This year's HOMEGROWN FESTIVAL will be held on Friday, 17th and Saturday, 18th September 2010. The Festival will include presentation of Artwork, Singing, Poetry and Pints and a good time is guaranteed for all. Further details to follow.
Entries for our Stage Design competition are now in and, in spite of the summer recess, work has continued apace on HERE BE DRAGONS (Stocksbridge: The Musical). Perfomance dates are:
Thursday, 25th November 2010 at 7.30pm Friday, 26th November 2010 at 7.30pm Saturday, 27th November at 2.00pm and 7.30pm
All performances for the November run will be at The Venue, Manchester Road, Stocksbridge. Tickets are priced at £8 and £5 (concessions) and will be on sale, via The Venue shortly.
The 31st August 2010 deadline for our Carol Competition is fast approaching - so all you budding composers needs to get your entries in as soon as possible (see below).
Further details about these last two items are provided in the 1st July update below.
Update: 1st July 2010
There's lots of information here about the following events:
1. Here be Dragons: A Stocksbridge Musical
2. Stage Design Competition
3. Landscape Art walk and workshops
4. Carol Competition
Please scroll down the page for further details.
1. Here be Dragons: A Stocksbridge Musical
A history of Stocksbridge with songs, dance and drama, to be performed in November 2010 and March 2011. The script and and the songs (written by SVBA members) are almost complete, and a timeline for rehearsals will shortly be available. In the meantime, our next rehearsal (to which all are welcome) is on Saturday, 10th July at 2.00pm in St Ann's Church Hall. We need enthusiastic actors and singers, plus anyone willing to help out with costumes, scenery, lighting, sound, front of house, etc. Please come along on the 10th or drop us a line if you would like to be involved but can't make it that day. And if you're interested in stage design, please read on...
2. Stage Design Competition
CALLING ALL ASPIRING STAGE DESIGNERS, STUDENTS OR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS OR ANYONE WITH SOME EXPERIENCE OF THEATRE DESIGN. WE NEED A DESIGN FOR OUR NEW COMMUNITY MUSICAL COVERING SOME OF THE HISTORY OF STOCKSBRIDGE, THIS WILL INCLUDE THE SET, COSTUMES AND PUBLICITY MATERIALS.
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN THE THEATRE? WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE YOUR ARTISTIC TALENT TO WORK ON A BRAND NEW MUSICAL? YOU WOULD BE WORKING WITH THE DIRECTOR AND PRODUCTION TEAM TO DELIVER THE DESIGN BEFORE OUR PRODUCTION RUNS IN NOVEMBER.
A fee of £600 will be paid for delivery of the successful proposal
FOR MORE DETAILS,THE DESIGN BRIEF AND A COPY OF THE SCRIPT RING MANDY AITKEN ON 0114 2885520/07966 054 959 or EMAIL manyja@hotmail.co.uk ………. before 31/07/10!!!!!!
3. Landscape Art
Steel Valley Project and Steel Valley Beacon Arts have joined together to organise two fun arts events in July, exploring the landscape and wildlife around Stocksbridge.
On Saturday 17th July, 7 – 9.30pmthere will be a guided Sunset Walk along the Steel Valley Walk. This will be led by Steel Valley Project with support from the Wharncliffe Heathlands Trust. Looking for bats and listening to evening birdsong, as well as drawing inspiration from the evening landscape, people are invited to take along their cameras and record the evening for our landscape art session.
Meet at The ARC (Stocksbridge Old Town Hall), to leave at 7.00 pm
On Sunday 18th July from 2.00 to 5.00 pm there will be a Landscape Painting Session from the new viewing platform near the bottom of Pea Royd Lane.This will be led by Ann Parkin, a prize winning professional artist working from Thurgoland who exhibits her work locally and nationally. Ann works in a variety of media such as watercolour, textiles, printmaking and oils, using landscape and the human form as sources of inspiration. If the weather is unsuitable for working outside an alternative indoor venue will be arranged for the Landscape Painting Session. Meet at ARC to leave at 2.00 pm.
These events form part of the SVBA/SVP Community History through the Arts project.
For both events meet at the Steel Valley Project Office in the ARC building (the Old Town Hall, Manchester Rd)in Stocksbridge.
Participants don’t need to have any experience.You can bring along your own materials but a variety of mixed media will be available at no cost. If the weather should be unsuitable for outdoor landscape painting, the session will take place, using photographs, in the ARC building.
Both events will be followed by a session at The Venue, Stocksbridge on Wednesday 21st July from 7.00 to 9.00 pm to enable work to be completed. Participants on the Sunset Walk may also come along to this session and use their photographs as reference material. As places will be limited it is important to book your place as soon as possible. Age or experience are not important but minors need to be accompanied by a responsible adult.All are welcome.
Please book your place, or make further enquiries, by phoning 07960 306 539
These events are free and are funded by the EPIP LEADER Programme, SYCF Grassroots Fund, Stocksbridge Town Council, The Bridge Community Shop and the Heritage Lottery Fund. (Also see www.stonetosteel.org.uk)
4. Carol Competition
It has long been a tradition in this area for people to compose new tunes for existing words of carols and this is what SVBA are inviting all people in Stocksbridge, Deepcar and district to do. The tune will be part of the Carols on the Green and used in other performances throughout the area
It is now about a hundred years since the most popular carol tune attributed to a Stocksbridge man was written. George Rees of Deepcar dreamed one night that he was singing the tune “Tyre Mill”. He could neither read nor write music, but he was able to sing it to a well-known local musician, Mr. J.B. Nicholls, who wrote it down for him. Mr Rees called the tune, “Tyre Mill” because he was working in the Tyre Mill at Fox’s Steel Works. He used the words to an existing carol, “Hark! Hark! What news….”
For our competition you may:-
Compose a tune for the words of Advent of Love, written especially by Ian Enters, which are printed below and are also printed on the back of the entry form.
Compose a new tune for the words of a traditional carol.
Compose a new tune and write your own lyric to go with it.
NB Only the tune will be judged for the competition!
You may enter just the melody only or you may add a suggested harmony.
£100.00 Prizes will be awarded to the winners in each of the three classes: Ages 8-11; 12-17; Adults, with an additional £100.00 to the overall winner.
Entries, either written or recorded on a CD, should be sent to Pat Leacy, Secretary SVBA, 6 St Ann’s Road, S36 2SB by 31st August 2010 at the very latest.Entries must be accompanied by an entry form available from Stocksbridge Library, Look Local, Churches and pubs. There is no entry fee. Names of entrants must not be placed on either the score or CD.
Advent of Loveby Ian Enters
As the sun sinks to the earth
And clasping frost clamps fire in ice,
We celebrate the warmth of birth,
The urgent quest for sacrifice.
Oh bring the faith, for which we crave,
The glory of the love to save,
Herald of Faith, Herald of Faith.
Small the baby where he lies
And great the love his Mother feels,
We recognise in infant cries
The monstrous fear of blood-stained steel.
Oh bring the hope, for which we crave,
The glory of the love to save,
Advent of Hope, Advent of Hope.
Here’s the furnace where is fused
Stars and planets into one
To demonstrate the wondrous news
That God has given his only son
To bring the light, for which we crave,
The glory of the love to save,
Stainless and strong, Stainless and strong,
Herald of Faith, Herald of Faith,
Advent of Light, Advent of Light and Love.
END OF 1st JULY UPDATE (phew.... no wonder it feels like we're a bit busy ;-)
Update: 27 February 2010
A Cartoon history of Here
Ian McMillan and Tony Husband are bringing their acclaimed and hilarious live action cartoon show to The Venue on Monday, 15th March at 7.30pm.
Tickets are £10 (concessions £5) and are available from The Venue (0114) 283 8692. The evening features friendly folks, fantastic fortunes, dazzlilng ambition and tender moments.
Created by the audience with Yorkshire poet, broadcaster and comedian, Ian, and Cartoonist of the Year, Tony. These two top funny men cook up poems and cartoons to go (just check out Tony and Ian's web sites for some examples of their wit and side-splitting humour).
There will be follow up workshops on 22nd and 23rd March (free to everyone who attends on the 15th), which will help us to prepare for the next phase of SVBA's Community History through the Arts project. Further details of these will be posted shortly (or phone (0114) 283 0949 or 07960 306 539 if you can't wait!!!).
The Dragon of Wantley Opera
Chilmark Opera from outside Salisbury are bringing home to South Yorkshire their production of F.N.Lampe's early 18th century opera - one of the first written in English and a huge success in London at the time. The seventeenth century ballad telling the story of the battle between the Earl of Wharncliffe and More of More Hall on behalf of the people of the area predates the opera by a few years. The whole story is caught up in myth - the Dragon is the Earl with his seat at Wortley.
The opera is great fun with five young professional soloists, an amateur chorus of twelve and an orchestra of ten fine instrumentalists - a mix of professionals and amateurs. Steel Valley Beacon Arts members will act as hosts for this event at The Venue, Stocksbridge on 6th March 7.30pm and 7th March matinee at 2.30 pm. Ian McMillan, Barnsley Bard and presenter of The Verb on Radio 4 will introduce the opera for us.
Tickets are £10 (concessions £8) and are available from The Venue (0114) 283 8692.
Walks and workshops (30 January 2010)
It was great to see so many people enjoying the DRAGON WALK today - don't forget the follow-up WORKSHOPS at the Venue, plus DRAGON WALK 2 next Saturday at 10am (starting at Lowoods on Station Road, Deepcar). The walks are planned to inspire words, photography and art for display at The Venue when the opera the Dragon of Wantley is performed. The walks are free, but there is a small charge of £5.00 for the workshops to cover artist and materials costs. The workshops will be held on Monday 1st February, Friday 5th February, Monday 8th February and Friday 12th February all 7.00-9.00pm at The Venue, Stocksbridge. For more information on the walks and workshops please contact Rebecca Hughes at the Steel Valley Project on (0114) 283 0880 or visit www.stonetosteel.org.uk
Get fired up by the Dragon of Wantley! (17 January 2010)
Steel Valley Beacon Arts and the Steel Valley Project are working together to give local people a chance to get creative in the countryside.To celebrate the forthcoming performance of the Dragon of Wantley Opera at The Venue on the 6th/7th March, they are organising two family-friendly guided walks to local Dragon-themed landmarks.
These walks will be the inspiration for art and writing workshops which will be held in at The Venue, Stocksbridge, during February and the resulting work, plus some photographs taken by participants on the walks, will then be exhibited at The Venue during the weekend of the Opera. The workshops will be led by Ian Enters and Simon Clemens.
The walks are suitable for people 7 years and older, but places are limited so you will need to book by phoning the number below.
The first one, on Saturday 30th January starting at 10am and lasting approximately 2 hours, will be a 3 mile round walk to Wantley Dragon Woods, part of Bitholmes, to see the Wantley Dragon sculpture created in stone and elm by local professional stone-waller John Alston and Mark Bell.Walkers are asked to meet at Parsonage Farm car park, Deepcar SK 285 971.
This walk Includes steep hills and, in parts, is rough underfoot.A shorter alternativeroute is available from More Hall Lane. Please contact the number below for details of this.
The second walk, on Saturday 6th February starting at 10am will last approximately 3 hours, and is about a 5 mile round walk to the Dragon’s Den on Wharncliffe Crags.The meeting place is outside Lowood’s Club, Station Rd, Deepcar.
This walk also includes steep hills and is rough underfoot. Again a shorter alternative is available by enquiring from the number below.
The walks are planned to inspire words, photography and art for display at The Venue when the opera the Dragon of Wantley is performed. The walks are free, but there is a small charge of £5.00 for the workshops to cover artist and materials costs. The workshops will be held on 1st February, 5th February, 8th February and 12th February all 7.00-9.00pm at The Venue, Stocksbridge. For more information on the walks and workshops please contact Rebecca Hughes at the Steel Valley Project on (0114) 283 0880 or visit www.stonetosteel.org.uk
The Dragon Project is being funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the South Yorkshire Community Foundation Grassroots Fund, EPIP and Stocksbridge Town Council.
SVBA events for 2010 (6 December 2009)
Thanks to everyone who's been in touch to congratulate the cast and crew for the wonderful production of Caucasian Chalk Circle. Never one for resting on its laurels, SVBA now turns its attention to two exciting new projects taking place next year.
The first is The Dragon of Wantley Opera. Chilmark Opera from outside Salisbury will be bringing home to South Yorkshire their production of F.N.Lampe's early 18th century opera - one of the first written in English and a huge success in London at the time. The seventeenth century ballad telling the story of the battle between the Earl of Wharncliffe and More of More Hall on behalf of the people of the area predates the opera by a few years. The whole story is caught up in myth - the Dragon is the Earl with his seat at Wortley, of course. The opera is great fun with five young professional soloists, an amateur chorus of twelve and an orchestra of ten fine instrumentalists - a mix of professionals and amateurs. Steel Valley Beacon Arts members will act as hosts for this event at The Venue, Stocksbridge on 6th March 7.30pm and 7th March matinee at 2.30 pm. Ian McMillan, Barnsley Bard and presenter of The Verb on Radio 4 will introduce the opera for us.
During January and February 2010, supported by Steel Valley and Upper Don Project, we will be arranging guided walks accompanied by a professional artist and a professional writer to Dragon's Den in Wharncliffe Side and the Dragon of Wantley Sculpture in Wantley Woods by Bitholmes. We will also visit Wortley Hall. There will be follow-up workshops to help us create an exhibition for The Venue when Chilmark brings the opera to us.
This event will bring up the curtain on the whole Community History Through the Arts initiative - our second major project for 2010 - and the following week Ian McMillan will come with Tony Husband, cartoonist for the Times, to host a "Cartoon History of Here" at the Venue. Ian McMillan helps local people tell their stories while Tony creates cartoons, providing an exhibition! A week later, Ian and the musician composer, Luke Goss, will run two workshops helping us create songs from our words. This programme will support us in developing our own Community Musical for performance in November 2010.
Further details about both these events will be posted here as soon as they are available - but if you would like to be involved, then please drop us a line (e-mail to: info@steelvalleybeaconarts.org) or speak to one of our members.
Rehearsals for Caucasian Chalk Circle (24 October 2009)
As promised, click here for some photo's from our rehearsals for Caucasian Chalk Circle. Tickets are now on sale at The Venue (0114 2838692) and from cast members. Book now to avoid disappoinment.
COMING SOON: "Community History through the Arts" Although we are all really busy learning our lines and rehearsing for Caucasian Chalk Circle at the moment, we'll be posting further details about this major new SVBA project for 2010 shortly. So please bookmark this page and come back soon.
Caucasian Chalk Circle (10 October 2009)
Rehearsals are well underway for our next production, Bertolt Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle. Further details can be found here and we are hoping to add some photographs taken at recent rehearsals soon.
Drama workshops (25 July 2009)
Fresh from the successful revival of Old King Coal and the organisation of the Home Grown Festival at the Venue, Steel Valley Beacon Arts is pleased to announce two drama workshops introducing The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht.
This brilliant play will be presented from 26th-28thNovember and offers opportunities for a large cast to explore powerful ideas and humorous situations in a community. It offers performance skills in both music and drama to generate another wonderful evening of theatre.
Neil Sissons, acclaimed professional director of Compass Theatre, will lead the introductory two workshops on Monday 27th July 7pm at The Christian Centre (Cedar Road, Stocksbridge) and Friday 31st July 7pm at St Ann’s Church Hall (Haywood Lane, Deepcar). These workshops are open to any interested people and our age range is very wide.No previous experience of performance is necessary. We welcome new and experienced actors to build on our strong reputation for powerful ensemble drama and music. Our whole aim is to support each other and, in so doing, create great drama for our audiences.Interested? Just turn up for the sessions. Wanting to know more? Ring Ian Enters on 2830949.
Steel Valley Beacon Arts in liaison with Kids Can Do are also offering free Arts workshops for 8-14 year olds during August at The Venue.Either ring Helen Frith at The Venue on 2838692 or Ian Enters on 2830949 to find out about Drama, Writing, Sculpture and Street Dance opportunities. Pre-booking is essential and places will go rapidly!
Old King Coal (18 July 2009)
Our performances of Old King Coal, at Wortley Hall on 4th July and at The Venue in Stocksbridge last night, were played to packed and wonderfully appreciative audiences. Reviews of the first performance appeared in both The Star and Look Local newspapers. Noteworthy quotes include:
"If you were lucky enough to have been at Steel Valley Beacon's staging of Old King Coal at the South Yorkshire Festival on Saturday night you'd have seen a fantastic show with a very powerful theme."
"This was a musical overflowing with energy, emotion and gritty humour and both the acting and the singing were first class."
"Steel Valley Beacon Arts have produced a play of gritty realism..."
"There are some terrific, rousing and defiant songs throughout the musical..."
"The acting is first rate."
"There is a real community feel to the performance like [the cast] know each other and look out for each other in real life. The energy literally spills out into the audience. During the N.U.M. scene, most of the cast is in the audience and I felt part of the meeting."
Copies of the full reviews can be accessed on line at The Star and Look Local web sites.
Homegrown Festival (23 June 2009)
This year's Homegrown Festival, sponsored and co-organised by Steel Valley Beacon Arts and The Venue, will be held at The Venue, Stocksbridge on the weekend of Friday 17th to Sunday 19th July 2009. The festival will begin with an Art Exhibition and the final performance of Old King Coal on the Friday evening, and will continue over the weekend with music, poetry and a range of other events. The programme is as follows:
Friday, 17th July
Art Exhibition in conjunction with Stocksbridge Arts Society: 6.00pm (Free admission, open all weekend)
Official opening by the Mayor of Stocksbridge: 7.15pm (all welcome)
Performance of Old King Coal by Steel Valley Beacon Arts: 8.00pm (Tickets £6, concessions £4)
Saturday, 18th July
Animation Workshop
led by ‘Access Space’: 10.00 am - 3.00 pm (IT suite, free admission, limited to 16 places)
Music Auditions - y
our chance to perform on the ‘big stage’: 12.30 pm - 4.00 pm (Auditorium, free admission, 18 places)
Sidetracks presents the best new music around + opening support courtesy of the ‘Music Audition’ finalists: 8.00 pm doors (Auditorium, Tickets £5)
Poetry & Pints ‘Home Grown’ words and music showcase: 7.30 pm (Steel Room, Tickets £4, concessions £3)
Sunday, 19th July
Street Dance Workshops
with Rachael Stamper: 10.30 am - 12.30 pm (free admission, 25 limited places)
Homegrown Sing Along - Open invitation to learn and sing traditional songs: 1.45 pm - 2.30 pm (free admission)
Whilst selling fast, some tickets are still available for our performance of Old King Coal at Wortley Hall as part of the South Yorkshire Festival. To avoid disappointment, order your tickets now - click here for details.
By Royal Appointment (7 May 2009)
Members of Steel Valley Beacon Arts performed the closing sequence of Old King Coal at the official opening of The Venue (Stocksbridge) by His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester on Thursday morning. The event was also attended by the Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire and various local dignitaries, including the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Councillor Jane Bird, the Leader of Sheffield City Council, Paul Scriven, the Mayor of Stocksbridge, Alan Law, and our local Member of Parliament, Angela Smith. The opening was judged a resounding success by all those involved and was a good taster for the forthcoming performances of Old King Coal in July. The media was in attendance and a write up (including pictures) appeared the following day in The Star. This article can be accessed at: http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Duke-visits-to-celebrate-community.5246632.jp
OLD KING COAL: July 2009, June 2007
Old King Coal is a musical play that tells the story of a community torn apart by the miners' strike of 1984-85. It's told through the eyes of three generations of the Bradfield family and set in the (fictitious) mining village of Coakley in South Yorkshire.
The musical was premiered by Steel Valley Beacon Arts in June 2007 and was reprised for a second short run as part of the region's commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the strike in 2009. Performances were held on:
Saturday, 4th July at Wortley Hall, as part of the South Yorkshire Festival; and
Friday, 17th July at The Venue, Stocksbridge, as part of Homegrown - a three-day celebration of the Arts in Stocksbridge organised jointly by The Venue and Steel Valley Beacon Arts.
Reviews of the first performance appeared in both The Star and Look Local newspapers. Noteworthy quotes include:
"If you were lucky enough to have been at Steel Valley Beacon's staging of Old King Coal at the South Yorkshire Festival on Saturday night you'd have seen a fantastic show with a very powerful theme."
"This was a musical overflowing with energy, emotion and gritty humour and both the acting and the singing were first class."
"Steel Valley Beacon Arts have produced a play of gritty realism..."
"There are some terrific, rousing and defiant songs throughout the musical..."
"The acting is first rate."
"There is a real community feel to the performance like [the cast] know each other and look out for each other in real life. The energy literally spills out into the audience. During the N.U.M. scene, most of the cast is in the audience and I felt part of the meeting."
Copies of the full reviews can be accessed on line at The Star and Look Local web sites.
Audience feedback These comments echoed the reaction to the first run in 2007, which was also a resounding success - including a standing ovation at the final performance at Dearne Playhouse, which is the former Miners' Welfare for Goldthorpe Colliery. Comments received from audience members afterwards included:
"I'm sure you've had plenty of positive feedback and I really feel the story should be spread wider... It's such a moving account of real life that is slowly being forgotten or never appreciated by so many."
"Hope you all enjoyed yourselves and thank you for a moving and memorable show."
"I wanted to send you a card to let you know how great the play was."
"I just had to let you know that [we] thought that the play/show was fantastic. I really found it very moving and thought provoking. The cast were great too. Yes, we had a really good night!"
"Thank you for a great evening - what a triumph for the SV Beacons!"
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!
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A Cartoon history of Here 
The Dragon of Wantley Opera
