PLAYBOX THEATRE MAJOR NEW PROJECT IS YOUNG SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

TRAINING AND PERFORMANCE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO BUILD AND DEVELOP EXPERIENCE IN SHAKESPEARE AS LIVING PLAYWRIGHT

Embargoed until 10.00pm Wednesday April 16 2008

Playbox Theatre tonight at The Dream Factory, Warwick present the 444^th birthday production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream featuring a cast of 40 young people aged 8-19.

The production launches a major new training and performance project 2008-2010 from Playbox Theatre aspiring to develop the skills, talent, confidence and understanding of young people in the plays of Shakespeare as a living, breathing playwright as vital today as he was in his own theatre.

Playbox Theatre fully supports and endorses the RSC’s manifesto for Shakespeare, Stand Up For Shakespeare, whilst taking the concept into a new dimension, Stewart McGill Director explains,

“It has always been important for us at Playbox to enable young actors to create Shakespeare both in production and workshop. Since opening our own theatre here in Warwick, The Dream Factory nine years ago we have explored over 14 Shakespeare plays. During the RSC’s The Complete Works festival we took a break and enjoyed the experience of the huge event bringing Shakespeare in many forms to Stratford. With our new staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream we are re-discovering the fresh ideas, exciting thinking and tremendous energy young people have for the writer. It’s not and never can be easy, text over 400 years old, words out of currency, social and historical contexts often alien to us. Yet beneath the layers of problems – a searching humanity and a contemporary explorer of our condition. During 2008-2010 we plan to develop regular training and performance work for young people aged 8 to mid-twenties enabling them to discover Shakespeare in performance."

From September 2008

Regular sessions will be held at The Dream Factory as follows for young people in Shakespeare-in-performance.

The training course will be directed by Playbox Theatre with regular and associate directors covering:

• Text and voice
• Development and understanding of scenes
• Small-scale projects at The Dream Factory and on tour
• Major Shakespeare plays in production
• Renaissance movement
• Movement
• Directing Shakespeare
• Sonnets and poems
• Shakespeare’s own theatre and contemporaries
• Shakespeare’s clowns

2009 YSC TWO PLAYS IN REPERTOIRE AT THE DREAM FACTORY 
WITH ONE MULTI-SKILLED YOUNG COMPANY

In the summer of 2009 as part of Playbox Theatre’s 10 years at The Dream Factory events a multi-skilled company of actors will stage two Shakespeare comedies in repertoire, The Taming of The Shrew and The Comedy of Errors.

Within the one company the young actors will play one major and one minor role exploring the diversity of roles, techniques and skills involved. Two directors will head up the project scheduled to open on Thursday 30^th April 2009.

Plans are being laid for the YSC to tour work to a series of varied locations and conditions to help young actors gain in understanding towards potential careers in theatre. Stewart McGill emphasises, “Recently there has been much discussion of young actors playing Shakespeare in UK theatre and suggesting, perhaps, they lack the technique for speaking the plays. We are very excited by the current development of young actors and believe that there is a wealth of talent setting out in the theatre. However it must be said that film and television techniques do not transfer easily to the stage, especially the larger ‘houses’. Playbox Theatre’s YSC will aim to explore how playing  Shakespeare on stage is both challenging and liberating, hopefully inspiring a route that may take them further as they grow.”

Tonight’s launch at Playbox ‘s celebration for A Midsummer Night’s Dream marks the first major new training and course for the company in Shakespeare and interested applicants will be invited to audition in June for the first season coming in September.

Interviews available with Stewart McGill, Director of Playbox Theatre.

 Source:
Nikki Claire Cross   Playbox Theatre Ltd
Tel: 01926 419555   Email: nikki@playboxtheatre.com

Playbox Theatre, The Dream Factory, Shelley Avenue, Warwick, CV34 6LE
Tel: 01926 419555 | Fax: 01926 411429 | www.playboxtheatre.com