Autumn dates for our children and young peoples regular Artcan activities

The details for this term are as follows:

Seniors (14+) Mon 6.30-9.30, Stanhope Town Hall – starts Sept 7th (£3 for members)

Juniors (5+) Mon 4.15-6.15 at St Catherine’s Comm Centre, Crook – starts Sept 21st  (£2 for members)

NB:  We will also be organising a third group (ideally for the 8-13 age range).  In the past this has taken place at Wolsingham after school on Thursdays.  However it is likely that this will change to a different time and place to enable more people to attend.  We will let you know as soon as details are finalised.  In the interim you are welcome to attend the other groups as appropriate.  The mixed age range on a Monday at St Catherine’s makes for a lot of fun with Julie and Toby leading the sessions!

We run our ARTCAN activities for young people with limited subsidy from Durham County Council.  Our senior members volunteer their time to help with everything from running games to fund-raising.  We therefore run a Jackass membership scheme which we would encourage ALL participants to join.  It costs £5 per year (£2.50 per additional sibling).  Membership benefits include reduced rates for activities, subsidised theatre trips with free  transport, priority booking for special holiday projects and even trips abroad!

Wii Championship Fundraiser

Friday 2nd October 7pm – 11pm

Entry is £3 per person

Venue is Tow Law Community Centre, Dans Castle, Tow Law

Come along to our first ever Wii Championship and help us raise some money for our work with children and young people.

Watch Edwin Clavijo of Listen Up! the American Wii master at work and meet our special guest Sean McKenna who is the Digital Dockyard Wii Champion!!

You can sign up in pairs, as families or come along on your own

There will be food and a bar as well as an alternative raffle so bring some cash!!

Please note all young people aged 14 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

This is a family event so we encourage you to all come along and have some Wii fun or just watch!!

Booking is Essential with details of who would like to participate so we can programme the evenings Wii timetable

Email: info@jackdrum.co.uk

Tel: 01388 766756

Trans-Atlantic Film Project

Aged 14-25 and wanna be in the movies?

Wanna learn how to direct, write scripts, get the camera shots, write soundtracks, do special effects and editing?

Now’s your chance!

The Great Trans-Atlantic Film Project will connect Wear Valley with New York through the making of a film that crosses oceans and continents!

Young people from Brooklyn and the Bishop Auckland area have got the chance to work with filmmakers from New York and local company Jack Drum Arts to devise a mega film project – the first of its kind in the whole wide world!

If you wanna be part of this then come along to Stanhope Town Hall on Monday evenings between 6.30-9.30pm starting Monday September 14th.

Edwin and Clavijo from New York and Paddy Burton and Laura Emerson from Jack Drum Arrts will be pleased to see you, to listen to your ideas and make sure you have loads of fun!

Sessions will cost £3.50 (or £3 for Jackass members)

For further information contact:  01388 766756 or 730574 or email: info@jackdrum.co.uk

1 minute summer filmmaking project on the rights of the child

An exciting 3 day summer school working with filmmakers from Jack Drum Arts and our New York youth media partner Listen Up!

10am-3pm Tuesday 28th, Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th of July.  Cost £5 per day

Suitable for young people aged 12 years and under resident in Wear Valley

UNICEF wants to see what you think about children’s rights! It’s the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), a document that celebrates all the important rights children and young people have.   Come along and make a video with us showing what child rights mean to you, whether in the world at large, your country, your community or you personally. Videos will be uploaded onto the Unicef website and entered into their global competition.

This project has been made possible through the Cultural Exchange we are undertaking with Listen Up! from New York and via our DCC Artcan funding we are thrilled to be able to offer a group of children the opportunity to make short-films with our international partner.

Spaces for this 3 day summer school are strictly limited so we recommend you email or call us to put your child’s name on the list asap.

The venue for the summer school will be Howden Le Wear Community Centre.

Please either email or call us with your child’s name, age, telephone number and email address (if you have one) so that we can put them on the list.

Any queries please email Helen Ward, Project Director, Jack Drum Arts, 8 South Terrace, Crook, County Durham, DL15 9AD, Tel: 01388 766756 or email: info@jackdrum.co.uk

Now Touring

We are pleased to announce the schedule for our 2 new plays for young people, their friends, families, teachers and anyone that enjoys good quality original theatre!

We hope you will come along and tell other people to do the same! If you run a festival or venue or work with children, young people and their families you may want to book the shows for a future date. NB: we are hoping to mount retours in the autumn and in spring/summer next year. Please call Stacey Taylor in the office on 01388 766756 for more information and also to let her know if you want to attend a performance.

Now, here’s the nitty gritty and the fun info…

Thanks to generous support from the Princes Foundation for Children and the Arts (START scheme) Arts Council England, Wear Valley Arts (now subsumed by Durham County Council) and Derwentside Leisure, we have been able to establish a new performance ensemble to work on both productions. Children & Arts funding is enabling 700+ children to see the show and participate in workshops. Additional support from the Ethnic Minority & Traveller Achievement Service in Durham, North Yorks and Humberside has also enabled one of the plays to be performed to a wider audience as part of Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month.

The ensemble has been in place since mid April, rehearsing both plays and is as follows:
Acting Company: Pete Baynes, Paddy Burton, Carolyn Fairlie & Shelley O’Brien
Director & Media Production: Scott Young
Designer & Stage Manager: Simon Pell
Writer & Lead Practitioner: Julie Ward
Workshop Co-ordinator: Lucy Ridley

The plays are as follows:

1. “FROM CINDERS TO TATTERS”

An exploration of the many versions of Cinderella inspired by Bartolome Esteban Murillo’s extraordinary genre paintings of street children in 17th century Seville, and the rich traditions of Gypsy Romany Travellers. “From Cinders to Tatters” is a celebration of childhood and diversity and the dreams we all have of being someone else in someone else’s shoes. A play with storytelling, singing, music and dancing!

2. “THE THREE BEARS OUT & ABOUT”

This play explores what happens when we do something we shouldn’t do or when we go somewhere we shouldn’t go?

We’ve all done it. We’ve all been just a little bit nosey, just a little bit naughty!

And we all know what happened to Goldilocks when she was just a little bit nosey and a little bit naughty, but what if it was the other way around?

What would happen if the bears went to her house?

What would happen if the bears came to YOUR house?

“The Three Bears Get Lost” puts a new twist on a familiar tale exploring what it feels like to enter the unknown, to be out of your comfort zone.

Whether it’s the woods or simply the house next door – if you’ve never been there before it can be very VERY scary!

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

“From Cinders to Tatters”

Thur/Fri May 21st/22nd, 1.15pm at Spennymoor Town Hall – ref START

Fri May 29th, 6.30pm at Howden le Wear Community Centre, near Crook – ref ARTCAN

Sat May 30th, 2pm & 6pm, Queens Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont St., Hexham
Tel: 01434 652477 www.queenshall.co.uk

Mon-Fri June 8th-12th, 1.15pm, Lamplight Arts Centre, Stanley – ref START

Tues June 23rd, 1.30pm at Spennymoor Town Hall – ref GRTH

Wed June 24th, 1.30pm at Endsleigh Centre, Beverley Rd, Hull, HU6 7LJ – ref GRTH

Thur June 25th, Ripon Racecourse, afternoon performance – ref GRTH

Fri June 26th, 11am & 1.15pm at Tong High School, Westgate Hill Street, Bradford, BD4 6NR – ref GRTH

Tues June 30th, afternoon at Pelton Roseberry Comprehensive, Co Durham – ref GRTH

Three Bears Out & About

Mon-Fri June 15th- 19th, 1.15pm, Lamplight Arts Centre, Stanley – ref START

Tues June 23rd, 6pm Queens Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont St., Hexham
Tel: 01434 652477 www.queenshall.co.uk

Thur/Fri July 2nd & 3rd, 1.15pm at Spennymoor Town Hall – ref START

Fiesta Fun With Jack Drum Arts – holiday workshops

Drama Games, Music, Singing, Dressing Up & Making Cool Stuff!!!

Summer Half Term 09! 26th – 29th May

WHO?          5 – 14 Year Olds

WHERE?    Howden le Wear Community Centre

WHEN?      Tues 26th to Fri 29th May 2009, 10am – 3pm  with a  special Fiesta Friday Eve Family Event

WHAT?      Working with professional actors, actresses, musicians and artists, young people will bring to life all the fun of a Spanish Fiesta

WHY?         Because everyone loves a party!

COST?        £20 per child for 4 days

HOW?        Contact Stacey or Emma on 01388 766756 or e-mail – stacey@jackdrum.co.uk

please note all children must come with a packed lunch

Beyond Green – Summer Film School for young people

An exciting 2 week summer school working with filmmakers from Jack Drum Arts and our New York youth media partner Listen Up!

10am-4pm Monday-Friday, August 17-28, 2009 – Cost £50 per person for 2 weeks

Suitable for young people aged 13-19 years old

“Beyond Green” is a global youth media documentary film project funded by Adobe Youth Voices created and managed by Listen Up! The original project followed young filmmakers in countries such as Armenia, Colombia, Cuba, Kenya, Serbia, Thailand and the U.S. as they explored the environments in which they live. Each team produced a 5-8 minute film that personalised youth interaction with the environment and the impact on their lives, communities and beyond.

As part of a Cultural Exchange that Jack Drum Arts are undertaking with Listen Up! in New York we are thrilled to be able to offer a group of young people aged 13-19  the opportunity to make a short film of their own inspired by the “Beyond Green” series of films made by youth from around the world.

Students will receive instruction in videography, writing, and interviewing before teaming up to make a short documentary film of their own which will examine their own local environment and its problems. Spaces for this summer school are strictly limited and to guarantee a place all students must submit the completed application form by the 10th July 2009. Payment will be requested in advance to secure the place.

The venue for the summer school is still to be decided but will be either in Crook or Wolsingham, with trips out on location in a minibus for filming days. The filmmakers would like to meet with the students for 2 pre-production dates before the summer school begins – dates will be decided once we have our filmmaker group.

Please note: we require students to attend the entire 2 weeks of the summer school although certain prior commitments can be accommodated provided they are discussed with Jack Drum Arts in advance. Deadline for application submissions is July 10th, 2009

to request an application form or to find out further information please email info@jackdrum.co.uk

Kids for Kids UK Film Festival

Jack Drum Arts is pleased to announce that it will be hosting the first ever Kids for Kids UK Film Festival for children and young people in collaboration with CIFEJ and the Gala Cinema in Durham with generous funding provided by Northern Film and Media.

Kids for Kids UK is calling for films made by children and young people resident in any part of the UK. If you are a child or young person aged 6-16 years, live in the United Kingdom, and have made a film, video, television programme or animation then Kids for Kids UK invites you to submit your film for entry into our first ever film festival. It will take place in the historic City of Durham on the 17th and 18th October 2009. More details about the festival will be posted later in the year.

If you are a youth media worker, film educator, youth worker or teacher working with children and young people in any part of the UK, or if you are a parent of a child who has made a film, Kids for Kids UK would like you to assist the children in submitting their films to our 1st ever competition.

All kinds of moving images–animation, experimental, documentary, fiction–will be considered provided they are no longer than 10 minutes. Please read the guidelines for further details.

Winning entries will represent the UK at Kids for Kids International Film Festival in 2010.

The DEADLINE for receiving entries is July 31st, 2009.

Please follow this link for more info and to download the submission form and festival guidelines Kids for Kids UK Film Festival

Jack Drum Arts receives Investors in People Award

Thanks to our office manager Stacey Taylor’s hard work and the support of the County Durham Foundations ‘Lead the Field’ programme the company has received it’s Investors in People status for the 2nd time.  Stacey donned her glad rags to go and pick up the award at an event in Spennymoor in December 2008.

Christmas Newsletter 2008

Hello and seasonal greetings to all our friends, colleagues, and supporters.  2008 has been one of the most exciting years in our 22 year history and we’re pleased to share the news of our achievements and successes with you…

January:  With funding from Heritage Lottery and Wear Valley Arts we begin work on our most ambitious youth theatre project to date – “Sharp Practice”.  This two-act play with a cast of 26 explores the heritage of slavery in the north east and the story of the Durham abolitionists, spanning more than 200 years in an epic tale of dissent and downright defiance!

February:  Paddy sends us a postcard from Egypt where he is on tour with Theatre Sans Frontieres, performing in French!  Meanwhile Julie brings the thrill of Chinese New Year to Howden-le-Wear with the help of local artists and the staff and children of the village primary school.  Helen is busy working with the Tyneside Cinema’s News Real project – which keeps her occupied most of 2008.

March: “Going to Appleby” and “Double Trouble”, the final 2 films of our First Light Movies “Masterbuilders” Studio Award, receive their local premieres amid great excitement.  Several of our other films are screened at Video Tivoli in Finland.  Julie completes a national pilot scheme for Poet in the City, exploring the use of creative writing and emotional well-being with students at Gilesgate Community College in Durham.

April:  “Sharp Practice” tours to 4 regional venues and receives rave reviews in the Newcastle Journal and Weardale Gazette.  Our work with GNVQ Performing Arts students at Wolsingham Specialist Arts College is rewarded with some excellent performances, helping the school raise attainment levels and establishing a best practice model linking education with the cultural industries.

May:  We begin our contract with Durham Education creating original sound-tracks for 100 educational podcasts and also begin work on “Diversity Works”, contracting 4 talented, young graduate actors from local colleges to devise a hard-hitting forum theatre production for Wear Valley schools and youth clubs.  Paddy begins working with Mad Alice Theatre Co, sporting a new hairstyle!

June:  2 partnership projects with Groundwork Trust come to fruition – “The Bishop’s Backyard”, Paddy’s film with gifted and talented students from Wolsingham School, and a theatrical heritage walk around Cockfield Fell, bringing to life Viking invasions, epic battles and a Methodist Love-Feast.

July:  Julie takes “Sharp Practice” to the Big Youth Theatre Festival in London before heading off to Contacting the World in Liverpool where she meets up with old friends and makes new ones, including the CATS youth theatre from New York.  Meanwhile, Paddy accompanies 3 of our youth theatre members on a 2 week summer school at the Sonnenberg Foundation in the beautiful Harz mountains of northern Germany.  Working with Croatian director, Vera Loncar, and young people from Poland, Germany, the Ukraine and Croatia, they explore issues of migration to create an original play which is performed at youth camps and in an urban allotment garden in the middle of a tower block in Hannover! “The Princess and the Pendant”, an animation made by Helen in collaboration with Jane Crawford (Daisy Arts) and children from Hartside Primary is selected for screening at 35,000ft onboard Virgin Atlantic planes flying to a host of exotic destinations. The film was also chosen by Soda Pictures to be included as an extra on their new family DVD release, Azur & Asmar: The Princes’ Quest a beautiful animation written and directed by Michel Ocelot.

August:  We devise a Story Trail for National Play Day in Hamsterley Forest and enchant 100s of children and their families with a hilarious cast of confused story-book characters, featuring Julie as a blue-rinse Old Mother Hubbard!  At the end of the holidays we run a summer school, making trailers for the films we REALLY want to produce with all our youth theatre groups.  An oriental theme emerges so we subsequently take a group of children and parents to the Japanese Festival in Durham to learn about the ancient art of tea-making from REAL geishas.  Julie is head-hunted to work with a group of artists from The Slade School of Fine Art, creating text for a new flagship health centre in Hull.

September:  Paddy goes back to work for Theatre Sans Frontieres, this time as a Spanish-speaking witch!  Julie goes to New York with the production team from Sharp Practice to present a best-practice workshop on the creative use of historical documents at Performing The World, an international conference about theatre and social change.  Whilst there she visits CATS and Listen Up! a youth media organisation.

October:  “Sharp Practice” is performed as part of Black History Month and wins a Youth Works That Works Award.  “Double Trouble” is screened at Alice in the City (part of the Rome Film Festival).   Out in the cold, cold night, 100s of people turn up to watch our crazy take on Grimms’ Tales for Halloween events in Hamsterley and Evenwood.  Back in the office we wrap up the end of our 2 year Arts Council Cultural Sector Development Initiative project.

November:  Thanks to Stacey’s hard work, updating and improving all our policies and personnel procedures, we receive our second Investors in People Award.  We also launch “First Encounters”, a Princes Foundation Children and the Arts partnership project with 13 Wear Valley schools to create new performance work and linked workshops for young children as part of a new arts centre development in Crook.

December:  Niamh Watkinson and Alex Atkinson, 2 of our talented young filmmakers, go to Pyrgos in Greece to represent their peers at Camera Zizanio where “Double Trouble” and “Going to Appleby” are screened for an international audience.  We receive the wonderful news that we have been chosen by Visiting Arts as one of only 3 UK organisations to participate in an international intercultural exchange project.  This will involve Helen in a 3 month placement with Listen Up! in New York and a reciprocal visit by Listen Up! to Co Durham.  Roll on 2009 and the opening of our new base at the refurbished Elite Civic Hall.