October Newsletter
As last month ends, and with it the last days of summer, we reflect on some of the memorable moments from September and welcome October with its cosy Autumn weather and new opportunities.
September marked Recovery Month and the start of two new groups, our intermediate playwriting group ‘Write Two’ and our dance and movement group ‘Moving Recovery’. Our wonderful Edge Two group performed at the West London Reconnected event showcasing their recent exploration of Bertolt Brecht, and we were thrilled to learn that Outside Edge has been nominated and shortlisted for another award.
October brings with it a rescheduled wellbeing workshop and other opportunities that will allow our service users to stretch their abilities and explore their interests.
Check out the information below to see what we have on offer this month, including some must see theatre productions and a chance to join a conversation about how we can make Outside Edge as diverse and inclusive as possible.
October Workshop Schedule
Monthly Schedule of Activities
October 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
6:00pm-8:00pm – Write Two
The first cohort of writers has been notified. To join the second cohort (starting February 2022) you will need to have attended one of our Write Now groups for a minimum 3 months.
Tuesdays
3:30pm-5:30pm – East London Write Now (Tunde & Charon)
6:30pm-8:30pm – East London Drop-in Drama (Shiv & Alessandra/Tess)
Wednesdays
3:30pm-5:30pm – West London Write Now (Stewart & Alice)
6:30pm-8:30pm – West London Drop-In Drama (Tunde & Julia)
Thursdays
12:30pm-2:30pm – Women’s Drama Group (Charon & Gemma)
12:30pm-2:30pm – **NEW** Moving Recovery (Hannah Rudd)
Fridays
1:00pm-3:00pm – Peer-led Check-in (Liam & Billie)
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)
Please note that all OETC groups (excluding Peer-led Check-in, Write Two & Moving Recovery) are now running a blended delivery, so you can attend in person or on Zoom. Please see below for details about changes to Service Delivery from August.
To keep up to date with the latest schedules check us out on Twitter (@OutsideTheatre), Facebook (@Outsidedgetheatre) and Instagram (@Outsidedge) every Monday! Follow us on social media to see what Outside Edge is up to.
MOVING RECOVERY IS BACK
Our Moving Recovery group is officially up and dancing!
You are very welcome to join us, every Thursday 6.30PM-8.30PM, at Brady Arts Centre (Whitechapel) for a dance and movement workshop open to all ability levels and Service Users both new and existing.
This isn’t dance as you know it, you will learn how to unlock your own movements and it’s accessible for everyone regardless of ability. This is an informal group for people who are in recovery or have been affected by addiction, including their family, carers and champions. Come laugh with some new friends and get your body moving to help improve your wellbeing. Sessions are suitable for those who may have little or no experience of drama/ movement/ dance, or are in early stages of recovery.
Moving Recovery will help you to:
1. Build confidence
2. Have fun
3. Explore your body
4. Find the joy in movement
5. Develop focus and commitment
Meet the Facilitator: Hannah Rudd
Hannah has been a professional dance artist for fifteen years. She trained at The Royal Ballet school and has danced with The Michael Clark company, Scottish Ballet and Rambert Dance Company, as well as freelancing independently throughout the UK and Europe in Ballet and contemporary works.
Hannah has a desire to facilitate human connection through the expression of dance and frequently collaborates with other artists in a range of mediums, musicians and creatives. She is also studying a Masters in Dance.
Hannah has worked with Fallen Angels Dance theatre for some years now, observing, learning, and facilitating within the brilliant community work they do, as well as being involved in some of their professional artistic projects.
WRITE TWO
The first cohort of our intermediate scriptwriting group have officially embarked on their creative journeys in ‘Write Two’, led by playwright Christopher Thorpe at the Royal Court Theatre.
See what one participant has to say about his experience so far:
“In Write Two, we are collaborating with a professional Playwright to propel our writing to the next level. Writing at The Royal Court (The Writer’s Theatre) is a privilege that not many writers get to experience. Taking the values of Outside Edge and merging it with radical thinking in an inspirational setting provokes us to produce work that is well beyond that which we could hope to achieve by ourselves… all whilst smiling, laughing and supporting each other on our creative journey.” – Matthew McGuigan, ‘Write Two’ participant
We plan to have a second Write Two intake over the next six months for the group, so make sure you start attending either of our Write Now groups regularly if you wish to qualify for a place!
To qualify you need to have shown three months of commitment at one of our ‘Write Now’ groups.You can attend ‘Write Now’ on Tuesdays in East London, 3:30pm-5:30pm at Brady Arts Centre and in West London on Wednesdays, 3:30pm-5:30pm at Chelsea Theatre or join us over Zoom.For more information about joining the second cohort of ‘Write Two’ watch this space!
Write Two is generously supported by:
The Health Tree- Social Prescribing
In October we are excited to be a part of the first public meeting for The Health Tree on Wednesday 13th October (11:30 – 14:00) this will be an opportunity for attendees to learn how social prescribing works in Tower Hamlets. This event is for anyone with an interest in social prescribing and will include:
- Opportunity to hear from Tower Hamlets GP Care service who lead social prescribing in Tower Hamlets
- Meet the team and partners of The Health Tree project
- Find out what role arts plays in improving health
- Find out from successful social prescribing projects in Tower Hamlets
- Network with local service providers
- Enjoy a free lunch
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the first of The Health Tree Drama Taster Sessions this month. In this series of workshops, each 1 hour session will be based on 1 of the Five Ways to Wellbeing (Be Active, Connect, Learn, Take Notice and Give) to introduce participants to how drama can support their wellbeing. These workshops have been developed and will be delivered by our Associate Facilitator, Christopher Holt at the Tower Hamlets Carers Centre.
If you are an East London resident and want to attend our Second Health Tree Taster Session on 21st October 2021 11am – sign up below. If you are an East London Social Prescribing Link Worker please email admin@edgetc.org if you would like to refer someone.
The Health Tree is generously supported by:
Shining a Spotlight On… Drama and Creative Writing Taster Sessions!
Did you know that Outside Edge Theatre Company are available to deliver FREE Drama & Creative Writing Taster Sessions for people in recovery at treatment programmes and rehabilitation centres across London?
Our Taster Sessions are based around the Five Ways to Wellbeing, using fun, fast paced exercises giving participants an embodied experience of the benefits of a creative activity, through connecting with one another in an engaging, entertaining environment. The workshops now include an optional creative writing element encouraging empathy through character building and expanding imagination through simple writing techniques.
What to expect:
The Taster Sessions are led by members of OETC’s specially trained drama facilitators. Sessions begin with a brief warm-up, followed by a series of icebreakers, before moving on to improvisation games that participants might recognise from TV shows such as “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”. This is followed by some simple but effective writing exercises to encourage the group to start thinking about creating characters and writing dialogue. Throughout the workshop the group have the opportunity to reflect on their wellbeing and how they can improve it.
Help us spread the word:
Are you a drug and alcohol service looking to book a taster session? Please email Tess on admin@edgetc.org for information.
If you think the service you are attending could benefit from an Outside Edge taster session, then get in touch and help us spread the word!
You can now also spread the word by ordering and displaying the Outside Edge activities flyers, it’s completely free to request the flyers, all you need to do is fill out this form and we will mail them to you.
See what past participants have to say:
“It put a smile on my face for the rest of the day! It felt so good to connect to others and get creative for the first time in a while!”
“I enjoyed connecting with new people. It gave me an outlook on how life can be”
“I liked having to step out of my comfort zone and taking risks. It was lots of fun!”
Congratulations to Edge Two!
Congratulations to our Edge Two group who performed at last week’s ‘Reconnected’ Event hosted by our friends at the West London’s Drug and Alcohol Service.
This marked Edge Two’s first live performance in front of an audience since the beginning of the pandemic. The group debuted work on Brecht which they’ve been creating over the past couple of months with facilitators Christopher Holt & Júlia Couto, delivering an energetic, funny and charismatic performance which made us all very proud!
See what audience members have to say:
“I loved how funny the performers were. I hadn’t experienced any Brecht since I was in school and watching the Outside Edge actors made me realise how relevant his plays still are today. I felt excited and more political after watching the inspirational performance.”
Edge Two is our intermediate drama group open to Outside Edge participants who have committed to three months at any of our Drop-in Drama groups.
You can now attend Drop-in Drama in East London (Tuesday 6:30pm-8:30pm at Brady Arts Centre), West London (Wednesdays 6:30pm-8:30pm at The Study Society) and South London ( Fridays 6:30pm-8:30pm at Southwark Playhouse).
Rescheduled: Back on Track Workshop
The rescheduled ‘Improve your sleep’ workshop, as part of the West London NHS Trust ‘Back on Track’ wellbeing workshops, will take place on 1st November (3pm-4pm) via Zoom.
These sessions are run by Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners from the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies team with Each session exploring a different element of wellbeing. Attendance is open to all Outside Edge service users. If you are interested in attending please sign up below.
Diversity and Inclusion Working Group Co-Production Session
In response to the events of the last 18 months we have set up a Diversity and Inclusion Working Group (DIWG) and are currently looking for service users who are interested in volunteering their time to feed in to discussions that will help us set a clear strategy to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation.
We realise that the work of the DIWG is only the beginning of a much larger and more in-depth culture shift within our organisation, but we are excited to be able to take this first step with service users who are interested in helping us start this journey. If you are an Outside Edge service user (past or present) and think this is something that you think you might be interested in, then please attend our first service user co-production meeting of the DIWG (hosted by Service User Representative Ian).
The DIWG meeting will be help via Zoom on October 18th at 6PM. This meeting will be open to service users only.
You can join the meeting via the link below:
Meeting ID: 878 3111 6857
Passcode: 489554
The DIWG is generously supported by:
Outside Edge… Out and About!
During October we will be venturing out to tell the world about Outside Edge. Matt Steinberg (CEO/ Artistic Director) will be appearing (digitally) at the following events. Tune in to hear him talk about the work of Outside Edge in the local Recovery Community.
Club Soda – October Mindful Drinking Festival
Join Matt Steinberg, Club Soda and a whole lot of amazing guests from around the world, for a packed programme of live online and real-world events during the Mindful Drinking Festival throughout October 2021.
You can join Matt for ‘How can I socialise sober?’ panel discussion on Sunday 10th October at 9am.
The Global Mindful Drinking Festival is a month of live drinks tastings, discussion panels, expert Q&A and webinars. Discover delicious alcohol-free drinks, troubleshoot your challenges with changing your drinking. And connect with others in the Club Soda community worldwide.
You can sign up for free here.
Noel McDermott: Well-Being Show
The Well-Being Show Weekly Mental Health Podcast with Host Noel McDermott. Honest interviews with celebrities and experts in the field of Mental Health and Well-being.
Sign up to watch Live Wednesday 13th October at 9pm here. Or catch up via podcast after Matt’s interview using the same link.
Social Prescribing Link Worker Awards
We’re looking forward to the upcoming #LinkWorkerDay2021Awards for which Outside Edge has been shortlisted in the Community Group of the Year category.
The 3rd Annual UK Social Prescribing Link Worker Day celebrates and showcases Social Prescribing Link Workers’ impact and role in creatively disrupting inequalities and powering up integrated care, recognising all those who have made outstanding contributions.
The winners will be revealed at the Awards ceremony which will take place on Thursday 7th October 2021. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Rethink Mental Illness Award Nomination
We’re humbled to have been nominated for the Rethink Mental Illness’ Janey Antoniou award by one of our very own service users, Phillip Bayes. The Janey Antoniou Awards recognise campaigners with lived experience who have made a difference to the lives of people living with mental illness through:
- Raising awareness of the realities of living with mental illness.
- Combating stigma associated with mental illnesses.
- Campaigning for better care for people affected by mental illness, both in and outside healthcare.
The judging panel is currently deliberating and we will find out the outcome of our nomination by the end of the month.
Quotes of the Month
From Our Friends
Fritz & Matlock
Our friends at Part of the Main have recently secured Arts Council funding for their upcoming show ‘Fritz and Matlock’, allowing them to partner up with Outside Edge.
Outside Edge service users has been allocated a special promo code for discounted tickets: Use code OUTSIDE10 for £10 tickets (valid all performances, but capped at 10 per show).
About the show:
‘Fritz and Matlock’, 5th – 17th October performing at The Pleasance London.
Set in a basement of an inner city Sheffield house, two men try and bury the bodies of their past and find their way to a more hopeful future. With no way out, will Fritz make it to his wedding? Will Matlock get away with murder? Or will the police finally raid the house and shut down the marijuana grow in the attic?A contemporary ‘Waiting for Godot,’ ‘Fritz & Matlock’ is a fresh take on men’s mental health and addiction, with surrealist undertones and a comic bite.
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.
