School Projects

Twisted Firestarter

In Partnership With :

• Fired Up Theatre
• South Staffordshire Council
• Staffordshire Fire Brigade
• Arts Council of England

Using video, drama, and design artists, Fired Up are currently working with a group of drama students and their relevant drama department at Great Wyrley High School in South Staffordshire with the overall objective of producing a piece of TIE performance that will focus on the causes and effect of arson.

Artist DirectorSimon Quinn is instilling the belief that the students will take on the premise of becoming a small scale touring TIE Company because it is intended that the piece will tour to the remaining five senior schools in the South Staffordshire area as well as two community venues. It is also intended to showcase the work at the Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton on 20 thand 21 st of January 2005.

Twisted Firestarter will encompass a mixture of drama techniques designed to enhance the visual and physical qualities of the performance as well as highlighting the “magical” and “tragical” elements caused by such a serious issue as to fire and its ultimate misuse

References available on request

Donnington Wood Junior School, Telford

20 th May 2004

Fired Up Theatre worked with a group of Year 5 and Year 6 pupils at the school with the theme of the sea as its performance. A successful ensemble piece, the youngsters told the stories of pirates, day trips to popular seaside towns, danced with fabrics, played percussion instruments as the re-created a fun day at the seaside for their showback.

The performance was part of an arts week at the school and Fired Up’s portfolio is hoping to expand with future workshops such as the one carried out at Donnington School.

References available by request.

Butts Performing Arts Club

In Partnership with:

• Butts JMI School
• Fired Up Theatre
• Awards for All

Funded by Awards for All, a Saturday morning performing arts club for the pupils, ex-pupils, and families in the Butts area of Walsall – one of the most disadvantaged areas in the borough.

This project has been running since the beginning of the Summer term, 2004. Currently, there is one drama worker, one musician, and three choreographers as well as a small team of volunteers, who assist in the development of the young people taking part in the project.

The first production group was staged in the school hall on the morning of 4 th September 2004, with a theme song comprised of favourite moments from films and musicals past.

References available on request.

Community Projects

Transforming Your Space

Walsall Town Hall

16 th July 2004

10 th September 2004

Commissioned by the environmental planning department of Walsall Council, Fired Up devised, wrote and performed a short piece of naturalistic theatre for a selection of officials and the general public for “Transforming Your Space” which aimed to focus community interest at transforming run down areas of Walsall into environmentally friendly, pro-active areas for young people of the borough.

Two gossips busy themselves in the ups and downs of Walsall Town, but suddenly become aware of the hippy that has been stagnating their neighbourhood since 1967! He is stuck in his ways and shows no sign of changing, much to the disgust of one of the gossips. Eventually, a crusader in the form of a rapper arrives on the scene, but this is no ordinary rapper – his appearance is cosmetic and masks his true identity. He is really the Council Officer from the Planning Department. He helps hippy and those around him to transform themselves and their surroundings!

This is a gentle humourous piece that can be adapted for any Town or City.

References available on request.

A Miners Tale

In Partnership with:

• Fired Up Theatre
• South Staffordshire Council

This was a reminiscent piece of theatre in the form of a monologue, performed at Great Wyrley Senior Citizens club on 15 March 2004.

With the help of Cannock Chase Museums of Herritage, Simon Quinn took the audience back to a bygone age and recreated the venue into the homes of a miner and his family living in the mining community of Great Wyrley, using audio footage, songs and poetry along with improvisation and artifacts from the Museum. The productions became a joyous and sentimental storytelling journey. The audience were invited to participate and divulge their own past stories of their lives and times in Great Wyrley.

It is intended to work on the project with the intention that another production will take place on a larger scale in the spring of 2005. It is hoped that a more site-specific scenario will develop with future productions at Cannock Chase Museum and Baggeridge Park.