Alice in Wonderland- Week 1

We're back! This morning we launched an exciting new term for the Chameleon Group! It seems like forever ago since 'The Princess and the Goblins' was performed and we were eager to get the ball rolling on a brand new adventure; namely Alice's adventure through the rabbit hole to the crazy realm of Wonderland!

It was fantastic to see so many new and returning faces amidst the group! Plus it was nostalgic to be back at Roborough Studios, where our first youth groups originally began a year and a half ago (though it feels like an eternity). Our new chameleons quickly made themselves comfortable and it was brilliant watching everyone take part in the warm up games! Adding to the nostalgia, several warm up games returned from our previous projects for another round. Captain's coming was particularly fun, as we added brand new rules to it as we went. Everyone had a chance to contribute.

We then launched into Ben's favourite game; create a shape, where the group had to work together to create various shapes such as circles, triangles and even a star. Our good friend Augusto Boal and his opposites warm up (one of our longtime favourites) also made a comeback. The group first had to walk, stop, jump and clap and then do so again with the instructions reversed and rearranged.

 We then got onto some light-hearted acting work. The group played 'what are you doing?' which was a nice way to ease into performing for some of our newer members. The game appeared on many weeks in our last project and involves performing an action and telling the person who comes on next what action they must perform. The one after them must then come on and copy, after which they will receive an action to follow too. We had some fun suggestions today; such as being chased by bees, leading a jewel heist, feeding a cat and figuring out an arm-movement based language for talking to dragons.

Next the teams split off into two groups. At their request it was boys and girls. In their teams they had to create a scene that went with the title 'A Knight on a Quest.' Some fantastic ideas were put forward and we ended up with two brilliant short pieces of work. The boys chose to tell us a tale about a knight who is sent by the King to defeat an evil goblin and claim his one million gold prize. The girls told a tale of two knights who were always too busy fighting over who would save the damsel in distress to actually save her. The poor maiden ended up falling from a tree and getting lost in a rose bush by the time they were done bickering.

Finally the group came together to talk about the main theme of the term. We wrote down what everyone knew about Alice in Wonderland and then talked about some of the things we will be doing over the course of the next eight weeks. Once we had finished our chat the group got to their feet and performed a 'speed run' of Alice's story. It was manic but hilarious, and five minutes later they had completed a very brief version of Alice in Wonderland!

All in all it was a brilliant first rehearsal! We're excited to continue next week when we will look more at what our version of Alice in Wonderland will be like. More fun an games ahead, but for now it's great to be back!

The Princess and the Goblins- The Final Chapter

So the time has come at last. The final chapter of 'The Princess and the Goblins!'
What an incredible term it has been. Back in August when we found an old book in an old shop, on an old London street about a princess who set ended up saving her kingdom from a race of cave-dwelling goblins, we never imagined what would follow. The story was placed on the ideas board for this term, but still we didn't credit it too much. However, as we looked at our options and what we felt we could do with the stories we were choosing from, and which we felt the Chameleons would enjoy most, it became increasingly clear that the tale of Princess Irene, Curly, Lottie and co. was always meant to be put on the stage.

Even still, we weren't if the group would take to the story as we wanted them too. It was unlike anything we have tried with them before. 'Theseus and the Minotaur!' was about a hero who travelled across the sea to defeat an evil monster, while 'The Legend of King Arthur!' was about a young boy who went on a journey to become a better king and defeat an evil witch, meeting many friends and enemies along the way. This story was instead about a young girl seeking to escape the confines of expectation and prove to everyone that she could live her own life.

Irene's character was a complex one. She struggles with the confined life and expectations of being a Princess to a legendary king. She longs for her freedom, but not just from the castle; she also longs to be able to make her own decisions and have exciting adventures. In the original text, though Irene has this character, most of these complexities are not touched upon. The same goes for some of the other characters; Curly, Lottie, the Goblin Queen (or Curdie, Lootie and the Goblin King as they were originally) are very packed characters and it was only when we updated the story to accommodate our group this term did we notice that a lot of these complexities were brought out. We questioned keeping them, as we feared perhaps we had given the group too much to work on.

Our talented Chameleons, however, didn't crumble. They didn't struggle. They took these characters and made them their own, with all of the complexities and inner turmoil that came with them. That has been what has made this term so outstanding. The cast have embraced the complexities within all of these characters and worked hard to portray them with depth and love. Watching them perform today made us realise how proud we were of what they had accomplished. Every week they would come in, fresh faced after a week of school, and be eager to dive into our story again. They loved Irene's tale, and it was this care for the story that made the final performance something really magical.

And so today was just that. Magical. Of course there were nerves, there was pacing and talk about suddenly forgetting everything we had done for the past ten weeks, but then there always is and as soon as the lights came up; the group took to the stage and made it their own. It was a pleasure to watch, as it was a pleasure to explore with them throughout the project.

Well, that's that. The term came to an incredible conclusion. Rarely have we worked with the group and had them so passionate about what we were doing. It has been an unbelievable experience rehearsing each week and all that is left to say is well done to our Chameleons. You are all brilliant. This has hands down been one of the strongest terms we have had with the Anthos Arts Youth Division and we cannot wait to pick up again in the new year.

Merry Christmas everyone! See you next time!

The Princess and the Goblins- Week 9

DRESS REHEARSAL!
That's right! It's so strange to think that we're almost at the end of what has been one of the best projects to date, but alas today was week nine working on 'The Princess and the Goblins!' and the cast finally had their dress rehearsal. Everyone was really excited to have the chance to perform with all their props and costume and it was a fantastic day!

What would a rehearsal be, however, without a few good games? This week we had to keep it short, however there was still time for a quick round of 'Goblin Attack!' and 'Buzzing Bees.' As always the group threw themselves into the games- they're all pros now after practising for nine weeks- and made some excellent shapes for the buzzing bees game (a personal favourite being 'winter wind on a window'). Once the games were over we took the cast through which props were theirs and what the layout of the stage would be. Then, it was time to begin. 

Now, as this week was spent doing the dress rehearsal from that point on, there isn't much else to write about without giving away the many surprises the group have in store for next week, however there is one thing that needs to be said. The run was outstanding. The group have worked so hard and committed so much time and energy to their characters that the show looks brilliant. There were bits where scripts were required or questions asked, but overall the cast managed the dress run in a professional manner that we would never have expected from such a young group- well, if we didn't know them as well as we do. These guys are a brilliant cast, they are supportive of one another and enjoy working together. That is what made 'The Princess and Goblins!' so wonderful to watch today!

So that was that. Once the dress rehearsal had finished we had enough time to give the group some feedback on their performance and talk about the arrangements for next week as we will be in our performance venue. Though it runs the risk of making this post repetitive; it needs to be said once more how fantastic our cast is. We are so proud of all of them for all their hard work. Next week will be the conclusion to this wonderful project and though its going to be sad to see it end, we're certain that its going to be incredible. The end of the day also saw our goodbye to Exeter Community Centre, which has been amazing in supporting our work and providing a safe environment for our youth groups to play and practice. Anyway, onward and upwards. See you after the performance!

P.S.

The post this week may be short but don't fret! We had plenty of pictures from the dress rehearsal, so feel free to enjoy them in the absence of our usual babble.