YOUNG performers from throughout the Highlands will be given the chance of a lifetime to perform in one of the largest youth theatre festivals in the world, following the announcement of Eden Court as a delivery partner for the National Theatre’s Connections 2013 Festival.
Connections is a national festival of new writing and young theatre making. The concept is simple – exciting new plays, commissioned by the National Theatre and performed by youth theatre groups across the UK, with professional support from the NT and its Partner Theatres.
Connections aims to inspire 13-19 year-olds with high-quality new playwriting, giving a wide range of young companies the knowledge, skills and confidence to bring the plays to life. The festival promotes the idea that the experience of creating, producing and performing live theatre can further young people’s aspirations, skills and life chances.
Ten new plays have been commissioned as part of this year’s festival, written by some of the country’s most prominent writers. One of these ten new pieces, ‘Ailie and the Alien’, was devised and written by award-winning playwright Morna Pearson in collaboration with one of Eden Court CREATIVE’s very own LAMDA Acting Performance classes.
Eden Court will host one of Connections’ regional festivals in the April 2013, which will include performances, workshops and more. Local groups will have the chance to perform their plays at Eden Court, with successfully chosen groups from across the UK going on to perform at the National Theatre in London in the summer.
Youth theatres, schools and youth groups aged 13-19 are invited to apply for Connections 2013, regardless of experience by 01 July 2012. For more information visit the Connections website (www.nationaltheatre.org,uk/connections), contact your local Eden Court CREATIVE Arts Worker on 01463 239 841 or email creative@eden-court.co.uk.
ENDS
For further information, interview requests or to arrange picture opportunities, please contact Eden Court Marketing Department / marketing@eden-court.co.uk / 01463 239 841
Notes to Editors
• The Royal National Theatre (usually cited as the National Theatre), situated on London’s South Bank, has an international reputation for its award-winning shows. Three theatres present new writing, classics, comedies and musicals, staging over 20 productions a year. It aims constantly to re-energise the great traditions of the British stage and to expand the horizons of audiences and artists alike. It aspires to reflect in its repertoire the diversity of the nation’s culture. Through the NT Education Department, tomorrow’s audiences are addressed. Through an extensive programme of Platform performances, backstage tours, foyer music, exhibitions, and free outdoor entertainment it recognises that the theatre doesn’t begin and end with the rise and fall of the curtain. And by touring, the National shares its work with audiences in the UK and abroad.
• Eden Court is the largest multi-arts venue in Scotland. It re-opened in November 2007 following an extensive redevelopment programme, which saw the addition of two purpose built cinemas, a brand new flexible second theatre space and two dance and education studios.
• Eden Court CREATIVE Arts Workers live and work in ten different areas covering the whole of the Highlands of Scotland, from Nairn to Skye, from Lochaber to Caithness. They specialise in making drama, dance and digital media activities accessible to both children and adults in the Highlands. Eden Court CREATIVE also employs two Additional Support Needs specialists, making the Arts as accessible as possible for the entire community.
• Eden Court is the only theatre in Scotland to offer Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) courses in Drama and Dance. These are extracurricular courses, which offer pupils from across Highland the opportunity to study at Eden Court for an SQA Higher Dance, Drama or Intermediate 2 exams. Aside from Eden Court, there is only one school in the Highlands where pupils can sit SQA Higher Drama exams.
MEDIA RELEASE posted by Eden Court. You too can post media releases (aka press releases) on allmediascotland.com. For more information, email here.
Contact: Katyana Kozikowska
Phone: 01463 239 841
Email: kkozikowska@eden-court.co.uk
Website: http://www.eden-court.co.uk
