Rage is a West Midlands-based theatre company, formed in 1996, which makes professional theatre affordable and accessible to as many people as possible, writes Owen Radmore.
We had been looking into setting up an ensemble theatre company which would take productions to venues in the community. Through Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (BVSC) we heard about the Neighbourhood Support Fund, an initiative which seeks to re-engage those that are or are in danger of becoming socially excluded. As with many funding applications, there was little time to put the bid together but with the support of St Philip?s College (part of the South Birmingham College group) we put together a strong bid and were successful in gaining £20,000 for three years.
Our aim is to work with ten young people aged 16 to19 over a period of six months each year, the idea being that as far as possible Rage Ensemble would be run along the lines of a professional theatre company.The members get involved with all aspects of putting on productions from creating the set, marketing the production and appearing in the productions assisted by professionals.With the St Philip?s College?s support we plan to continue to bring in guest tutors, who are fellow professionals, to assist the young people with their productions and their learning.
The group meets Monday to Friday during the day with times of attendance scheduled around off-peak bus travel. Through the college we are able to give the group members the opportunity to gain a foundation level GNVQ in Performing Arts.We have had to adopt a roll-on roll-off recruitment strategy in order to keep an average group size of ten. We have four members entered for their GNVQ this year and we?re all keeping our fingers crossed for them.
The group has completed three projects. The first, ?Locked in Ice?, was initially devised by the group and then scripted. This was performed in the studio at the Birmingham Crescent Theatre. Next we put on a double bill of ?Bouncers? and ?Shakers? at the Birmingham Library Theatre. We have just completed our final project,?The Release?: a short film about someone stuck in the re-offending cycle. The group was involved with all stages, from the initial idea to do a short film, through the development of the script to sorting out locations and shooting the film. Thanks to the generosity of SevernTrent we were able to use a professional cameraman to shoot and edit the film.
We are looking at other qualification systems in order to find which will best reward members for their efforts and also best prepare them to carry on.We hope to attract young people to stay for a whole year, offering them either the skills to find a job or to progress to the next level of their education. Members require no previous experience, and it?s not just for those who wish to pursue a career in the profession, although we hope to give those people the opportunity that they might not otherwise have.
Owen Radmore is General Manager of Rage Theatre. t: 0121 427 5349, e: ragetheatre@yahoo.com, w: http://www.ragetheatre.com