What a thrill to see the Westlake Primary School kids again after a year’s absence due to Covid-19. Shakespeare was the theme for our 4 month drama enrichment programme. The learners got to learn about and do Julius Caesar but with the freedom given to us by the Shakespeare Schools Festival, we could put our spin on it and give it our local flavour.
Calpurnia’s nightmare – photo credit: A Gorman PhotographyBeware the Ides of March – Photo Credit: A Gorman PhotographyEt tu, Brute – Photo Credit: A Gorman Photography
Masked, but undeterred, our Shakespeare drama kids, marched, danced, rapped their way through 20 minutes of this iconic piece and came away with the experience of performing on the stage of Cape Town’s iconic Artscape Theatre.
The sense of achievement and joy that these children take away from this experience is priceless.
Storytelling at it’s Best – The Barrydale Analog Festival – 2020
Photo Credit: Mark Fourie
Celia Musikanth, of Circle Productions, accompanied David Muller, the Merry Scholar, to Riebeek Kasteel over the weekend 17 – 19 December 2020 where he performed a series of Herman Charles Bosman’s “Oom Schalk” stories to Covid compliant full houses and standing ovations. For nearly nine years Celia has been involved as director and mentor for David’s highly successful shows.
The Royal Arts Town Amphitheatre in Riebeek Kasteel, was a perfect venue for outdoor performances and luckily David has been able to perform his shows throughout the country during 2020.
The previous weekend, David took Oom Schalk’s stories to the Analog Festival in Barrydale.
These shows, that have travelled the length and breadth of our country for the last nine years, are highly entertaining – to book “Oom Schalk”, contact David on 072 986 5311.
Groups of lively, fun-loving schoolkids joined us for a series of four workshops towards the end of February. The Grade 6 learners enjoyed a unique acting experience with Circle Productions.
In a local Muizenberg church hall with its lovely stage, we taught the school children how to project their voices, use body language and we gave them tips on how to create believable characters.
Our theatre games gave the learners a chance to improve their skills and they had lots of fun doing it. Acting workshops like this are ideal for all age groups – grownup children too!
Four months of weekly sessions with the children of Westlake Primary ended in their showcase Saturday 30th November where they showed their parents and teachers what they had learned and how talented they are. They were fabulous and impressive and we thank our partners Fondazione Labia (Labia Foundation) for supporting us in this venture and being such great supporters of development of the arts.
Highlight – Writers become Actors
Circle Productions was really busy this November as we wound up for the year. We had an awesome time with the West Coast Writers’ Circle with an interactive session, taken from our Be an Actor for a Day programme and tailormade especially for writers. We gave them tips on how best to prepare for and read their work out loud.
Highlight – Fun and Games at Groote Schuur Hospital School
Circle Productions visited the Groote Schuur Hospital School to give some pleasure to the ill children who spend time in hospital and are given education, stimulation and fun while there.
We tailored our drama workshop session to the energy level of the patients and without exception, the children loved their time with us and grew in confidence while enjoying an hour of fun activities.
This is the second of four sessions and we look forward to a few more in 2020.
Highlight – Dotty Drama Kids – An “In theatre” Experience
We love this drama school based in the South Peninsula – they do such amazing drama training for children. We also love that they join us for a morning at the Masque Theatre to get a chance to work with us and to learn a little more about how a theatre works. They also get a chance to showcase what they have learned with us at the end of the session. Working with such enthusiastic and talented children is a real treat.
We look forward to 2020 – we look forward to all things fun and good and theatrical!
Performance is everything. And we are getting ready for our showcase on 30 November with our Westlake Primary School kids. The programme is sponsored by the Fondazione Labia.
We will be highlighting what they have learned with us over the last 4 months – mime, character work, vocal ability, imagination, song and dance.
We pull in our friends in theatre to give the children some specialised classes too – from working with the dancers from Muizenberg High School to the wonderful drama teacher from Dotty Dance and Drama.
Watching these youngsters grow in confidence and skill is such a treat and we are all looking forward to the showcase for parents and teachers.
The Casa Labia Kids – this is our tree – and it’s a happy tree!
Spring is the time to awaken those dormant senses. Find your creativity, expression and sense of fun, by joining us for our last session of Be an Actor for a Day for 2019.
Peas and carrots – 30 June 2019
Fun and games, basic acting skills, the joy of performance, a day to remember.
Casa Labia Cultural Centre in Muizenberg is the venue for drama training for sixteen learners from Westlake Primary School, Westlake. The programme is sponsored and supported by the Fondazione Labia.
From July to November, every Friday, these enthusiastic learners enjoy interactive, fun-filled drama training with Celia and Coleen.
For five months, these youngsters will enjoy learning basic acting skills and prepare for a showcase for an audience of their schoolmates and parents.
Happy Performers – Our troupe of actors 30 June 2019
Be an Actor for a Day 30 June 2019
Be an Actor for a Day continues to go from strength to strength and we are so proud of how well our actors take to the programme and grow in skill and confidence throughout the day with us.
We asked them each to prepare a 2 minute reading from their work – from novels in progress to poetry – and then worked on basic vocal skills, characterisation and interpretation for an audience. We looked at delivery of dialogue, descriptive pieces and how to work within the confines of metred verse. What an amazing morning. The two and a half hours flew by!
Dylis said: “It really was very informative and done in such a relaxed way that I did not feel like I was being lectured. God Bless and THANK YOU BOTH.”
Scott said: “I found the meeting held last Wednesday was conducted in a very friendly and relaxed manner. The two evaluations of the way each item was read were very perceptive and will certainly help the writing group at future monthly meetings.”
Putting the writers through their paces with Be an Actor for a Day exercises
