LATEST NEWS
25/05/10 - Casting Opportunity
The National Theatre is bringing its production of 'The Habit of Art' by Alan Bennett to the Birmingham Rep Theatre from 28th September - 2nd October 2010. The play features a young boy, aged 11-13, and we will be looking for two local boys to play the part in each venue.
The role requires solo choral singing, with the highest note being a G Flat. Pure, boyish voices are therefore essential. There are also a few lines of dialogue.
The job will entail one day of rehearsal in London for learning, plus an afternoon of rehearsal in the venue on the first day of performances, and then half of the week's shows (the role will be shared between two boys in each city). There is also some potential for the boys performing in Birmingham to do the show when the tour goes to Nottingham, in the week commencing 2nd November, although this is not confirmed.
Auditions will be held in Birmingham on Thursday 10th June. If you are interested, please contact Charlotte Sutton (Casting Assistant at the National Theatre) via email on csutton@nationaltheatre.org.uk for further information, a copy of the script and audition times and location.
Note for Parents: 'The Habit of Art' is about an imagined meeting between W.H Auden and Benjamin Britten, and in the child's scene he is auditioning for Britten. After this there is some discussion between the adults in the play about whether or not Britten had inappropriate relations with young boys - this has been a problem for some parents and schools we approached for the original London run, so we are bringing this to your attention now. Scripts are available for you to look at and use your discretion as to whether the content is appropriate for your child.
25/05/10 - Urgent audition 28th May, female actor aged 14-19
Theatre Ark unexpectedly needs to recruit an extra member to step in to complete the cast of its innovative, forthcoming production of The Crucible on 19-21 July.
The audition is on Friday 28 May 2010 at 5pm.
You need to be available to rehearse on Saturday mornings 10am - 1pm in the city centre from 29 May - 17 July, plus some weekends and various additional dates.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a classic of modern theatre and an extremely powerful play about the dangers of social paranoia and private vengeance, based on real historical events but of great significance in our own times. We are looking for a bright and committed young person to join this established company and cast in their own telling of this cautionary tale, someone who is genuinely interested in working as part of a dedicated team towards a high quality performance under the direction of professional theatre workers.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please email for further details and dates to ceri@bigbrum.plus.com as soon as possible.
24/03/10 - Theatre Ark charity paintball offer
Theatre Ark have been given a number of Charity Paintball Passes to sell or raffle to raise funds for the company, which means you can take 8 people paintballing to any local or National Paintball Centre when you donate just £49.99 to Theatre Ark.
What you get:
- A full day of paintball action;
- Free equipment hire*;
- Free use of the latest semi-automatic paintballgun;
- Access to the best paintball centres in the UK;
- and full liability insurance.
*Please note paintballs are not included
Once you've purchased your pass you simply call the number to book your session. So if you're planning a paintballing session with your mates, why not save yourselves a whole wodge of cash whilst contributing to a worthwhile young people's project.
Email theatreark@hotmail.co.uk to reserve your Paintballing Pass!
For further info on Charity Paintball see www.charitypaintball.org.uk
23/03/10 - Theatre Ark Newsletter - First Edition
In what will be a new, ongoing feature, Theatre Ark is proud to present the first edition of its new, bi-monthly newsletter. Edited by Theatre Ark member Joss Marshall, the Newsletter keeps you up to date with our latest news.
Click here to read our March 2010 Newsletter (Adobe PDF document 
, 662k, opens in a new window)
13/03/10 - Theatre Ark publishes its first Annual Review, for 2009
Theatre Ark has prodcued its first annual review, setting out in some detail its journey so far, and its plan for the future. The review covers the year 2009, the first of Theatre Ark's existence.
Click here to read our Annual Review 2009 (Adobe PDF document , 43k, opens in a new window)
31/01/10 - Theatre Ark suceeds in a Youth Capital fund bid
This January, Theatre Ark applied for £17,616 from the Youth Capital Fund to spend on a selection of specialist equipment. A small group of members - our new Finance Committee - drew up an application just before Christmas 2009, containing what we were asking for and how it would benefit the group.
Theatre Ark were overjoyed to discover that the bid was successful. Amongst the items we have been funded to buy are a high quality video camera, an Apple Mac laptop, lighting equipment and some portable staging. With the new equipment a whole range of new skills will be within our reach and a whole new world of creative arts will be at our fingertips.
21/09/09 - Praise for Theatre Ark from Steve McCabe, MP
Birmingham MP Steve McCabe, who attended Theatre Ark's launch, was very impressed by what he saw! His thoughts below, from his website www.stevemccabe-mp.org.uk:
"I get lots of invites to attend launches and not surprisingly I find it's a bit difficult to fit them all in but every now and then, there's a chance to go to something really worthwhile. Tonight I went to the launch of Theatre Ark, a Birmingham based drama group for young people and run by young people. They are supported by the council's Creative Futures Programme and the Big Brum Theatre in Education. The idea is to take a group of young people who will develop their own theatre company and learn the range of skills required to run it as a business. I can't claim any particular expertise in this field but I've been to lots of presentations and I've rarely been to such an original event. If ever there's a group to watch it's these youngsters.
They are drawn from all parts of the city; they've started from first principles and devised their own constitution for how the group will be run. They're already working hard on their first production, Arthur Miller's The Crucible, which they hope to perform by candlelight at a former warehouse. From the moment I walked into the room I could feel the energy and freshness of these youngsters. They each had a story to tell and a fascinating account of how the company has come together. They told us how they were able to draw on the inspiration of their grandparents, who come from all parts of the globe, as a basis for their initial thinking and how an overnight camp and a walk of some 12 miles back into Birmingham helped them develop a perspective on the city and the kind of company they hope to build. To add to their freshness they've persuaded Iqbal Mohammed, the young trainee who featured on the BBC programme The Barristers, to serve as their chairman. He was a member of Big Brum theatre in his own youth and is a classis example of a young successful Brummie who wants to give something back. His eloquent and thoughtful speech was a joy to hear. These are young people who really have a future.
I've spent a lot of time thinking about youth employment over the summer and it's really encouraging to know that here in Birmingham there are real initiatives, led by young people themselves, which can really make a difference.
Watch out for Theatre Ark because this is an example of Birmingham's future which we should all try to support. I'm convinced we will end up being really proud of them."
03/09/09 - Theatre Ark launches in Brindley Place, waved off by a prestigious line-up of well-wishers!
Today sees the celebratory launch of Theatre Ark, a new creative enterprise run by young people. A group of sixteen young people from every corner of the city is developing a whole new range of skills associated with running a small-scale arts organisation. They are applying their talent and creativity to questions of management and organisation, planning and policy, with the view to eventually establishing themselves as an independent theatre company in the city.
Today, on the eve of their first public outing at Arts Fest, they are being joined by a wide and impressive range of supporters and well-wishers from both Birmingham's private and its public sector. At a special reception at 3 Brindley Place, they will be for the first time making their young, collective artistic presence felt in the heart of the city. They have been furiously practising the critical new skill of networking specially for the event! These are young people with growing vision, determination and arts scene savvy - huge potential for influencing the future of the arts in Birmingham!
Thank you for coming today, everybody.
01/09/09 - City council secures a creative future for Theatre Ark
Birmingham City Council has awarded Big Brum TIE a Creative Futures Award to incubate the fledging company, Theatre Ark. The top theatre-in-education company, with a reputation for its outstanding work with young people throughout the city and beyond, is nurturing the young group and supporting it in its ambition to become an independent theatre company in its own right. Ceri Townsend and Rich Holmes, Big Brum's designer and longest-serving Actor-Teacher, founded the group and have been mentoring the young members in all matters related to running a small scale arts organisation. The Creative Futures Award will enable the company to put on its first theatre in January 2010: a candlelit production of The Crucible, by Arthur Miller.
01/09/09 - Ambitious arts network for Birmingham's young people about to go on-line
The Creative Futures Award is also assisting in the establishment of our Theatre Ark Network, a city-wide network of 14-19 year olds who have a passion for drama and theatre. The network will be operated largely from this website and will provide interested young people with access to a range of activities, workshops, news, performances and theatre events aimed specifically at their age group. The website is currently under construction, but we're hoping it will be fully operational very soon, so watch this space!