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.