“Things are going great! I have another solo tour in South America, another new album on the way, I’ve completed more concerto work with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and have recitals booked in all over the UK and into Europe. It’s a comfortable life, all running like clockwork with all the years of practise paying off. I’m cruising!

At least that’s what it looks like from the outside. The reality has a different nuance. Hidden from view there is frantic work going on and my calm walk onto stage each night is easily the most relaxing, peaceful and controllable part of an otherwise hectic life.

Luckily there is a healing force at work in the UK. Its call the National Rural Touring Network – a national network of locally run, tiny venues, often in remote parts of the country. These venues are always packed full of music and art loving, ordinary people – and this is the perfect audience for any musician in need of nourishment after blocks of commercial touring. A rural touring audience will have often simply popped in from around the corner, just like they would pop into their local pub. The difference is that they will have come to explore something different, to experience something artistic and will often get to discuss this with the artist after the show. For me it is all positive. I get to meet lots of wonderful folk, build my audience list and develop my shows. This grass roots development really does work.

And never forget that playing a house concert to 30 people in deepest Cumbria should be taken as seriously as playing in the Albert Hall. Take my word for it!”

Richard Durrant

Richard recently visited Yoxall Village Hall and Tutbury Village Hall in Staffordshire with his show, The Guitar Whisperer.

www.richard-durrant.com

John our Director can’t wait to see The Way of the Drum by the Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers: “Mugenkyo’s return to the scheme is a real coup for Live & Local. They have to be one of the most exciting and dynamic groups we have ever used. I won’t ever forget being in the front row at a village hall where they first used their largest drum about 10 feet away from where I sat and I could feel my chest vibrating. And yet they also have a delicate and gentle side to their music.”

Sarah our Marketing Officer’s top pick is The Lion Tamer: “I’ve only heard great things about Bash Street Theatre and I want to see them for myself. I also have fond memories of the circus as a child and have recently discovered all those silly silent comedy routines by Buster Keaton so I think this will be a match made in my theatre heaven!”

Suzanne, our Administration and Marketing Assistant chose Eddie and the Gold Tops by Badapple Theatre Company: “Set in the 1960s, this humorous theatre show looks certain to be a great night out! Eddie the Milkman is dreaming of musical stardom but life just keeps getting in his way…!”

Carly our Marketing Assistant is looking forward to Spaghetti Swing: “Somehow it seems most exciting watching international shows; getting an insite into their take on rural touring…and with gypsy jazz and pasta thrown in too, everyone is a winner!”

Emma our Development Officer chose Much Ado about Wenlock: “2012 is perfect timing for this show which celebrates the birth of the modern Olympic Games. I really enjoyed Vamos Theatre’s last production of Nursing Lives and can’t wait to see them again.”

Vicki our Derbyshire Fieldworker is looking forward to seeing Heretique at Hollingwood Hub near Chesterfield on the 7th March: “I’m a big French folk music fan so it will be facinating to hear the band’s fusion of English and French melodies. Formidable! I’m also excited about seeing the show in Chesterfield’s interesting new canalside venue…with beautiful narrow boats just outside the door!”

Click here to take a look at the full list of shows coming up this spring.

Which ones are you most looking forward to?

The vision for ‘Let’s Play!’ is to build stronger and more cohesive families and communities through the facilitation of dance and drama activities. The project will bring ten local families together and develop the bond between children and their parents across the genders.  It will encourage all parents to be actively involved in promoting an active lifestyle with their children and will establish levels of enjoyment, enthusiasm and commitment that will last beyond the project.

With funding from Arts on our Doorstep, over the next six months the group will have access to workshops provided by professional artists (led by David McKenna of Beingfrank Physical Theatre).  The activities explored and experienced within the sessions will provide opportunities for parents and their children to be actively engaged in playing together through a child and parent centred ethos. Participating  children are already experiencing  a more creative approach to life and are developing a wider vocabulary for movement and dance.

The families have said that:

‘The activities are varied every week and keep the children stimulated throughout…children love the different ideas that they use to explore movement i.e. pirates, fish etc..’

‘Really enjoyed dance today. Was engaged throughout the whole session and I had fun too!’

‘It’s a great opportunity to spend time working together and just having fun!’

‘I feel as though it is already making a difference with my child’s confidence around others.  We love coming every week’.

Arts on our Doorstep is funded by the Central Warwickshire Villages LEADER project and aims to bring arts to the heart of rural communities in Warwick District and Rugby Borough by providing practical advice and support alongside resources up to the value of £5,000 to help local groups and individuals to organise exciting and innovative small arts projects within their community.

Already planning an event?

We’ve got lots of free resources available to help.

Promote your event across South Staffordshire!

• Add your event to the online calendar to help publicise your activities to your local community and to a wider audience.
• Share your celebrations with the rest of the District! Send your articles, reviews, photographs and films to carly@liveandlocal.org.uk to add them to the website.

South Staffordshire Council’s Small Grants Scheme to support local events celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Olympic and Paralymic Games

Local community groups can apply for funding from South Staffordshire Council to try out new approaches. This could be organising a community event for the first time or enhancing an exisiting event by introducing a new activity, working with professional artist, or trying to include new or different audiences. For more information visit our Funding Opportunities page.

Free help sheets

Download free help sheets with guidance on various aspects of organising, promoting and running your event.

Need some inspiration?

Visit our Ideas, Inspiration and Opportunities page to find out what else is happening locally and get some ideas about the different types of events you could organise – from professional theatre and film screenings in your local village hall to quizzes and sporting competitions.

Never organised a community event before?

If you are planning to organise an event for the first time or would like to try something new we can offer hands on support and guidance as well as help in writing a funding application. Contact us to find out more.

Get Together South Staffordshire is managed by Live & Local with funding from South Staffordshire Council

Live & Local’s promise is to provide surprising shows in surprising places,
and our Friends have a direct influence on that.
All the money we receive from the friend’s scheme enables us to support bringing international artists into our touring circuit. So the more Friends we have, the more fantastic work we can bring you.

This season’s international show, brought to you by our Friends, is…

‘Spaghetti Swing’

“An Italian quartet with a difference. The 1950′s swing jazz is hot and sexy, brilliant music and very funny because these guys also cook spaghetti on stage as well as sing and play!” – Audience Comment

Sign up to our Friend Membership Scheme before 1st February for your chance to enter a live draw to win tickets to see Spaghetti Swing on Live & Local’s Spring season tour!

http://www.liveandlocal.org.uk/becomeafriend.cfm

How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the FA Cup

If you missed the Live & Local presentation at Barnacle Village Hall of How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers won the FA Cup, you missed an absolute cracker.

On the twelfth day of Christmas Live & Local gave to me

Twelve drums-a-drumming

Eleven plates of pasta

Ten Days That Shook The Kitchen

Nine infectious grooves

Eight comic cartoons

Seven trumpets blazing

Six circus stunts

Five gold rings

Four Zulus dancing

Three movie legends

Two folk rock icons

And a great show in a village hall

Christmas Wishes from Live & Local

In particular Friends membership fees help to enable us to programme exciting new international work such as Xolisile’s Song by Dodgy Clutch Theatre Company.  This rich visual show tells two stories around the theme of hope from South Africa and the North East of England linked by the journey of the swallow which connects the two. The show was produced in collaboration with Uphondo Lwe Africa a South African Theatre Company based in Port Elizabeth, and toured to Live & Local venues in spring 2011.

“The energy, warmth and colour and the fabulous singing, dancing and brilliant choreography in this show were a joy – really happy stuff” Xoilisile’s Song show review

In addition to that ‘warm feeling’ of having contributed to help support and develop the arts, Live & Local Friends receive lots of other benefits too, including:

• A Buy One Get One Free ticket voucher,
• Special ticket offers from Live & Local and our partners,
• The opportunity to receive free tickets to see and review shows that we are considering to include in our programme,
• Advance season mailings,
• Access to a dedicated Friends area on our website,
• An annual newsletter,
• Invitations to networking meetings and showcases.

“We are really pleased that we are friends of such an exciting venture and look forward to going to going to many ‘surprising shows in surprising places’ in the future.” Live & Local Friend

If you would like to find out more about our Friends scheme, visit our website.

Special Offer: Anyone signing up to our Friends scheme before Christmas will recieve all of the above benefits plus an extra Buy One Get One Free ticket voucher. (If you plan to give Friends membership as a gift you should sign up before 14^th Dec to receive your Friends pack in time for Christmas).

Live & Local has been awarded LEADER funding to support a pilot rural cinema project in the central Warwickshire area (Warwick District and Rugby Borough) from January 2012 to the end of March 2013.

This funding will enable us to offer rural communities opportunities to programme films in their local halls, with all the necessary technical equipment and support. Live & Local will create a menu of available films – from popular family films to blockbusters, from screen classics to indie and foreign films – and will provide an online listings service.

Many local promoters have already expressed an interest in taking part and see this as a new opportunity to bring their communities together for shared entertainment and socialising. As with the promotion of live performance, local promoters will take the initiative in programming with their particular audience in mind and will ensure success by getting their communities involved as fellow organisers and audiences.

For more information please contact Sally Rew, Company Administrator on 01926 402173 or email sally@liveandlocal.org.uk

This performance for young children is inspired by Kamishibai (traditional Japanese paper theatre). The two actors use a traditional Japanese storyboard theatre attached to a bicycle,  blending language, pictures, movement and imagination to conjure up a magical paper world full of surprises.

The show was accompanied by an opportunity for the children to join in and make their own paper washi wish, using bowls of washi (pulped wet paper) to make new pieces of paper with sparkly decorations, a lovely memento of the show that could be taken away.