Happy World Day of Theatre for Children - #theatrefirstie Campaign

From everyone at Theatre Hullabaloo, we'd like to wish you all a happy World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People!

Theatre Hullabaloo believe that going to the theatre for the first time is an important thing to do and should be part of everyone's childhood. To support this belief, in 2013 we launched our Theatre Firsts Campaign to help celebrate both children's first theatre experiences and adults first memories of going to the theatre.

#theatrefirstie booth

Today, on World Day of Theatre for Children, we are launching our TakeOff #theatrefirstie North East 2014 Campaign. Our #theatrefirstie booth will be spending a month at each of our seven consortium venues where audience members will be asked to:

1. Write their first memory of going to the theatre with us on a blackboard
2. Take a photo of themselves holding it in our booth on their smart phone
3. Share it with us on our TakeOff Facebook or Twitter pages with the hashtag #theatrefirstie 

Everyone who posts a photo will be entered into a competition to win a #theatrefirstie goody bag and there will be a prize available for an audience member at each of the venues the pod visits. The #theatrefirstie pod will then spend a final week at our TakeOff Festival, Durham in October 2014.

We hope the campaign will raise awareness of how important going to the theatre is, especially amongst children and families in the North East. There is a lot of great theatre for children and young audiences happening in venues right across the region, from Berwick in the North to Richmond in the South and of course everything in between.

You will find the #theatrefirstie pod at the following venues over the next seven months: ARC Stockton, Arts Centre Washington, Darlington Civic Theatre, Gala Durham, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Town Hall Theatre Hartlepool and The Witham Barnard Castle.

To get the ball rolling, the Theatre Hullabaloo team have done our #theatrefirsties:

If you want to find out about all the great shows happening in venues near you, please visit Theatre Hullabaloo's TakeOff Website, which promotes all the work happening for 0 - 16 year olds in the North East.

We hope to see your face or your child's face on our facebook or twitter page soon!

Dorcas
Communications Manager, Theatre Hullabaloo

Luna Competition Entries 2013 #theatrefirstie

During our Autumn 2013 tour of Theatre Hullabaloo and Theatr Iolo's gorgeous production of Luna, we asked our audience members to share a photograph of their child enjoying their trip to see Luna with us on our Twitter or Facebook Page, along with a sentence about their first theatre experience, for a chance to win a Luna Goody Bag.

We’ve had some fabulous entries, but first prize has to go to Luke, age 3, whose visit to see Luna was his first ever trip to the theatre. Some lovely memories made there we hope!

Luke, age 3
Luna was a great choice for Luke's first visit to the theatre.
Here he gives pig a big hug 

Second prize goes to sisters Poppy, age 4, and Philippa, age 2, who saw the show at the Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond - This was also their first trip to the theatre.

Poppy, age 4 and Philippa, age 2
Poppy and Philippa thoroughly enjoyed their first time at the theatre with Luna, Billy and Mr Pig. The youngest, Philippa, offered to join in with the entertainment with a running commentary throughout the production...totally engrossed! Great intimate setting at the Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond. THANK YOU!

You can see all the competition entries on Theatre Hullabaloo's Flickr Page.

#theatrefirstie

This competition was part of Theatre Hullabaloo’s Theatre Firsts, a national campaign to help celebrate children’s first theatre experiences, because we believe that going to the theatre for the first time is an important thing to do and should be a part of everyone’s childhood.

Here are a few Theatre Firsts from a few members of the Theatre Hullabaloo team :

Hannah's Snow Queen

Dorcas and Freddie's Big Jump

 Ethan's Seaside Tradition 

Twine Event Launch

The North East's Twine Event Launch took place on Thursday 20^th June 2013 at the Assembly Rooms, Newcastle upon Tyne.

 Twine helps touring theatre companies in the North East to develop entrepreneurial and creative ways of growing and developing by forging relationships with a range of organisations and individuals and to ensure that those companies continue to flourish. The 5 companies involved are: Theatre Hullaballoo, Northumberland Theatre Company, Théâtre Sans Frontières, Unfolding Theatre & The Empty Space. All involved are working together to fundamentally change the way touring theatre companies sustain themselves, and the relationships they have with their audiences.

 The five companies are passionate about touring theatre and the benefits it can bring to its audiences. As a result each company had to present a ‘gift’ to share with the others Our gift was the Launch of the Theatre Firsts Campaign which is designed to celebrate the importance of theatre firsts, by asking people to share their memories of their first theatre experience.

Here are a few of the most outstanding contributions to the Theatre First Campaign:

 

Graham and His technicolor dreamcoat

 

 

Moyra's Richard III at the Theatre Royale  

 

Pirates of Penzance

''Oh no you didn't ... oh yes I did''  

 

 

 

 

Theatre Firsts from Twitter

Today on Twitter, we've been talking about Theatre Firsts. Here's some of the tweets we've received about early theatre memories.

Adam Lopardo, Founder of NE Funding for the Arts.

1st theatre memories are the pantos at Worthingtons Connaught Theatre in the 70's.
Went to a few so not sure which was the first!! Meeting the cast after was probably most memorable.
That 'behind the scenes' buzz, prob why I ended up working in Theatre.

My first none panto theatre experience was much stranger, Heller's Catch 22 which used real animal entrails and blood for a death scene. I was only about 10/11 when I saw that. To be honest, I didn't get most of it, but it made an impact on me. What you could do/show ect. It was very exciting and inspiring.

Sarah Argent, Freelance Theatre Director. 

Theatre Hullabaloo ‏@HullabalooTweet
@sargent65 Tell us your first theatre memory please Sarah :-)

 Sarah Argent ‏@sargent65
I was in Caucasian Chalk Circle age 3. Played Michael in blue raggedy suit, ate cake, was worried I'd be pulled apart! I've been in theatre for nearly 45 years now! #feelinggolden

Lucy Vaughan.

Beauty and the Beast at the Little Lyceum, Edinburgh when I was about 10. I now work for Lyceum Theatre.

Amos D Jacob, Theatre Producer and Director in York.

My Theatre Firsts are shows at National Trusts. I'm pretty sure I gave a Middle Ages lady a bent daisy. #romance.


Angharad Lee, Theatre and Film Director. 

My Dad playing Tin Man in the school production of Wizard of Oz.I sobbed coz he was stuck and I couldn't help. #1stmemory


Lyn Gardner, Theatre Writer for The Guardian and Children's Writer.

Not sure it's my first theatre memory, but I remember an actor falling off the stage during Toad of Toad Hall.
The rest of the performance was cancelled.

John Godber Company.

My first experience was watching a girl dance troupe at tower ballroom, Blackpool aged 6.

IS Night, Central Region Editor for thepublicreviews.co.uk

Seeing 1066 and All That at the Old Birmingham Rep. It seemed huge. I was about 13 and didn't realise until recently that it was the final production there before moving to their new building.

ArtWorks Cymru

@HullabalooTweet Meg and Mog @ShermanCymru in 1978. I just loved sitting in the big dark space & watching the stage come to life!

CJ Lyon, PCM Projects Co-ordinator

@HullabalooTweet #1stTheatreMemory Nottingham Theatre Royal, DoylyCarte production of Rudigore. The paintings turning in to real people. It was the start of my engagement with live theatre. The suspension of disbelief and being surprised by illusion.

Liz Million's Theatre Firsts

As it is World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People, we asked children's author and illustrator Liz Million to share her Theatre Firsts:

My earliest memory of the theatre was when Abbey Infants visited the Civic Theatre, Darlington. Going anywhere on the bus was always exciting and we went to see The Selfish Shellfish. It was a very magical experience as the world under the sea was brought to life with costumes and sparkly rocks. I loved the fact we all sat in the dark and smoke covered us completely as we were right at the front! Even now when I smell fake smoke it transports me to my first play.

I loved the panto as well as sweets were chucked into the audience and you got to heckle the bad guys which I was a big fan of because at school you always had to put your hand up.

I still thoroughly enjoy visiting the theatre. My 3 year old son visited the panto this christmas and was scared stiff!

I am also a massive fan of Punch and Judy and remember also seeing a show and getting free toothpaste!

Visit Liz's website at http://www.lizmillion.com.

The Public Reviews - When is the right time to introduce children to the theatre?

When is the right time to introduce children to the theatre? This is a question that The Public Reviews have been asking this week and blogger Nicole Evans talks about how her first experience of theatre made a lasting impression and marked the start of a continuing love for the arts. She also talks about her children’s Theatre Firsts and why parents should take their youngsters to the theatre, even if they do worry that they might be too young to appreciate it. She even recommends Theatre Hullabaloo as a great children’s theatre company!

Here is a link to the blog: When is the right time to introduce children to the theatre?
http://www.thepublicreviews.com/blog-when-is-the-right-time-to-introduce-children-to-theatre/

When was your Theatre First? And parents, when was your children’s Theatre First?