We are going to be at Acton Scott Farm, on the Thursday 30th October. After the workshop at about 3pm we will be doing a performance with some new puppets for the children in the Black Barn. Supposedly the barn can be made quite dark so I think it’s going to be an awesome venue. Looking forward to seeing you there.
Author: emeraldtreetheatre
Workshop: Oswestry library Oct 4th
At Oswestry Makes festival on the 4th of October at Oswestry library we held a workshop for kids to make shadow puppets. We set up in the area by the entrance of the library so our theatre was on display to all visitors to the library. We had changed the format of the workshop at the last minute as unfortunately we had not enough booked on. So instead of cancelling we decided to run for free as a promotional venture.
The response from staff and library users was “wow” and “amazing” to the look of the New but vintage inspired theatre.
As the children started to come in we enticed them in by offering them a puppet and letting them play with them behind the screen. Within no time we had a small crowd of kids playing with the puppets and getting them to interact with each other behind the screen. As one of our puppets was already a wolf the kids chose that we should make little red riding hood. Then suddenly we had a mass of approx twenty children making all the characters from little Red riding hood, props and scenery. Two older children led a performance reading the story from the library, while the others and their puppets acted it out. Younger children used the instruments to make sound effects. It was absolutely amazing to watch. They all swaped around so everyone who wanted had a go with their puppet.
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As more children joined in they naturally played and performed even those very shy had a go. We then developed their puppets by adding a moving part and then there own stories began to flow as they played behind the screen and explored how we could change the shadows size. I managed to get a few photos but not all of those wonderful puppets the kids made. Here is the few I did get and the evaluations hung on the Emerald Tree.
Acton Scott Farm
We have just been booked at Acton Scott Farm this half term Thurs 30th October. We will be running another great workshop and doing a puppet show in the Emerald Theatre. Come down and join us what ever the weather.
Check out @actonscottfarm’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/actonscottfarm/status/520281655970648064
Poster for workshop
Workshop Saturday 4th Oct 10-1 with break. Drink and snack provided. Book place with Oswestry library. We are getting very excited about this. It will also include the unveiling of our new theatre and the children will be the first to perform behind the big screen. Big thanks to the health champions who have volunteered to help run the workshop. Price has been increased by the library to £4 but this includes a free torch to take home.
Poster for workshop
Building a bigger theatre.
Since our last performance of the Emerald Tree, we decided we needed a bigger screen, as we had a few tangles with the puppets previously. Also after seeing a production of jungle book by indigo moon theatre we completely redesigned the setting and added so many different lighting effects. With so many more props behind the small screen restricting the visual effects a bigger better screen and theatre was very much desired.
My father, luckily quite a crafty man of many skills, built a simple frame with hinged side panels. A large piece of polycarbonate, we found in my husband’s workshop, became the screen. A new shower screen was then tightly stretched over the polycarbonate and stapled into place. The clarity of the screen is remarkable and takes images well from our eBay buy, a portable overhead projector.
Nicky designed our logo “Emerald Tree” and drew this out on a piece of ply wood. With jigsaw in hand one hot summers day she cut carefully around the design. It was quite an amazing moment as for the first time our budding theatre was finally materialising out of our long awaited dreams. Our Dad took over as it got a bit tricky as even though the moment had been quite symbolic, we still wanted it to look professionally done. So a glass of Pims was more appropriate for our hands and instead watched as the rest took shape.
Painting has started but we are still yet to finish. We are going to decorate the frame and logo with a mix of greens and mixed media effects of decoupage and gold and glitter paint I found in Wilkinsons.
The two hinged side panels could eventually be screens as well but for now we have found some green vintage velvet curtains and a vintage beautiful green bedspread to create a curtains across the screen given it a more classic older vintage feel and look.
I’m so excited about our new theatre and screen. I can’t wait until our next performance. Hopefully we will easily resize our current sets and puppets to fit but the space will mean more visual and lighting effects can be achieved and explored. We hope to have “The Emerald Tree” revamped and a performance organised for before Christmas.
We are in the process of writing a new shadow puppet play for the Big Busk in Shrewsbury this coming April. This story will be written with less restrictions that the old theatre had. Making it bigger and better and definitely an adventure not to be missed. I can’t wait to explore different lighting effects and techniques to help this new story be even more magical than the last.
Emerald Tree Theatre 