Booster Cushion Theatre

How to get the best out of a visit from a theatre company to your school.

2011-10-18T02:24:00.000-07:00

We hope that this blog will help you to get the most out of the expensive event that you are setting up. Presented are some of the situations that regularly occur.

Prepare for the visit.

Let the whole school know we are on our way.

Tell the staff, teachers and assistants, the parents, non teaching staff (caretaker, site manager, cleaner, administration, bursar’, breakfast club, dinner ladies and supervisors) and in some cases tell the pupils. You can choose to tell them when, where, what and for who. Often the top year understand a show is being set up and then they work out that they are not to see the show and then feel left out.

The more the pupils are informed of a performance arriving at the school and how the group event works, the more relaxed and ready the children will be for the presentation. Hence the more they will get out of a performance and this will help with follow up work.

Tell them the name of the production or show them the poster. It often leads to an understanding of what to expect. Many times in our experience the audience are told a show is coming but it is not named or tied to a topic. It becomes an unnecessary mystery and mostly a puppet show even though no one has mentioned puppets.

Is the performance a treat?

Often a performance is presented in school as a surprise or treat, so this will affect who knows what.

However this should not be a reason to ignore the performance afterwards. Talking about it and recalling an event allows the audience to understand what has happened. This is very important for children that have not seen much theatre. Some children do not understand the format and are at a loss as to how to react to a live performance. We have heard of young children asking for the show to be rewound and played again.

Time of year

If a performance is near Christmas it is thought to be a ‘Panto’, otherwise it automatically assumed to be a puppet show, especially if the set has long flats that suggest a booth as opposed to a back drop. Hence informing the audience what they are to see reduces the confusion and helps the children to focus.

What is it about?

Talk about the topics that are covered by the show. You don’t have to tell the whole plot. This will spoil the surprises. But let the children know that is has actors, set, props and participation and what direction the story takes, whether traditional, non-traditional, comical, serious, fiction or non fiction or a combination of stories etc.

For example in our ‘Alan in Wonderland and the 3 Goats Plus…’ the story does not have a traditional Alice, but is often assumed to include her. BCT’s Al-Ice is a troll with a Christmas pudding body, because she was trapped at the Mad Hatters Tea Party and ate too many cakes..The plot is a mixture of traditional tales and even more.……..as suggested by the ‘Plus’ in the title.

Display the poster in the school.

The posters for all Booster Cushion Theatre performances show some of the elements of the story. For ‘Alan in Wonderland and the 3 Goats Plus….’ we see 3 goats pulling suitcases over a bridge, crossing a river full of teacups, cakes, fishes and an enormous Troll’s foot.

The written outline of the performance clearly details the scenes so that teachers can prepare pre and post work, with the various themes mentioned. We recommend that you read it, it is short, just a side of A4. It does not take more than a few minuets, just like this blog.

Keep in touch

Always remember to contact the group if you have any items to discuss. We at Booster Cushion Theatre, phone to check details before the performance and ask how the production is to be used and offer ideas. Often this is lost on the administration assistant asked to make the booking and is not passed on to the relevant teacher.

This is just an outline of considerations that can easily be forgotten in a busy school day.

We have experienced all of this and more. As have most other theatre companies working with schools.

Please talk to us at Booster Cushion Theatre on:

Tel: 01727 873 874

Email: admin@booster-cushion.co.uk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BoosterCushion

2011-04-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

Taking theatre for children around the world

Little Red Riding Hood and Friends rides out with the Anywhere Festival, Brisbane Australia via a video link from the Karamel Restaurant in North London on 7th May, 2011.

Booster Cushion Theatre is 21 years old in 2011. We are celebrating this with a free live event.

‘Little Red Riding Hood and Friends’ is a fast, solo, comical, non-traditional version of the tale with lots of participation. We will have people from across the globe auditioning to be the Big Bad Wolf and dancing the Conga with Cinderella to the sound of Jack's beans [see www.booster-cushion.co.uk ]

Participation for the brave.

It all takes place on Saturday 7^th May 2011 10am. Doors open 9.30am.

The venue:

Karamel Restaurant, Chocolate Factory 2

4 Coburg Rd, London N22 6XU
Tel: 02088298989
Web: www.karamelclub.co.uk
E-mail info@karamelclub.co.uk

This is a free event. Please contact Karamel Restaurant or Booster Cushion Theatre to reserve a seat as space is limited. This show is suitable for a family audience with children aged 4-11 years old.

Please note that this event is to be filmed and broadcast.

Getting there:
By tube: Wood Green on the Piccadilly Line

By rail: Alexandra Palace from St. Pancras
By bus: 184 or W3.

Asking for directions.

The Anywhere Festival is the first theatre festival in Brisbane, Australia for theatre anywhere but traditional theatres from 5-14 May 2011.You can watch the show live as a bed time story in Australia or morning story in Europe. The show can also be viewed again as a download from the Anywhere Festival site during the festival. For more details go to www.anywherefest.com

Contact Booster Cushion Theatre:

E-mail: admin@booster-cushion.co.uk

Tel: 01727873874

Tweet @BoosterCushion

Facebook Phil Sherman

We look forward to seeing you on 7^th May.

If you want to watch this show on line or via Skype please follow the details below.

The live streaming link is via Ustream on 7th May at 10am UK time:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/booster-cushion-tv

You may also Skype the performance by calling Booster Cushion Theatre. This address is hosting a video conference call. We can link with 10 groups on this, on a first come, first served basis, starting from 9.30am.

NB for Skype to work you must have the latest version of the software installed.

Regards

Philip Sherman

Director

Booster Cushion Theatre

2011-01-20T11:11:00.000-08:00

Booster Cushion Theatre is going to be 21 years old this year. We have had three touring companies over this time and a sister company in

Ireland

run by our founding associate and friend Franz Shealy.

We have toured throughout the UK and the Emerald Isle from the Shetland Islands all the way to Channel Islands and Cork to Great Yarmouth via Holyhead and Iona.

We estimate to have performed over 4000 times to half a million people. Also in a variety of places from famous theatres, such as Bristol Old Vic and Blackpool Grand. To rep. theatres such as The Millfield Theatre, Adam Smith Theatre and Paisley Town Hall.

Outdoors in forests and parks for example Regents Park, Richmond Park, Epping Forest, Sherwood Forest and Camperdown Park in Dundee with its wonderful 'Flower Festival'. Then there are other places such as under a railway arch on the Isle Of Dogs, London in the pouring rain (August, of course).

We have also worked in the Elephant House in London Zoo and hospitals in Scotland and England and a variety of marquees and tents in the Midlands and beyond. We have never visited hospitals on account of elephants or tempoary housing problems.

Nearly half of all our performances have been for schools and educational institutions. Primary schools of 500 down to 8 pupils reaching to Middle schools with 750 on the roll. Special schools all over the UK including the Scope Boarding School and the RNID School in Margate. Nursery schools in Churches and purpose built sites plus loads of Sure Start and Children Centers as they sprouted up.

Then there have been the delightful Literature and Book Festivals. Some run by charities and others coordinated by Library services. The List goes on and on.

The variety of people we have met has been fantastic and the responses to the productions have been wonderful. So a big thank you to all our followers and associates out there.