Bubble Wrap
(online workshop series, 16th february - 10th march 2021)
'Social, creative, entertaining...what more could you want?! And you don't even need to leave the house.'
'We might be stuck inside, but we can mentally escape with these kinds of things.'
'We might be stuck inside, but we can mentally escape with these kinds of things.'
In a bid to tackle some of the loneliness and isolation Covid-19 had inflicted on us all, during the third lockdown of 2020-21, Wonderful Beast Theatre Company invited over 65s to take part in fun, free, weekly Zoom sessions. In partnership with Wardens Trust, the series aimed to offer a mental escape from the confines of Covid, enable those shielding or stuck inside to meet new people, provide entertainment from our talented and experienced artists and facilitate the creation of something wonderful, together.
Participants were allocated into groups of four to six people. The series comprised four weeks of workshops all taking place on Zoom, each week led by a different artist along with Wonderful Beast's Artistic Director, Alys Kihl. Every group worked from the same starting point of two initial creative sparks: a folktale ('The Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle') read for Wonderful Beast by the great Judy Campbell, and a poem ('Bubble Wrap', from which the series takes its name) written by one of our contributing artists, Dean Parkin. Our recordings of these two pieces, as sent to the participants ahead of the start of the project, can be heard below.
The opening session for all groups was led by Dean, who had everyone delving into the depths of their lexicons for the weirdest, funniest and most beautiful words they could muster. Each group's words were turned into a 'word list poem' working on from Dean's own 'Bubble Wrap' (see the original poem below). Over the following weeks these words were built on, woven into the ideas stemming from the folktale, expressed through music and dance, all the while stimulating extraordinary creativity in the form of poems, stories, readings, drawings and memories from all participants.
In a fifth week, the groups put on two online sharing sessions, where for the first time all participants were able to witness the fruits of their co-participants creativity, which struck a marvellous and intriguing balance between diversity and similarity, having all started from those same two shared starting points.
Fully funded by the generosity of some truly fantastic charities, it was completely free to take - all participants required was access to a device that could run Zoom. There was no need to have done anything like this before - it was an opportunity to try something new, explore your creativity and socialise.
Participants were allocated into groups of four to six people. The series comprised four weeks of workshops all taking place on Zoom, each week led by a different artist along with Wonderful Beast's Artistic Director, Alys Kihl. Every group worked from the same starting point of two initial creative sparks: a folktale ('The Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle') read for Wonderful Beast by the great Judy Campbell, and a poem ('Bubble Wrap', from which the series takes its name) written by one of our contributing artists, Dean Parkin. Our recordings of these two pieces, as sent to the participants ahead of the start of the project, can be heard below.
The opening session for all groups was led by Dean, who had everyone delving into the depths of their lexicons for the weirdest, funniest and most beautiful words they could muster. Each group's words were turned into a 'word list poem' working on from Dean's own 'Bubble Wrap' (see the original poem below). Over the following weeks these words were built on, woven into the ideas stemming from the folktale, expressed through music and dance, all the while stimulating extraordinary creativity in the form of poems, stories, readings, drawings and memories from all participants.
In a fifth week, the groups put on two online sharing sessions, where for the first time all participants were able to witness the fruits of their co-participants creativity, which struck a marvellous and intriguing balance between diversity and similarity, having all started from those same two shared starting points.
Fully funded by the generosity of some truly fantastic charities, it was completely free to take - all participants required was access to a device that could run Zoom. There was no need to have done anything like this before - it was an opportunity to try something new, explore your creativity and socialise.
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The Bubble Wrap
balderdash claptrap mishmash slapdash giddeyup skinnydip chockablock shuttlecock blunderbuss chatterbox dunderhead rumpus kippertie boobytrap butterfly battlecry butternut bottlebank beetlerun butterscotch topnotch hotchpotch poopscoop hopscotch steeplejack stickyback stickleback smokestack bubblegum bladderwrack scattergun bubblewrap Dean Parkin |
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bubble wrapped: the gallery
Word Lists, Wishes and Poems
THE ARTISTS INVOLVED
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Dean ParkinA writer and poet who lives in Suffolk. Dean runs workshops for all ages – from primary school children to the over-nineties. He performs at festivals, venues and schools across the UK, and is the first poet to have appeared on BBC One performing a poem on the loo. |
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Anusha SubramanyamA dance maker, performer and teacher. Working with all ages and abilities, Anusha's workshops include Bollywood and Bharatanatyam dance. Anusha performs in theatres, museums, hospitals, and schools, and has been curating community festivals for several years. |
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hilary greatorexAn actor and storyteller. When she’s not acting for grown-ups in theatres or on TV, Hilary works in schools telling stories, running workshops and helping children create amazing things. In 2019 she played the title role in Wonderful Beast’s The Last Woodwose. |
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Martina schwarzA musician, composer, and choir leader. Martina plays accordion and ukulele, writes for theatre, film and dance, and performs for communities, schools and residential homes. She creates children’s songs and has released several songbooks and CDs. |
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about wardens trustWardens Trust is a charity offering arts-based facilities and services to local people otherwise unable to access them. In recent years it has hosted regular music and movement sessions, ‘Singing the Brain’, for people with dementia and their carers, hosting sessions at Wardens Hall, its base on the Suffolk coast. It has previously partnered with the English Touring Opera (ETO), Turtle Key Arts and Wonderful Beast. |
funders
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SCARFE FOUNDATION |