A Midsummer Night's Dream (Calderstones NHS Trust)

VIEW PROJECT GALLERY

Calderstones NHS Trust provides highly specialised residential treatment and care to individuals presenting complex behavioural, mental health and social needs.

Over the past year and a half, Kerry Tuhill has been delivering weekly drama sessions aimed at giving participants the opportunity to take part in a regular creative activity, build confidence, improve and develop performance skills, imagination, empathy and cooperation.  Participants attend voluntarily, in their own time, supported by staff from Adult Learning Services.

Initially, sessions focused on skills such as character work, story structure and improvisation/ devising work from the group's ideas.  However, once the idea of a performance to an audience became a possibility, participants were keen to have the security of a script, particularly an existing text.  In January 2010, the group chose from a selection of scripts - Shakespeare's classic comedy, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' was the most popular, so rehearsals and casting began.

During the year, the group worked hard, taking on challenging roles.  Some had performed before, at school, or through previous projects at Calderstones, but there were others for whom this was a completely new experience.  Due to illness and relocation, there were a few changes in the group, including one or two new additions; however, these were unfazed by the task and threw themselves wholeheartedly into learning lines and shaping a piece for public performance.

Nicole Pattinson  joined the project and proved invaluable, choreographing the dance as well as co-directing scenes and taking on acting roles where needed.

Action Factory believe in offering their participants a high quality experience; a set and lighting were provided and a professional photographer recorded both the final rehearsal and performance.  Sue Walpole designed the set and costumes, also showing the group how to make their own masks for the fairy characters, creating an atmospheric, slightly eerie effect.

 

On Wednesday 8th December 2010, the Mid Summer Night's Dream was performed to over a hundred people - a mixture of residents at Calderstones, staff and management, family and other interested professionals.  The performers admitted to feeling scared, excited and at times overwhelmed, but the final thought after it was all over was one of pride in having achieved, in the words of one participant, 'something that I never thought I could do.' 

During the following week's evaluation, the phrase that came up over and over was: "I can't wait for the next one!"

 

Sessions will continue from January 2011. For further details, please contact Kerry Tuhill at Action Factory (ktuhill@actionfactory.org)