Theseus and the Minotaur/The Odyssey- Week One: 'Two Stories, Two Heroes.'

Summer term has finally arrived and after a nice extended break, yesterday saw our Chameleons return for the group's tenth project. Four years ago, when we sat down and jotted down ideas for what the company which we had somehow acquired would be doing, the concept of running a children's weekend group was one which we never thought would last long-term. The previous Anthos Arts had come to an end, with the original team leaving it behind and with them a number of links were lost and we had a lot of work on our hands. The group, simply then called 'the younger group' was a means of helping to build new links within the community and help inspire the new generation of artists in Exeter, as the original mission statement had sought to do.

It went well, we re-branded our 'younger group' as the Chameleon Group, and our 'older' as the Anthos Young Company with the new intention of making it a long term-endeavour and here we are today. A lot of reflection has happened over the build up to this term where it seems surreal that we are now entering what will be the tenth project for us. The Chameleon Group has continued to expand and has created some fantastic pieces of theatre. It is still so much fun and each term with the group really does feel like a new adventure. 

Prologue rant out of the way, this term we are (as most people who follow us will know) creating not one, but two performances which will be based on stories from Ancient Greece. As a team we have a real passion for the mythology linked to this period, admiring it also as the birth of theatre today. 'Theseus and the Minotaur' was our first ever full-fledged show with the Chameleons and so it seemed fitting that we would revisit it to mark the big one-o. Alongside Theseus will be a brand new story, based upon 'The Odyssey,' following the adventures of Odysseus as he tries desperately to return home after the Trojan war and the troubles he faces along the way.

Two groups, two heroes, two stories. A lot of Chameleons have joined us this term and we're excited to get to the stories at hand. For the first week though, we wanted to ease everyone in. We have all manner of familiar, new and returning faces in the groups and as it has been nearly two months since 'The Girl and the Fox' we thought that some games, some catching up and some general fun would be a fantastic way to start. Both sessions got off to a humorous start; with laughter aplenty as the Chameleons got stuck into some classic and some new games.

The shape game must be played; it's like gospel to us...what would a term be without shapes? It's an activity that has a great many benefits; encouraging teamwork, engaging imaginations, teaching communication and is always a great way to break the ice between Chameleons old and new. Our favourite activity however was creating a machine. The groups were asked to enter the stage one-by-one and become part of a machine. They are not allowed to communicate what the machine will be but must work together to try and compliment what each other were doing.

The machines in both groups were very interesting. What's more, we asked the Chameleons afterwards what they thought the machine was making. Each member had plenty of wonderful ideas and while they had worked together to make a machine that worked in unison, their concepts were all vastly different.

Each group then had a chance to explore the characters and story of the shows they would be respectively working towards. In both cases, several Chameleons presented a wealth of knowledge; either about the stories themselves or the context surrounding them, which added to our discussions. We had one bring in a book on 'Theseus and the Minotaur' for us to look at and were told all about stories, books and audio CDs which had been read/heard at home. This made our roles more fun, as we were able to explain how our versions have taken the mythologies and built upon them, drawing from different myths and characters from the lore. Our shows are rarely straight adaptations, we like to embellish on characters/events to make things more interesting.

These are big stories, however, and so we wanted to get the Chameleons exploring them in an active and fun way. True to form, we took the groups through a speed run of the show, asking them to act out different parts as we narrated them. The speed-runs always descend into a bit of madness but are always a lot of fun.

There is no denying that we have two fantastic groups, all of whom are keen on the ideas for the shows and eager to get started. Following up, we intend to look further at the mythologies behind the show, exploring some of the Gods, Goddesses and monsters which feature. It feels like it is going to be a wild term for us, but we are excited to see how both shows will develop. Side note- as there are two groups this term, there may be weeks where we will have the one blog post for both groups, and times where we may do a post for each group, circumstances depending.

The Girl and the Fox Final Chapter: 'The Legend of The Girl and the Fox: An Inuit Story'

That's a wrap. Another story told and another performance under the belt. Last week our Chameleons took to the Cygnet stage for 'The Girl and the Fox.' It has been a wonderful, if short, term for us Following last year's theme of adapting well known stories we had decided that we wanted to do something new. The decision was made for this term's story to be an original one that we could use to teach the Chameleons something they didn't know before.

The last time we had an original show was in 2016. 'The Princess and the Goblins' was an original story that had been based off of an old book, found in the depths of a quaint little bookshop in London's West End. The story then featured a narrative about a girl out to prove that she was every bit as capable as her father, the King of Greenhill. Together with her maid and friend Lottie she snuck out of the palace, uncovered a goblin plot to invade, and set about saving the kingdom in her father's absence. It was a fun story to create with the Chameleons, who back then were a group of seven (how times change).

Writing a new story was a fun concept, but finding the starting point was trickier than anticipated. There were plenty of ideas, but none that jumped out from amongst the others. In wandering the halls of the RAMM museum and admiring the World Cultures section the notion of creating an Inuit story sprang to mind. Inuit culture was not as well known to us, but as more and more research was done it became clear that this was the route we should take. Inuit stories were filled with so much character and a sense of adventure, which was the perfect fit for the Chameleon Group.

In addition to this, the stories had a wholesome feel of family and the importance of nature, animals and friendship. Quite a lot of the stories were vivid and some graphic, but the morals were strong and contained themes which later featured in the play. The concept of animals being guides, or playing a large role in the story was one we wanted to play with. The Fox in our story is a mysterious magical creature, there to guide, but not overcome obstacles for the Girl. Many stories are about individuals overcoming their own adversities, so we wanted this for The Girl. We invented her father, a character whom people looked up to and respected, as a means of encouraging her to go on her own journey and experience her own power and what that could accomplish in its own right.

Use of Inuit names was a key factor in the show. We wanted to get the Chameleons to embrace the culture as well as the story. Teaching them the names and meanings was part of this. In keeping with a number of folklore stories from Inuit culture, we left the Girl absent of a name. We wanted not her name, but her actions towards others to be what defined her. There is a strong message to girls within this too, that they have the power to seek out their own answers and be strong and smart. The Girl could be anyone, and we further represented this by using two Chameleons to portray her.

This term we were blown away by how passionately the Chameleons embraced the story and the culture. They were keen to learn and to transform both of these into a performance. Week after week they have made us laugh and we have seen some truly outstanding work from them in rehearsals. The performance last week was the perfect culmination of their efforts and was an absolute pleasure to watch.

Though our adventure has drawn to a close and we are retreating for some much needed rest (yeah, right) we are excited for the next term and the two- that's right, two- stories that we are aiming to tell. 'Theseus and the Minotaur' and 'The Odyssey,' are sure to be a whole heap of fun. Thanks to everyone who took part and supported us this term. It has been a blast. The legend of The Girl and the Fox will certainly live on for years to come.

For now, adios and enjoy some of the fantastic pictures from the show.

Story Makers: Space Tortoise- Week Three: 'Space Wall.'

It was great to be back with the Story Makers this morning. What a windy morning it was too; which made the journey in quite amusing (for anyone watching at least), carrying in a bag of crafty items and the usual gear. This week we looked at backdrops as we continued to explore 'Space Tortoise.' We looked at backdrops last term, but approached it slightly different way this morning.

Up first were a few fun warm up games to get everyone ready for the activities ahead. This morning we had an emphasis on teamwork. Drama is a team subject; Anthos Arts likes to promote the importance of working together, respecting peers and using everyone's ideas to create work. We focus on this a lot with our Chameleons and the Anthos  Young Company, hence wanted to incorporate this idea into the Story-Makers group too. The game we used to help develop this was a variation of the shape game, which worked well as the group are already familiar with it. The group had to work in small teams to make shapes of objects found in different areas. As the group progresses we will continue to support and encourage this.

As stated many time since the beginning, the classes aim to introduce participants to different elements of theatre and performance. These are tied into the themes and setting of the stories we look at. This term the group have shown a keen interest in the space aspect of the story and so it made sense to spend some time on this. Backdrops seemed a sensible direction to go in, as it provided a window for the group to express this interest artistically, and contribute towards a final piece of shared work with their peers.

Using some lovely black velvet and string, we had a space wall. The Story Maker's task was to create stars to fill the wall and make it look like space. The group were keen and set about using glitter pens and colouring to make unique stars they could peg to the wall. We offered the group a selection of shiny and coloured card and encouraged them to create their own stars the way they wanted. Some drew and cut out their own stars, while others decorated pre-cut ones. Eventually the group graduated onto more complicated designs (of their own decision), adding planets, moons and asteroids to our space wall.

Possibly the highlight of the whole morning was actually discussing space with the group and finding out what they knew. At the start I asked what you might find in space with the aim of having someone say stars which would then leading into the explanation for the activity. However, I completely underestimated the depth of knowledge our early years group possessed. Before we got to stars we had covered aliens, planets, space stations and rockets and debated whether the holes on the moon had been dug by aliens (because aliens live in holes: facts.). While we eventually found our way to stars it was great fun having this talk and also to get the group talking with each other about what things they might find in space.

To round off the session we wanted to see if we could make the stars twinkle. Using torches each Story Maker got to explore space and see which stars, planets and various space objects twinkled back at them. In doing this we also discovered that the torches could be used as shooting stars by standing behind the space wall and shining it through. It's always great when these guys build on the activities planned and new fun.

All in all, a very fun morning indeed. It is brilliant seeing how engaged each of the group is with the term's story (an apparent strong interest in space has helped). They have made some great work and the discussions we've had this term have been just wonderful. Next time we shall be stepping back from space and looking at making some props. Some of our Story Makers will also be joining us next weekend to see Dinosaur World Live; a show featuring near life size dinosaur puppets which I am particularly eager to see. Exciting times ahead!