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IYAF Workshop Programme

International Youth Arts Festival

All participants will need to complete a booking form and a consent form.  These can be completed on the day of the workshop, however to secure your place on a popular workshop it is advisable to do this in advance.

Download booking form for IYAF Workshops

Download consent form for IYAF Workshops

Completed forms must be returned to Workshop Enrolment, International Youth Arts Festival, 32a High Street, Kingston upon Thames, KT1 1HH

Free Workshops
These workshops are free!

Other Workshops
These workshops have a small cost per student.

Workshops linked to productions
These workshops explore productions that are showing during the IYAF Festival. See the Festival Programme for more details. The costs for these workshops are discounted if you are attending the related performance.

Create, Produce, Record!

Glitch Music Workshops was started by Matt Jones, a youth worker and musician.  Since 2006 his team have facilitated in over 300 schools and centres working with young people aged 9 to 21. All facilitators are professionally trained Artists and Youth Workers.

Young people will learn how to create, produce and record their own music, using professional music equipment and software.  Participants may bring along instruments (but it is not essential) and all participants will receive a CD of their finished song.

Poetry in Motion

Francesca Beard performs spoken word to audiences all over Britain and the World.

You can read her introduction to performance poetry ‘Power in the Voice’ on The British Council website. Her spoken word show, 'Chinese Whispers', produced by Apples & Snakes and supported by the Arts Council has toured nationally and abroad. Her children’s show, 'Animal Olympics', developed in association with Chinese Arts Centre and Soho Theatre and premiered at the South Bank’s ‘Imagine’ Children’s Festival has toured nationally and internationally. She has written plays for BBC Radio 4 and was on attachment to the Royal Court Theatre in 2008 as one of the UK’s most exciting emerging writers. She is currently developing ‘London Tales’, a Canterbury Tales for the 21st century, produced by B3 Media and supported by Arts Council England.

This workshop for IYAF will be a fun-filled and confidence-boosting poetry workshop, incorporating drama and group activities, where each participant writes a poem they are proud to perform.

Introduction to Stage Combat

Stage combat is a means of action based learning that improves imagination and focus, teaches communication and control, increases physical attributes and discipline; and is great fun! Richard, a leading expert in stage combat, is a full member of 'The Independent Fight Directors Guild'. He is involved on a daily basis in teaching stage combat in numerous drama schools, providing certification for actors and acting as the Fight Director for professional theatrical productions.

During the 'Introduction to stage combat' workshop, students will learn basic unarmed techniques such as slaps, hair grabs, punches and falls. They will also have the opportunity to learn a six-move sword fight routine. This teaches the fundamental safety aspects of armed stage combat in a safe environment, cut, thrust and parry!

Metamorphoses: A Workshop on Physical Storytelling and Puppetry

Pants on Fire is a theatre company based in London. From original devised shows to re-workings of classical texts, the performances focus on the ensemble, visual storytelling, energetic play and magical theatricality. Live original music and song is a distinct element in all of the work. Puppets, masks, inventive props and costumes, mime, dance, projections of original film are all used.

Ovid’s Metamorphoses is a collection of Greek Myths which all share the theme of transformation and its stories describe man’s connection with nature and the Earth. By recycling rubbish (old boxes, plastic bottles, packaging etc.) pupils will learn how to create their very own simple puppets of characters from these Greek myths. This in itself will be a ‘Metamorphosis’ of old things turned into a brand new things!  Using these newly formed puppets pupils can become like the gods and goddesses in the stories, able to manipulate the fates of man. Finding exciting and inventive ways of interacting with puppets, pupils will explore physical theatre and storytelling techniques to bring these famous myths to exciting and playful life.

1 Day Film School

Resource Productions works with youth and community groups across London and the South East to assist them in developing stories as well as offering informal and accredited filmmaking workshops.

This workshop will allow participants to create their own story and produce their own film all in one day. The workshop will be run by professionals from the TV and Film industry.

Doing Stuff with Words

A.F. Harrold is a poet and performance poet working in a remarkably broad field. In 2007 he won the coveted UK All-Stars Poetry Slam Championship at the Cheltenham Literature Festival and in 2008 he was Poet-in-Residence at Glastonbury Festival. He has also appeared at numerous other music, poetry and literature festivals around the country. He has run and hosted the long-running regular poetry event, Poets’ Cafe, at Reading South Street Arts Centre for a number of years and has read and performed his work on BBC Radio 3, 4 and BBC 7. A.F. Harrold’s commitment to the power and pleasure of the word – both on the page and spoken – is palpable and evident, and if he is able to share just one tenth of that with other people he is a happy man!

This workshop will include a variety of word games and little poetic exercises which will lead to learning some easy ways to write good and funny poems – the emphasis being on fun and enjoying language – including silliness, performing out loud and some writing – group and individual work as seems appropriate. Exercises look at vocabulary, metaphor, imagery, riddles, form and other aspects of writing poetry, as well as the performance of it.

Revenge Drama in Action, Exploring 'The Revenger's Tragedy'

Picklock was founded by award-winning directors Frank Whately and Joanna Horton (The Ragged Child & Pendragon abroad and at the Rose). With young adult actors they create productions which are nimble-footed, challenging and exciting, showing the best of brilliant youth. The workshops will bring the text to life as performance, dramatising the language and characters, to reveal contemporary themes. It will include practical approaches to the language, physical approaches to character development and portrayal and problems relating to staging.

None But Friends - The Practical, Fun Way to Dramatise History

This will be a practical and exciting exploration of the historical context of the play through improvisation of scenes and situations which confronted the younger characters in the play.

These characters and scenes will be explored with the actors, Tanju Duncan (assistant director), the director/author, Allan Swift, and international award-winning director, Bob Tomson.  Allan has written for "Hollyoaks", "Casualty", "EastEnders", "London's Burning" and "The Bill" and has directed numerous plays in London theatres; he is currently lecturing on the Screenwriting module here at Kingston University. Bob Tomson is one of the West End’s most successful/leading directors; he currently has two hit shows in London: "Blood Brothers" (which has been running for over twenty years) and "Dreamboats and Petticoats" and is now directing the world tour of "Evita"; he also directs for "The Bill" and "Doctors".

Graffiti Workshop

This drop-in workshop will consist of assisting young people in the creation of a mural using graffiti and street art techniques.  The workshop also focuses on helping young people to realise the differences between illegal and responsible graffiti, and team work, since the participants will work together with the goal of creating a mural, which can then be displayed for the audience to see.

Urban Fashion

In this drop-in workshop young people will customise outfits which they can then keep. Spray paint, stencils, acrylic, brushes and fabrics etc will be provided to allow young people to create their dream outfits. An improvised catwalk finishes the day off!

The Master Class - Ensemble Work

The master class will introduce and explore improvisational structures and devising strategies that Philip as a director might use for animating a disparate group of people into a cohesive creative ensemble. That is to say a group of people working together to create that which can not be predicted in advance. That which is beyond the rational and illustrative.

The work is primarily physical and movement orientated guided by soundscapes and can include text as it develops. By following a gradually increasing set of instructions and  using a variety of improvisational techniques we will explore spatial relationship, group and individual performance composition and presence through structured 'play' and the notion of 'response' and 'reaction' as essential creative impulses in the devising of a performance work.

I have developed this method over the past 30 years as a performer and director working across the globe. Inspired by my work with Grotowski, Kemp, Odin Theatret, Academia Ruchu and many others. This masterclass has recently been delivered in Serbia, Greece, Italy, Russia and Great Britain.

Capoeira

Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art developed by slaves in Brazil. It has been popularised in video games such as Tekken and in movies such as Warrior King. Come and join in the social, spiritual and cultural phenomenon that is Capoeira.

I Want To Be An Actor!

This acting workshop is for children who have a passion for drama and are perhaps considering a career in Acting. David Lawson Lean is a freelance acting coach who works extensively with children in the performing arts. He is the founder and director of Kingston’s Junior Drama Company.

Historical Dance and Early Music

Come and learn music and dance from historical periods!  All linked in to the performance of The Ballad of Salamon Pavey being performed at 6.30pm at the Rose Theatre on the 4th July.

Picnic with the Circus

Come and join in with 3 days worth of open workshops, taster sessions and rehearsal sessions for the big circus finale of International Youth Arts Festival. Workshops will run in a variety of disciplines – aerial work, juggling, stilt walking etc and you can either drop in and have a taster or get more involved and rehearse to be in the finale Sunday performance. We are looking for arts, sports and extreme sports groups etc to be in the show and people to help with organisation, front of house, backstage, costume making etc! E-mail mail@circussuburbia.co.uk for more details or just turn up on the day!

Sculpture with the Circus

Join the circus atmosphere in Fairfield Park and help create the scenery for the night ahead! Come and make beautiful sculptures out of recycled coloured plastic materials. Giant sculptures will be built throughout the day and create the beautiful backdrop for the evening show

Masterclass

Stephen Unwin, Artist Director of the Rose Theatre and founder of the English Touring Theatre provides Insights into directing, acting and the theatrical profession.