Here are a few Theatre Firsts from a few members of the Theatre Hullabaloo team :

Hannah's Snow Queen

Dorcas and Freddie's Big Jump

 Ethan's Seaside Tradition 

Twine Event Launch

The North East's Twine Event Launch took place on Thursday 20^th June 2013 at the Assembly Rooms, Newcastle upon Tyne.

 Twine helps touring theatre companies in the North East to develop entrepreneurial and creative ways of growing and developing by forging relationships with a range of organisations and individuals and to ensure that those companies continue to flourish. The 5 companies involved are: Theatre Hullaballoo, Northumberland Theatre Company, Théâtre Sans Frontières, Unfolding Theatre & The Empty Space. All involved are working together to fundamentally change the way touring theatre companies sustain themselves, and the relationships they have with their audiences.

 The five companies are passionate about touring theatre and the benefits it can bring to its audiences. As a result each company had to present a ‘gift’ to share with the others Our gift was the Launch of the Theatre Firsts Campaign which is designed to celebrate the importance of theatre firsts, by asking people to share their memories of their first theatre experience.

Here are a few of the most outstanding contributions to the Theatre First Campaign:

 

Graham and His technicolor dreamcoat

 

 

Moyra's Richard III at the Theatre Royale  

 

Pirates of Penzance

''Oh no you didn't ... oh yes I did''  

 

 

 

 

Theatre Firsts from Twitter

Today on Twitter, we've been talking about Theatre Firsts. Here's some of the tweets we've received about early theatre memories.

Adam Lopardo, Founder of NE Funding for the Arts.

1st theatre memories are the pantos at Worthingtons Connaught Theatre in the 70's.
Went to a few so not sure which was the first!! Meeting the cast after was probably most memorable.
That 'behind the scenes' buzz, prob why I ended up working in Theatre.

My first none panto theatre experience was much stranger, Heller's Catch 22 which used real animal entrails and blood for a death scene. I was only about 10/11 when I saw that. To be honest, I didn't get most of it, but it made an impact on me. What you could do/show ect. It was very exciting and inspiring.

Sarah Argent, Freelance Theatre Director. 

Theatre Hullabaloo ‏@HullabalooTweet
@sargent65 Tell us your first theatre memory please Sarah :-)

 Sarah Argent ‏@sargent65
I was in Caucasian Chalk Circle age 3. Played Michael in blue raggedy suit, ate cake, was worried I'd be pulled apart! I've been in theatre for nearly 45 years now! #feelinggolden

Lucy Vaughan.

Beauty and the Beast at the Little Lyceum, Edinburgh when I was about 10. I now work for Lyceum Theatre.

Amos D Jacob, Theatre Producer and Director in York.

My Theatre Firsts are shows at National Trusts. I'm pretty sure I gave a Middle Ages lady a bent daisy. #romance.


Angharad Lee, Theatre and Film Director. 

My Dad playing Tin Man in the school production of Wizard of Oz.I sobbed coz he was stuck and I couldn't help. #1stmemory


Lyn Gardner, Theatre Writer for The Guardian and Children's Writer.

Not sure it's my first theatre memory, but I remember an actor falling off the stage during Toad of Toad Hall.
The rest of the performance was cancelled.

John Godber Company.

My first experience was watching a girl dance troupe at tower ballroom, Blackpool aged 6.

IS Night, Central Region Editor for thepublicreviews.co.uk

Seeing 1066 and All That at the Old Birmingham Rep. It seemed huge. I was about 13 and didn't realise until recently that it was the final production there before moving to their new building.

ArtWorks Cymru

@HullabalooTweet Meg and Mog @ShermanCymru in 1978. I just loved sitting in the big dark space & watching the stage come to life!

CJ Lyon, PCM Projects Co-ordinator

@HullabalooTweet #1stTheatreMemory Nottingham Theatre Royal, DoylyCarte production of Rudigore. The paintings turning in to real people. It was the start of my engagement with live theatre. The suspension of disbelief and being surprised by illusion.

Liz Million's Theatre Firsts

As it is World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People, we asked children's author and illustrator Liz Million to share her Theatre Firsts:

My earliest memory of the theatre was when Abbey Infants visited the Civic Theatre, Darlington. Going anywhere on the bus was always exciting and we went to see The Selfish Shellfish. It was a very magical experience as the world under the sea was brought to life with costumes and sparkly rocks. I loved the fact we all sat in the dark and smoke covered us completely as we were right at the front! Even now when I smell fake smoke it transports me to my first play.

I loved the panto as well as sweets were chucked into the audience and you got to heckle the bad guys which I was a big fan of because at school you always had to put your hand up.

I still thoroughly enjoy visiting the theatre. My 3 year old son visited the panto this christmas and was scared stiff!

I am also a massive fan of Punch and Judy and remember also seeing a show and getting free toothpaste!

Visit Liz's website at http://www.lizmillion.com.

The Public Reviews - When is the right time to introduce children to the theatre?

When is the right time to introduce children to the theatre? This is a question that The Public Reviews have been asking this week and blogger Nicole Evans talks about how her first experience of theatre made a lasting impression and marked the start of a continuing love for the arts. She also talks about her children’s Theatre Firsts and why parents should take their youngsters to the theatre, even if they do worry that they might be too young to appreciate it. She even recommends Theatre Hullabaloo as a great children’s theatre company!

Here is a link to the blog: When is the right time to introduce children to the theatre?
http://www.thepublicreviews.com/blog-when-is-the-right-time-to-introduce-children-to-theatre/

When was your Theatre First? And parents, when was your children’s Theatre First?

The Dreams of Philomina and Gloria Lindh's Theatre Firsts

After a few years of just driving past Arc at Stockton and knowing where it was in relation to Domino’s Pizza, last Friday, I finally went inside to see The Dreams of Philomina by Lunabug and Little Mighty Theatre.

The Dreams of Philomina follows a lonely widow who gets the opportunity to say goodbye to her late husband Albert before he boards the train from The Waiting Place to another life. She goes to the waiting place – where things are never quite as they seem, to find him before he boards the train.
It’s the first show I’ve seen that has been written and developed specifically for children, and it’s good to finally have a bit of context to go with the work I have been doing as part of my internship and to see what quality children’s theatre is all about.

I was surprised by how small the set and studio were and how close to the set and the action the front row of children were. I wish I had thought to ask, but I imagine a lot of them will have felt involved in the story – as if they were actually sitting in Philomina’s cottage or watching by the river as she struggled her way across on her quest to find her late husband, Albert. The close proximity to it all meant lots of interaction as they were called upon to answer questions and give directions to help Philomina on her journey. The show was very energetic and gave the children lots of opportunities to join in and give Philomina ideas about how to cross bridges and rivers and point her in the right direction.

By far my favourite part was listening to the children in front of me at the end. One of them said ‘but, she’s back in bed!’ to be met with her friend’s reply of ‘of course she’s in bed! That’s why it’s the DREAMS of Philomina!’ Their enjoyment and emotional investment were infectious.

I got in touch with Gloria Lindh, the show’s producer to ask her about her Theatre Firsts.

• What is the first show you went to see?

The first show I remember seeing was The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at Hull Truck. Particularly the bit where we had to roar. I was pleased with my roaring!

• How old were you the first time you went to the theatre?

We lived in Hull from when I was 4-6 years old so it would have been around that time.

• What is the first show that really stood out to you?

It depends…various shows stood out for different reasons? The City Varieties panto aged 7 where my keenness meant my less than keen mother got dragged up on stage with me and Jeremy Beadle obviously because I got to go both onstage AND backstage….The production of West Side Story aged 12 where I cried so hard my (again) long suffering mother was whispering at me to be quiet. But it was so sad! I still love that musical…A piece of devised work in progress by Theatre de Complicite at WYP aged 15, the first time I’d ever seen anything like it and it blew my mind. I could go on!

• What is the first show you performed in/have you ever performed in a show?

I remember being very bitter about having a role playing the triangle in our primary school musical. I had my eye on the lead! I’ve clearly erased that play from my mind. The next year I managed to wangle myself a more substantial role, in a play that clearly was chosen for the links with our curriculum content studying industrialisation in Victorian Britain.

• Who was the first character you played?

Apart from various strange characters created with my sisters to amuse ourselves, it was someone called Mary Anne in the play about Victorian Britain. I can remember the song lyrics but not the name of the play!

• What was the first play you remember reading at school? 
A Shakespeare play? Probably Macbeth in high school.

• What was the first play you remember reading for fun?
I don’t think I’ve ever read a play for fun! I like to go and see plays, and read books.

• What shows do you hope to see in future?

Some of the shows I’m working on – The Boggle by Lawrence Speck is coming up soon, seeing Lunabug Theatre’s new show about Pigeons in the 1st World War come to life will be exciting.  That’s the thing about producing – part of it is getting excited not just about what’s been made but what is yet to be made! There’s a lot of shows coming up at West Yorkshire Playhouse which is one of my local theatres, as part of their Transform season that I want to see. They will be happening all over the city. I think I will have to camp in my office during those two weeks!

• What show would you love to be in if you had the chance?

Oh that’s tricky. Nowadays I much prefer being in the audience. I would be really interested to take part in a show called Godhead by Chris Goode, which is just him and a different non performer at each performance. Or if I could suddenly magic up some dance skills, I’d have to say West Side Story!

• What do you think is the perfect first show for children?

Something where you get to join in. I would love to have been small enough to go and see Invisible Flock’s Book of Beasts in The Nighttimes, but I was too grownup to get a ticket. But it’s also lovely to go and see something with all the trimmings of going into a theatre, the lights and the costumes, music. It’s also not just about the show, but how you get treated on your way to the show, and the way out that makes it really perfect.

Tickets are still available for The Dreams of Philomina at Selby Town Hall, Barnsley Civic and Harrogate Theatre throughout May. For more details, go to Lunabug's website: http://lunabug.co.uk/shows/

Blog by Rachel Glew, Theatre Hullabaloo Intern.

Chris Connaughton's Theatre Firsts

Yesterday I experienced another Theatre First when I went along to The Word children’s library at Crown Street Library, Darlington. Professional actor and children’s author Chris Connaughton was staging Alice in Wonderland based plays and telling traditional fairy stories. Crown Street Library based the events around the painting Lewis Carroll at St Peter’s Rectory, Croft Yorkshire by American artist, Ralph Leslie Swinden (1968). The painting was the centre piece of the day and inspired the Lewis Carroll themed activities. 

It is the first time I can recall going to see a professional story teller and I was just as impressed as the children. I hung on to every word as Chris became Lewis Carroll and acted out excerpts from Alice in Wonderland. He then explained what had inspired Carroll to write it and encouraged the children to help him create a new story to tell in the same way Lewis Carroll would with Alice Liddell, the girl who inspired him to write Alice in Wonderland. Throughout the morning, Chris played everyone from Rapunzel to the Cheshire Cat and I felt just as involved in his performance and stories as the children. 

It was a fantastic event and I watched several of the children leave with books. I wasn’t surprised by this as I too wanted to go home and read Alice in Wonderland, or write stories or do anything that involved using my imagination. I remembered how much I love children’s and young adult literature and how I wished I had more time to write! The event really captured the imagination and encouraged creativity. The accompanying adults became just as involved as their children, shouting out answers and suggestions for stories and were hopefully inspired to go home and read, or to go to the theatre to watch more stories unfold before them.

In between shows, I caught up with Chris to ask him about his Theatre Firsts.  

What is the first show you went to see?

The first show I went to see was a panto when I was about four. I think it was Aladdin.  I remember a transformation scene with deep, blue lights and being carried out screaming – I was terrified!

What is the first show that really stood out to you?

As a teenager, I went to see a production of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale and it left a lasting impression. It was a cast of five dressed all in white, so they each played more than one character. They used hardly any props and I was moved by how different it was and how involved I felt in the audience. It’s definitely left a lasting impression and influenced the way I perform. 

What is the first show you performed in?

The first show I performed in professionally was Macbeth and I played Banquo.

What was the first character you played?

Banquo was the first character I played professionally, but in college I played Chekov’s Uncle Vanya. Playing that character pushed me as an actor and made me take my performance to a whole new level.

What was the first play you read at school or for fun?

I remember seeing an excerpt from Macbeth when I was about 8 that involved the three witches. I knew then that I was reading something entirely different to anything I had ever seen or read before. I also remember reading a Midsummer Night’s Dream at school as a teenager, but the first play I read for enjoyment was Equus. It was a new play at the time and quite adult so I wanted to read it and see what it was all about.

What shows do you hope to see in future?

I’m seeing Hamlet again later this year but would love to see a really good production of King Lear or Othello.

What show would you love to be in if you had the chance?

I would love to have another crack at Uncle Vanya now that I’m the right age to play him. He would be a fantastic character to revist. I would also love to play Iago in Othello or be in War Horse. I love the puppetry and beauty of War Horse. I achieved my ambition of playing Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing in a production by Mad Alice.

What do you think is the perfect first show for children?

For little children, I think anything by Theatre Hullabaloo, Polka or Unicorn as they specialise in quality theatre for very young audiences and really know how to perform and appeal to children. For older children, I would recommend War Horse or Matilda. I also think Macbeth is the perfect introduction to Shakespeare for older children. It has witches, magic, ghosts and violence! If more schools used it as an introduction to Shakespeare, I think it would get more boys reading and interested in Shakespeare.  

Introduction

My name is Rachel and I am about halfway through a 12 week internship with Theatre Hullabaloo. In 2013, Theatre Hullabaloo will be launching its Theatre Firsts campaign. The aim of this is to encourage people to share their first experiences of the arts and encourage others who haven’t previously been to the theatre or have had very little experience with the arts to get involved and make their own Theatre Firsts.

As I am with Theatre Hullabaloo for the next six weeks, I have been tasked with launching this blog and the Theatre Firsts campaign by writing about my own Theatre Firsts and asking other people to contribute theirs.

Before I begin writing, I need to get this confession out of the way. I may be working for Theatre Hullabaloo, but I have never really considered myself a ‘theatre person.’ I’ve studied Literature and Creative Writing, even dabbled in a bit of social science, but not since I was about twelve and going through a stage of wanting to be an actress have I thought of myself as a theatre person. I spent a good hour before writing this staring at the blank page, panicking and thinking ‘but I know nothing about theatre!’ So this is my first. It’s a first in the sense that it’s my first job in the arts, and it’s a first that I have to learn about them and experience them and quickly!

This isn’t to say I’m not familiar with theatre. I’ve seen four different west end shows, I’ve read a lot of Shakespeare and seen Macbeth and I took my mam to see River Dance for Mother’s Day a few years back. I also read (most) of Death of a Salesman in Sixth Form, but I feel like I know very little of theatre that might not be particularly mainstream or well-known and I’ve definitely never really thought about production values, programming or anything like that before. I figured that I couldn’t be the only one, so I rang a friend from uni who is also an arts intern.

‘Clare, do you consider yourself a theatre person?’

I was met with an awkward pause.

‘No… I guess I’ve never given it much thought. I mean I’ve seen operas and once saw Julius Caesar. Didn’t we have to read Renaissance plays at uni?’

So it wasn’t just me, but it wasn’t exactly an inspirational response, so I thought of another angle.

‘But is theatre relevant as an art form?’

‘Of course it is. Literature and film are culturally relevant and both are just different forms of clever writing that entertain and make us think, how is theatre different? It’s dynamic and stimulating. I know when I was at school I’d rather have gone to watch Macbeth than have read it. It’s more interactive.’

After, the conversation inevitably turned to whether £60 is too much to spend on a dress, but as I hung up, I felt enlightened. Theatre is just literature in a different form. I shouldn’t be intimidated by it, I should embrace it. It often expresses social values and issues, it entertains and incites emotion. I remember the first time I went to see Blood Brothers and I remembered how the narrator’s voice and the fact he is always in the background gave me chills. I felt the dread of his presence and was trying to pass my damp eyes off as the result of a sneeze long before the tragic climax. I felt the same way as when I read Catcher in the Rye or His Dark Materials. I was emotionally invested and moved and I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days afterwards.

So perhaps I am a theatre person. In many ways, I’m on the same journey as my readers who also may not consider themselves ‘theatre people.’ I’m intrigued and a little bit intimidated, but at the same time, looking forward to experiencing these theatre firsts and learning something new.