A Miracle...in Castlereagh!

Golden Oldies - Part 3

It was a very snowy evening last Thursday, the perfect enchanting atmosphere to enjoy a very Christmassy film!

Despite the snow shower, more than 50 senior movie lovers showed up for the third and last (but not the least!) film of the ‘Golden Oldies Movie Night’ series, ‘Miracle on 34th Street’. This classic Christmas film was chosen by our audience after the screening of ‘A Brief Encounter’ last month, and it was a perfect treat to get into the right Christmassy mood!

The expert film connoisseur Michael Smythe enlightened the audience with some pearls of wisdom about the film, he remarked that “..the film had been ranked n.9 on the American Film’s Institute’s 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time”; he also explained that “…the film received a B rating from the highly influential Legion of Decency because Maureen O’Hara played the part of a divorcée”.

Miracle on 34th Street is an award-winning film and it is the story of what takes place in New York City following Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, as people are left wondering whether or not a department store Santa might be the real one. Because of its Christmas theme, the film has become a perennial Christmas favorite, even though the studio producers released it in May – keeping the fact that it was a Christmas movie a secret!

Our lovely audience – there’s also a very lively and chatty 93 years old lady among them!

We treated our spectators with popcorn, ice-cream and wine, which are always very much appreciated!

The ‘Golden Oldies Movie Nights’ proved to be a great success, with more than 150 people attending the films over the 3 nights and everyone asking to have it again…

Well, we won’t disappoint our film aficionados: ‘Golden Oldies Movie Nights’ will be back in 2011… but this time it will be on tour! We’re working on it and we’ll update you asap!

In the meantime, Castlereagh Arts wishes a fantastic festive time to everyone!

See you in 2011!

Helen Sanlon exhibition

Arts in the Library - Helen Sanlon’s Exhibition @ Dundonald Library

Inclement weather last Thursday didn’t put art-lovers off from attending the launch of the fantastic new exhibition of Helen Sanlon’s work. We thought we were under attack from snowmen, as white figures appeared through the door of the Dundonald library, but after they shook and brushed themselves down, we were relieved to find people under all that snow!

The exhibition of Helen’s new artworks includes paintings inspired by her stay in the Tyrone Guthrie Centre as part of her award of the Ernest Anderson Bursary 2009-2010.

Helen introduced her artworks and explained all the different techniques she used including taking pictures through an airplane window to the great annoyance of one of the members of the cabin crew.

The exhibition runs until 22nd December in the Dundonald library, so don’t miss this opportunity to view up-close the artist’s work, and perhaps find a nice treat for yourself or an original artwork for your loved ones this Christmas!

'A Brief encounter' in Castlereagh

Golden Oldies – Part 2




The film guru Michael Smythe introduced the film Brief Encounter, a milestone in British cinema.




‘A Brief encounter’ in Castlereagh.




More than 60 seniors (and not-so seniors) turned out for Castlereagh Art’s second installation in the ‘Golden Oldies Movie Night’ series. Having sent the audience home singing and dancing last time with ‘Singing in the Rain’, we slowed things down this month with Lean’s classic ‘A Brief Encounter’. Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard fall into a spiral of love, temptation, fulfilment and eventual emptiness through a chance meeting in the train station.



Robin Colvill had played Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2 in the First Friday concert last week, and I had been humming it since, wondering where I had heard it before… I was soon reminded as the film began. The sound track gives a great sense of gravitas to the piece, and Noel Coward’s writing, the imagined confession of Laura to her middle of the road husband, is a simple yet beautifully observed premise which carries the brief, ‘Brief Encounter’ (1 hour and 25 mins) throughout. The piece is an adaptation to screen from Coward’s one act ‘Still Life’.



The feedback was incredible with many asking that this become a main-stay in the council arts program, but that may have had a lot to do with the popcorn and icecream!

Rock & Pop School Graduation Day!

Congratulations to all the participants of the Rock & Pop School 2010! The Award ceremony occurred on 9th November to celebrate our young musicians and their completion of the Rock & Pop School, which took place from 19th to 30th July 2010.

Councilor Michael Copeland with Ben Flavelle-Cobain

23 of the graduates attended with their parent’s friend’s and family, and other people involved in the music industry such as Lisa Flavelle, DJ of Downtown Radio and daughter of the local jazz and blues legend Jackie Flavelle. Along with representatives from the Community Safety Partnership, who have funded the school for the past two years, the SEELB who partnered Castlereagh Arts in delivering the project, and representing the music tutors – renowned jazz musician Linley Hamilton -

Councilor Michael Copeland presented the graduates with their certificates and thanked the young musicians for their commitment…

Well done to all our talented musicians and singers, we wish you a successful future!  We hope to add some songs to our Blog soon for you listening pleasure

Classical Music performed with aplomb

First Friday Concert

Following the success of the First Friday concert on the 1st October, featuring 'The Dirty Blues Band', Castlereagh Arts proudly presented the second concert of the Autumn afternoon series on the 5th of November. This time we were treated to some classical music, with international concert pianist Robin Colvill performing popular piano classics.

Robin made a welcome return for the 3rd time in as many years enchanting the audience with music by Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Chopin and Puccini among the others.

Frightfully fast fingers

The musician entertained the listeners, not only with his music but also with his words, explaining the beauty, harmony and background of the music, and interspersing the mesmeric melodies with anecdotes on his travels; playing music to thousands in Cuba on a piano the size of a tank was a particular highlight.

The next First Friday concert will take place on 4th February, write it down on your 2011 calendar!

Halloween Fun in Castlereagh

Family Fun Day in the Dundonald Icebowl


Creepy and spooky…A family fun day took place in the Dundonald Ice bowl on Saturday 30th October to celebrate Halloween.  From 11am to 5 pm, more than 150 people participated in the event.  Children and parents got involved in making spooky masks and creating their very own Halloween ghosts with the help of artists Therese Gorman and Grainne Kielty.

The kids had a SCREAM!

Two face painters were also available for kids who wanted a bit of colour on their face!

The event tied in with the Big Draw and the artists helped the kids in drawing and painting, making scary scream masks, floating ghosts and Frankenstein heads!

5 little Frankensteins up to their elbows in crafts

Poetry Jukebox- Belfast Fringe in Castlereagh

Castlereagh Arts helped bring one of the most original acts in Belfast to Forestside on Saturday the 23rd of October.

 

Some customers deciding which poem to choose

In keeping with the often bizarre nature of the Fringe, the poetry jukebox is a new concept and as quirky as you’ll find. For the princely sum of one pound, I was shown into the jukebox and seated by one of the friendly volunteer’s, a performer pulled back the curtain and recited the poem which I had chosen.

Dee (in picture) draws back the curtain before performing ‘Bloody Men’ by Wendy Cope.
 
An innovative and personal way of bringing poetry to the masses

Castlereagh teams up with the Belfast Fringe Festival

The Gathering Drum

Milo banging the drum. A definite future rock star!




The inaugural Belfast Fringe Festival kicked off Friday the 22nd of October 2010. Castlereagh Arts teamed up to help host some festival events. On Saturday the 23rd Cregagh Community Centre was host to ‘The Gathering Drum’. A family friendly event, where parents and toddlers got the opportunity to bang away their troubles on a varied selection of percussion instruments.

The workshop started with some basic rhythms and progressed to more complex arrangements.  Xylophones, ocean drums, thunder drums and wooden frogs culminated in a chorus of noise which all the participants helped to create.  Joe Loughlin, the creator and facilitator for ‘The Gathering Drum’ was patient and raucous in equal measure.  Let’s hope we can team up with the festival again next year…

GOLDEN OLDIES – Movie Nights start with the Classic film Singin’ in the Rain

Castlereagh Civic Centre is transformed into a cinema!

An appreciative crowd attended the classic film Singin’ in the Rain on 14th October. We aimed this series at bringing the senior citizens of the Borough together for an evening of classic film fun, and amongst the audience were representatives and residents from care homes in Castlereagh, East Belfast and beyond.

 

The film was introduced by Michael Smythe, a veritable mine of knowledge on the film industry, who imparted some pearls of wisdom on the background about the film including social influences, production costs and little known facts about the production… “they used milk to make the rain visible on camera for the well known dance sequence…” was one of the more surprising tit-bits that Michael informed the audience of.

The popcorn and ice cream went down a treat!

The next film of the ‘Classic Film Club’ will take place on Thursday the 11th of November at 7pm in the Castlereagh Civic Centre and we’ll be screening the classic Brief Encounter, a 1945 British film directed by David Lean, about British suburban life starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard and Stanley Holloway.

PHOTO WORKSHOPS with BELFAST EXPOSED

PHOTO WORKSHOPS with BELFAST EXPOSED

Castleragh Arts in partnership with Belfast Exposed Photography organized a four week workshop programme in Tullycarnet Community Centre. The workshops started on 13th October with the participants working on portrait photography. Next sessions will involve location photography and gaining skills with Adobe Photoshop.

The participants are very enthusiastic, working and experimenting with their cameras under the tutelage of professional photographer Mervyn from Belfast Exposed. An Exhibition at the end of the four week workshop will give them the opportunity to display their work for the first time! During this session we worked on portraiture, lighting and experimentation with aperture and shutter speeds to capture different moods and used to get special effects, as illustrated in the picture beneath...

The dirty Blues band in concert

First Friday makes a return after the summer break…




The Dirty Blues band rockin’ Castlereagh Civic Centre

On October 1st many of the council staff called into the Civic centre function suite to indulge in some blues, bluegrass, rags and folk from the Dirty Blues band. Having played in the Cathedral Quarter and Open House festivals in the past few years, the group has a growing reputation for combining fine toe-tapping music, and great vocal harmonies. The band hails from Omagh and have featured on BBC2’s Blas Ceol.



We hope to have them back playing in the New Year.



First Friday continues with Robin Colvil on Friday the 5th of November, playing in the Civic function Suite from 1pm-2pm. Tickets are still available for £3 (£2 concession)

New workshops

Practical Theatre skills:

Scenography



November 3rd & 10th 7pm – 9pm



Thinking outside the box. An alternative approach to modern Scenography with Niall Rea



Workshops for theatre enthusiasts, to offer insights into set design skills. Niall Rea has worked extensively in the European Avante-Garde Theatre movement, and has been employed extensively and prolifically in Belfast and beyond, designing sets for The Lyric, Tinderbox, Rawlife, Brassneck, and many other theatre companies throughout Northern

Ireland and the UK.





Admission £10 covers 2 sessions. Group concession available



Limited places, bookings essential.



Contact the Conor Maguire on 028 90494566

Rockin the lock

Rock-in the Lock 10

To celebrate the second anniversary of the opening of the Lockkeepers Cottage and Lockkeepers Inn, a musical festival took place on the weekend of the 12th & 13th of September.

A number of our ‘Rock n Pop School’ participants were given the opportunity to perform with professional musician Phil Davidson.

The performances were enjoyed by great crowds, and a spot of rain in the afternoon couldn’t suppress the enthusiasm of the musicians.

Dance Extravaganza

Moneyreagh Community Centre played host to Castlereagh's dance festival, celebrating dance groups from all over the Borough and beyond.  The event was opened with 'ArtsEkta', who treated the audience to a Bollywood ensemble piece.  Other groups on display were 'Bright Lights and Johnson's school' who performed Highland Dance.  'Trim the Velvet' performed Irish dancing while 'Fresh and Fly' offered a more contemporary slant with their 'pirate' dance.  'Kaleidoscope' dance company's 'Puppet on a string' tickled many of the audience members, and the ballet performance from the 'Michelle Bertanito ballet school' was both skillful and elegant.  Several technical hitches with music didn't break up the flow too significantly, and the feedback from the audience was very positive.

Rock and Pop

CASTLEREAGH ‘ROCKS’ WITH A CULTURAL TWIST.




Castlereagh Borough Council, in partnership with Castlereagh Arts, SEELB and Castlereagh Community Safety Partnership funded and delivered their annual ‘Rock and Pop’ school from Monday 19 July 2010 to Friday 30 July 2010. The aim of the project was to provide a platform for young musicians, at both a beginner and advanced levels, to come together to develop their musical abilities and compose orginal pieces of music. Over the course of the programme Eight bands were formed who worked with the programme facilitator in writing lyrics and composing music, which then cumulated in a live performance at Belvoir Players Studio on Friday 30 July 2010.

Mercury nominee James Maddren from Kit Downes Trio

The Live event was attended by over 200 members of the public, parents and families of participants, among whom was Mercury nominated James Maddren from Kit Downes Trio, who gave an inspirational speech and Jackie Flavelle the famous bassist with Chris Barber Band, who commented;

“What a wonderful job! All children are special. However, these child musicians are ultra special, they have such talent and they are so professional at such a tender age. Some are destined for fame and all are destined to make the people happy through their music and songs.”

Jackie’s daughter, broadcaster and music journalist Lisa Flavelle was also in attendance..

The live show was then followed with a dance and music performance by a group of young people from Lesotho. This offered an opportunity to meet and mingle with people from a totally different culture, discuss music and their cultural differences and similarities.

Conor Maguire, Arts Officer, Castlereagh Borough Council, commented ‘The 2010 Rock and Pop School was a great success, thanks to both the very talented musicians who participated in the School, and the fantastic team of music professionals from The Making Music Workshop including musical legends John Wilson and Linley Hamilton. The tutors encouraged, supported and trained the students to write songs, to improve their performance skills and confidence, while tackling social issues such as drugs alcohol and social exclusion’.

Other comments

 

“Today was totally amazing, I never thought these kids could be so professional. It was brilliant, it really amazed me.”

“Excellent sense of achievement for young people to participate in all the elements of music. It was brilliant, I really enjoyed it.”

“Very worthwhile and I am very surprised at the standard achieved by the students in a very short time!”

“Fantastic quality outcomes with young people clearly very engaged with a creative experience – I am really surprised at how good this was. Excellent!”
“Great day – If higher fees are paid, do kids get more recognition?

“A very enjoyable day, it was just perfect!”

“Really good, excellent!”

“Well done, it’s a great opportunity for kids of all ages to get together, write music and perform. Very successful and well organized – keep it up!”

“Excellent as ever!”

“Absolutely amazing! We have some very talented kids. Well done!”

“A fantastic show! Very well done to all the kids!”

“Never expected such a wonderful performance after only 5 days! What a boost for the children’s confidence, thank you so much!”

“My daughter has attended the Rock and pop school for the past four years and as a consequence so many musical doors have opened for her, she has progressed so much, she has also participated in voluntary work within the borough because of Rock and Pop and Colin Dudgeon. This is an excellent and innovative project. Well done!”

“A really great show – superb standard, excellent lyrics and performance, some very strong songs. Wonderful!”

Rock and Pop school

Last week (and continuing this week) I have had the pleasure of working with the Making Music Workshop to help develop the musical skills of young people in Castlereagh.  Over 40 young people form bands, participate in Masterclasses and create new music under the tutelage of Linley Hamilton and John Wilson among others.  The project runs over two weeks with a concert at the end, where the newly formed bands get the opportunity to play their music for their friends and family.  I hope to be able to post some pictures and new songs next week.

Drama Workshops in Brooklands Primary

Over the past few weeks I have carried out a number of workshops with the some talented young people in the new Brooklands Youth Centre.  Working with a group of 15 budding stars, we started with some games.  'Zip zap Boing' was a real favourite.  We seperated the young people into groups and developed freeze frames to tell their favourite fairy tales.  After a few sessions we began to work on developing their own unique piece of theatre, based on some of the subjects that they wanted to explore.  Themes of bullying, anti-social behaviour, everyday life in Ballybeen and the summer were discussed and, from a number of improvisations and we began to find a narrative.  I will return to work with the group in September, with the hope that we will have a new and unique piece of theatre to perform in 'The Celebration of Youth' in October.  Watch this space...

Conor's animation

Gareth's animation

Ian's animation

Alice's Animation

Stop-motion Animation

Adele's Animation

Flickerpix Animation workshop

Jenny Simon shows us how to animate!

In the third of our series of Summer Taster Workshops, Jenny Simon went through the processes involved in creating stop motion animation using some props such as fruit, plasticine and some small toys.  The workshop was warmly enjoyed by all participants and at the end of the class we had the opportunity to view eachother's work.  The results were very amusing and we hope to be able to post them soon...

(My Painting!)

At the last of this season’s popular Summer Taster Workshops series, members of the public were given the chance to work with professional local artist, Helen Sanlon. An experienced workshop leader, and the recipient of the Ernest Anderson bursary last year, Helen began by showing how best to mix and apply oils before giving everyone the chance to paint their version of one of Helen’s own paintings. A tranquil scene of the sky, sea and sand, the painting by Helen, who is a member of the Ulster Society of Women Artists, proved a popular choice and attendees enthusiastically recreated the landscape in their individual style. After an extremely relaxing and enjoyable afternoon, during which participants were provided with all materials and treated to tea and refreshments, everyone returned home with their own painting ready to be framed and hung on the wall!

(Helen Sanlon with local writer Anne Harris)

(Kevin Lawless)

Castlereagh Arts continued their program, offering some classical theatre in the unusual setting of Dundonald Library.

Two theatre artists, Sarah Davies and Emma Little, performed excerpts from classical literature from Wilde to the Bronte sisters, and excerpts from plays such as 'Romeo and Juliet' by Shakespeare. The performances were interspersed with beautiful musical interludes by Kevin Lawless on the clarinet.

The audience was amused by humor, drama and passion, exceptionally interpreted by the two local actresses. Sarah and Emma are really passionate about their job and they were able to transmit their enthusiasm for the text, to the audience.

Born to Prance...

As part of the First Friday Evening performance, Castlereagh Arts presented Anthea McWilliams’ show Born to Prance. The audience was all female, with the Arts officer as the only male representative!

It was a good recipe for a Friday night’s entertainment; a nice helping of dance and comedy, a splash of music and visuals, with a generous topping of nibbles and drinks; enough to keep the audience fuelled for taking their turn at the dancing!

The solo performance of Anthea McWilliams was funny and unique, the tale of a woman who decided to celebrate her 50th birthday by dancing from the very top to the very bottom of Ireland (Donegal to Cork). She used various media to tell the audience of her epic odyssey. First and foremost, she used dancing, then drama, read her notes and showed videos and pictures of what really happened on her Irish prancing tour…on the whole, a good night with some laughs and plenty of exercise for all!

Vincent Higgins' introduction to playwrighting

Continuing our summer workshops, Vincent Higgins offered some pearls of wisdom, captivating the audience with his insights into the craft of playwrighting.  Vincent offered a brief history of drama, from Thespes through Shakespeare, to Tennesee Williams and contemporary Irish writers.  After lunch he tackled structure and composition, challenging the participants to 'Get writing!' by the end.

  Many of the participants picked Vincent's brain, long after the workshop had finished. Feedback on the event was excellent, with many saying they enjoyed the format, length and structure of the workshop. 

Summer Taster workshops

As part of this year’s Summer Taster Workshops, Castlereagh Arts was pleased to invite ‘Best Cellars: Music and Media Playground’ to host Saturday’s workshop on documentary filmmaking. Led by company director, Dean Llewellyn, and attended by numerous local amateur filmmakers, performers, and writers, the workshop introduced participants to the art of shooting a documentary for television. In an open and friendly environment, Dean, whose clients include The BBC Blast Project, the Community Relations Council and Engage with Age, demonstrated how best to hold and position a camera; the most effective way to ‘tell a story’ and conduct an interview; and how and when to use voiceovers and music. After helping themselves to some tea and nibbles, everyone, then, was given the opportunity to get creative both behind and in front of the camera! All in all, it was a thoroughly informative and enjoyable afternoon, with attendees getting the chance to gain inside knowledge of the media industry.

Graffiti workshop. Newton Park, with NUC, Andrea Gibson and Re-Ink-Our-Nation

Early in the year, Andrea Gibson had met with me to discuss the possibility of doing workshops in the Cairnshill, Newton Park, Four Winds area, where a number of youth had been identified as ‘Taggers’. It was our hope that through this project we would teach the young people new artistic skills, and give them the opportunity to work with a professional artist. The project had dual purpose in hoping to lower anti-social behaviour and teach new arts skills.  Tim, the workshop leader from Re-Ink-our-Nation showed great skills in demonstrating the process to the young people.  The (almost) finished boards will now live in the youth club in Newton Park.

Workshops this summer (Upcoming events)

Summer Taster Workshops.




An opportunity to try the things you’ve always wanted to try, in an open and friendly environment. Ever dreamed of becoming an artist? Writing a play? Making a film or creating an animation? This summer we will offer you the chance to take the first tentative steps in fulfilling these ambitions. These sessions will have limited places and will take place at 11 o’clock on Saturday mornings. They will last 2-3 hours with refreshments provided.



Best Cellars: Fim-making, Documentary and Interviewing techniques with Dean Llewellyn



June 5th 11am- 2pm. Castlereagh Civic Function Suite



Content to include the following:



*Documentary Style

*Interview skills

*Use of voiceovers and Music

*Methodology in telling a story.



Limited places for all courses: Admission: £5. Refreshments provided

Beginners Oils workshop with last year’s Ernest Anderson Bursary winner Helen Sanlon

June 26th 11am- 2pm. Castlereagh Civic Function Suite



Helen Sanlon is a professional artist and experienced workshop leader and was the recipient of the Ernest Anderson bursary last year. She will lead this workshop for all ability ranges, especially interesting to total beginners – You do not need to have painted before.



All materials will be supplied.



Everyone will go home with a painting they have made themselves.



Instruction will be step by step.

Flickerpix Animation Workshop

June 19th 11am- 2pm. Castlereagh Civic Function Suite



Flickerpix is an animation studio which produces TV series, short animated films and commercials, placing a particular emphasis on creating endearing and memorable characters with universal appeal for all ages.



Based in Northern Ireland since 2003, Flickerpix was set up by Belgian animator Joel Simon and has produced animated programs for a variety of clients and broadcasters, including BBC, UTV, RTE, The History Channel, Discovery and COMIC RELIEF'09.



Flickerpix won over 15 international awards for their short HORN OK PLEASE, a combination of stop-motion, CG and 2D animation which is set in Mumbai.



Join us for a hands on whistle stop tour of stop motion animation. Taking in a variety of techniques, this taster session promises to whet the appetite of animation fans who are curious about how it all happens!



Limited places for all courses: Admission: £5. Refreshments provided.

Introduction to Playwrighting with Vincent Higgins

June 12th 11am- 2pm. Castlereagh Civic Function Suite





Vincent Higgins - Playwright



Vincent’s stage version of Spike Milligan’s Puckoon for Big Telly Theatre Company toured Ireland Spring 2009 and will be revived for a UK tour Autumn 2010. His radio play North Nua was part of the Parlour Series on RTE1, broadcast April 2008. His stage play Strike about the 1907 Docker’s & Carter’s strike toured extensively in 2007; venues included Belfast and Dublin city halls; it was revived for the reopening of Belfast City Hall, October 2009.



Vincent was one of the writers on Dubbeljoint Production’s Binlids and Tinderbox Theatre Company’s Swing State Cabaret. He has worked as a script developer for many theatre companies including the Abbey Theatre; the Lyric Theatre; 7:84; Field-Day; Tinderbox and Dubbeljoint. He was a writer for the arts politics magazine Fortnight and has written and produced many shows for the Linen Hall Library including Mayday, Mayday, Mayday and, most recently Dear Michael.



Vincent is currently under commission to Replay Productions: creating a play for 15-17rs of age addressing the pertinent issue of citizenship. He is a recent recipient of an Arts Council of Northern Ireland bursary to create a two-hander on the Gaelic Athletic Association and the 2010 Heinrich Böll Achill residency.



Limited places for all courses: Admission: £5 Refreshments provided.

Thompson brothers, singing old-style gospel Castlereagh Function Suite.  The audience were entreated to some good aul Ulster Scot's phraseology that night.   

Noel McMaster was in fine fettle with stories of the Lagan, his childhood and Haggis!

Arts Officer Conor Maguire and author Ian MacDonald

during the Nanowrimo series in November in the Lockkeepers Inn