BlackfishArtsAcademy

The Roundhouse TheatreDover

• Academy Mission Statement & Aims

• Blackfish History & Background

• Professional Workshop Programme

• Blackfish Past Productions

• Professional Touring & Dinner Theatre

• The Roundhouse Theatre - The Future

Academy Mission Statement & Aims

• Provide a high quality educational programme for people of the Dover area in the performing arts.

• Offer a wide range of performance, technical & theatre management options for anyone who wants to learn.

• Give local people the opportunity to work with professional actors, directors and performers during their training.

• Create a premiere arts and entertainment centre which provides people of all ages within the Dover area with a creative outlet for their energies, and a canvas for painting a future for the younger people.

• facility expansion to include an arts education academy; expansion of the community theatre project; formation of a drama company and dance troupe, development of a cabaret supper club/dinner theatre and creation of a strong employment and entrepreneurship training programme.

Our History & Background

Founded by local professional actor & director, Richard Esdale in 2004.

• Reason Academy Formed : Formed the academy to help develop the performing arts in the Dover area and to help young people develop skills in various disciplines with the arts industry.

• Deciding on Location : Saw potential of the Dover Discovery Centre as a base for the company to use for workshops & productions.

• Help & Support : Worked very closely with centre manager Symeon Hall and in April 2005 enlisted the help of local like minded people who also followed his vision.

• The Team : Consists of a team of volunteers from the Dover area which number around 20 people in administration, front of house, stage management, tutors & artistic development.

• Membership : Membership of local children & adults which regularly attend the workshops & auditions for our Community Theatre Programme.

Current Workshop Programme

• Monday: Circus Skills & Arial Trapeze-Dance• Tuesday : Community Theatre Rehearsals &

Development• Wednesday : “Talking Heads” Senior Monologues

Workshop• Thursday : Musical Theatre Workshop – “Musicology”• Thursday : Community Theatre Rehearsals &

Development• Saturday : Junior Acting Class (8yrs-13yrs) – (12pm-

1pm)• Saturday : Junior Physical Theatre Class – (1pm-2pm)• Saturday : Senior Acting Class (14yrs+) – (2pm-3pm)• Saturday : Senior Physical Theatre Class – (3pm-4pm)

Past Productions 2005-2006

• “The Musical, Hood”

• “Talking Heads”

• “Mojo”

• “Alice the Musical”

The story so far!

• Produced 4 major productions in The Roundhouse Theatre.

• Performed to audiences in excess of 1000

• Increased our membership from zero to around 150

• Had excellent local & county wide press coverage and support.

• Formed Partnerships with groups such as Connexions, Dover Museum, Expressive Feat, St.Radigunds Triangles Community Centre and more recently we have been approached by the illegal immigrants detention centre to provide drama workshops to inmates.

• Increased workshops & classes from just 1 day a week to 5 days.

Company in Residence

Blackfish Academy for the Performing Arts has recently developed a professional side to the company. Known as Blackfish Productions, we produce various pieces of work which includes our very popular dinner theatre company who travel around Kent doing Murder Mystery & Dinner Cabaret evnings advertising the name of the Discovery Centre & The Roundhouse Theatre.

“Mojo”

In July of this year we produced a hard-hitting play entitled “Mojo” using professional actors which was performed firstly in The Roundhouse Theatre then it transferred to the West London Fringe Theatre; Baron’s Court. It proved so popular that it was extended and commissioned for another week due to popular demand.

Aims for The Roundhouse Theatre

• Facility Expansion.

• Install comfortable seating.

• Install working lights & sound system.

• Hire theatre to touring companies.

• Encourage local theatre groups & schools to use the venue.

• Produce a full seasonal What’s On Guide.

What’s On?

Our intention is to work alongside KCC to bring a full annual programme of entertainment to the people of Dover in the newest theatre venue around.

We want to encourage the following types of companies/entertainment to use The Roundhouse Theatre;

• Touring Professional Theatre Companies• Comedians & Comedy Nights• Classical, Jazz, Blues, Folk bands & Singers• Professional Dance & Physical Theatre Companies.• Local Amateur Dramatic Societies from the surrounding areas• Schools & Colleges productions• Community Theatre Projects

What’s On?We can send a mail shot to companies outlining facilities & costs as soon as The Roundhouse can be

made more theatre friendly – i.e: Better dressing room facilities on the lower corridor, comfortable seating, box office facilities & more sound & lighting.

We have contacts of the following companies who are small touring companies who are always looking for new venues of this size to include on their UK tours;

Apples & Snakes/Lemn SissayGareth ArmstrongThe Bush TheatreKen CampbellCartoon de SalvoThe Clod EnsembleColchester Mercury Theatre

CompanyCompany F.ZContactGuy DartnellAndrew DawsondreamthinkspeakExtantFaulty Optic, Theatre of AnimationForkbeard FantasyFrantic AssemblyMat Fraser/Phocomedia

Vanishing PointVolcano Theatre CompanyLois Weaver/Split Britches CompanyThe Wrestling School

Yellow Earth Theatre

GeckoGob SquadPauline GoldsmithChris Goode/Signal to NoiseGraeaeGreen GingerHampstead Theatre CompanyKazuko HohkiHoipolloi TheatreHush ProductionsJadeKabosh TheatreKAOSEddie LaddMatilda LeyserLifeblood Theatre CompanyLlwyfan Gogledd Cymru (North Wales Stage)

Ursula Martinez ProductionsGuy Masterson ProductionsStephen Mottram's AnimataMark MurphyNews From Nowhere/Tim CrouchNormal Productions/Ray BrownJake OldershawPacitti CompanyPaines PloughPeepolykusPeople ShowPilot TheatrePoint BlankPunchdrunk Theatrical ExperiencesQuarantineRalf RalfRansom ProductionsRasa

Reckless SleepersThe Red RoomRidiculusmusRotozazaRoyal Lyceum Theatre CompanyScarlet TheatreSound & FuryStan Won't DanceStan's CafeSuspect CultureTara ArtsTheatre AbsoluteTheatre CrypticTheatre OThird AngelTold by an IdiotTraverse Theatre CompanyUninvited GuestsUnlimited TheatrePip Utton

EDUCATION

• Encourage local Schools & Colleges from Dover and beyond to use the venue for their productions.

• Invite T.I.E. Companies from around the country to use the venue and invite secondary & primary schools to watch in The Roundhouse instead of their school hall.

• Specialist training days & workshops – encouraging work experience and theatre management training.

• Local Schools conference & training days in conjunction with KCC

• School management meetings

• Encourage extra curriculum activities within the theatre & establish a Roundhouse Youth Arts Council with a committee consisting of local school children.

Getting Dover excited about the arts…

With your help we can develop The Roundhouse Theatre into becoming one of the best small theatre’s in the in the area…

We will make this centre buzz with the sound of excited young people who will

all take pride in their very own arts centre…

Together, we will firmly put Dover on the UK performing arts map and help advertise the fact that we have something special here and will make touring professionals actually want to come and perform here…

BlackfishArtsAcademy

The Roundhouse TheatreDover

The time is right…

THANK YOU