|
News
and Reviews
MADCAP
Performing Arts Centre Is pleased to announce that
it is now registered as an
Arts
Award Centre.
The
Arts Award supports young people to develop as
artists and arts leaders and is available
throughout England. The Arts Award is a nationally
recognised qualification at three levels Bronze,
Silver and Gold.
The Arts
Award shows your commitment to your art form, your
interest in developing your skills and
understanding, your communication and also your
planning and evaluating skills. Colleges,
universities and employers are always looking for
people with these skills.
You do your
Arts Award at MADCAP Performing Arts Centre with
one of our trained Arts Award
Advisors.
We want the
Arts Award to be accessible to all young people who
want to take part. We believe every young person
can develop their creativity and leadership skills.
The Arts Award is about personal challenge and
development and not a competition.
It's flexible
and can fit around other commitments such as
school, college or just a busy social life.
For more information or registration for the Arts
Award, please contact Carolyn Vale on 01908 320179
or email carolynvale@madcap.org.uk
Stanislavski
workshop photos
Jessica
Raynor
One of our Dance
Students who attends the Woolard Daniel's Dance
Academy at Madcap has just been accepted
at
The Royal
Academy of Dance
R.A.D
Well done
Jessica
Madcap would
like to thank
The employees at
Shaw
who nominated us for a donation. Thank you for your
generosity
SHAW
Pepper
Ghost's
'If You Touched My Heart'
22nd
January 2009
Review
How MADCAP
helped me gain
my
Degree
Daphne
Jones
Back in the
Eighties, as an OU student, I had to choose a
building for a project on architecture. Working as
feature writer for the Milton Keynes Express, I
knew Wolverton well. I often walked past (and
admired) the red brick building on the corner of
Creed Street. Originally known as the Church of St
George the Martyr‘s Sunday Schools and
Institute, it was just right for my purpose. Today
it is home to the wonderful MADCAP Performing Arts
Centre.
Who designed it?
Charles Marriott Oldrid Scott, one of the famous
architectural family who created (amongst others)
the Albert Memorial, the Midland Hotel, St Pancras,
Battersea Power Station, the Shakespeare Memorial
Theatre - and the famous red telephone
box.
When was it
opened? 100 years ago on October 7 1908. The
celebrations lasted four whole days to raise the
£4,000 needed to replace the old Sunday
Schools. Local residents dressed up for the Grand
Puritan Bazaar and there was a special
Children’s Day.
What would it be
used for? A host of different activities in the
main hall and meeting rooms, including the
all-important Sunday Schools, performances of every
kind, dancing classes and much, much more. The
building, which owed so much to the railway, not
only for its finances but the town’s
employment, really was a hive of activity.
With the
architect’s plans and archive from the 1908
Express I wrote an illustrated history of the
building. But I had not been inside until, in 1983,
I took part in an OU BBC film about students’
project work One chilly morning, with producer
Geoffrey Wheeler and his crew, I talked to camera
about the building and how its design had been
influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement. Then I
went inside and toured the building where so much
had happened over the years.
Twenty-five
years later I was invited to the first night of the
centenary celebrations and saw how a cold, bleak
hall had been transformed into the theatre of the
thriving MADCAP Performing Arts Centre you know
today.
Carolyn and Tony
warmly welcomed me and I was able to show the
audience the OU film made all those years ago. Long
may marvelous MADCAP flourish!
Did you have an
elderly relative who knew the Tilley family, of 81
Victoria Street? 1Mrs Viva Chappell (formerly
Tilley ) told me she and her brothers, Jack and
Leonard, were among the children who presented red
silk money purses to the Bishop of Oxford when the
foundation stone was laid in 1908.
The
Play's The Thing Theatre Company
presents
Olga
& Marie-Therese from Picasso's
Women
by
Brian McAvera
Reviewed
at Madcap Theatre Wolverton on Thursday 9th October
2008
Picasso's
Women is presented by The Play's The Thing Theatre
Company whose credo is in their name. That is, the
emphasis is on the play, using only a suggestion of
costumes, set and props. This is the first
production from this new professional theatre
company and they are unique in Milton Keynes in
that their aims, as listed in the programme, are:
to produce challenging and thought-provoking work
from the classical canon, to modern plays and work
from new writers.
Picasso's
Women is a thought-provoking piece of theatre,
which, in its entirety, is a series of eight
monologues telling the stories of Pablo Picasso's
eight wives and lovers from their point of view.
Two monologues have been selected for this
production: Act One is the story from his first
wife Olga; Act Two is the story from Marie-Therese
(17 years old and hence illegal under French law)
whom he lived with in a flat across the street from
his marital home. It may well be that these two
were selected because of the contrast between them.
Olga is clearly disappointed with the relationship
and with Picasso as a husband and lover, whilst
Marie-Therese appears to be fulfilled and wanted no
other man.
I
thoroughly enjoyed both monologues which were
performed to a high standard. Caroline Mann played
Olga, Picasso's wife, who bore his only legitimate
son. Olga was clearly disappointed with their
relationship and felt undervalued by him, both
intellectually and as a woman. This was a powerful
performance and effectively captures the character
of a woman who has been described as intelligent
and driven, but also as rigid, tyrannical,
obsessive and possessive. Miss Mann's
characterisation included all of these traits and
certainly displayed many of the more known aspects
of Olga's personality. Olga was a dancer who worked
extensively in Europe with the top ballets and Miss
Mann portrayed her as theatrical and
dramatic.
Marie-Therese
is played by Pam Ryder who gave an entirely
different performance, and was a wonderful contrast
to Olga, accentuating the physical aspect of a
woman whose interests revolved around swimming,
mountain climbing and gymnastics. She was a
physical fitness fanatic and certainly during the
time she appeared in Picasso's paintings possessed
a voluptuous figure. From this performance it is
not difficult to imagine why Picasso was attracted
to her. There is sensuality and fun in Miss Ryder's
portrayal and I felt like Marie-Therese was having
a personal conversation with me. Unlike Olga, this
character has a positive view of her relationship
with Picasso and appears to have found it
fulfilling. Miss Ryder gave Marie-Therese an almost
silly, child-like personality - a total contrast to
Olga.
I
would recommend that you go and see this excellent
production and I for one look forward to further
work from this innovative new theatre
company.
Reviewed
by Sue Marks at Madcap Theatre, Wolverton, Milton
Keynes on Thursday 9th October 2008 on behalf
of
Catherine
Brian for UK Theatre
Network.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nemisis
got talent
BY
LAURA HANNAM (Mk News)
Television's
'Mr Nasty" turned Mr Nice in his praise for city
street dance crew Nemisis.
Celebrity
judge Simon Cowell dubbed the dancers 'fantastic'
in the auditions for Britain's Got
Talent.
Nemisis
are through to the live semi-final stage of the
competition after impressing the judges with a
performance which aired to 12 million viewers on
ITV on Saturday.
The
crew can regularly be found practising outside the
bus station in Central Milton Keynes, honing the
highly choreographed dance routines that saw them
crowned UK Hip Hop Street Dance champions last
year.
The
Britain's Got Talent competition is judged by Simon
Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers
Morgan.
At
Saturday's audition all three praised the group and
put them through to the next
stage.
Miss
Holden said: "Really slick, really cool, really
sexy and a really good line up - I like that you
have got those two fit girls in
it."
Mr
Cowell added: "I feel the same way, there are so
many times I'm sitting here hating the dancers but,
I mean, it was fantastic."
The
semi-final will be aired on Friday May 30 from
8.30pm.
Ishe,
the crew's leader, said: "We are really proud to be
representing Milton Keynes in this
competition.
"We
love performing and hope that all our supporters,
fans and people of Milton Keynes get behind us and
vote for us.
"It
would be like a dream come true to win this
competition and we intend to do our very best for
ourselves, our families and everyone in Milton
Keynes.
"It's
a great city and we are very proud to represent
it."
The
crew have been supported by local performing arts
charity Madcap, which helped them set up dance
classes and rehearse at its Wolverton studios
earlier this year.
They
are also supported by local talent spotters MK
Vibe.
Andy
Jones, MK Vibe founder said: "Milton Keynes is
buzzing at the moment, there is a huge wave of
young talented performers bursting onto the scene
and winning national competitions.
"I
believe this is going to be the year that the whole
country sees what MK is all about and Nemisis are
without doubt the epitome of all that is good with
the city's young people.
"Not
only are they amazingly talented, but they are the
most down to earth, hard working and dedicated
group of people you could ever wish to meet.
"They
are a real inspiration and excellent role models to
their generation and a perfect example of what can
be achieved by combining raw talent with the right
attitude.
"These
guys are a credit to Milton Keynes and it would be
fantastic to see them go all the way.
"The
whole city should get behind them and pick up the
phone this week to vote."
Two
acts from each of the semi finals go on to compete
in the live final, with viewers votes deciding who
will be the eventual winner.
Tread
the Boards celebrate double success at the
Bedfordshire Drama Festival!
"Present
Day" was local drama group Tread the Boards entry
into the Bedfordshire Drama Festival. Written by
our very own Shirley Jones it proved to be a great
success and we are very pleased to announce that
the group won two awards! Ian Nutt, who played
Tony, won the Best Actor Award for his "spontaneous
and genuine portrayal" of his character, and
Shirley Jones (Chair of TTB) won the prestigious
adjudicator's award for her excellent script. The
festival adjudicator was Colin Dolley of GODA
(Guild of Drama Adjudicators). Colin is a newspaper
and theatre critic and a freelance director. He
adjudicates across Europe.
Following
on from our success we are pleased to announce that
we are going to be performing "Present Day" during
July 2008. A brief synopsis:
"As
three households prepare to celebrate special
occasions, they are unaware of how their lives will
interweave with dark and tragic consequences..... "
On
12th July we will be performing it at the Ellen
Petitt Memorial Hall in Woburn Sands, and on the
18th and 19th July at the Madcap Theatre, Creed
Street, Wolverton. We will also be complimenting
this piece with another production - details to
follow in two weeks. Please keep your eyes on our
website www.tread-the-boards.org.uk for further
details.
The
photo is of Ian Nutt, who played Tony and won the
Best Actor award, and Shirley Jones, Chair of Tread
the Boards and script-writer, who won the
prestigious adjudicator's award for her excellent
script.
Vikki
Morton
Publicity
Officer
Tread
the Boards
JANET
SHELLEY RECEIVES MBE FOR SERVICES TO CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY
Janet
Shelley, founder and managing director of Women
Builders Limited, Bletchley, Buckinghamshire has
been awarded a Member of the Order of the British
Empire (MBE) by Her Majesty The Queen for services
to the construction industry.
Janet,
who created Women Builders in 2003 following her
own desire to qualify in plastering skills,
realised the increasing potential to encourage more
women into the construction industry and the
difficulties women face in securing training and
job placement in what is recognised as a
male-dominated industry. The company largely
employs a female workforce that provides a
construction and maintenance service in the Milton
Keynes, Buckinghamshire and North Oxfordshire
areas.
"My
aim is to provide skills training for women who
want to pursue a career in construction as well as
those facing a career change or whose circumstances
justify the necessary skills to carry out their own
home maintenance tasks," says Janet Shelley. "Armed
with these skills we can make a real difference to
the equality of opportunity for women; a skilled
worker is after all a skilled worker, regardless of
gender."
The
company's training school is located at the
Bletchley HQ where "Jobs for the Girls", a
programme of six-week training courses in building
maintenance, new build, carpentry and plumbing are
carried out followed by work placement in local
construction companies. Janet achieved support from
the European Social Fund to make this training
provision which is free to students.
Women
Builders is supported by the Construction Industry
Training Board (CITB) and SummitSkills, the Sector
Skills Council for Construction through which
employers have a direct route to influence
strategic planning for skills and
training.
"We
receive calls from women all over the country who
need our facilities but we are unable to help them
all," states Janet. "We hope to expand our training
and construction services with the goal to being a
national service provider."
Janet
Shelley, a 42 year old mother of two from Mursley,
Buckinghamshire is the current Chair of Women and
Manual Trades (WAMT), an organisation promoting
women in the trades through education and example,
and is Vice Chair of SummitSkills, Careers and
Diversity Interest Group.
Janet
Shelley's achievements as a woman entrepreneur and
her support of women interested in entering the
building trade has led to her appointment as a
Women's Enterprise Advocate by the South East
England Development Agency. She joins a select
group of female entrepreneurs who are being
recruited to act as role-models for other women and
to promote the benefits of being in business. This
group will help raise the profile of women's
enterprise and its importance to the South East
economy.
The
company has made many successful partnership
arrangements with national brands during its few
years of trading including Makita, of Milton
Keynes, Buckinghamshire, the UK arm of the global
professional power tool manufacturer, who provide
market-leading power tools for the Women Builders
training facility.
Janet
Shelley comments on the award of her MBE: "This is
a very exciting honour which I have achieved with
the help of many contributors and organisations and
I never forget how important these relationships
are. Four years ago I was successfully employed in
IT, knew nothing about construction, and now it's
my life. I want to share my ambitions with other
determined women. It's been a major learning curve
but I am proof that women do have a place in the
construction industry."
Spokesperson
for Makita UK, Andrew Helby, Marketing Manager,
says: "As a responsible power tool manufacturer we
are serious about the raising of construction
trades skills and standards and with the Women
Builders organisation being a close neighbour it is
even more appropriate that we work closely to help
Janet achieve her ambitions. We are proud of her
achievements."
www.womenbuilders.co.uk
Young
Offenders' Art Show
Carolyn
Vale at Madcap worked closely with Maxine Cork and
Rob McCafferty from Oakhill Secure training Centre
in setting up an art exhibition made up of young
offenders work. The following is an adapted version
of the press release in MKNews April 18
2007.
Artwork
by residents of the city's young offenders
institute was showcased to the public in April of
this year. It was the first exhibition of its kind
nationwide. It was hosted here at Madcap in
Wolverton and featured painings by 12-17 year olds
who are undergoing rehabilitation at Oakhil Secure
Training Centre (STC).
The
work on Display was selected from a range of
projects completed by young offenders within
Oakhill's art classes, based on their own choice of
themes and subjects.
It
was UK's first external STC art exhibition.
Oakhill
art teacher, Rob McCafferty said:"We are extremely
proud of what the young people have achieved and
this exhibition showcased a range of interesting
individual pieces that stand up to the finest
education establishments in the country.
"Many
of these youngsters hae missed years of school and
often feel threatened by a classroom and education
and this exhibition is a real achievement for
them."
At
the opening night, guests enjoyed refreshements
catered and served by the young people through the
Oaks Restaurant , a development of Oakhill's food
technology department.
The
High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, Amanda Nicholson,
said:"The work on display is positive, lively and
entergetic and demonstrates what can be achieved
through positive rehabilitation programmes within
secure training centres".
The
art and food tehcnology departments at Oakhil are
part of a programme for young offenders, which aims
to provide education and life skills to enable
troubled young people to successfully reintegrate
within society.
Some
of the art work from Oakhill
The
High Sheriff of Buckingham
The
mayor of Milton Keynes
Art
Therapist, Trevor Jeavons
MK
Citizen submitted the following article to their
newspaper.
From
Madcap to Broadway
By
Sally Murrer
A
play written by a busy mum to snatch a few minutes'
peace from the children could be set for the
biggest theatrical success story of all – on
New York's famous Broadway. And no-one is more
surprised than the mum herself, Louise Roche, who
launched 'Girls' Night' herself seven years ago
after scraping together the cash to hire
Wolverton's Madcap Theatre. She rounded up a bunch
of friends as actors and her husband Mark Randle, a
schoolteacher, stepped in as director. "It was all
a bit scary. I had three kids under four and we had
no money and even less time. But we really wanted
to put the play on stage," said Louise, who lives
on Downs Barn. The resulting production was given a
rave notice by the Citizen at the time and reviewer
Lee Scriven even said it was destined for a higher
stage. Shortly afterwards Louise and Mark made the
brave decision to hire Milton Keynes Theatre. All
we had was the money for a deposit. We had nothing
to actually pay for the production," recalled
Louise, who used the same cast of friends as
actors." The play was a sell-out. Since then the
couple have set up their own company, Goodnights
Entertainment, backed by former theatre chairman
Sir Peter Thomson and Girls' Night has successfully
toured regional theatres all over the country. But
Louise and Mark never dreamed it would hit the
States until recently, when an American producer
suddenly made an approach. "He'd been surfing the
net for shows to suit a female audience and he
noticed Girl's Night was being staged at Wimbledon.
"He didn't know London very well so he presumed
Wimbledon was a top West End theatre!" said Louise,
who has since written eight more plays.
"He
flew over to see the play and loved it. Before we
knew it he'd bought the rights and was planning to
stage it in Arizona."
Mark, who has now quit teaching to work full-time
for Goodnights Entertainment, was asked to direct
the production and is currently in Arizona
preparing for the opening night next week with four
of the original Madcap cast. Pre-booked sales are
excellent. "Then, out of the blue, the producer
said he wanted to take Girls' Night to Broadway,
possibly as early as June," said Louise."It all
seems like a dream. "For a play to go from Madcap
Theatre to Broadway is just incredible. "We can
hardly believe it ourselves!"
Published
Date: 26 April 2007 MK Citizen page 1
Good
Luck Louise from us all at Madcap. We hope we have
contributed to your success in some small
way.
Fairtrade
Fiesta brings World Music to MK!
Milton
Keynes boogied to music and dance from around the
world at the hugely successful Fairtrade Fiesta at
MADCAP in Wolverton on Friday 9th March.
|
