On Tour… Tunnel Vision

Hey there,

Following the cancellation of Bradford Playhouse, we thought it was very important to remind all readers and followers on our social networks that the tour is still going ahead for University Campus Oldham and Huddersfield Festival.

University Campus Oldham is tomorrow 12^th April at 2pm and 6pm in the performance studio.  Tickets are still available, and can be booked at the address miltonboxoffice@hud.ac.uk  F.A.O David Wainwright.

 

We are very excited to perform at the Oldham Campus and are looking forward to seeing you all at the venue tomorrow.   After an extremely positive response from our Accrington audience we are sure that ‘Tunnel Vision’ is a show not to be missed.  Please get in touch on the email above to avoid disappointment. 

Looking forward to seeing you all soon, please get in touch @refractiondrama

ReFraction Theatre

Cancelled Show at Bradford Playhouse

Due to technical difficulties that show at Bradford Playhouse will not be on tonight, we are sorry for any inconvenience this may have or will cause.

Please contact via Blog, Facebook, @refractiondrama for details

But dont forget we are still on at University Campus Oldham Monday 12th April @2pm and 6pm and there are dates for Huddersfield Festival to  be booked also.

Sorry once again

ReFraction Theatre

Tour Nearly Here

We are heading into Accrington and Rossendale College on Tuesday 23rd March to kick start our tour. The company is very excited to see ‘Tunnel Vision’ getting very close to completion, and are very much looking forward to performing the show.

We had our technical rehearsal on Friday which went well. We feel the lighting we have is basic but very effective for what we want to show. Lots of white and steel blue to add a clinical feel to the post natal and doctors scenes. Also blues for colder scenes and reds for the panic attack scene. We also get a nice pulsing club effect for the final scene using placards. And finally our comedian spot light, which we see 3 times throughout the show. Other technical aspects include our rolling boxes, large voile projection area and the projector of course. Lol

We had to say good bye to our mentor Jemma from Paper Birds Theatre Company last week, below is a small video about her role on ReFraction Theatre and comments on ‘Tunnel Vision’

Remember that we have tickets available for Bradford Playhouse 9th April 8pm tickets at the box office –office@bradfordplayhouse.co.uk

 University Campus Oldham 12th April 2 & 6pm – miltonboxoffice@hud.ac.uk

Huddersfield Festival – 29th April & 1st May – miltonboxoffice@hud.ac.uk

Thanks for reading, please get in touch and say hi

PAUL ADAMS – @performeradams

@refractiondrama

ReFraction Theatre Update

We have been working on putting the show together over the last few weeks, developing a structure for the piece.  We have this in place; however it isn’t a traditional linear story.  The audience will get fragments and pieces of personal experiences and stories taken from other people’s accounts.

More recently we have been experimenting with exercises and games for our workshops which are attached to the performances. Students at the Oldham college and Accrington college with be experiencing a jam packed hour exploring the use of verbatim in theatre, how effective simple exercises can be and having a chance to perform some verbatim to each other!

Other News….

The marketing teams have been scowling Huddersfield, Oldham and Bradford towns for sponsorship for the show! Reaching over 100 people per performance that’s 500+ potential custom flocking to your company!!  Any local businesses which are interested in a very cheap marketing opportunity please get in touch prices and contact information below.

A5 program- ¼ page = £30

                        ½ page = £50

                        Full page = £100

Please contact- Abi 07889 647 692 abicrayon@aol.co.uk

                            Angela 07983 981 186 

Hey guys check out the poster and flyer below and tell us what you think.  We have been working hard, with a crash course in Photoshop to produce an attractive, eye catching image that tells you what we do and who we are.

Going into next week will be continuing working with Paper Birds Theatre Company; with their artistic director Jemma.  We are hitting rehearsals hard and setting up technical aspect of the show.  So watch this space for picture and video updates very soon.

Just a reminder that we are at;

Bradford Playhouse 9^th April 8pm

University Campus Oldham 12^th April 2pm & 6pm

Please get in touch refractiontheatre@live.co.uk for info for tickets. And remember, there FREE…… what a great theatre experience, not to miss.

We are also at the Huddersfield University performance festival 29^th April & 1^st May – tickets available at miltonboxoffice@hud.ac.uk for a small price.

Get in touch and say hello @refractiondrama

Thanks Paul Adams

@performeradams

Rolling and ready to go…

Refraction Theatre have been handed the first two of their rolling boxes. We will have three boxes that will act as set to roll quickly in and out of the playing space. The boxes are three different sizes, and will be eventually painted white to give them a clinical look. This clinical look is a style choice that all the company agreed would add a simply yet effective statement to the piece.

We recognised the feeling about hospital and doctors, and how a lot of people don’t like to visit such places. There is always the a ‘smell’ to them also, cleaning products / TCP smell; so we thought the colour white would represent these aesthetic nicely. The costume will also be all white, in keeping with this theme.

Plus we are using projections and video throughout the show and white will give a clear view of the footage.
The video below is a little video from some of the refraction gang, to show you just some of the ways the boxes work. I think you’ll agree that there’s some fun to be had with them!!!

Obviously you will have to stay tuned to the blog to see how they look when there finished and see the ways we incorporate them into Tunnel Vision.

IMPORTANT NEWS

Also you we have some dates for the tour. VERY EXCITING
You can catch us at;
Bradford Playhouse – 9th April 8pm – 01274 820 666
University Campus Oldham – 12th April 2pm & 6pm – M.K.Watkins@hud.ac.uk
The University of Huddersfield Festival – 29th April 8:45 1st May 5:15 – Miltonboxoffice@hud.ac.uk
Please contact the venues directly to book tickets on the above emails and phone number.

We are heading into an intensive 3 day rehearsal over the next week, full days with the aim of our first full run through of the show wednesday; keep checking for new pics and videos over the next week and some live streaming from ReFraction Theatre.

Please comment and get in touch
Paul – @performeradams
@refractiondrama

Feelings, Movement and ‘Self help’

This week the company went off to look for pieces of real life accounts of ‘Mental Illnesses’. True stories by real people, telling their truthful experience of dealing with a time of distress and crisis.

These pieces covered a range of conditions that look at depression, addiction, anger management, and schizophrenia.  It is important in the show, for the company to be aware of the real people who have had to deal with some horrible and life threatening issues; this is where verbatim comes in.

By reading other peoples experiences of bad times and also stories of hope and treatment, we can take a step closer to understanding this subject. We have devised a scene which allows each character to share their story taken from the verbatim text.  The scene works as a ‘Self Help’/’Advise’ group, that meets to discuss and disclose any information, thoughts and feelings for that week.  We see all seven characters arrive at the meeting, through an abstract journey of movement; born from how feelings can manifest themselves as a physical tick or gesture.

Below is the first rehearsal of the movement which will start this particular scene.  What will follow-on from this routine, is each character individually and as a group revealing their story.

The movement works to identify the ‘feeling’ that each actor takes from either their own experiences or the way they feel from reading someone else’s. The music adds a very emotional texture to the piece and for the company helped reflect honestly on this very serious theme of work. As a company we are very aware that although ‘Mental Illness’ can have a certain stigma attached to it; we want to portray the dangerous and difficult side, as well as the hope and normality that is sometimes cloudy by ignorance.

We are not for a second attempting to deliver the notion of a happy ending; but want to dispel the image and label of ‘them people’, because there isn’t ‘them’ we are all just people. We feel that this scene will show that particular angle; that people can get better, do feel better and can live a “normal” life. 

A particular web site of interest is ‘Uncommon Knowledge’, and we are pleased to have a number of people telling their stories and sharing their ideas on the forum with ReFraction Theatre.

Please comment and get in keep in touch by subscribing to the blog for a weekly update, as well as some sneaky extras as the process continues.

Thanks for reading,

Paul – @performeradams – twitter & @refractiondrama – twitter

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/pages/ReFraction-Theatre/252623758885

Bi- Polar and Placards

We had a busy week, last week; production meetings almost every day to make big decisions for Tunnel Vision and ReFraction Theatre.  We have looked at set design, posters and booking venues for the tour. We also had Jemma from PaperBirds Theatre Company on hand to look over our material so far and give some pointers and artistic guidance.

Lucas is developing a stand up routine that looks at the down fall of a comic’s troubled life.  Angela has developed a scene that takes on the difficulties associated with post natal depression, and Ben is busy writing a scene which will help the structure of  the show with a very down beaten doctor fed up of ‘his’ life. (Ironically)

Over the next few weeks I will give an update of these scenes, and get responses from the cast members to share with you the reader.

The video below is a rehearsal shot of Abi, who is working with the diagnosis of Bi- Polar, and the effects that it has on people who are affected.  She has been working with the extremes that are present in the condition; with manic highs and very depressed lows.  Abi is working to create a character that shows someone who goes through an emotional separation, resulting in the start of Bi-Polar.  The scarf in the scene below, is used as stimulus to represent the source of upset.

Further down the page is a selection of pictures. Throughout the slide show you will see two scenes that are under development by the cast with placards used in one scene, devised by Paul Bowles.  This scene has been created for two reasons, the first being the use of placards artistically; the second is the message.  The message shows how every day, people are suffering in silence with a variety of issues and problems, some severe and others only minor.  The scene allows the audience to read each characters story while having disturbing facts dropped in, and thoughts from deep inside their minds shown to you.

The other scene is a devised movement piece by me and Alex.  We are working on the issue of addiction with movement, and are developing ways to portray the fight of addiction.  For the moment the scene is centred on a bottle; used as stimuli to choreograph and create an initial story.  For the future we may remove the bottle, or substitute it for another prop if necessary.

I will put some video up online later this week showing more work and scene development.  Please feel free to comment on this blog, and ask any questions you may have.  The company will answer and discuss any questions you may have.  

Thanks for reading and watching

Follow @refractiondrama

PAUL – performeradams – twitter

Meet the Company

Happy New Year, and heres to a great year for all, especially to the ReFraction Theatre company, who have a great few months ahead to create, rehearse and deliver ‘Tunnel Vision’.

Well, I think its time you met the performers that will tour the show in March – April this year.
Firstly;

Paul Bowles

Paul B completed a HND in Performing Arts at the Oldham College in 1998.
After which he managed to form strong links with Oldham’s Kobal Theatre Company.
With Kobal, Paul has spent the last 5 years working on Fringe projects which have been
performed at; The Oldham Coliseum (Wordsmith), The Contact, The Royal Exchange (Blue), The Buxton Fringe Festival and most recently at The 2008 24:7 Theatre Festival in Manchester.

Angela Bowles ( Yes there Married)

 After obtaining her HND at the Oldham college she worked in various theatre settings, T.I.E, Corporate and Voice over work. Angela also opened the Academy school of performing arts for pupils aged 5-16 years. Through her work at the Academy she realised that she enjoyed teaching, so has returned to university to gain her PGCE.

Ben Guilfoyle

Ben is a performing artist who specializes in acting, writing and singing.  He has studied performing arts at the University of Huddersfield for the past 2 years and is now in his final year. Outside of ReFraction Theatre he is rehearsing for a musical that will tour both Germany and England later in 2010. General interests are; movies, comic books, gaming, and occasionally the odd bottle of red wine lol. 

Alex Williams

Alex was a high acheiver throughout school and college, carrying on to a foundation degree at the University Campus Oldham and gained a 2-1 in the foundation degree in performance.  Alex is an all round performer, but has found in himself a talented  physical theatre performer. Alex is interested in fine art and dance and has also performed in previous touring productions Seven(08) and Breugel(09).

Paul Anthony Adams

Paul firstly studied at the Northern Academy for Theatre and Television, and then progressed to Musical Theatre training at the Oldham College.  More recently Paul has developed himself as an all round performer at the University Campus Oldham. He has a strong passion for ‘Movement – Physical Theatre’ performance and is keen to try daring and high energy movement choreography.  Paul has devised several pieces of theatre over the last couple of years, touring around the Manchester area, studios, schools and colleges and has just finished a very successful show at the Oldham Coliseum Theatre.  Interests are in; Digital and Social Media within the Theatre Industry.

Abi Crayon

Abi has danced and performed since the age of ten with a passion for performance throughout school, college and university. Abi has trained in many dance styles including ballet, modern, tap, contemporary, street and now training in capoeira a martial art and dance.  Abi has had training as a dancer and performer, taking A levels in both Drama and Dance, whilst continuing on to a performance degree at the University of Huddersfield, touring devised theatre.

Throughout her studies Abi has integrated herself in the industry as a creative performance facilitator working with children in both dance and drama fields.  Now in her final year Abi is keen to progress in the theatre industry continuing her freelance teaching work with big aspirations for the future.

 Lucas Southern

Lukas.J.Southern trained for 4 years at Accrington and Rossendale College  (ACCROSS), first on the Btec National Diploma in Performing Arts at which he achieved a triple distinction. Secondly on the FDA Foundation Degree in Theatre and Performance where he gained a 2:1. Some of his roles have figured from a range of classical and contemporary plays from Alan Ayckbourn’s Improbable Fiction to William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. After he finishes his top up year at Huddersfield University he hopes to sign with an agent and become a household name as a professional actor.

Well there’s the Gang, Hope that gives you a little background information.

The first production meeting of the New Year is this Monday, (if the snow will let us lol) so watch this Blog, Follow @refractiondrama on Twitter, please comment chat, and spread the blog.

Speak or Tweet soon

Paul  ( @performeradams )

We are on our way…

We have been working over the last 8 weeks as a new theatre company in the department of drama at The University of Huddersfield.  We are a company with 7 members, which have formed solely for this one of production themed around the personal and societal views of ‘Mental Health’ and working with peoples own experience of ‘emotional crises’.

We have been busy more recently discovering ourselves as a company; as you can imagine 7 artists from 7 different backgrounds is a challenge to jell.  However the progress of the company is developing rapidly and we are heading to the Christmas period with several developing scenes covering elements of physical theatre, comedy and gritty drama.  We are keen to use the general public’s views and experiences of ‘Mental Health’ as our stimulus to build a truthful account of the issues we are all personally dealing with, first hand or within the family and friends circle.

We are all working with themes as follows; panic attacks, paranoia, OCD, anxiety, depression, Bipolar, postnatal depression and addiction.  I know what you’re thinking; this is going to be a heavy production, but don’t worry, we are confident with the skills in the company will we deliver a highly entertaining show; while being sensitive to the subject.

We are privileged to be working with two fantastic theatre practitioners as ‘Refractions’ mentors.  We have Richard Sobey from I.O.U Productions, and Jemma Mc Donnell the artistic director of ‘Paper Birds’ Theatre Company.   These two highly successful companies are providing guidance and artistic development, and are sure to give the company a massive lift into the industry.

Below is a short slide show from rehearsals and devising sessions that we put together to give a flavour of our work.  We are keen to get more material on this blog and online platforms more often, going into the New Year.

We are looking  to work in partnership with key organisations  that work in the sector of ‘Mental Health’ ; and have been making contact with AIM (Artists In Mind) , Full Circle Arts and MIND.  Working and creating these partnerships, will provide a hands on source to keeping our work relevant and real.

On the next update, before the Christmas break, I will introduce you to the company, and tell you a little about our backgrounds and the progress on making the show.

Thanks for reading, please follow @refractionDrama on twitter for updates.

Paul Adams @performeradams – Twitter

We Are ReFraction Theatre – Artistic Policy

Refraction Theatre is a seven strong ensemble stemming from a background comprised of multiple performance disciplines. Through our use of total theatre, Refraction Theatre use film, dance, physical theatre, naturalism, and expert storytelling to tackle issues both current and the not so well known.

Using a unique physicality we aim to take life’s key issues and shed a new light upon them, while along the way informing our audiences and leaving them questioning both themselves and the society surrounding them.

At Refraction Theatre we endeavor to tell the untold. Working from both real life accounts and experiences, and abstract stimuli such as outsider art, we delve into the life, times and minds of the subjects we tackle.

We are New company so please keep checking out our blog as we build and develope our new show ‘Tunnel Vision’ for touring next easter 2010

Thanks Refraction Theatre

Follow us on Twitter @refractiondrama