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Latest News Arts Council funding allows continued development of Giants in the Earth musical Oxfordshire Theatre Company were delighted to be awarded Grants for the Arts funding to allow the continued development of the new musical Giants in the Earth. Working with the writer, Nick Wood and Composer, Matt Marks, Oxfordshire Theatre Company’s Artistic Director, Karen Simpson, assembled a fantastically talented bunch of West End performers to workshop the musical for 2 weeks. The team were also delighted to have Neil MacDonald join as musical director, fresh from his stint on Oxfordshire Theatre Company’s production of Some Like It Hotter. With a week in between the 2 development weeks Nick and Matt were able to make the most of the time to tweak, re-write and even add news to songs to develop this new piece of writing to its fullest potential. The team were also joined by film maker Nick Flintoff during the 2 weeks and a short film about the production will soon be available to wet everyone’s appetite for this ‘giant’ production! BBC Radio 5 pay a visit BBC Radio 5's Steph McGovern spent the day with the cast and crew of our production Alice in Wonderland on Sunday 23rd January at Cassington Village Hall. As part of the 'On The Money' programme with Declan Curry, reporter Steph McGovern is sent to spend the day with a business that doesn't follow a typical 9-5 – and we at Oxfordshire Theatre Company certainly don't do that! To hear the team being interviewed please click here. Theatre Futures Oxford Update I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Oxfordshire Theatre Company, where I worked as design assistant for Alice in Wonderland. This role involved various tasks such as sewing cakes, making a table cloth, oyster puppets and also helping the designer, Becky Lee paint the set. Quite an important task I had to do was sewing the Cheshire cat costume. It involved lots of hand sewing, and tons of fluffy fabric!To read more about Lisa Thomas's experience of her time at Oxfordshire Theatre Company please click here. Applications for 2010 are now closed but please come back soon to find out more about upcoming Theatre Futures Oxford opportunities. New Season Announced! Oxfordshire Theatre Company have now announced their 2011/12 season and are pleased to be touring Jungle Book by Neil Duffield in Autumn 2011 and Some Like It Hotter by Richard Hurford in Spring 2012. Jungle Book will be a show for all the family with original songs, dance and puppetry to tell this exciting adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling stories. Some Like It Hotter is a new commission, bringing to life on stage, the story of Marilyn Monroe, Toney Curtis and Lemmon making Some Like It Hot, in a cabaret style with live music. Thanks for support in the Big Give Thank you to everyone who supported us during the Big Arts Give. We were delighted with the support which raised just over £1,000 in the 3 weeks of December. The money raised will go towards commissioning new writing and supporting local promoters to take new and exciting work in their community. If you missed the opportunity to donate in the Big Give but would like to support the company, why not join our Supporters scheme? For more information please click here. Give Big for the Big Give Oxfordshire Theatre Company has been offered an exciting challenge in being accepted onto the Big Arts Give Challenge happening this year. The challenge will involve the Company in a campaign of support to fund a new and exciting project of creative work. Over the coming months Oxfordshire Theatre Company will be looking to major donors to offer pledges into a "match fund", but these are only pledges and we will only receive the money if our individual supporters join the campaign. When the donations open on the 6th December we will be racing to receive as many donations from our individual supporters as quickly as possible. These donations will start to unlock the pledged money by the major donors, as every £1 donated will be equally matched in a donation from the match fund, meaning if you are able to donate £10 then the Company will actually receive £20, plus gift aid! Once we have received donations of the same amount as the money pledged by our major donors then every donation will be matched by the Arts & Business Big Give Fund supported by the Reed Foundation, but there's only a limited amount of funding available and lots of arts  companies racing for it.So look out for more information coming soon and support Oxfordshire Theatre Company on the 6th December! Oxfordshire Collaboration Gets the Creative Juices Flowing Oxfordshire Theatre Company was delighted to work with the Oxford School of Drama in June, on a development week for the upcoming winter production of Alice in Wonderland. This was a fantastic opportunity for Artistic Director, Karen Simpson to work with a group of talented final year acting students and workshop Neil Duffield's exciting new version of the show. Karen Simpson said "It was a wonderful opportunity to work with an enthusiastic and talented group of young performers. They were a pleasure to work with and brought an abundance of creativity that provided me lots of food for thought as to how to stage the version that will be touring Oxfordshire later this year". Following the development week, actress Ami Stidolph who participated in the workshop, auditioned with many other talented actresses for the production and we're delighted to say she will be joining the cast as The Maid/ White Rabbit.    Dizzy with excitement for Vertigo Oxfordshire Theatre Company are delighted to introduce a superb cast for the upcoming production of Vertigo. Joining Peter Gardiner and Daniel Copeland is regular West End actress, Sophia Thierens, as leading lady, Madeleine Gevigne and local Oxfordshire actor Steve Dineen as Roger Flavieres. Steve is an avid blogger so to read more about his touring theatre experiences click here. With a creative team including international composer Ivan Stott and award winning designer Laura McEwen, the production promises to exceed Oxfordshire Theatre Company's continued reputation for quality touring work. To view the tour schedule & find a venue near you, please click here. Well done Brendan! Oxfordshire Theatre Company is delighted to congratulate, former Artistic Director of the Company, Brendan Murray on winning this year's Writers' Guild Award for a Theatre Play for Children and Young People with Scarlet Ribbons. Scarlet Ribbons, a show about an 80 year old woman and her friendship with a teenage boy was a great success here in Oxfordshire when Oxfordshire Theatre Company (then OTTC) toured it in 2008 and the Company is thrilled Brendan has received this award in recognition for the piece. To see Brendan proudly showing off his award please click here. October 2009 Artistic Director, Karen Simpson has recently returned from a trip to Japan in preparation for Oxfordshire Theatre Company's upcoming Christmas Show, 'Peach Boy: The Adventures of Momotaro'. During the trip Karen was delighted to be invited to be an international participant on a 10 day Kyogen Theatre course at Umewaka Noh Theatre. Kyogen Theatre is a complex skill learnt over many years and Karen says of her 10 day experience "I would probably rate myself as one of the worst students in terms of basic aptitude, but my goodness I was a real "trier"!"  August 2009 DANCING IN MY DREAMS - takes off for a national tour PEACH BOY - THE ADVENTURES OF MOMOTARO - touring 5 November 2009 -14 February 2010 STAFF CHANGES - Amy embarks on a new career  Karen's Blog Happy New Year! And Happy Birthday - Oxfordshire Theatre Company is now officially 30 years old! As the heating is turned back on in our base, after the festive season, and the actors have just set out for their first performance of ‘Hansel and Gretel’ of 2009, I thought it would be a good moment to reflect on my first few months as Artistic Director and share a few thoughts about what I hope to be doing over the coming months. Click here to read the full Blog online, or download the article here. Lucky prize winners the Leon family  Centre: prize winners the Leon family with cast members (Clockwise from L to R) Emma-Jean Jeffries, Caroline Woodruff, Chris Talman and David Levine. Alecia Leon from Wantage was delighted to collect her free tickets to attend the East Hendred Snell's Hall performance of Hansel & Gretel on Wednesday 17th December. A firm fan of Oxfordshire Theatre Company, Alecia was on the point of booking tickets to see the show when she got the call to say she was the winner. Her three sons, Colby (11), Mason (9) and Dayne (6) accompanied her, along with Alecia's mother, Maralyn Baker who was visiting from Alberta, Canada. All of them loved the show, particularly the gingerbread house: "It's a tradition in our family," Alecia joked with her mother. "We make a gingerbread house every year at Christmas." Karen's First Impressions New beginnings ... Starting a new job is always exciting and starting work with Oxfordshire Theatre Company has been no exception. Although I didn't actually take over from Brendan until 1 September, I had been busy during the summer months getting the team together for Hansel and Gretel. Click here to read the full 'First Impressions' article online, or download the article here.  The Midcounties Co-operative has supported Oxfordshire Theatre Company with Co-operative Community Funding to purchase new lighting equipment. The award of £500 will help the company purchase four new lights for its family show Hansel & Gretel that tours to village halls, community centres and schools across Oxfordshire from 13 November 2008. For further information about Midcounties Co-operative visit www.midcounties.coop NEWS ARCHIVE  Click below to read our news bulletins
June 2009 Dancing in My Dreams by Neil Duffield DANCING IN MY DREAMS: Final dates - don't miss it! May 2009 DANCING IN MY DREAMS Touring to a Market Town near you April 2009 Dancing in My Dreams by Neil Duffield Peach Boy: The Adventures of Momotaro by Richard Hurford Loving April adapted by Giles Croft from the novel by Melvin Burgess March 2009 RIVER’S UP - on the festival circuit PURPLE POWER - linking up with Darbys SEE A VOICE - increasing assisted performances December 2008 HANSEL & GRETEL - rave reviews from The Stage and the Oxford Times RIVER'S UP - Touring 17 March - 25 April Richard Stone and Nickie Goldie on board! Become a Friend of Oxfordshire Theatre Company November 2008 HANSEL & GRETEL: touring 13 November 08 - 14 February 09 SCARLET RIBBONS: young and old get together to watch the show RIVER'S UP: tour extended by two weeks! BE A PART OF THE TEAM - WE NEED YOUR HELP! September/October 2008 SCARLET RIBBONS - An intergenerational play by Brendan Murray HANSEL & GRETEL - Our new Artistic Director warms to her new role MIDCOUNTIES CO-OPERATIVE FUNDING - Successful grant application June/July 2008 Scarlet Ribbons - a bit about the story Hansel & Gretel and River's Up - dates are booking up fast Our new computers - moving into the 21st Century May 2008 Our new Artistic Director - Karen joins us in September Scarlet Ribbons - our show for older people touring 22 September to 17 October 2008 Between shows - what we're up to in the summer April 2008 Ain't Misbehavin' - read the praise for this amazingly successful show Artistic Director - the search hots up ... March 2008 Ain't Misbehavin' - one hell of a show! Hansel & Gretel - on sale now to village hall, community centre and schools promoters |
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