Last Wednesday (17th April) we began a project which has been almost a year in the making. For several years, Helen and I have wanted to create a new interactive show for the under 5s which expands the idea of story and uses all the senses to create art.
The first stage of this project is a series of workshops at Southway library in Plymouth, in collaboration with Plymouth Libraries. We started the session- after enthusiastically saying hello of course – by finding animal characters hidden around the room and using them to tell two well-known fables: the lion and the mouse, and the tortoise and the hare. We explored the physical and vocal characteristics of these creatures before telling the stories in an interactive way with games including pin the tale on the mouse and lots of input from our little helpers (and their parents!). It was a really fun season and everyone was really engaged with the stories and characters. And it’s certainly fired our imaginations. Having mostly worked with slightly older children in the past, it was with some trepidation that we embarked on this project, not knowing exactly which of our idea would work with such a young audience. However with this first week completed Helen and I feel really excited for the weeks ahead and can’t wait to see just much much we can achieve for this show. Once the series of five workshops is over we shall spend some time in the rehearsal room to consolidate everything we’ve learned and form a finished piece which will tour to libraries and community settings later on the summer (stay tuned for more details).
A-Tissue, A-Tissue looks set to be a very exciting show and we’re all really excited to see where it can go.
We’re collaborating with set designer Chloe Benbow And musician/sound designer Daisy Higman. To enhance the final show and this project has been supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Stay tuned for next weeks blog post, follow us on facebook, and if you’d like to attend any of the up coming workshops at Southway library, they’ll be every Wednesday at 10.45am for the next 3 weeks!
Helen and George x