Get Into: Performing and Production Arts Update

 Get Into: Performing and Production Arts Update 

Musical Theatre, Filmmaking, Production, Singing and Guitar

Two people standing in a darkended room experimenting with lighting

This term, Fair Access has been running a fantastic programme of ‘Get Into’ courses designed as pathways towards further training in higher education.

Forty-five young people from across Scotland attend weekly workshops to develop their skills and confidence in either Production Arts and Technology, Guitar, Musical Theatre or Filmmaking (which focuses on either Script Writing or Post-production Sound).

Young woman showing a prop

We are especially delighted to be working in partnership with Eden Court Theatre in Inverness to host a further ‘Get Into: Production’ course, which focuses on prop making and includes a work experience placement at RCS.

Courses are led by RCS tutors and freelance artists, many of whom are RCS alumni, now working professionally. In January we are excited to offer ‘Get Into: Singing’ as part of this programme. 

 Want to know more about our ‘Get Into’ programmes? 

Look out for more Get Into programmes that you can sign up for next Spring. If you have any questions or queries, email: fairaccesshello@rcs.ac.uk

Launching: Let's Make Films

How is everyone? We hope you are all well and finding lots of great ways to keep yourself busy!

The WACI Team have been hard at work in the background thinking of ways to help you all have fun with exciting projects and we’re delighted to announce the launch of the first in a series of online toolkits, Filmmaking on Mobile Devices.

If you have ever wanted to make a short film but didn’t know where to start, this project is for you! You will learn how to create professional-quality videos with your mobile device where we’ll show you how to plan, create, edit, save and upload your videos. All you need is imagination and a mobile phone or tablet.

Our toolkits are open for anyone to use, so whether you’re a teacher looking for new resources to share, a young person at home who is keen to explore and gain experience in filmmaking, we really hope you will enjoy making short films with us.

If you’d like to send in your videos we’d love to see them! We are hoping to choose some of them to feature on our social media and Vimeo page.  Also if you are sharing any of your short films on social media be sure to tag us @RCSWACI and use the hashtag #WACILetsMakeFilms.

To get started click here!

Glasgow Festival Trip: Rocks at GFT

WACI are pleased to invite our pupils join us on our trip to see Rocks at Glasgow Film Festival.

When: Sunday 8th March
Where: Meet at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland at 15.30 to then walk to the Glasgow Film Theatre.
Who: Open to all WACI pupils

About the film: Rocks is Olushola Joy Omotoso (Bukky Bakray), a London teenager whose life is radically altered when she is left on her own with a little brother who needs her. Fearing they will be separated, she decides to step up to the situation. She tells no one and carries on with a little help from her friends, especially Sumaya (Kosar Ali). Based on a script by award-winning playwrights Theresa Ikoko and Claire Wilson, Sarah Gavron’s Rocks is a raucous celebration of female friendship told with wit, compassion and vibrant performances from a stunning young ensemble.

You can check out the trailer here.

Book your place: here
Booking deadline: Thu 5 Mar

*Update: Sign up for this has now closed.

 

RCS Fair Access Plenary

Poverty and Under-Representation of Working-Class People in the Arts

This week Fair Access staff, which includes the WACI team, had the opportunity to attend the Fair Access Plenary. This is an event that regularly happens within the Royal Conservatoire where issues relating to fair access and widening participation can be discussed with guest speakers.

On Tuesday 11 February the topic was poverty and under-representation of working-class people in the arts where we heard from guest speakers Fiona Evans, an award-winning playwright whose work has been produced in the UK and abroad and best known for her play Scarborough, James Price, a screenwriter and filmmaker from Springburn who taught himself how to write scripts in his teens, recently nominated for Best Short Film at the 2019 Edinburgh International Film Festival for his latest film Boys Night and Laura E Waddell, a writer, publisher and speaker who believes in finding new ways to connect modern audiences with books and supporting and encouraging writers and artists from marginalised communities.

Hosted by the RCS Fair Access Manager, Jesse Paul, they shared their experiences and discussed the barriers that need addressing in order to create better support for those entering the arts from working-class backgrounds.

They spoke knowledgeably about how lack of money can have a negative impact on learning experiences, asked the audience to consider why people make assumptions about the kind of work working-class artists want to make and offered provocations about working-class identities and the role institutions need to play in welcoming working-class students in – suggesting that outreach and working-class role models were helpful ways to locate talented new artists.

 

Bookings Now Open for Performance Trips

WACI is pleased to announce two performance trip opportunities for WACI pupils.

Performance trips are great to attend ahead of any interviews or auditions where you can practice critically analysing a piece of work but is also a great way to see performances that you might not otherwise see and to meet new friends that are interested in the same things you are!

MUSIC TRIP: MOVIES TO MUSICALS
Performed by the Glasgow Philharmonic


When: Fri 21 Feb, 7 pm
Where:  Meeting at RCS then short walk to Royal Glasgow Concert Hall

The 6th Annual Movies to Musicals concert will see the orchestra performing classic movie soundtracks and some of your favourite and well-loved musical songs with some of the biggest names to have graced London’s West End stages! They will be joined by their Kids’ Cast, Musical Theatre Cast, and other special guests! Come along and witness over 400 performers on stage right here in Glasgow.

MUSICAL THEATRE TRIP: CITY OF ANGELS
When: Wed 18 March, 7 pm
Where: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Set in the 1940s, against a backdrop of old Hollywood glamour and true-crime tales, a writer struggles to separate his real-life drama from what’s in the pages of his screenplay. A vibrant cast of characters are propelled by a brilliant jazz score through all the twists and turns of fame, fortune and film noire.

BOOKING YOUR PLACE
*Bookings are now closed*

A man light with blue moody lighting on a stage

Family and Carer Day: Speaker Spotlight Theatre-Maker Robbie Gordon

Next on our industry panel, we welcome Theatre-Maker Robbie Gordon.

Robbie Gordon is a well-kent face with those on the WACI programme. Co-founder of Wonder Fools, is the Ayr Gaiety’s Creative Learning Coordinator, a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and is represented by Infinity Artist Management. Credits include: writer and performer of 549: Scots of the Spanish Civil War (Wonder Fools); actor in Charlie Sonata (Royal Lyceum Theatre); workshop leader and sand facilitator on Danny Boyle’s Pages of the Sea (National Theatre of Scotland)

Follow Our Event On Social Media
Are you on Facebook? Please comment, like and share with anyone you think would be interested in the event and select ‘Going’ on our event page to receive updates on the day. We will also be live tweeting and would love to see your posts too, use #FamilyandCarerDay

Event Organisers
Family and Carer Day is a joint event run by WACI and Transitions.