Descriptive
Draft 2
Its Sunday the sixth of December seven twenty five pm, palms are sweating, hearts are racing. It was five minutes before the dress run of our Christmas show Pinocchio. Back stage was manic, people where pacing with nerves, children running round with excitement, teachers getting stressed trying to calm down over excited children and teenagers.
Finally we hear the all so familiar bing bing bong of the over head announcer, we get the call we had all been waiting for, beginners. A sudden silence sweeps the room. Interrupted by the voice informing us to make sure we have our entire group together and to check that we all have the correct costume on. A burst of energy renters the room as people rush off to gather members of their group. Once everyone is assembled in their groups wearing the correct costume. Which for our group is rolled up skinny jeans, with white socks, tucked in white polo shirt, brown waste coat and a neck chief. Our costume and style of our character group is based on the eighties pop group Madness. Once costumes have been checked and all groups have assembled, we start to head down to our starting positions back stage. Waiting quietly backstage we anxiously wait for our queue from the band. Waiting ready so we can enter and perform what we had been rehearsing for a month prier to this. All standing still, alert with anticipation we hear our queue. Finally we burst energetically onto stage, ready to perform our part of the story in this years Christmas show Pinocchio.
Tuesday 5 January 2010
Academic
Draft 3
A recent uproar was sparked when a comment was publicly made by a member of the British National Party (BNP) on the BNP website. A debate struck on the BNP website after serious allegations where made towards ChickenShed theatre, about them handing out visas to foreign students without going through proper procedures. [1] Despite this being false information the BNP got hold of this, which initiated a heated debate on the BNP websites chat room. [1] Leading one individual into a rant about immigration, and also commenting on ChickenShed Theatre Company saying “And ChickenShed Theatre are running a black Pinocchio for Christmas!” Insinuating that having a black actor play the part of Pinocchio in this years Christmas show, to be some sort of joke. This comment left me asking the question, is this just prejudice racism? Or does the colour of Pinocchio’s skin affect the shows performance or the audience’s interpretation of the story?
Putting my own views and thoughts on the matter to one side, I tried to see why people would think any different to my own views. Whilst researching racism in the theatre, I came across a very interesting article written by Ruth Rendell a reporter for the BBC. [2] In the article it states that 88% of black performers in the England are subjected to some form of racist abuse. The one conclusion that I came to was people don’t like to see something they already know interpreted differently. For instance certain people don’t like seeing afro-Caribbean actors playing characters traditionally intended for white actors. I believe that in some people’s cases, that they have seen a version of Pinocchio, for example Walt Disney’s, and believe that every Pinocchio should be interpreted exactly the same.
However my opinion on the matter is that having a black Pinocchio instead of a white Pinocchio does not affect the performance in any way. The story of Pinocchio is however an Italian story, does this mean that every version of Pinocchio should be played by an Italian actor? In my professional opinion this is a ludicrous way in thinking. If we do not alter and interpret things differently to others, how will we ever create unique and enervative theatre? I believe the performance quality is due to the actor and not the colour of the actor’s skin. ChickenShed interpretation of the story is different to Walt Disney’s as well as the colour of the puppet, yet why did this not spark a debate? Leading me to the conclusion, in my opinion, that the issue of Pinocchio being played by a black actor instead of the traditional white actor, was a truly racist and prejudice way in thinking.
ChickenShed Theatre is known for their work in inclusion. As well as integrating people’s different abilities, this also goes for integrating race and religion. No one is excluded from performing at ChickenShed Theatre, especially not for their colour of their skin. In conclusion I finish off with the vision and values of ChickenShed, in hope that people with these prejudice views will one day broaden their way in thinking:
“Our Inclusive creative process values all our members as equals. It’s the way we run our theatre company, our youth workshops, our outreach programs and our education programmes. And one day that will be the way the world thinks. That’s our vision.” ChickenShed. [3]
[1] British nation party website article and comments made by members December 2009 http://66.102.9.132/search?q=cache:_-ct4KuqBdwJ:bnp.org.uk/2009/12/government%E2%80%99s-own-immigration-advisor-warns-that-%E2%80%9Cpoints-based-immigration%E2%80%9D-is-a-hoax/+bnp+professer+metcalf&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk
[2] BBC news article by Ruth Rendell 31st October 2002 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2380493.stm
[3] ChickenShed Theatre company Website http://www.chickenshed.org.uk/about/main
Other source
Letter from Paul Morrall director of outreach and education, addressed to Professor Metcalf.
Draft 3
A recent uproar was sparked when a comment was publicly made by a member of the British National Party (BNP) on the BNP website. A debate struck on the BNP website after serious allegations where made towards ChickenShed theatre, about them handing out visas to foreign students without going through proper procedures. [1] Despite this being false information the BNP got hold of this, which initiated a heated debate on the BNP websites chat room. [1] Leading one individual into a rant about immigration, and also commenting on ChickenShed Theatre Company saying “And ChickenShed Theatre are running a black Pinocchio for Christmas!” Insinuating that having a black actor play the part of Pinocchio in this years Christmas show, to be some sort of joke. This comment left me asking the question, is this just prejudice racism? Or does the colour of Pinocchio’s skin affect the shows performance or the audience’s interpretation of the story?
Putting my own views and thoughts on the matter to one side, I tried to see why people would think any different to my own views. Whilst researching racism in the theatre, I came across a very interesting article written by Ruth Rendell a reporter for the BBC. [2] In the article it states that 88% of black performers in the England are subjected to some form of racist abuse. The one conclusion that I came to was people don’t like to see something they already know interpreted differently. For instance certain people don’t like seeing afro-Caribbean actors playing characters traditionally intended for white actors. I believe that in some people’s cases, that they have seen a version of Pinocchio, for example Walt Disney’s, and believe that every Pinocchio should be interpreted exactly the same.
However my opinion on the matter is that having a black Pinocchio instead of a white Pinocchio does not affect the performance in any way. The story of Pinocchio is however an Italian story, does this mean that every version of Pinocchio should be played by an Italian actor? In my professional opinion this is a ludicrous way in thinking. If we do not alter and interpret things differently to others, how will we ever create unique and enervative theatre? I believe the performance quality is due to the actor and not the colour of the actor’s skin. ChickenShed interpretation of the story is different to Walt Disney’s as well as the colour of the puppet, yet why did this not spark a debate? Leading me to the conclusion, in my opinion, that the issue of Pinocchio being played by a black actor instead of the traditional white actor, was a truly racist and prejudice way in thinking.
ChickenShed Theatre is known for their work in inclusion. As well as integrating people’s different abilities, this also goes for integrating race and religion. No one is excluded from performing at ChickenShed Theatre, especially not for their colour of their skin. In conclusion I finish off with the vision and values of ChickenShed, in hope that people with these prejudice views will one day broaden their way in thinking:
“Our Inclusive creative process values all our members as equals. It’s the way we run our theatre company, our youth workshops, our outreach programs and our education programmes. And one day that will be the way the world thinks. That’s our vision.” ChickenShed. [3]
[1] British nation party website article and comments made by members December 2009 http://66.102.9.132/search?q=cache:_-ct4KuqBdwJ:bnp.org.uk/2009/12/government%E2%80%99s-own-immigration-advisor-warns-that-%E2%80%9Cpoints-based-immigration%E2%80%9D-is-a-hoax/+bnp+professer+metcalf&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk
[2] BBC news article by Ruth Rendell 31st October 2002 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2380493.stm
[3] ChickenShed Theatre company Website http://www.chickenshed.org.uk/about/main
Other source
Letter from Paul Morrall director of outreach and education, addressed to Professor Metcalf.
Marketing
Draft 3
Don’t miss out this Christmas!
Come see our most amazing Christmas show yet. PINOCCHIO is this years Chickenshed production. Pinocchio is running from December 9th through till January 16th at Chickenshed theatre Southgate.
A fun filled family show, packed with signing puppets, a mechanical donkey, hoop spinning blue fairies, a giant bouncing grasshopper, cheeky robbers plus lots more.
Pinocchio has something for every one this Christmas. An action packed family show that will keep the whole family entertained. Follow an acrobatic Pinocchio on his journey from a naughty puppet to real boy. Meet the strange and magical characters he bumps into along the way, and whiteness the mischief and adventures Pinocchio gets himself into.
Celebrate this Christmas at Chickenshed, a unique and pioneering inclusive company. In this years performance of Pinocchio Chickenshed has incorporated BSL, for our deaf audience.
Captioned performance (for death or hard of hearing people) and audio-described and a touch tour (for blind or partially sighted people) are also available. Please contact our box office for further details.
Facilities include disabled access and toilets, a bar serving food and drinks before, during and after the show.
Standard performances
Stalls: £18 (£16 concessions), gallery: £12 (no concessions)
Peak performances Fri 18th Dec - sat 2nd Jan
Stalls: £19.50 (£17.50 concessions), gallery: £13.50 (no concessions)
School performances (school groups only): All tickets £10
Public performances take place at 3:30pm and 7:30pm
School matinee performances take place at 12pm or 1pm
Chickenshed theatre, Chase Side, Southgate, London, N14 4PE
Box office: 0208 292 9222
Email bookings: Chickenshed.org.uk
Text phone: 18001 0208 292
Draft 3
Don’t miss out this Christmas!
Come see our most amazing Christmas show yet. PINOCCHIO is this years Chickenshed production. Pinocchio is running from December 9th through till January 16th at Chickenshed theatre Southgate.
A fun filled family show, packed with signing puppets, a mechanical donkey, hoop spinning blue fairies, a giant bouncing grasshopper, cheeky robbers plus lots more.
Pinocchio has something for every one this Christmas. An action packed family show that will keep the whole family entertained. Follow an acrobatic Pinocchio on his journey from a naughty puppet to real boy. Meet the strange and magical characters he bumps into along the way, and whiteness the mischief and adventures Pinocchio gets himself into.
Celebrate this Christmas at Chickenshed, a unique and pioneering inclusive company. In this years performance of Pinocchio Chickenshed has incorporated BSL, for our deaf audience.
Captioned performance (for death or hard of hearing people) and audio-described and a touch tour (for blind or partially sighted people) are also available. Please contact our box office for further details.
Facilities include disabled access and toilets, a bar serving food and drinks before, during and after the show.
Standard performances
Stalls: £18 (£16 concessions), gallery: £12 (no concessions)
Peak performances Fri 18th Dec - sat 2nd Jan
Stalls: £19.50 (£17.50 concessions), gallery: £13.50 (no concessions)
School performances (school groups only): All tickets £10
Public performances take place at 3:30pm and 7:30pm
School matinee performances take place at 12pm or 1pm
Chickenshed theatre, Chase Side, Southgate, London, N14 4PE
Box office: 0208 292 9222
Email bookings: Chickenshed.org.uk
Text phone: 18001 0208 292
Monday 4 January 2010
Marketing
Draft 2
Don’t miss out this Christmas!
Come see our most amazing Christmas show yet. PINOCCHIO is this years Chickenshed production. Pinocchio is running from December 9th through till January 16th at Chickenshed theatre Southgate.
A fun filled family show, packed with signing puppets, a mechanical donkey, hop spinning blue fairies, a giant bouncing grasshopper, cheeky robbers plus lots more.
Pinocchio has something for every one this Christmas. An action packed family show that will keep the whole family entertained. Follow an acrobatic Pinocchio on his journey from a naughty puppet to real boy. Meet the strange and magical characters he bumps into along the way, and see the mischief and adventures Pinocchio gets himself into.
Celebrate this Christmas at Chickenshed a unique and pioneering inclusive company. In this years performance of Pinocchio Chickenshed has incorporated BSL, for our deaf audience.
Captioned performance (for death or hard of hearing people) and audio-described and a touch tour (for blind or partially sighted people) are also available please contact our box office for further details.
Facilities include disabled access and toilets, a bar serving food and drinks before during and after the show.
Standard performances
Stalls: £18 (£16 concessions), gallery: £12 (no concessions)
Peak performances Fri 18th Dec - sat 2nd Jan
Stalls: £19.50 (£17.50 concessions), gallery: £13.50 (no concessions)
School performances (school groups only): All tickets £10
Public performance take place at 3:30pm and 7:30pm
School matinee performances take place at 12pm or 1pm
Chickenshed theatre, Chase Side, Southgate, London, N14 4PE
Box office: 0208 292 9222
Email bookings: Chickenshed.org.uk
Text phone: 18001 0208 292
Draft 2
Don’t miss out this Christmas!
Come see our most amazing Christmas show yet. PINOCCHIO is this years Chickenshed production. Pinocchio is running from December 9th through till January 16th at Chickenshed theatre Southgate.
A fun filled family show, packed with signing puppets, a mechanical donkey, hop spinning blue fairies, a giant bouncing grasshopper, cheeky robbers plus lots more.
Pinocchio has something for every one this Christmas. An action packed family show that will keep the whole family entertained. Follow an acrobatic Pinocchio on his journey from a naughty puppet to real boy. Meet the strange and magical characters he bumps into along the way, and see the mischief and adventures Pinocchio gets himself into.
Celebrate this Christmas at Chickenshed a unique and pioneering inclusive company. In this years performance of Pinocchio Chickenshed has incorporated BSL, for our deaf audience.
Captioned performance (for death or hard of hearing people) and audio-described and a touch tour (for blind or partially sighted people) are also available please contact our box office for further details.
Facilities include disabled access and toilets, a bar serving food and drinks before during and after the show.
Standard performances
Stalls: £18 (£16 concessions), gallery: £12 (no concessions)
Peak performances Fri 18th Dec - sat 2nd Jan
Stalls: £19.50 (£17.50 concessions), gallery: £13.50 (no concessions)
School performances (school groups only): All tickets £10
Public performance take place at 3:30pm and 7:30pm
School matinee performances take place at 12pm or 1pm
Chickenshed theatre, Chase Side, Southgate, London, N14 4PE
Box office: 0208 292 9222
Email bookings: Chickenshed.org.uk
Text phone: 18001 0208 292
Academic
Draft 2
A recent uproar was sparked when a comment was publicly made by a member of the British National Party (BNP) on the BNP website. A debate struck on the BNP website after serious allegations where made towards ChickenShed theatre, about them handing out visas to foreign students without going through proper procedures. Despite this being false information the BNP got hold of this, which initiated a heated debate on the BNP websites chat room. Leading one individual into a rant about immigration, and also commenting on ChickenShed Theatre company saying “ And ChickenShed Theatre are running a black Pinocchio for Christmas!” Insinuating that having a black actor play the part of Pinocchio in this years Christmas show, to be some sort of joke. This comment left me asking the question is this just prejudice racism? Or does the colour of Pinocchio’s skin affect the shows performance or the audiences interpretation of the story?
Putting my own views and thoughts on the matter to one side, I tried to see why people would think any different to my own views. Whilst researching racism in the theatre, I came across a very interesting article written by Ruth Rendell a reporter for the BBC. In the article it states that 88% of black performers in the England are subjected to some form of racist abuse. The one conclusion that I came to was people don’t like to see something they already know interpreted differently. For instance certain people don’t like seeing afro-Caribbean actors playing characters traditionally intended for white actors. I believe that in some peoples cases, that they have seen a version of Pinocchio, for example Walt Disney’s and believe that every Pinocchio should be interpreted exactly the same.
However my opinion on the matter, is that having a black Pinocchio instead of a white Pinocchio does not affect the performance in any way. The story of Pinocchio is however an Italian story, does this mean that every version of Pinocchio should be played by an Italian actor? In my professional opinion this is a ludicrous way in thinking. If we do not alter and interpret things differently to others, how will we ever create unique and enervative theatre. I believe the performance quality is due to the actor and not the colour of the actors skin. ChickenShed interpretation of the story is different to Walt Disney’s as well as the colour of the puppet, yet why did this not spark a debate? Leading me to the conclusion, in my opinion, that the issue of Pinocchio being played by a black actor instead of the traditional white actor, was a truly racist and prejudice way in thinking.
ChickenShed Theatre are known for their work in inclusion. As well as integrating peoples different abilities, this also goes for integrating race and religion. No one is excluded from performing at ChickenShed Theatre, especially not for their colour of their skin. In conclusion I finish off with the vision and values of ChickenShed, in hope that people with these prejudice views will one day broaden their way in thinking:
“Our Inclusive creative process values all our members as equals. It’s the way we run our theatre company, our youth workshops, our outreach programs and our education programmes. And one day that will be the way the world thinks. That’s our vision.” ChickenShed.
Draft 2
A recent uproar was sparked when a comment was publicly made by a member of the British National Party (BNP) on the BNP website. A debate struck on the BNP website after serious allegations where made towards ChickenShed theatre, about them handing out visas to foreign students without going through proper procedures. Despite this being false information the BNP got hold of this, which initiated a heated debate on the BNP websites chat room. Leading one individual into a rant about immigration, and also commenting on ChickenShed Theatre company saying “ And ChickenShed Theatre are running a black Pinocchio for Christmas!” Insinuating that having a black actor play the part of Pinocchio in this years Christmas show, to be some sort of joke. This comment left me asking the question is this just prejudice racism? Or does the colour of Pinocchio’s skin affect the shows performance or the audiences interpretation of the story?
Putting my own views and thoughts on the matter to one side, I tried to see why people would think any different to my own views. Whilst researching racism in the theatre, I came across a very interesting article written by Ruth Rendell a reporter for the BBC. In the article it states that 88% of black performers in the England are subjected to some form of racist abuse. The one conclusion that I came to was people don’t like to see something they already know interpreted differently. For instance certain people don’t like seeing afro-Caribbean actors playing characters traditionally intended for white actors. I believe that in some peoples cases, that they have seen a version of Pinocchio, for example Walt Disney’s and believe that every Pinocchio should be interpreted exactly the same.
However my opinion on the matter, is that having a black Pinocchio instead of a white Pinocchio does not affect the performance in any way. The story of Pinocchio is however an Italian story, does this mean that every version of Pinocchio should be played by an Italian actor? In my professional opinion this is a ludicrous way in thinking. If we do not alter and interpret things differently to others, how will we ever create unique and enervative theatre. I believe the performance quality is due to the actor and not the colour of the actors skin. ChickenShed interpretation of the story is different to Walt Disney’s as well as the colour of the puppet, yet why did this not spark a debate? Leading me to the conclusion, in my opinion, that the issue of Pinocchio being played by a black actor instead of the traditional white actor, was a truly racist and prejudice way in thinking.
ChickenShed Theatre are known for their work in inclusion. As well as integrating peoples different abilities, this also goes for integrating race and religion. No one is excluded from performing at ChickenShed Theatre, especially not for their colour of their skin. In conclusion I finish off with the vision and values of ChickenShed, in hope that people with these prejudice views will one day broaden their way in thinking:
“Our Inclusive creative process values all our members as equals. It’s the way we run our theatre company, our youth workshops, our outreach programs and our education programmes. And one day that will be the way the world thinks. That’s our vision.” ChickenShed.
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