A BRILLIANT TERM OF THEATRE TRIPS!

We have had SO many theatre trips this term! The support and enthusiasm for Rosendale Theatre Club just continues to grow and grow. Thank you!

Including The Elephantom trip in January, we will have totalled an incredible 470 seats for parents and children from Rosendale  in just this term alone. WOW!

To break this down we delivered an incredible NINE trips:

129 The Elephantom at the NT on 10th January
40 to The Pardoner's Tale at The Unicorn on 18th January
53 to Grandpa's Railway at The Unicorn on 8th February
45 to Dinosaur Zoo at The New Wimbledon Theatre on 8th March
10 to Not Now Bernard at The Unicorn Theatre on 8th March
20 to the RSC tour of The Taming of The Shrew at Pheonix High School on 13th March
50 to At the End at The Unicorn Theatre on 29th March
104 to The Velveteen Rabbit at The Unicorn Theatre on 29th March
and finally 20 to Minotaur at The Polka Theatre on Friday 4th April

I really hope everyone has enjoyed them - the children certainly seem to have done!

Petting a baby dinosaur at Dinosaur Zoo!

Getting ready for for The Taming of The Shrew!













I am now gathering interest and support from parents at other schools in the local area. I hope to offer discounted trips to more children in other schools in Lambeth and Southwark very shortly under my new organisation Brockwell Drama. I am making arrangements for this to become a registered charity soon. If you are interested in being included in the mailing list and finding out more about future theatre trips and drama classes please email brockwelldrama@gmail.com

However please don't worry - Rosendale Theatre Club and all the fun we are having will continue! Please keep following this blog for more details.

Have a great Easter!

Lisa Statham

EXCLUSIVE OFFER!

An incredible 129 of us had a fantastic time at The Elephantom at the NT on 10th January. Next trip (for those who have booked in advance only) is Grandpa's Railway on 8th February at the Unicorn. Hope to see you there!

And more Theatre Club trips coming up....

Letters will go out tomorrow  in book bags to the school for our 2 next trips to The Unicorn in London Bridge:

Both on Saturday 29th March

1pm At the End of Everything Else - KS2 - age 8 upwards

When her best friend, a little yellow bird named Tito, goes missing, Icka puts her inventive mind to the test and sets off on a mission over land and sea to save him. But nothing can prepare her for what she finds – a problem that she is unable to fix alone. At the End of Everything Else is performed with puppetry, animation, music, sound and only the collective energy of the team on stage to generate all the power needed for the show. Join the Unicorn for a truly unique performance by Mark Arends, writer/director of award-winning Something Very Far Away, which captivated audiences and received rave reviews across the UK.

3pm The Velveteen Rabbit - KS1 - age 4 upwards

This Easter, join us for a heart-warming story about a very shy toy Rabbit who longs for nothing more than to become real. He spends his days waiting patiently on the nursery floor, watching the Boy play with the other toys and dreaming of being picked up and loved. And then, one day he is rediscovered and all his hopes start to come true...First published in 1922, this classic American tale loses nothing of its power, magic and charm in this contemporary adaptation for the Unicorn stage.

Tickets are £7.50 each. Please look out for these letters and get slips and payments in by the deadline Monday 3rd February! Cheques now to be made payable to Rosendale PTA. Excitingly you should also be able to book tickets for these shows online! Please have a go.

Also...

I have two trips that I won't send letters out to the whole school for (as too much admin) so are exclusives!

Thursday March 13th - 6.30pm - Phoenix High School, Shepherd's Bush

Phoenix High School
The Curve
Shepherds Bush
London
W12 ORQ.

1/ The new RSC children's production of The Taming of the Shrew - aimed at age 8 plus (Years 5 and 6)

This really is an exclusive as the RSC are not selling tickets to this - they just alerted me that the tour was in London for 2 days only. It is part of their first encounter project - introducing children to Shakespeare so should be really good!

Tickets are just £5 adults and £3 children. 

For more information on the show see http://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on/first-encounter-taming-of-the-shrew/

2/ Minotaur at the Polka Theatre on Friday 4th April at 7pm (the last day of term). Legend updated to heroic modern day boy story. Ages 8 plus - children under 7 will not get in as they have quite strict door policy for the main theatre. There is a great writing competition kids can enter too.

This is a saver show - so all tickets are just £9 each (usual price £9-13)

For more information see http://www.polkatheatre.com/whats-on/minotaur

If you want tickets for either of these shows - I have reserved 30 for each on a first come first served basis - the deadline (bit extended) is Monday 3rd February. Please email me with your interest and leave envelope marked up with F/A LISA STATHAM - and name of the show. Cheques to be made payable to Rosendale PTA. Please include on the envelope:

Your name

Name of your children and class

Mobile number

Email address

Number of tickets required

Payment - please make cheques payable to Rosendale PTA

Many thanks.

HAPPY NEW YEAR - AND NEW TRIP!

Happy new year! 

Shakespeare Schools Festival 

A big thank you to everyone who came along to our second production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Jags before Christmas. A special thank you too to those who came along to help out at such a busy time of year. It was a brilliant night. The children were incredibly excited about performing again in such a great space and they were all amazing - especially those children who took on roles at short notice. To date, we have now raised an incredible £700 for the PTA to put towards drama at Rosendale in 2014 which is fantastic.

Drama

It is brilliant we are going to have a regular after school drama club for KS2 at Rosendale in the New Year. Our teachers, Rosie Unwin and Sophie Lavender, are going to do an amazing job. Trained and experienced in drama, they have played a massive and vital role in the two SSF productions last term and are incredibly supportive of drama generally. If you were unsuccessful or missed the boat this time round, please do apply again to them at the end of next term.

Theatre Club

I hope everyone enjoyed our many Xmas shows - last half term 250 of us (not including the year group trips) had great fun atTwas the Night before Xmas, Cinderella, Puss in Boots and Emil and the Detectives!  We have an incredible 129 of us to date going to The Elephantom on Friday at 4.30 the NT - our biggest parent led trip so far! In 2013, in just six months of being set up, well over 1000 Rosendale parents and children have seen shows at local theatres with us which is amazing.

New trip - Dinosaur Zoo

And onto the next one! Following good reviews in the West End, we have 50 seats at £11 (usual price £17-20) for the regional tour of Dinosaur Zoo in the New Wimbledon Theatre at 4pm on Saturday 8th March. 

The show is suitable for age three plus. It consists of an educational talk on dinosaurs and live life size animatronic Dinosaur puppets. It lasts approximately 1 hour. See www.dinosaurzoolive.com. This is an exclusive offer to theatre club. If you want tickets please leave payments at the office in an envelope marked F/A LISA STATHAM - DINOSAUR ZOO with the following details (which are important so please don't forget):

- Your name

- Name of children and class

- Mobile phone

- No of tickets

- Email address

- Payment

Cash or cheque is fine. PLEASE NOTE - As this is a group not school booking discount please make cheques payable to Rosendale PTA.

Thanks!

THEATRE TRIP FUN!

Thanks to everyone for your payments for the trips next term. We have 53 of us going along to Grandpa's Railway and 40 to the Pardoner's Tale! Confirmation letters and emails have gone out this week.

And to this term's trips. Theatre Club had a busy if brilliant day on Saturday 30th November. 90 of us went along to the wonderful Cinderella at the Unicorn followed by 70 of us to the hilarious and riotous panto Puss in Boots at Greenwich Theatre. Both shows were absolutely fantastic and incredible fun! Please see photos below.

Decorating cakes after Cinderella at the Unicorn Up! event!

Some understated artistic ones...

And the prize for the most topping!

Enjoying eating the hard work!

Waiting for the curtain to go up!

On Saturday just 30 of us (as the show sold out in summer) were lucky enough to go to Twas the Night Before Xmas at the Unicorn. It was a lovely show - and really moving at the end! Y1 and Y2 are going to have a great time this week - although Cinderella and Twas are very different, they are both fantastic!

And if you are one of the 50 who have booked tickets for our final Xmas trip to Emil at the NT please don't forget - this will be this Tuesday 17th December. Please collect your tickets directly from the box office at the NT stating your name and that you are part of Rosendale Primary Group. I will be there from 530pm in case of any problems.

Merry Christmas everyone!

THE ELEPHANTOM AT THE NT - SPECIAL OFFER!

THE ELEPHANTOM AT THE NATIONAL THEATRE FRIDAY 10/1 4.30 PM - HALF PRICE THEATRE CLUB OFFER TO ROSENDALE PARENTS!

The NT are giving Rosendale Theatre Club an exclusive half price offer to this show!  Tickets are just £6. This is apparently an incredible show - by the puppeteers behind War Horse. Recommended age is 4-7 although the NT says it is most suitable for Y1-Y5. Running time is 1 hour. Kate Atkins has kindly agreed that parents can pick up children going on the trip early at 3pm from the office on this day. 

Letters will not go out but if you would like tickets please put your payment in an envelope either by cheque to Rosendale Primary School or cash with:

- your contact details (name, mobile and email)

- your child's name and class

clearly marked F/A LISA STATHAM, THE ELEPHANTOM, THEATRE CLUB TRIP

The deadline for ALL payments (with contact details etc to office) is end of play Tuesday 17th. Any queries please email rosendaletheatreclub@gmail.com.

EXCITING NEWS - SSF SECOND SHOW!

We have some brilliant news! As so many of you missed out on our amazing performance in Sutton, we are going to put on a second performance of our SSF entry A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Thursday December 19^th at 7.15pm at the theatre at

James Allen’s Girl School (JAGS)

144 East Dulwich Grove

London SE22 8TE

We are thrilled to be using JAGS as this theatre is fully equipped with professional lighting etc. The capacity is 200. The evening will consist of:

·       Short introduction to the show and the SSF from the director, producer and teachers

·       The 30 minute performance

·       A Q and A with the cast and whole production team

Tickets will be priced again at £6. We are going to offer up these 200 seats on a first come first served basis. If you would like seats please fill in the slip that went out in book bags with payment in an envelope marked Lisa Statham SSF 2^nd JAGS show with no of tickets and your child name and class and hand to the office. Please note if you do not label the envelope clearly it may get lost given the volume of administration. The deadline for all payments has now been extended to Wednesday 27^th November as some letters went out late. Any profit will be put back into sustaining and growing the drama club.

Children attending the play must be accompanied by an adult with up to four children per adult. The accompanying adult is solely responsible for the safety and well being of the children under his/her care.

If you gave in money for the first show and did not receive seats, I will automatically allocate you seats for this second show – you go to the top of the list! If you would like more seats than your allocation please fill in the slip below with the number of additional seats you require.

If you have purchased seats and require a refund please email rosendaletheatreclub@gmail.com and I will arrange. To do this you MUST inform me by Wednesday 27th November. Otherwise your payment will be banked and you will be responsible for finding another parent to buy your seats from you.

If you are unsure if you have seats already or have any other queries please contact me at email rosendaletheatreclub@gmail.com

Many thanks!

THEATRE TRIPS 2014!

We are offering 2 trips next half term to the Unicorn Theatre again in London Bridge. Tickets are discounted at just £7.50 each. Letters have gone out in book bags and the dates are:

Reception and KS1 - Grandpa's Railway Saturday 8/2 at 2pm 

A journey of friendship and discovery.

Featuring live music, a working model railway and a coach load of surprises, our playful characters embark on an evocative journey that explores the past, illuminates the present and lays new tracks for the future.

From the team behind the highly acclaimed One Little Word comes M6's new production for children and families.

"Beautifully and confidently made" The Guardian on One Little Word

Age guide 5 plus.

Y2 and KS2 - The Pardoner's Tale Saturday 18th/1 at 2pm

Come Pilgrims come...

You have been summoned by the Pardoner to the Tabard Inn, a place where stories are currency and any troubles are left in the bottom of a glass...

He wants to tell you the tale of three men who once set out on a journey to kill Death and get rich quick. He wants to show you how their quest to revenge the death of a mutual friend turned into a treacherous journey into the dark world of greed, murder and mayhem. He wants you to know that you should always watch your back, because you never know where your enemies may hide.

base on the ancient tale by Geoffrey Chaucer written 700 years ago, The Pardoner's Tale is the latest adaptation by Tangere Arts, the company behind last year's A Thousand Slimy Things.

"the excellent Tangere Arts, a company whose distinctive mix of storytelling, physical theatre and live music has produced a number of hits" The Guardian

To give people more time the deadline for both shows has been extended to Wednesday 27th November. Please leave payments marked up with my name in the office by then. There are free Up! club activities on this day.

A reminder to those coming along on 30/11 to see Cinderella at the Unicorn at 3pm and Puss in Boots at 7pm at Greenwich Theatre. Please ensure you get to the theatre half an hour before the performance is due to start as we will go in on one group ticket. I will send out letters/emails with a reminder of all the details next week.

The Unicorn has a special offer of some free tickets in exchange for some feedback from parents on their new website. If you are interested in this and DON'T use their website frequently, please email rosendaletheatreclub@gmail.com and I will send you the details. 

We're looking for a small group of people who represent our audience but who may not be as used to navigating the Unicorn site, to come in and complete some testing here at the Unicorn. The testing would only take around 30-45 mins and would consist of me observing them completing online scenarios and then having a chat. In return we'll be offering 2 tickets for an upcoming show as a thank you.