Filed under: History | Tags: Careers 4 All, History, Invent Theatre, Isle of Wight, Shanklin, Shanklin Theatre, The Asphodel Fields, theatre, Ventnor
Here is the second installment to our brief history of Invent Theatre, and how it all came about.
After ‘The Bench in the Park’ was finished, and the stress and excitement that had filled the previous four months disappeared I realised what had been achieved. A group of fifteen and sixteen year olds had managed to produce a play, with almost not adult intervention. On the night of the show not a single adult was in the wings, nor on the sound and light desks and yet, it worked
.
Over the weeks that followed many of the audience wrote expressing their kind views and support. The local paper ran a review and it was clear the project had been a success. Keen to start a second play I began brainstorming three different ideas that I had, but was slowed by my GCSE examinations in June. After the exams, many of the cast and production team, including myself, went to different schools and colleges to persue further education and it became clear that another production would be unlikely.
Determined for The Bench in the Park’ not be the first and last play from a team of fantastically dedicated young people some stayed in contact and over the summer months the concept of Invent Theatre was born. In order to produce another play, it was clear we needed a venue to meet at regularly, and this idea soon became to create our own youth theatre company. Over the months of September and October 2007 I wrote to a number of local business, arts and community representatives inviting them to be on a board to steer the group. All accepted, and I am very grateful for the time they have volunteered making this project possible. With an Executive Committee, that would meet every few months, a constitution was created, policies formed and a bank account opened. By November 2007 Invent Theatre officially existed although it was inactive. Over the months it had taken to create the idea had expanded into a concept where Invent Theatre would not just be a place for a group of friend to meet and
produce new plays, but to teach and provide opportunities for other young people. Working within the Extended Schools Program for the Ventnor area we now provide workshops for those aged ten to nineteen run by young people.
Invent Theatre launched in January 2008 with weekly workshops at Ventnor Middle School and rehearsals for a new play which i had wrote over the previous months. Invent Theatre aims to be in-vent-nor, inventive and inclusive, hence the name!
Having produced a life size statue for the Careers 4 All event and now well on the way to producing ‘The Asphodel Fields’ it looks like the group of school kids who wanted to make a play are here to stay for a little longer. There are still lots of challenges ahead but planning is already on the way for future projects.
‘The Asphodel Fields’ will be performed on May 31st 2008 at Shanklin Theatre. The production is supported by; Young Chamber, AJ Wells & Sons Ltd, Ventnor Town Council and VentnorBlog
Images:
Top: The ‘INVENT’ statue build for the ‘Careers 4 All’ event. Bottom: Shanklin Theatre, the venue for ‘The Asphodel Fields’ (copyright Shanklin Theatre)
Filed under: Editor's Posts, History | Tags: 'The Bench in the Park', Invent Theatre, Isle of Wight, Newport, Youth Theatre
As promised below is our first article charting the history of Invent Theatre and why it came about:
As we enter the fourth month of Invent Theatre’s life I felt it might of interest to people to know how it all came about and why it was set up. Like the organisation itself, the story of how it came about is rather unusual and set the tone and ethos the group would hold.
Having written a number of short sketches for various projects and competitions, some of which were 
performed, I decided I wanted a bigger challenge and would work towards a full length play, which proved considerably more difficult. However, over the Christmas period of 2006 I wrote ‘The Bench in the Park’ , a period drama set during the Second World War. The play followed the lives of the Swift family who are separated during the Blitz, and the influence it has on their lives. The title related to the centre piece of the play; a bench, which was laid in memory of a child who has died. A similar format is used at both the beginning and end of the play and my intention was to show how a simple object such as a bench can hold an entire story.
Having recruited a number of friends to play the characters and enlisting a technical team, the project soon numbered twenty and to prevent descending into chaos roles had to be assigned and timetables and deadlines made. As a group we applied for funding but were unfortunately unsuccessful. Aware the project was increasingly becoming more serious, with a theatre booked and set materials and props being bought we decided to look into sponsorship and were very grateful for the support we received. By April 2007, the month of the production, we had twenty five people involved, plus a number of professionals, such as the theatre staff and some sponsors. The story was reported in the local paper, radio and on a number of websites and the final production was reported with very good reviews.
’The Bench in the Park’ was performed on April 26th and 27th 2007 at Medina Theatre, Newport, Isle of Wight.
The production was sponsored by:
Young Chamber, The Isle of Wight College, Sydnams, Suzesroom, Janzen Hotels
The production itself had all roles, on and off stage, taken by young people and was the sole product of their hard work. In truth though, it was only after the production that we realised this was something that could go further: the seeds were sown.
Part 2 next week.
Images from ‘The Bench in the Park’
