard to put on such a fantastic production… and proving my contention that PUNCH can be more than just a play for schools. I’d love to see my plays on the adult amdram circuit… so if any of you are amdram group members please do suggest my plays… SEQUINNED also would be ideal… the forty something's in your group would really love it! In fact lots would as most have adult characters featuring pretty heavily! Let me know if any of you have any ideas!
Sequinned Suits & Platform Boots.
Our performances in Southampton are now over. It went down extraordinarily well… and we got two big audiences… which surprised us as we’ve performed this so often here before. The Southern Evening Echo again reviewed it making us eligible for the 2006 Curtain Call Awards! Here’s what was they thought which was printed on Saturday.
Prior to going to the Edinburgh fringe, this one act play has been streamlined. It still centres round the glam rock era of the 70s, with the arrival of David Bowie and all that represents. Music of the era is featured, along with neat choreography, confident comedy and splendid characterisations. “Sequinned…” seems to be a more entertaining play each time writer/director Mark Wheeller and his cast perform it. All the actors gave more assured, polished performances, from the stereotypical 70s family - parents, Doris and Norman, a rebellious sister, Gilly and the central character of Shakey (old and young) to Charlie Wheeller who is still on song as Blockbuster. Michael Johnston (Dad) displays familiar Dad Dancing with much energy. Originally described as “surreal” and “quirky” this production retains those qualities. Now they are more confident and have improved diction, I believe this young cast and their play deserve to do well in Edinburgh. Cosmic! Jan Foster
We over-ran by three minutes so I have a little re-writing to do to shorten it… and I was still not happy about the ending (after handing the cast a brand new scene 55 minutes prior to the curtain up. Thanks Leon (who had most new lines) for learning the new scene so fast… you even surprised yourself!!! I am consequently going to work on this and then submit whatever the next draft is to Maverick for publication in September… and also use this script to shrink for the GCSE short version.
I thought you may be interested to read what my cast have made of the experience… they’ve all written something for the programme in Edinburgh… here is what they have written pretty much unedited… only some of these comments will appear in the programme.
Anthony Jennings - If you were to step into a book entitled "Glam Rock", your feet would land in the essence of Mark Wheeller's mind - such a book would contain poems of vibrant costumes and footwear, short stories of quirky grin-provoking humour, and some pretty dodgy songs about Monks and Colgate. Working on Sequinned Suits has been no different from reading a book like this; a truly brilliant read, and after more than 50 scripts, a dozen performances, and a soundtrack you couldn’t fit on an ipod, Sequinned Suits has been a catalyst for a pandemic... Mark Wheeller's passion spreading into the entire cast. Every person, rehearsal and joke has been a page in this book which is now all of our lives, and every page I have turned since has bought with it lessons that can be neither taught nor forgotten.
Michael Johnston: As the oldest member of the cast (24) I have got see or be involved in a great deal of plays written by Mark Wheeller and I can honestly say that there has never been a play by Mark with more platform boots in it. Other plays may have had platform boots in them and maybe a few, written by other people, have had more. This play also has some sequinned suits in it but not as many (its not just a title). So if you want to see a play with people walking round in platform boots (and some of them wearing sequinned suits) then this is for you! I think some other interesting things might happen during the play but I haven’t really been paying attention. GO SEQUINNED SUITS and PLATFORM BOOTS!!!!!!!!!!!
Simon Froud: I began in this play because I was dragged into it!! I mean I got a phone call from a strange man “Mark”! Asking me to be in the best, funniest and most colourful play ever! This is the best play ever made by man.
Charlotte Webb: Many of the characters I’ve played have been disposed of…and even bought back. The script, people and music will always remain in my heart!! Everybody in this play is fantastic and I wish them luck and hope they do well in whatever they decide to do in the future!
Charlotte Wells: Sequinned has been a journey that has just kept getting better! I feel privileged to have been involved with this production from the start as I have seen it grow and develop into something spectacular. It will be very sad when we stop performing this production but I have so many wonderful memories…and friendships to take with me. I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of something this great!
Paul Wort: I started this play by doing sound for the previous play ‘’Ziggy’s Band’’. After that I remember Mark asking me to play the part of John Derwood. This was hard for me because I didn’t feel I was as good as the previous actor. I have many wonderful memories… and friendships to take with me. P.s. Thank you to all the cast for telling me how to get better at acting.
Leon Humphreys: Starting when Mark originally writing “Ziggy’s Band” the production has had a number of changes, some of which I have enjoyed, some not so much. Everyone is so enthusiastic, dedicated and reliable, which contributes massively… Edinburgh is an achievement to be proud of.
Michael Mears aka Mearso: Right, the first thing I remember about being a member of the cast, was when Mark first introduced me to the rest of OYT. He said ‘hello right this is Michael, and he’s dyslexic’ very embarrassing I know. My time spent with OYT will always mean a lot to me, as I have had loads of great laughs with some really good friends.
Gemma Aked-Priestley When Mark Wheeller asked me last year to join OYT I was pleasantly surprised but agreed to come along ,and now have come to realise it was one of the best decisions of my life. There’s no words to describe how Youth Theatre changes you a few ways how it has affected me are: it has made me a better person ;I’ve become more passionate about theatre, developed better people skills and have learnt more about myself and what I’d like to do with my life. I have even begun to like the music… ‘Cum On Feel the Noize’ and ‘’20th Century Boy’’, in fact it’s all pretty great I’ve even downloaded a few tracks. Being in this play has taught me about the 70’s era, and I can honestly say it’s THE best way to learn history!!!!
Charlotte Bath I first started sequined 2 years ago, I was eating my roast dinner on a Sunday and Mark rang me and summoned me to youth theatre!!!! Being in sequined has been such a laugh I’ve learned how to walk in platforms!!! I have also come to like 70’s music and I never thought I’d say that! The best songs in sequined are Can the Can which I sing round the house all the time. And Slade Come Feel the Noise is a tune I even downloaded it.
George Mattack Playing Gilly for the last 3 years has been an AMAZING experience!! There is nothing else in the world I would prefer to spend my time doing…..the shoes are an added bonus!!
Alex Chalk When Mark first told me that he’d like me to work with him on a new play about the 70’s, I was flattered. He then explained the story line and then I became scared. Doing a production that revolves around such a strange era is a very daunting prospect. I’ve always thought that the 70’s had been exaggerated drastically by our parents to make us feel so much more privileged to be growing up in the 90’s! Unfortunately, I know that all the stories about the wacky hair and bright clothes were true. On an even more unfortunate note, I’ve found myself listening to music from our play in my spare time. (Bowie mainly. Crazy huh?) I love the life in the 21st century but, after 2 years of working on SS&PP, I think I would prefer to live in the 70’s. (I can’t believe I just said that!)
Charlie Wheeller- Being part of a Youth Theatre is amazing, with a group who want to act feels so great. In this play I enter with a “cosmic” dance. I have developed a passion for Drama, mainly through my upbringing and Youth Theatre, and now I want become an actor when I grow up. Because of my involvement in Youth Theatre I feel I have an unfair advantage in front of everyone else, but who’s complaining!?
Stewart Blackmore: This youth theatre thing is relatively new to me, its never easy being the new boy. But I was soon drawn in, captivated even, by the whole seventies glam rock thing.
Chantelle Ridout: I have only been part of OYT for a few months and I am now very proud to be part of something so special!!! Sequined Suits has encouraged me to take drama further in my life! Thank you to the entire cast for giving me so much confidence by being such supportive and friendly people!
“Pounding to 1970’s rock this show is another success for Oaklands with a uniformly excellent cast. Soon to be performed at the Edinburgh Festival (Fringe), Southampton can take civic pride in being so superbly represented.”
Barbara Godwin Southern Evening Echo.
Inspired by Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch, Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots is part autobiographical, part fictional and recalls the glittering Glam Rock Years of the 70’s… Bolan, Bowie, (dare we mention Gary Glitter?), Sweet, Slade and every teenage boy’s fantasy Suzi Quatro!
Shakey Threwer recalls everything; his parents buying him his first Dansette record player; his first single (Banner Man by Blue Mink); his first album, The Rise and Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars; his first gig (Roxy Music); his own efforts to take the music industry by storm with his group Eed Sud and the Luminous Earwigs from Thornbury and his own Rock Opera, Monkey's Revolt (about a monk with halitosis!!!). Moreover he remembers his unrequited love for Lorraine. So… will Shakey win his girl? Will he become an international superstar? The final scene is fantastically surreal... but will everything end happily?
Oh and one more question… who exactly is The Blockbuster?
Originally written as a highly successful Two Act tribute to David Bowie (Ziggy’s Band) the story now incorporates more music from this colourful era. It is a show adults will really enjoy!
OYT have been selected to perform at the prestigious C Venues at this years Edinburgh Festival Fringe (August 14-20). The play is also to be published by Maverick Musicals in Australia for schools to use worldwide in September 2006.
"Funky, funny and factual I thought the play was brilliant… interesting for any music fan, glam rock or not… but be warned, it will have you coming away cringing at your own memories of singing into a hairbrush whilst staring at your reflection in the mirror."
Craig Morrison Southampton Institute Newspaper 2005 Ziggy’s Band
A must see show for all music fans… especially Glam Rockers!
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Sequinned Suits & Platform Boots.
We now know that Blockbuster productions with Oaklands Youth Theatre will be performing this at the prestigious C Venues during Week 2 (14th – 19th August) of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 16:20 hrs. The performance (re-written yet again!) runs for 55 minutes and tickets are £ 6.50 (Concessions£ 5.50) Preparations are going really well and we will have one further performance at Oaklands Community School Theatre, Southampton on Thursday July 6th. Tickets for that performance will be £2.50!
I was delighted that some of my students so enjoyed the YT performance that they chose to present a shortened version (that they edited!!!) for their final GCSE exam. I will report in the summer how well they did (maybe!)… as it went down really well with our school audiences and proved beyond doubt that it makes a very uplifting GCSE play as well as being a great school production.
I also heard from my colleague (who is an examiner) that another local school presented a version I had written last year called The Rise and Fall of Eed Sud and the Luminous Earwigs from Thornbury (which was a GCSE version written for the publisher who pulled out). In September Maverick will be publishing SEQUINNED… I have yet to talk to them about a GCSE shortened version… but in the light of this will do so. If the school who [presented the GCSE version could let me know how they felt it went this could be useful ammunition for me to send to the publishers… so please do get in touch letting me know how it went down… was it Paul at Westgate?
I had a wonderful email from Mike Fleetwood who’s school have recently presented this (my fave) play. With his permission I have copied the email onto my news page… I think it captures well the power of the play for both performers and audience.
Hi Mark
We've just about recovered from performing 'Graham' and I've got to say that (no bias of course) that it went down very well. My Yr12 students did it as part of their AS level and I'm sure that they will all reap their respective rewards!
We followed your advice and kept to a minimalist production, preferring to let words and actions stimulate and enhance the audience's imaginations; we also used aspects of physical theatre and multi-use of props to add to the visual stimulation.
One of the things that I'm very proud of was the group's response to the play; initially it was one of interest and admiration for Graham and Marie but that evolved into a desire to not just tell Graham's story but to celebrate his life! - We chose to wear t-shirts with a photo on the front of Graham in action, bursting out of the starting blocks with his name printed underneath and on the back were the words 'Story Book Man' (Ed my nick-name for Graham). At the end when the cast received their deserved applause they also made a point of gesturing to a projected picture of Graham and Marie; spontaneously, the audience recognised the fact that here indeed were two people who also should be recognised and warmly resumed the applause.
A colleague and her husband who is suffering from cancer came to the performance; it was the first time that he had been out the house since undergoing his prolonged chemo treatment. I did inform them beforehand of the content of the play as I was concerned that it might be a little close to home. They both found the story inspirational, tremendously uplifting; 'It put my own problems into a different light.'
The students were elated at the end and for the most part enjoyed being a part of the project.
Thanks for the material!
Thanks Mike… it’s always really good to get a detailed response from those who perform my plays.
It is with great sadness that I report the death of Chris Caten who many of my newsreaders will know as the policeman who called to the scene of the car accident, which was later dramatised in my Too Much Punch For Judy.
Chris had been battling with cancer and died in St Clare hospice. My sincere condolences go to his family… his daughter I remember attended St John’s School In Epping (I think) while I was a teacher there… though I don’t think she opted for Drama.
Without Chris Too Much Punch For Judy would never have been. It was he who introduced me to “Judy” and supported me in many of the interviews I did. His support did not stop there. I remember during our rehearsals for the very first performances we were having problems staging the scene where he broke the news of Jo’s death to Judy. We couldn’t figure out how to stage it… to have him standing… sitting kneeling or what… and how much physical contact would he have had with Judy given that he was a family friend? The conundrum was resolved by Chris, who came to our rehearsal and improvised the scene with our “Judy” (Kim Baker… where are you Kim?). He knelt by her side (she in a wheel chair) and held her hand tenderly… an illustration of policing at it’s very best! I know when we went on to perform the play the Essex Police were really proud of the way in which Chris had dealt with the situation… and saw that scene as a role model scene for all the police force to admire and learn from.
Following the interviews I remember getting together with Chris and whoever he was meant to be talking to in the scene and going through each of the scenes I had “written” to ensure that it was as close to the truth as the joint memories would allow. I think the thoroughness of the research really shines through in that play… my obsessive tendencies for once being put to good use! The scene that Chris improvised with Kim was also amazing as he did it using pretty much the words that appeared in the script meaning that Kim could use the words in the script… it was an amazing moment… with all the different layers of truth merging with the “drama”.
Of course Too Much Punch was but a small part of Chris’s life (though I got the impression he was very proud of his association with it), he was a much loved village bobby of the old school in the village of North Weald that he served with a passion and commitment that was second to none. He received the John Hunt Award (a national award sponsored by magistrates) for his outstanding work with youth in 1986 (about the time of the creation of Punch incidentally) and was awarded with Epping Forests Council’s Community Police Medal for services to the public, the District’s Road Safety Trophy for his work in Primary Schools and the Essex Police Long Service and Good Conduct medal. He also, reportedly, had one of the best collections of matchboxes ever seen!
I know friends, family and local community will sorely miss Chris. Not only that… but his old fashioned style of community policing should remain as his legacy… hopefully that shines through in Too Much Punch For Judy.
Bye-bye and thank you Chris.
I will be thinking of Chris this Friday (9th June) when I visit (my old stomping ground) Milton Keynes to see Peppers Ghost production (Adult amateur premiere!!!) of this play at Madcap Theatre in Wolverton.
http://www.madcap.org.uk/
The Most Absurd Xmas Promenade Musical in the World… Ever!!!
We have just had a review of our (Oaklands Youth Theatre) performance of this Musical published in the Noda magazine. I have copied it in full here… really pleased!
This enjoyable evening was about fairytales, goodies and baddies. As the title portrays it was set as a promenade event with lots of audience involvement and participation. The comedy aspect of the two double agents Double O Slow on the Uptake and Double O Stupid gave an excellent performance especially the young Charlie Farley Wheeller who was Slow on the Uptake!!! The Witch, Fliss Bell, gave an outstanding performance and got lots of boo’s. The whole show got everybody going away in the Christmas mood.
Barbara Fairclough Noda Youth Adviser
Also really pleased to say that this is being performed as a summer production… at Teignmouth Community College in Devon on the 19th July. Good luck to them performing this at this absurd time!!! Excellent!
Rehearsals are well on their way with youngsters from the Birmingham Rep who are to appear in the forthcoming dvd Wheellerplays Exemplified and I understand that I will be interviewed on camera (whoo!!!) later this summer. Further details (I’ve copied the details pertaining to this dvd below) are available on the excellent eg products web site:
http://www.egproducts.co.uk/comingsoon.html
EG Products in collaboration with Mark Wheeller, author of 'Hard to Swallow', 'Too Much Punch for Judy', 'Arson About' and 'Dan Nolan: Missing', are preparing the production of a DVD for use by students devising plays for GCSE and AS Levels.
Using extracts from one of the country's most popular authors with Year 11 and Year 12 students, the DVD will illustrate a range of theatre techniques to take students beyond 'kitchen sink' drama.
The extracts will be directed by Tim Ford, the award-winning Director, who has produced and commissioned plays by Mark Wheeller. Tim is currently the Director of the Young Rep at The Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
The DVD will also feature interviews with Mark about his approach to writing and his use of factual material in his plays.
If you would like to register an interest in the above products, please either email; info@egproducts.co.uk, or write to us at the address below. We will then inform you when the product is available.
EG Products Limited
14 Leigh Road
Eastleigh
Hampshire
SO50 9DE
Hi everyone… and sorry this months newsletter is a little late… I have been waiting until we completed our performances of Sequinned at the Totton One Act Play Festival. Meanwhile Arson About has stormed to the top of my chart, largely due to the fabulous work of StopWatch Theatre Company who can hardly keep up with the demand they are getting for the TIE version of this play… fantastic and thanks Adrian for making it such a success so early in it's life!!!
Anyway on with the news which will kick off with a report from the Totton Drama Festival:
Sequinned Suits And Platform Boots.
At the Totton Drama Festival this play proved a tremendous success and the cast were well rewarded by well-deserved nominations and awards! We were recalled to entertain all the companies on the final evening, which was fantastic as we had a large 40 something audience who really appreciated all the jokes and recognised the 70's references proving it works for both a student audience and an adult one. It bodes very well for our proposed Edinburgh run and shows it will be a fab play for a mixed age amdram group to tackle!
Now to the awards and nominations… we did amazingly!
Adjudicators Award
Charlie Wheeller (my son!) playing The Blockbuster.
Charlie was given this award for what the adjudicator described as the top theatrical “moment” in the whole Festival. It is the moment where the Blockbuster first appears through a trap door to the sirens of the famous Sweet hit. The Blockbuster is a glam rock superhero figure who arrives to “sort” the central characters problems out. Whenever he has performed it at our own venue he is greeted by much clapping and even screams of delight so it is an award that is thoroughly consistent with how he's been received in all the trials. The adjudicator said that the he epitomized the spirit of Glam rock perfectly… or words to that effect. Fantastic Charlie, really well done… you had to beat off some pretty stiff competition too!
Charlie agrees with me when I say that part of this award should go to our amazing costumes and make-up artist Kat Chivers who has made an outstanding visualization of the character… I will try to post some pictures once I have them back from the photographer.
Best Adult Supporting Actor
Michael Johnston playing Norman Threwer.
Michael's portrayal of this comic role owes a lot to John Cleese, one of my favourite TV actors of all time. Our Youth Theatre has had adults in it before (anyone over the age of 18) but have never scooped this award. It was a surprise only in that the standard of the opposition is normally incredible… Mike's performance is and has always been outstanding… he has made the part his own! Fantastic!
Best Supporting Adult Youth Actor
Although we didn't win this award we received four nominations!
Simon Froud ( Billy Porter ) & Michael Mears ( Buddy Meecher ), a comic duo who are also members of the band The Luminous Earwigs! These two have brought these parts to life showing some fantastic team work and great imagination. They really have made my mundane direction look pretty good!!! Well done and thanks!
Charlotte Webb ( Hyacinth Derwood ). This is an incredibly small part but Charlotte made it her own and achieved laughs whenever she came on. In fact it was created purely to accommodate Charlotte in the cast… as her other part had been cut… it is an addition (in a play I was desperate to cut) that I am now really pleased to have added… not often good at writing comedy (I don't feel) but Hyacinth certainly adds to the whole script!
Georgina Mattack , who you may remember received a nomination for her portrayal of Gilly (pronounced Jilly initially and then Gully as in Weird and Gilly following the appearance in her life of Ziggy Stardust's Spiders from Mars!). George has really made this part her own and is one of the only survivors in the same role (along with Charlie) from the original Ziggy's Band production! Well done for sticking it out… your perseverance is clearly paying off!
Best Youth Actor
Again we didn't win this award but received an important nomination:
Anthony Jennings (Shakey Threwer) Anthony is the central character in the play and has developed an amazingly animated way of presenting him… with lots of over the top reactions. Anthony was you may well remember nominated for the Best Actor award in the Southern Evening Echo Mini Oscars Curtain Call Awards. A fantastic replacement for Ziggy's Band “Shakey”, Adam Sanders who was truly a hard act to follow!
Best Youth Actress
Again we didn't win this award but received an important nomination:
Charlotte Bath ( Lorraine Izoff)
Charlotte stepped up to take on this role when the play became SEQUINNED SUITS… she had very little stage experience at the time and was in my opinion a risk in this role. It was a gamble that has really paid dividends… Charlotte is a wonderful Lorraine… and has grown in the part way beyond my expectations… cosmic work Charlotte!
Best Director
Again we didn't win this award but received an important (to me!) nomination:
Mark Wheeller … yes me!
As is becoming ever more frequent… I am being overshadowed by my son… but one day… maybe I will catch him up… overtake him… no chance… he'll never let that happen!
This may only be a local (Totton) Drama Festival… but try explaining that to any of us… it always feels like the Oscars to me! Believe me these awards and nominations are highly prized by all of us… so thanks to the excellent adjudicator Jeannie Russell for her glowing, detailed and positive adjudications and her decision to nominate and award us so frequently. The whole experience has been inspiring to us all to go on and improve… we know we can… and will… watch out for this show when it reaches Edinburgh!
Prior to this Festival we performed it again on the 14 th at our Oaklands Theatre in preparation for two competitive One Act Play Festivals. It played to a packed audience (which surprised me) as we have shown it at Oaklands 8 times previously! They really liked it (again) and the review from Curtain call was really complimentary.
Described as surreal and quirky in a review of the original show this much-condensed version of Mark Wheeller's tribute to glam rock has the same qualities. It takes the form of a one-act play charting fictionalised music fan Shakey Threwer's look back at his teenage years when he tired to make an impact on the 1970's with his concept album.
Young Shakey again played by Anthony Jennings with camp pizzazz. Parents Doris and Norman and Shakey's sister, Gilly, create an authentic 1980's family. A delightful Blockbuster was played again by Charlie Wheeller – a credit here for Kat Chivers who created a bizarre rock and roll face.
With music from the 1970's and earlier woven into the background there were plenty of handclapping tempos to entertain both young and older members of the audience. A shame there was distorted sound at the start but if Oaklands can over come this I believe that SEQUINNED SUITS performed at the Edinburgh Festival will be, well, cosmic!
Jan Foster: Southern Evening Echo: Curtain Call.
This new version of Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots will also be shown on Tuesday 6 th April. At The New Forest Drama Festival.
I was also delighted to secure some sponsorship for the production from Cool Gales Hifi specialist. You MUST check out their web site… MUST!
We were pleased to welcome Ivan Kursar from Cool Gales to see the production. My involvement in this has inspired me to look out my old record collection and re-discover the joys of vinyl.
I approached Cool Gales and they have now sold me a new turntable to plays my records on. I'm at the point now where I'm replacing some of my cd's with the old vinyl versions… I forgot how good and how beautiful they are! I forgot how wonderful the full sized covers were… and lyrics on the inner sleeve that are big enough to read!
I told Ivan about our production and he wanted to become involved. Cool Gales are planning to pay for our leaflets in Edinburgh. Please have a look at the Cool Gales Web site and see the amazing range of attractive turntables (many not available on the High street) they have on offer there. They are beautiful artefacts as well as being an addition to any level of your hifi interest… ranging from about £100 to well over £10,000… Well worth looking at:
If you are interested in an advance copy of the script… please contact me at mark_wheeller@yahoo.co.uk and if you can pay by paypal I will send you a photocopy free version on receipt of a paypal payment of £30.
Missing Dan Nolan.
Finally this has received its professional debut! See http://www.queens-theatre.co.uk/education/tie/missingdannolan2006.htm for more details.
I went to see it at a school in Romford and was bowled over by the production. It was outstanding! Utterly outstanding! It is clearly carrying the messages that Dan's family wanted it to carry to more and more schools.
It was very interesting to see a professional interpretation of what I had written especially as no one from the group had seen how we'd done it here in Southampton. It added much to our production which I have always thought would be THE production. It remains my favourite of my plays… along with GRAHAM which is one of the few plays I have written not to have been performed professionally… so someone out there please do consider that one too!!!
Pauline was delighted that the tour is happening… it is something we wanted to happen much earlier when the search was really active… she has said that she would like to come with me to see it when it goes out on tour in October. If you are a teacher in a school near to Hornchurch it may be worth booking… also it is a great play for teachers to use fro Unit 2 of the Edexcel GCSE exam… we do it at our school… students relate so well to the central characters and the dilemma Thom faces… because they are the same age as the real lads involved.
Kill Jill to be published!
I am very pleased to be saying this… and moreover dbda are adding it to their rostra. No contracts are signed et… but I feel confident in announcing this on my web site as in the various re-prints of my plays publicity materials relating to KJ will appear. The idea is that I will work on it with my youth Theatre group… so that I can have the experience of working with it in performance and then will have it ready for publication early in 2007.
The Most Absurd Xmas Promenade Musical in the World… Ever!!!
I was really pleased to hear this month that this has been done promenade style by a group other than ourselves and it has gone down a treat… I am including this email I have from the Drama teacher at the school:
Mark
Some of the kids are still hyper but most on their way down to that after-show flat feeling you get post-adrenalin. They were superb and I think you would have been immensely pleased with how they put everything they had into your play. We did it "Promenade" and it worked so well. It was a first for our audiences and they all were so very complimentary and enjoyed the experience. Several of them, including our head teacher, remarked that their faces ached as they cried with laughter throughout the play. "Brilliant", "...so funny...", "..great music..." were just some of the comments made. We all had a great time doing it (by the way, Witch entered riding an electric powered scooter - couldn't do the fork-lift truck!) so thanks, Mark, to you and your team for giving us this musical. Cheers!
http://www.northfield.stockton.sch.uk/
What a wonderful response… thanks Mike.
Amazon ordering… problems being resolved.
Various people have told me of problems they have had with ordering my books from Amazon… and others have told me that their bookshops tell them they are out of print. Dbda told me a while ago that these problems have been identified and they are looking into resolving them… meanwhile I suggest it is lots faster to order direct from dbda (0870 333 7771) and if you are ordering from SchoolPlay http://www.schoolplayproductions.co.uk/schoolplay.htm
you will now find that you can order (& pay) from their site at a click of a button. Both publishers are in my experience very fast in dispatching the books.
Sequinned Suits And Platform Boots.
The new version of Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots will be shown on Tuesday 14 th March. 7.30pm at the Oaklands Theatre in Southampton.
It will then be presented later that week at the Totton Drama Festival (Hangar Farm Arts Centre)… date tbc.
Finally in this round of performances it will be shown at the New Forest Drama Festival on 6 th April.
I can't believe how much it's changed/improved/progressed since the first performances. Performing this so often has allowed me to take a really close look at the whole piece and make improvements that any writer working alone could never do. The cast can't get over how often it changes and get some insight into how long it actually takes to complete a play… I am often asked that question and find it is so difficult to answer… it takes forever!!!
Here's the details from the publicity leaflet due to go out in the near future.
Sequinned Suits and Platform Boots is a lively tribute to the 1970's Glam Rock years. It charts the teenage years of Shakey Threwer, a fictionalised music fan who is keen to make an impact on the 70's Music industry with his own concept album. Originally written as a hugely successful Two Act tribute to David Bowie ( Ziggy's Band ) the idea now incorporates a wider range of music from this colourful era. It has been honed to become a tight One Act Play, which will soon be published for schools across the UK (and beyond) to perform.
Sequinned Suits And Platform Boots is a vibrant new Youth show parents (and grandparents) will really enjoy! OYT are presenting it at various local Festivals and then take it on to the Edinburgh Festival in 2006.
Surreal and quirky humour sets the style of this thoroughly original tribute to David Bowie. It is proposed to perform Ziggy's Band at the Edinburgh Festival (Fringe), and Southampton can take civic pride in being so superbly represented."
Barbara Godwin : Southern Evening Echo Ziggy's Band
"Funky, funny and factual I thought the play was brilliant… interesting for any music fan, glam rock or not… but be warned, it will have you coming away cringing at your own memories of singing into a hairbrush whilst staring at your reflection in the mirror. "
Craig Morrison Southampton Institute Newspaper 2005 Ziggy's Band
A must see show for all music fans… especially Glam Rockers!
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All tickets: £2.50.
Professional touring productions
A reminder that Missing Dan Nolan is going out on tour very soon… here's the link to the page about MISSING.
http://www.queens-theatre.co.uk/education/tie/missingdannolan2006.htm
It joins five other plays of mine that are currently out and about on tour.
Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road (2 tours of 10 weeks each) for tour dates follow this link:
http://www.stopwatchtheatre.com/chicken/moreInfo.htm
http://www.stopwatchtheatre.com/arson/moreInfo.htm
Legal Weapon (this is the final tour of Legal Weapon I. In September the new improved Legal Weapon II will go out on the road.) For more details follow this link:
http://www.apetheatrecompany.com/legal.htm
Too Much Punch For Judy (as many of you will know this is one of the most performed contemporary plays in the world… at the end of this tour it will have been performed 4705 times! Chicken is fast catching up having now been performed 4258 times although it is four years younger) For more details on this show follow this link:
http://www.apetheatrecompany.com/punch.htm
The Gate Escape (featuring Alex Chalk who will play (possibly his last role for Oaklands Youth Theatre) Older Shakey in some of our performances of Sequinned at Edinburgh). For more details of this show please follow this link:
http://www.solentpeoplestheatre.com/index.asp?upid=44&msid=20
Happy New Year!
Also Happy Birthday to David Bowie… who's birthday it is today (8/1/06)… I'm listening to Hunky Dory in honour of this event as I work more to improve SEQUINNED SUITS. There should soon be news about that… as it will, after all be published (not by the folk who said they would originally but another company whose word I can trust… but more on this later once all is signed and sealed!!!)… hopefully in September! Yes!
Missing Dan Nolan
I am so pleased to report that my favourite of my plays Missing Dan Nolan has been “picked up” by a professional TIE company and is to tour schools starting next month. It is my understanding that initially it will happen in the region surrounding the Theatre BUT that it could go further a field if there is any interest. It may be worth contacting the Education team if you are interested.
Here's the link to the page about MISSING.
http://www.queens-theatre.co.uk/education/tie/missingdannolan2006.htm
The Most Absurd Xmas In The World… Ever!
Following the two performances if this last month… Northfields School & Sports College, Thames Road, Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees are presenting it on 14-16 th Feb. I'll be really interested to hear how it goes if someone can let me know! Good luck to you all!
And Finally…
Good luck to Alex Chalk who begins his professional career in acting by performing in THE GATE ESCAPE… guess where… Oaklands Community School. He is play8ing Chalkie who ironically was named after him. I thought it was a good name for someone who bunked… even though (for the most part and certainly in Drama) Alex was excellent at school!
If you live in the South Of England you may get to see the performance… I think they are on tour for five or six weeks. Have a great time.
Good luck also to the members of Stopwatch who are touring CHICKEN and ARSON and APE who are touring TOO MUCH PUNCH and LEGAL WEAPON (II - well I think they are….News
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