Courtyard News | Spring-Summer 2017

NEWS

LIVE EVENTS LIVE SCREENINGS FILM CAFÉ BAR EXHIBITIONS EDUCATION BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP PARTICIPATION

SPRING SUMMER 2017

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!

In partnership with

As part of the legacy from the hugely successful Herefordshire’s Family Festival 2015, we launched Courtyard Family Saturdays. It has proved incredibly popular in its first year with over 1000 people attending our live shows, films and workshops and taking part in a free pre-activity on a Saturday morning. So we decided to celebrate!

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Official Fuel Economy Figures for the new MINI Countryman: Urban 26.6-72.4 mpg (10.6-3.9 l/100km). Extra Urban 46.3-91.1 mpg (6.1-3.1 l/100km).

Combined 36.7-83.1 mpg (7.7-3.4 l/100km). CO2 Emissions 179-89 g/km. Figures are obtained in a standardised test cycle. They are intended for comparisons between vehicles and

may not be representative of what a user achieves under usual driving conditions. *Test drive is subject to status and availability.

COURTYARD FAMILY SATURDAYS In its first year, The Courtyard has seen over 1000 people attend Courtyard Family Saturdays. Families have taken part in games, treasure hunts and a huge range of craft activities before watching live shows, films and taking part in workshops.

To celebrate a year of family fun, it only seemed right that we should have a party so on Saturday 21 January almost 100 people gathered together to wish Courtyard Family Saturdays a Happy Birthday!

The morning started with birthday cake, made by Head Chef Jan, and squash before everyone took part in party games, a treasure hunt and craft activities. Dan Pegler, our Education Officer, was also on hand to show off his juggling skills and to teach anyone who wanted to learn.

As you can see from the pictures, a lot of fun was had by everyone there!

Marketing Officer, Abby Jones says “The birthday party was a celebration of everything that is wonderful about Courtyard Family Saturdays. Our first year has been a huge success and we can’t wait to reveal the exciting plans for Family Saturdays very soon!”

With thanks to the BFI for their initial support of this project

th Everyone joined in wi of me ga a very energetic s ue at Musical St

Marketing Assistant O llie got into th e spirit of th ings!

in with staff Families joined e candles on to blow out th cake our birthday

‘Daring Dan ’ made an appearance and showe d off his impress ive juggling skills!

n made an Head Chef Ja day cake for amazing birth into! guests to tuck

One partyg oer summe d the day up by writing ‘Let’s Cheer for C Y’ on her c rown!

The Courtyard hosts an event for all the family every Saturday morning at 11am with a free pre-activity from 10.30am. Activities include workshops, films, shows and extra activities for all the family to enjoy, at an affordable price.

Image by Les Haines

CITY OF CULTURE Hereford’s bid for City of Culture is fast coming to its conclusion, but before we get to the point of putting in our formal application (Easter), there are a few themes that the county should be proud of and will be celebrating.

LIGHT AND DARKNESS

MAPS AND BORDERS

Herefordshire has the darkest skies in England (based on average light levels) and has the third highest percentage of the darkest night skies (second only to Northumberland and Cumbria). This benefits the wellbeing of people as well as wildlife.

As a Western county we also enjoy higher levels of the golden light than many areas of the UK. Hereford is also home to the internationally recognised Royal National College for the Blind.

Mappa Mundi, one of the greatest cultural treasures of the medieval world, will be at the heart of a programme that invites us to celebrate and interrogate, re-draw and create new maps. Both physical and digital, imaginary and real, a cultural programme that will cross borders and challenge boundaries at a time in which physical and metaphorical borders are under exceptional challenge in almost every area of political and cultural life.

RURAL VS URBAN

FOOD AND DRINK CULTURE

Celebrate and document rural culture; breakdown stereotypes; promote a landscape of adventure from extreme sports to open minds and blue-sky thinking.

The extraordinary richness of Herefordshire’s food history as well as its innovative and future-facing activists for better food and drink will underpin a programme of events to make all of us, in Herefordshire and beyond, think differently about what we eat and drink and what it means to us.

STEAM

Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Maths Creative making is at the heart of both engineering and the arts and at a time when creative education is under threat in many ways, engineers have been some of the most articulate voices defending the central importance of encouraging young people to think creatively and cross the artificial boundaries between the arts and sciences. Hereford College of Arts and the new University project NMiTE will work together to make two cultures one.

CULTURAL PARTNERSHIP As part of the City of Culture bid, a legacy has already been formed in the shape of the Herefordshire Cultural Partnership. The Herefordshire Cultural Partnership is a body of arts and cultural professionals and individuals in the county that meet up once a month to discuss similar themes and encourage partnership working.

The first meeting was held on Thursday 12 January at De Koffie Pot

Abigail Appleton, Vice Chair of HCP, said: “Attendance at the networking event was very encouraging and it had a terrific, buzzing atmosphere. Lots of people from different areas attended and there was an enormous energy and determination to work together across the county. The UK City of Culture is an amazing opportunity to raise Herefordshire’s profile on the national and international map, help drive economic growth and give everyone who lives, works and visits the opportunity to experience some never to be forgotten arts and culture.”

The February event saw HCP explore one of the key themes for the City of Culture bid; Food and Drink Culture.

Following an introduction from Ian Archer, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of The Courtyard, and John Kieffer, who is writing the Cultural Strategy for the county, Indie Food Festival took to the stage to give a talk.

After the welcome and talks, there was a screening of Rural Media’s Golden Fire before a networking opportunity with several local food and drink producers including; Wye Valley Brewery, Rayeesa’s Indian Kitchen and Hereford Indie Food.

The evening was sponsored by Orphans Press.

To find out more and to back Hereford’s bid for City of Culture or the Hereford Cultural Partnership please look online www.herefordcityofculture.org

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SING CHOIR SING! The Courtyard was alive with the sound of choirs on Friday 27 January when eight of the best choirs in Herefordshire came together to raise money for The Music Pool and The Courtyard.

The evening which was compered by Steve Liddle and sponsored by Cotswold Hereford MINI raised over £7000 which has been shared between the two charities.

& 01432 383 240 www.herefordshire.gov.uk/fostering

The Garrick Singers perform at Sing Choir Sing

Performing Arts Courses We offer inspiring courses at both College & Degree level To find out more, including information about our express tours, please contact us enquiries@hca.ac.uk 01432 273 359 or visit our website www.hca.ac.uk to discover more about our ccreative community

An audience member said after the event; “Sing Choir Sing was a most enjoyable evening, with music to please everyone. It was good to see non-professionals enjoying themselves so much, as well as giving listening pleasure to the public. I do hope that you will be organising a similar event next year, as it will be a must to attend.”

The Courtyard is so much more than an arts venue – the organisation delivers dozens of community projects with hundreds if not thousands of Herefordshire residents, young and older, every year. Our current fundraising campaign is I Heart CY, for more information please visit: courtyard.org.uk/support-us/i-heart-cy Registered Charity Number: 1067869

The Music Pool’s motto is ‘Music for life... music for all’!

For more information please visit musicpool.org.uk Registered Charity Number: 700196

ALICE IN WONDERLAND This Easter, The Courtyard Youth Theatre will perform the well loved children’s classics, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Around 200 members of our resident Youth Theatre will bring Lewis Carroll’s timeless children’s stories to life so we had a chat to a few cast members during rehearsal.

ERIN HEATHCOTE AGE 12 ALICE - RED CAST When I found out about the auditions for Alice in Wonderland I was thrilled as I’d always loved the story and we’d been looking at it in our sessions. For our auditions, to help me learn my monologue, I read it aloud and tried to memorise it, then I added actions and performed to others.

Although it’s intimidating it helps a lot for when you come to the actual thing.

On the audition day we were all nervous but encouraged each other and it mostly went well, even though we were scared. A while after, we were told what part we were playing. I was amazed and astonished that I received the part of Alice! I was extremely excited but nervous as well. Alice is a curious character, full of energy and eager to learn. This part is a great opportunity and a huge part to take on so wish me luck!

JAKE DIXON AGED 12 WHITE RABBIT RED CAST The audition experience was nervy but some of us have done it before for Lord of the Flies. The stories of Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass are brilliantly written and describe the typical fantasies that children dream of. The actors we have are brilliant and very talented and the production is really fun to do. I am looking forward to participating in this fantastic production and I wish all the best for the rest of our amazing actors.

ANNE HURST AGED 8 THE ROYAL CHILDREN WHITE CAST I feel so excited and nervous about performing on stage and hopefully I won’t get my head chopped off by the Queen of Hearts!!

This is my first ever performance on the Main Stage at The Courtyard and I’m going to try my best and have lots of fun. I can’t wait to see my costume and learn the lobster dance.

Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass will be in the Main House from Wednesday 19 - Saturday 22 April at 2pm & 7pm. Tickets £12.50 and Concessions £11.50 Sponsored by Cotswold Hereford MINI

BROMYARD DOWNS PROJECT Over the past year, The Conquest Junior Youth Theatre has been involved in a BDCA (Bromyard Downs Commons Association) and Herefordshire Wildlife Trust partnership project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

One important part of the project has been to teach young individuals about the Downs, so they understand not only its history but importance to the Bromyard community.

The Conquest Youth Theatre worked together with Rural Media Company to create films inspired by real events that took place on the downs. The Conquest Juniors worked with several practitioners to devise and create two short scripts which were then filmed by a youth film crew using iPads. This was such a fulfilling project as, not only did they learn about the history of the Downs via a number of interviews with community members, they also got to work alongside several different arts companies.

They learnt a variety of new performance techniques, including site-specific filming.

We have now moved into the second phase of the project which involves working with the Intermediates as well as the Juniors.

They will create a piece of theatre based around the oral histories of the Downs.

It will be a huge spectacle with an event launch on 6 May where we will show the two short films and performance.

We look forward to sharing our project about something that is so beneficial and important to the community.

To watch the videos from this project or find out more, please visit: bromyarddowns.co.uk/about To find out more about our Youth Theatre classes, please visit: www.courtyard.org.uk/get-involved/ youth-theatre

Hannah Welsh, Project Manager, says “An important part of the Bromyard Downs project is engaging young people in their natural and cultural heritage. A multi-disciplinary project working with different organisations was a great way of reaching different ages from different backgrounds in the wider community. It’s been brilliant working with the young actors at The Conquest – watching old stories take on a new life.”

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM This July, The Courtyard Senior Youth Theatre will perform one of William Shakespeare’s most unusual plays, with a twist.

Directed by Dan Pegler and set in 1920s Sicily, A Midsummer Night’s Dream tells the story of lovers Hermia and Lysander who, in this version, want to escape to the new world for a better life.

“We will meet; and there we may rehearse most obscenely and courageously. Take pains; be perfect: adieu.”

Lisa Taberner who is playing Titania tells us more: “The Courtyard Youth Theatre’s Senior group is certainly taking pains to be perfect for our performance in July. At the end of November we auditioned for our preferred roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, having chosen one of four monologues offered to us from the play, in addition to a monologue from any other play from our choice. We were asked to choose and perform our monologues in a way that would reflect the character that we were auditioning for, and as the panel (Dan Pegler and Ellen Dorsett) took notes, we recited our lines and did our best to get into the mindset of our chosen character.

The following Friday (having spent a week in anticipation), we arrived at The Courtyard and were finally given our parts! Dan spent a great deal of time working through his audition notes and casting each role, and as we all started reading through the script together, it became clear that his choices were well made. Following the read-through, we did a bit of character work before taking a break for the Christmas holidays.

We are now well into our preparation for our four performances later this year, and without giving anything away, this show is going to be ‘a very good piece of work, I assure you’, to quote Nick Bottom of Shakespeare’s comedy.

Bringing The Bard’s story to life in a new and interesting way is no small task. So, under Dan’s guidance, we are hard at work to produce something fantastic which will twist this classic in exciting ways, and hopefully leave the audience with a slightly different view of the tale of the ‘lovers and mad men (who) have such seething brains’.”

A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be in the Main House from Thursday 27 - Saturday 29 July, 7.30pm with a 2pm Saturday matinee. Tickets £15, Concessions £14.

Sponsored by Stirling Suzuki.

FRIENDLY FILMS Our aim at The Courtyard is to be a welcoming venue for everyone, ensuring that every visit is an enjoyable one, exceeding expectations and giving every individual a special experience.

Part of how we make our venue welcoming and accessible for all is by providing alternative performances of shows, such as pantomime, where we make adjustments to suit people who would appreciate a less formal theatre environment.

We are now focusing on film and are currently involved in some very exciting projects. We asked Josie Rogerson, Creative Community Champion Co-Ordinator and Matthew Allder, Audience Development Manager to tell us more about their experiences organising accessible film screenings.

To find out more about accessibility at The Courtyard please visit courtyard.org.uk/about/access

OUR LEVEL 3 COURSES 2017 Archaeology

English Language

Art &Design (Photography)

Environmental Science

Business Studies Computer Science Dance Economics

Media Studies

Geography

Music

German

Physical Education

Health & Social Care

Psychology

History (Modern World) Law

Spanish

NEXT OPEN EVENT Tuesday 9th May 2017 5.30pm-7.30pm

Statistics

Scan the QR code to view a short film on what to expect at one of our open events

E-mail: sixth-form@hereford.ac.uk www.hereford.ac.uk

Hereford Sixth Form College Folly Lane, Hereford HR1 1LU Tel: 01432 355166

DEMENTIA FRIENDLY SCREENING OF SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN Josie, Creative Community Champion Co-Ordinator

RELAXED FILM SCREENINGS Matthew, Audience Development Manager

In early December 2016 I presented at a Hereford Round Table meeting with the aim of being granted funding for one of two projects, one of which was hosting Relaxed Film Screenings for guests on the autism spectrum or with sensory difficulties.

Due to the extraordinary generosity of the members of Round Table, funding was granted to facilitate both projects. The Relaxed Film Screenings are almost ready to be launched and the first event is now programmed for Tuesday 18 May, with a screening of new family film, Sing, and we hope to then host one a month for the foreseeable future.

The Courtyard is working closely with three organisations; National Autism Society, Crossroads Care and Aspire Living, who are all experts in this field, to ensure that we are meeting the needs of potential guests. This work has already enabled us to plan significant changes to the layout of The Studio such as removing the tiered seating and instead using sofas and bean bags to encourage freedom of movement.

If you are interested in these events please call the Box Office on 01432 340 555 or contact Matt at matthew.allder@courtyard.org.uk

In November we held a Dementia Friendly screening at The Courtyard and it was a huge success! The volume of the film was kept a little bit quieter and the lights were dimmed, making the event more accessible to those living with dementia. Seating around tables rather than traditional theatre style provided a comfortable environment where people felt free to get up if they needed to. The afternoon had a wonderful atmosphere, particularly once the tea and coffee were served, alongside delicious cake kindly provided by Greggs.

The screening provided a welcoming audience experience for people who wouldn’t otherwise go to watch a film at the cinema.

We had extremely good feedback from attendees “We thoroughly enjoyed the experience – bring on the next one!”

The event was planned after a suggestion from the Young Dementia Herefordshire group, who have recently started holding their monthly support sessions at The Courtyard. Young Dementia Herefordshire is a group for younger people (under 65) living with dementia, their families and friends.

It is a supportive community for the sharing of information and experiences, working against preconceptions and providing support when people are feeling isolated.

After the success of this film screening we are planning to run more dementia friendly films in the future. Sign up to the Creative Ageing mailing list to get information about our upcoming Dementia Friendly events by emailing: aop@courtyard.org.uk This event was part of the Creative Ageing project which is kindly supported by The Big Lottery Reaching Communities Fund.

Cakes were kindly donated

by Greggs Foundation.

MISSION STATEMENT The Courtyard is in the process of gearing up to apply for the next round of the Arts Council’s National Portfolio holders (top arts providers in the UK), which has given staff the opportunity to re-assess what we do in the busy multi-purpose organisation, and come up with the a short statement that sums this up.

Here is the winning statement: A DYNAMIC ARTS CENTRE CREATING ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY, BUILDING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH PARTICIPATION, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AND GROWING SUSTAINABLY.

This statement was created by Jan (Head Chef), Kate (Sales Assistant), Kate (Finance Officer) and Jane (Kitchen Assistant) IAN ARCHER and a prize was awarded for the achievement. This short CHIEF EXECUTIVE paragraph will form the centre of The Courtyard over the & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR next four years.

Want to sing or learn a musical instrument?

Ne Suzu w & Us Serv ki and H ed icing y for a undai ll Ma kes

01432 374700 HCS’s Saturday Morning Music School has opportunities for people like you!

AGED 8 TO 80 For details 01432 363531 | e.watson@herefordcs.com | www.herefordcs.com

CAFÉ BAR The Courtyard Café Bar prides itself on its home cooked meals using local produce. We asked Sous Chef, Tom Still, to tell us more about one of our most popular dishes, The Courtyard Burger and what makes it so tasty!

BUTTER ENRICHED BUNS

Justin Gellatly of Bread Ahead fame is the inspiration for our buns at The Courtyard.

We’ve super sized his canapé bun recipe which was served at Prince William & Kate’s Wedding in 2011 (if it’s good enough for Royalty then good enough for our customers at The Courtyard).

We egg wash the buns and sprinkle with nigella seeds just before baking.

BUMPER CUCUMBER

Last summer we got a bumper supply of baby organic cucumbers from our supplier, Carey Organics. We had a mass pickling day in the kitchen and the pickled cucumbers have seen us into February and will yield many more a burger yet.

DE-LISH RELISH

Our red onion and tomato relish is a low and slow marathon, taking up to six hours of gentle ‘popping’ (like a simmer but even slower) before it is ready to crown The Courtyard Burger.

A PROPER PATTY

It is important to use beef that has a ‘healthy’ quantity of fat, which boosts the flavour profile and keeps the patty tender & juicy whilst it cooks. We use two cuts of Herefordshire beef, the chuck end & brisket at a ratio of 2:1, a handful of roughly chopped fresh herbs and a splash of Wye Valley Brewery’s Butty Bach completes the recipe, it’s that simple.

The Courtyard’s Café Bar has many mouth-watering treats to tempt you. To look at our menu, please visit www.courtyard.org.uk/cafe-bar or to book a table call 01432 346525

PRODUCTIONS In-house productions are a huge team effort across The Courtyard and require months of work so we pulled together some fun facts about our Christmas shows, Aladdin and The Snow Queen, into this infographic!

There is a bumper amount of in house shows at The Courtyard this year. As well as our Youth Theatre Productions of Alice in Wonderland and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, this October we will also be producing a week long run of Pride & Prejudice. This Christmas will see Sleeping Beauty as our pantomime and Little Red Riding Hood in our Studio Theatre for our Christmas Children’s Show. Thank you to all of our show sponsors for their continued support.

David Durant, Associate Director, says: “It is really exciting to have so many in house shows this year. This has been a culmination of a lot of hard work, building up from the success of our Youth Theatre productions, pantomime and children’s Christmas shows. Producing our own shows gives us a clear identity and artistic intent. As we go from strength to strength it will bring audiences in Hereford and from further afield together; sustaining future audiences for The Courtyard so we will still be here in years to come.”

PRIDE & PREJUDICE

This October Courtyard Productions will present the Jane Austen classic, Pride and Prejudice.

Following the Bennet sisters as they haplessly handle issues of love, manners, morality, education and marriage in this stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s ultimate romantic comedy.

Featuring members of our talented Youth Theatre and directed by David Durant.

TUESDAY 3 - SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER ADULTS £23 & UNDER 16 £20.50

Hay Festival runs in the summer half-term from 25 May – 4 June. Join us for ten days of award-winning writers, great ideas, wonderful entertainment, plus a packed programme of events for children of all ages.

25 MAY – 4 JUNE 2017 HAY-ON-WYE, WALES

Tickets online at www.hayfestival.org or via our Box Office 01497 822629

ECO GROUP UPDATE We are always looking for ways to encourage participation with our eco projects, so we were delighted to announce that 21 December was Christmas Jumper Day at The Courtyard.

We used this opportunity, to engage with staff to raise awareness of our commitment to all things eco, by wearing an extra layer, rather than turning up the heating during the cold weather.

Dan Pegler won the prize for ‘Best Christmas Jumper’ which was a £20 Debenhams Gift Card, with bottles of wine for the joint runners up Gel and Becky!

Titan Minimal Art Mod. 4535 / © Silhouette

Ingrid Bain, Sales Assistant

Wednesday, 8th March 11.00am until 3pm

SPEAKING IN PUBLIC

with NLP practitioner and drama coach Lesley Lear Learn how to deliver a confident speech or talk, whatever the audience!

Workshop and two-course lunch: £35

Sunday, 12th March 7pm

PETER SCUDAMORE MBE PRE-CHELTENHAM EVENING Join Peter Scudamore and his panel of racing professionals including Michael and Tom Scudamore, Tom Symonds and The Mail’s Sam Turner and Marcus Townend and pick up some great tips for the Cheltenham Festival.

Talk and two-course dinner: £35.

Sponsored by Butty Bach

Wednesday, 12th April 10am to 3pm

BECAUSE YOU ARE UNIQUE

EASTER FLOWER WORKSHOP WITH DEBBIE COPLANS

Debbie will show how to make a beautiful Spring flower arrangement or table decoration Workshop, all materials, two-course lunch and coffee: £50

SILHOUETTE OPEN DAY

Tuesday, 28th March | 8.45-19.00

+ Complete Silhouette Range + Free polarised clip on with each purchase and discount on lenses worth up to a total of £125 + House of Colour consultation available + Please make an appointment www.silhouette.com

BBR Optometry Marbury House, 38 St Owen Street Hereford, HR1 2PR 01432 265 030 events@bbroptometry.co.uk

Our Spring/Summer Calendar of Events has just been published.

Pick up a copy at Castle House or visit castlehse.co.uk to see full list of events.

Call us to book 01432 356321 Castle House, Castle Street, Hereford HR1 2NW

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