Pre-visit Pack for Workshops - Frantic Assembly
Pre-visit Pack for Workshops - Frantic Assembly
Pre-visit Pack for Workshops - Frantic Assembly
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<strong>Pre</strong>-<strong>visit</strong> <strong>Pack</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Workshops</strong><br />
A <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> workshop will be primarily movement based and will<br />
focus on the skills and techniques used to devise physical theatre. It is<br />
helpful to read through this pack in order to prepare <strong>for</strong> our <strong>visit</strong>.<br />
In our experience participants get much more out of our workshops if they<br />
know a bit about who we are and what we do in advance.<br />
Why not take a look at our website and online profiles by <strong>visit</strong>ing:<br />
franticassembly.co.uk<br />
youtube.com/franticassembly<br />
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Check List <strong>for</strong> <strong>Workshops</strong> and Residencies<br />
<strong>Pre</strong>pare the paperwork<br />
• Read, sign and return your contract.<br />
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY<br />
• Check the invoice total and pass on to your finance department <strong>for</strong> payment.<br />
<strong>Pre</strong>pare your participants<br />
• 10-24 people per group (even numbers is preferable).<br />
• Participants should be aged 14 upwards.<br />
• Be<strong>for</strong>e our <strong>visit</strong> make sure participants are aware of the following:<br />
-the physical and movement based nature of the workshop<br />
-they must wear loose and com<strong>for</strong>table clothing and trainers suitable <strong>for</strong> exercise (no short skirts,<br />
jeans or jewellery).<br />
-looking at our website ahead of our <strong>visit</strong>.<br />
• You must in<strong>for</strong>m <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> of any special needs or medical requirements in advance.<br />
• You may find it useful to look at our resource packs to support further learning about the company<br />
and our work. You can download these <strong>for</strong> FREE at franticassembly.co.uk/resources.<br />
<strong>Pre</strong>pare you studio<br />
• Your studio should be at least 10m x 10m. The larger the better, but no concrete or carpeted<br />
floors (wooden floor or dance mat preferable).<br />
• Ensure the room is warm, the floor is clean and that there are no hazards in the space –you will<br />
be running around and rolling on the floor!<br />
• We will need a loud sound system with a CD player and MP3 connection in the room.<br />
On the day<br />
• Please meet our practitioner at reception at least 10 minutes be<strong>for</strong>e the start of the workshop.<br />
• It would be great if you could show the practitioner where to find the toilets and the studio/room<br />
<strong>for</strong> the workshop.<br />
• Don’t <strong>for</strong>get that you are responsible <strong>for</strong> first aid and health and safety so it is essential that a<br />
member of your staff/ group leader is present throughout the workshop.<br />
• If the workshop is 6 hours or more you should provide lunch and refreshments <strong>for</strong> the practitioner.<br />
• Whilst all of our practitioners are fully trained to work with young people, if your participants are<br />
under 18, we find that the support of teachers or group leaders is invaluable during our <strong>visit</strong>s.<br />
Please feel free to join in with the workshops and support our practitioners by encouraging the<br />
participants to stay focused, get involved and above all HAVE FUN!<br />
Evaluating<br />
• Complete and return the evaluation <strong>for</strong>m that we email to you be<strong>for</strong>e the workshop, or email your<br />
comments to admin@franticassembly.co.uk.<br />
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Production History<br />
Beautiful Burnout by Bryony Lavery (2010)<br />
A thrilling new piece of highly physical theatre immersing the audience in the explosive world of boxing<br />
A <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> and National Theatre of Scotland production and UK Tour<br />
‘This is stunning. Literally and metaphorically’ Independent on Sunday - Outstanding<br />
Othello by William Shakespeare adapted by Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett (2008)<br />
An electrifying take on Shakespeare’s most brutal and gripping thriller-tragedy of paranoia, jealousy, sex<br />
and murder.<br />
<strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> and Theatre Royal Plymouth in association with Royal & Derngate Northampton and<br />
UK tour.<br />
'The tragedy gains an electrifying new vigor and relevance' The Independent on Sunday,<br />
’<br />
Stockholm by Bryony Lavery (2007)<br />
Treading a fine line between tenderness and cruelty, Stockholm reveals a relationship unravelling. It’s<br />
beautiful, but it’s not pretty.<br />
A <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> and Drum Theatre Plymouth production and UK tour. Revived <strong>for</strong> per<strong>for</strong>mances at<br />
Brighton Festival and Hampstead Theatre in 2008.<br />
‘This latest show from <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> comes together like a perfectly designed piece of flat<br />
packed furniture and is a sinister joy’ The Guardian<br />
pool (no water) by Mark Ravenhill (2006)<br />
A visceral and shocking play about the fragility of friendship and the jealousy and resentment inspired by<br />
success.<br />
A <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong>, Drum Theatre Plymouth and Lyric Hammersmith production and UK tour.<br />
‘This is a tough, moving, scorching play’ The Sunday Times<br />
Dirty Wonderland scripted by Michael Wynne and devised by the Company (2005)<br />
A unique guided tour of excess through the ballrooms and bedrooms of a Brighton hotel<br />
Commissioned by the Brighton Festival, a sell out production at the Grand Ocean Hotel, Saltdean.<br />
‘Faultless and mesmerising. This production is a triumphant show ’ The Guardian<br />
Hymns by Chris O’Connell (1999/2000, revived in 2005)<br />
A sadistic hunt <strong>for</strong> weakness, four friends push each other until something snaps.<br />
Original production commissioned by the Gantry, Southampton Arts Centre and produced in association<br />
with Lyric Hammersmith. Toured the UK, Columbia, Italy Ireland and Taiwan after a sell out run in<br />
London.<br />
‘A startling match of sober subject matter and dazzling choreography’ Time Out Critic’s Choice<br />
On Blindness by Glyn Cannon (2004)<br />
A serious comedy about the complications of perception and desire.<br />
A <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong>, Paines Plough and Graeae production which toured to Birmingham Rep, West<br />
Yorkshire Playhouse and Soho Theatre London.<br />
‘Enriching, explorative and slick…Pioneering’ Independent on Sunday<br />
Rabbit by Brendan Cowell (2003)<br />
A snappy, surreal farce in which <strong>Frantic</strong> tackles the dysfunctional family and brings it to its knees.<br />
A <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> and Drum Theatre Plymouth production supported by Lakeside Arts Centre.<br />
‘Once again <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> proves why it is the company of the moment with a production of<br />
stunning physicality. The per<strong>for</strong>mances are to die <strong>for</strong>’ The Guardian<br />
Peepshow by Isabel Wright (2002)<br />
A musical which tells the story of seven little lives in one big city.<br />
<strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> in association with the Drum Theatre Plymouth and Lyric Hammersmith. Supported by<br />
Barclays Stage Partners. Toured the UK and sold out during three week London run.<br />
‘Thrilling, vigorous, tough and funny… one of the best pieces of physical theatre I’ve seen’<br />
The Sunday Times<br />
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Heavenly by Scott Graham, Steven Hoggett and Liam Steel (2002)<br />
59 things that will never happen to you again once you are dead.<br />
Toured the UK, played London’s West End and after several international dates played off-Broadway <strong>for</strong><br />
three weeks.<br />
‘Inspired… it makes the afterlife look divine’ Time Out New York<br />
Tiny Dynamite by Abi Morgan (2001)<br />
An impossible love story is given a second chance and three scorched characters learn that lightning<br />
does strike twice.<br />
Paines Plough and <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> with Contact. Winner of Best Fringe Production Manchester<br />
Evening News Awards and Best Theatre Show, City Life Magazine. Toured UK, Edinburgh Festival,<br />
London, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Italy.<br />
‘This is surely the bright new future of theatre’ The Independent<br />
Underworld by Nicola McCartney (2001)<br />
Hard, dark, fast and frightening. A ghost story <strong>for</strong> the 21 st century with a breathtaking mix of touching<br />
realism and bruising physicality.<br />
Toured the UK, London and Slovakia.<br />
‘A breakthrough – an old fashioned (that’s to say tight and exciting) horror story given wings by<br />
supple gymnastic technique’ The Observer<br />
Sell Out by Michael Wynne (1998)<br />
An argument grows from an honest word among friends. And it grows quickly. Sell Out starts with a<br />
whisper snowballing to an irresistible <strong>for</strong>ce spiralling out of control.<br />
A UK tour culminated in a West End run at the New Ambassadors Theatre, <strong>for</strong> which it won the Time Out<br />
Live Theatre Award. Toured Finland, France, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Syria and Ireland.<br />
‘A knockout piece of theatre – brilliantly written and per<strong>for</strong>med, savagely perceptive, cutting edgy<br />
stuff’ Manchester Evening News<br />
Generation Trilogy (1998)<br />
Klub, Flesh and Zero toured throughout the UK in summer 1998.<br />
Zero devised by the company (1998)<br />
The house party where all is revealed be<strong>for</strong>e the clock strikes in the new millennium<br />
<strong>Pre</strong>miered at the 1998 Edinburgh Festival and toured the UK Holland, Switzerland, Austria, Singapore<br />
and Hungary.<br />
‘This is work of startling originality, this is breathtaking new ground…the bleeding edge of<br />
contemporary theatre’ The Stage<br />
Flesh by Spencer Hazel (1996/97)<br />
Four per<strong>for</strong>mers offer their bodies <strong>for</strong> the price of a ticket.<br />
Toured the UK and Europe, a huge hit at the Edinburgh Festival and in Germany Italy, Spain, Hungary<br />
and Holland.<br />
‘Interesting, intelligent, sexy and sad: a lippy, witty 80 minutes of dynamic dance theatre. A brash,<br />
confident shove-it-in-yer-face show. Highly recommended’ The Guardian<br />
Klub by Spencer Hazel (1995/96)<br />
A relentless look at the importance of club culture in mid-nineties Britain.<br />
<strong>Pre</strong>miered at the Edinburgh Festival, Toured the UK and played Ecuador with the British Council.<br />
‘Not theatre <strong>for</strong> the faint hearted. An exhilarating spectacle… terrifically enjoyable theatre that<br />
really engages with an audience’ Time Out<br />
Look Back In Anger by John Osbourne adapted by Spencer Hazel (1994)<br />
A new version of the 1960’s classic ‘angry young man’ drama.<br />
<strong>Pre</strong>miered at the Edinburgh Festival and toured the UK until September 1995.<br />
‘Believe me it’s amazing… a fantastically physical piece of theatre’ Steven Berkoff <strong>for</strong> BBC’s<br />
Edinburgh Night<br />
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FRANTIC ASSEMBLY RESOURCES<br />
franticassembly.co.uk/resource<br />
To accompany our Creative Learning Programme and our productions, we have a range of resources<br />
available <strong>for</strong> teachers, students and anyone who wants to find out more about <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong>.<br />
To find all of the resources listed below, please <strong>visit</strong> franticassembly.co.uk/resources<br />
Free Resource <strong>Pack</strong>s<br />
A Guide to <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong><br />
A Guide to Beautiful Burnout<br />
A Guide to Othello<br />
A Guide to Stockholm<br />
A Guide to pool (no water)<br />
A Guide to Hymns<br />
A Guide to Peepshow<br />
A Guide to Rabbit<br />
e-learning<br />
Free online resources such as production media, audio blogs, rehearsal diaries, and the <strong>Frantic</strong> Forum.<br />
The <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> Book of Devising Theatre<br />
Available to buy on Amazon.<br />
Written by artistic directors Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett, The <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> Book of Devising<br />
Theatre is the first book to reflect on the history and practice of their remarkable, award-winning<br />
company. An essential resource <strong>for</strong> teachers exploring physical theatre techniques, particularly <strong>for</strong> the<br />
devised and physical components of A-Level AQA and Edexcel, it includes:<br />
• practical exercises<br />
• essays on film, music and physical theatre<br />
• inspiration <strong>for</strong> devising, writing and choreographing per<strong>for</strong>mance<br />
• suggestions <strong>for</strong> scene development<br />
• an anthology of <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> productions<br />
• an eight page colour section, and illustrations throughout.<br />
Playtexts, DVDs and other merchandise<br />
Beautiful Burnout Playtext<br />
£4.00<br />
Othello playtext with FREE DVD<br />
£10.00<br />
Stockholm playtext with FREE DVD<br />
£10.00<br />
Hymns playtext<br />
£3.50<br />
Hybrid ‘I Choose Noise’ CD<br />
(includes music from Othello)<br />
£11.00<br />
<strong>Frantic</strong> T-Shirt<br />
£8.00<br />
5
In<strong>for</strong>mation <strong>for</strong> Teachers<br />
AQA AS / A Level Drama and Theatre Studies from 2009<br />
<strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> is thrilled to be included as a recommended theatre company <strong>for</strong> students to study in<br />
the 2009 AQA syllabus (AS Unit 2 – DRAM2: Practical).<br />
The company’s Creative Learning Programme and Touring Productions are brilliantly relevant to students’<br />
understanding of contemporary theatre and will enhance learning <strong>for</strong> this syllabus. In fact, <strong>Frantic</strong><br />
<strong>Assembly</strong> can be used as a fantastic example <strong>for</strong> several units of work in this syllabus and here’s how:<br />
AS Examination<br />
• Unit 1 – DRAM1: Written – Live Theatre Production Seen<br />
Section A - response to live theatre seen during the course<br />
<strong>Frantic</strong> will be touring from 2010, so look out <strong>for</strong> updates by joining our mailing list<br />
franticassembly.co.uk/subscribe<br />
• Unit 2 – DRAM2: Practical – <strong>Pre</strong>sentation of an Extract from a Play<br />
Per<strong>for</strong>mance by a group of an extract from a published play<br />
‘Candidates’ interpretation of the chosen extract should evidently be influenced… by the work of an<br />
influential director, designer, theatre company or other practitioner’ (pg 8)<br />
<strong>Frantic</strong> is recommended as a suitable theatre company <strong>for</strong> this module. Students can get to grips<br />
with the company’s theatrical approach through our show specific workshops – see<br />
franticassembly.co.uk/learn<br />
Students may also want to use an extract from a <strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> production. A list of available<br />
playtexts and resource packs is available at franticassembly.co.uk/resources<br />
A2 Examination<br />
• Unit 3 – DRAM4: Practical – <strong>Pre</strong>sentation of Devised Drama<br />
Per<strong>for</strong>mance by a group of devised drama<br />
Creative Residencies are a fantastic way to kick start your students’ understanding and approach<br />
to devising unique group drama pieces: franticassembly.co.uk/learn<br />
Alternatively our Devising and Physicality workshops will offer a great introduction to skills and<br />
techniques <strong>for</strong> creating physical theatre: franticassembly.co.uk/learn<br />
<strong>Frantic</strong> can offer:<br />
• Touring productions at venues near you. Make sure you are signed up to<br />
franticassembly.co.uk/subscribe <strong>for</strong> updates.<br />
• Post show discussions and demonstrations.<br />
• Production specific workshops, such as Beautiful Burnout Uncovered.<br />
• Devising and Physicality workshops.<br />
• Creative residencies (3 – 5 days).<br />
• Playtexts and DVDs – order from franticassembly.co.uk/resources<br />
• Show specific free resource packs available from franticassembly.co.uk/resources<br />
For in<strong>for</strong>mation contact Laura Sutton on 020 7841 3115 / laura@franticassembly.co.uk<br />
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