It was an exciting April for Outside Edge! We started a new East London Drop-in Drama Group at Brady Arts Centre, Edge Two returned for the first week of their new module and we had our first guest blog written by the Artistic Director of Arizona Theatre Company, Sean Daniels. We also won an award! That’s right, Outside Edge are the proud winners of the Collective Power Award from the Culture, Health & Wellbeing Alliance. You can read more about the award below…
This month we are thrilled to announce our new Chair of the Board of Trustees (scroll down for the big reveal) and will once again be starting work on a brilliant nation-wide partnership project to celebrate Overdose Awareness Day. We’d love as many people as possible from the Outside Edge community to get involved and help spread the word!
There are some changes to the workshop schedule this month with some groups moving to new locations, so make sure to check it out and read on for information about the new venues below…
May Workshop Schedule
Monthly Schedule of Activities
May 2021
If you are new to OETC and would like to participate in any of these activities then please register your interest here, and someone from our team will contact you.
Mondays
6:30pm-8:30pm – Edge Two (Christopher & Julia)
Our second session of this module is on 2nd May (but it is Zoom Only for this week)
Please also note: There will be NO WORKSHOP 31ST MAY
If you have attended a month of any of our Drop-In activities and would like to join Edge Two for their next module please email admin@edgetc.org.
Tuesdays
6:30pm-8:30pm – **NEW GROUP** East London Drop-in Drama (Shiv and Alessandra)
6:30pm-8:00pm – Theatre Club (Molly)
Join us in a conversation about our weekly Theatre Trip! Watch the play online ahead of the group then join us for a chat about the play and a Q&A with an exciting guest from the show or production team.
4th May – One Hand Tied Behind Us (Old Vic)
11th May – Sitting (BBC iPlayer)
18th May – The Winter’s Tale (BBC iPlayer)
25th May – Putting a face on (Old Vic)
1st June – Bist-ah (audioplay by Sonya Hale with Clean Break) – link will be sent to Theatre Club participants
Wednesdays
3:30pm-5:30pm – West London Write Now (Stewart & Hannah)
SPACE CHANGE FROM 19TH MAY : SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS
6:30pm-8:30pm – West London Drop-In Drama (Tunde & Julia)
Thursdays
12:30pm-2:30pm – Women’s Drama Group (Gemma & Charon)
7:00pm-8:30pm – **NEW PROJECT** Overdose Awareness Day Project (Fallen Angels & Small Performance Adventures)
More information about this project can be found below.
Fridays
1:00pm-3:00pm – Peer-led Check-in (Liam & Sue)
The chat room is open for participants to support each other or just meet up to chat about how they are feeling. Open to all participants who have attended 1 other group previously.
6:30pm-8:30pm – South London Drop-In Drama (Julia & Shiv)
SPACE CHANGE FROM 19TH MAY : SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS
Please note that all OETC groups will now be held on Zoom (as well as some running a blended delivery). All current OETC participants should have received an email and/or text message from us with information on how to join in the activities.
If you are a participant who did not yet receive this information, please email admin@edgetc.org or call us on 0207 371 8020. To keep up to date with the latest schedules check us out on Twitter (@OutsideTheatre) and Facebook (@Outsidedgetheatre) every Monday! Follow us on social media to see what Outside Edge is up to.
NEW Project: Overdose Awareness Day
All Outside Edge participants are invited to join this exciting new movement and film project!
Following the success of Outside Edge’s involvement in Overdose Awareness Day 2020, we will be participating in this important project again this spring and summer to create a film! This year is set to be even bigger, with more collaborations with brilliant recovery arts organisations from across the country.
If you are interested in being a part of this project and missed the introductory meeting in April, then please let Molly know and she can fill you in (admin@edgetc.org).
The project will be led by Kate McCoy (Small Performance Adventures) with great companies including our friends Fallen Angels Dance Theatre Company and other recovery communities across the country (including Theatre Royal Plymouth, New Note Orchestra, Geese Theatre Company and Bristol Drugs Project).
We’d love for you to join us as we prepare to celebrate, educate and raise awareness…
The film will be made through a series of weekly Zoom sessions on Thursdays in May and June: 7pm- 8.30pm, facilitated by Fallen Angels and Small Performance Adventures.
Workshop Dates are:
Thursdays
6th, 13th, 20th, 27th – May
3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th – June
Filming date: Wednesday 21st July
Performance will be shared: Tuesday 31st August (Overdose Awareness Day)
We would love as many people from Outside Edge participating as possible. Hope to see you there…
We won! The CHWA Collective Power Award
The Cultural Health & Wellbeing Alliance 2021 Awards Ceremony was held on April 23rd and was co-hosted by Esmé Ward (CHWA Chair and Director, Manchester Museum) and the CHWA 2021 Judges. Outside Edge was thrilled to be named as winner of the Collective Power Category from a shortlist of seven fantastic organisations! We were in great company with many other brilliant companies recognised at the ceremony in categories such as ‘Climate’ and ‘Practising Well’.
Here’s what the panel had to say about Outside Edge…
“Through our discussions as judges, Outside Edge Theatre’s work, which was regularly described as “life-saving” by participants, continued to present it’s strong resonance with the Collective Power theme. Consultative, responsive, people led in it’s problem-solving and constant pivoting throughout the pandemic, this organisation continued to provide creative and practical solutions to enable the community it serves to cope, create and connect. It reminded us of how many cultural and creative organisations have stepped in to support their participants and communities to survive and adapt…”
To read more about the CHWA and their 2021 Awards you can view all the results and read the judges comments in full here.
New Chair of the Board
Following the news earlier this year that current Chair, Pippa Campbell, will step down in summer 2021, the Board of Trustees and Service User Representatives undertook a robust recruitment process and are thrilled to welcome Tom Robertson to the organisation. He is currently the Director of Marketing & Audiences at Somerset House and previously Marketing Director for the Donmar Warehouse. Tom is passionate about connecting audiences to culture and at both Somerset House and the Donmar Warehouse he delivered record-breaking sales and audiences through collaboration, creative thinking and his dedication to excellence.
Commenting on his appointment, Tom says, “It is a privilege to be stepping into the role of Chair for Outside Edge, and I’m very grateful to Matt, the Board of Trustees and their Service User Representatives for giving me the opportunity to contribute in this way to their vital and transformative work.
Outside Edge harnesses the unique power of theatre, both for audiences and participants, to share stories of addiction and recovery, and give direct support to those affected by addiction through creative engagement. I am particularly grateful to have had the chance to spend some time with Service Users and witness first-hand the fellowship and opportunities for creative self-expression that are offered by this company’s invaluable work.”
For more information on Tom and his appointment, please see the full press release here.
Écarté – Congratulations to the Moving Recovery Performers!
We had an online sharing of work from our Moving Recovery Group on Tuesday 8th April and it was absolutely brilliant! Many thanks to everyone who came and a huge congratulations to all our performers. A special thank you has to go to our partners Fallen Angels and their brilliant facilitators Paul and Hannah who made this group possible!
Moving Recovery generously supported by:
Collective Voice (with thanks to the Government for making this possible)
and
Coronavirus Community Support Fund, distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund
Change of locations!
West London Write Now
From 19th May, West London Write Now will be moving to its new venue at Chelsea Theatre! For directions please click here and see the map below…
South London Drop-in Drama
From 14th May, South London Drop-in Drama is moving to it’s new venue at Southwark Playhouse! For directions please click here and see the map below…
Quotes of the month
Thank you to our new supporters…
During these difficult times we would like to thank our recent supporters who have made donations to Outside Edge this month:
and Paul Hendrick
From our friends…
Clean Break – Audio Drama by Sonya Hale
Don’t miss Clean Break’s new audio drama, Blis-ta by Sonya Hale!
Kat and Cherry meet on the streets. Kat is wily, funny, and fierce; Cherry is a lost dreamer. Blis-ta is the story of their adventures to survive as homeless girls and the transformative power of friendship.
Written by the late Sonya Hale, who was a Clean Break Member and participant then facilitator for Outside Edge, it is a visceral, bold and startling audio drama about hidden homelessness and the lengths women go to for survival.
A wild celebration of resilience, it will spin you through a mesh of joy, chaos and beauty.
Blis-ta goes live on Tuesday 18 May on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and Soundcloud or wherever you listen.
Find out more: https://www.cleanbreak.org.uk/ productions/blis-ta/
Casting opportunity with LARA MANWARING CASTING for a BBC Film
LARA MANWARING CASTING is a company that finds actors for film & TV. Previous projects worked on include the Channel 4 series ‘Top Boy’.
They are currently looking for someone to play a supporting role in a fictional BBC feature film about mental health. It is being made by a BAFTA nominated director who has lived experience of addiction and is in recovery. The aim is to make a really positive film that avoids stigma, is authentic and raises awareness.
For this role, they are looking for:
BLACK MAN (aged 45 – 65) who has genuinely heard (or hears) voices or someone who has experienced psychosis
They are interested in collaborating and listening to your ideas to create something positive and truthful. They won’t be ruling anyone out if they are not always stable, or if they have a criminal record.
PLEASE NOTE – NO PREVIOUS ACTING EXPERIENCE IS NEEDED!
If you’re interested, please send a photo and a message, or preferably a short video (1-3 minutes) either by email to assistant@laramanwaring.com or by Whatsapp to 07307 058739 (no calls please) telling them a bit about yourself, including your name, age, and where you are based.
It may take a few days but they aim to respond as quickly as they can. If they feel you could be right for the role then they will get in contact to explain more. The successful applicant will be fully supported through the process. This is a great PAID opportunity for whoever gets the role.
Support Us
To continue to offer our creative activities for free we reply on the continued support of grants and donations.
If you would like to help Outside Edge through this challenging time, then please consider donating.
