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December Newsletter

December Newsletter

This will be our last newsletter for 2020 and what a year we have had at Outside Edge: we held the inaugural Phil Fox Award for Playwriting and crowned our winner, introduced five new groups (Peer-led Check-in, Theatre Club, Moving RecoveryWomen’s Drama Group and South London Drop-in Drama), delivered 290 workshops, provided 24 free taster sessions to health services and worked with 122 service users. All whilst adapting our services to continue providing support during lockdown, mastering Zoom workshops and introducing a blended service delivery!

We are looking forward to an Outside Edge Christmas Party coming up on Friday 18th (more details in the newsletter below) and also hope to celebrate with many of you at our various groups as we head towards our final sessions of the year. The final workshop dates for 2020 and their return dates in January are outlined at the start of the monthly schedule below. Please note that the office will close from 21st December and reopen on 4th January. We know that Christmas can be a tough time of year for some, so be kind to yourself, take care of one another and we’ll see you in the new year. If you are looking for some free, abstinent-based, festive events see our suggestions below…


December Workshop Schedule


Monthly Schedule of Activities 

December 2020

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.
Please note that all OETC groups are currently delivered on Zoom in addition to the blended sessions (for Edge Two, Write Now, West London Drop-in Drama and Women’s Drama Group only).

Mondays
6:30pm-8:30pm – Edge Two & The Company (Christopher & Julia)
BLENDED DELIVERY AVAILABLE
If you have been to a minimum of 3 Write Now, Drop-in Drama or Women’s Drama Group sessions, you can join this group. This module will focus on building devising skills. 

Tuesdays
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. 
1st December  – ‘The Chosen Haram’ with guest Sadiq Ali
**PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SHOW COMES WITH A TRIGGER WARNING: DRUG USE IS SHOWN**
8th December – ‘The Snow Queen‘ from Scottish Ballet
15th December –  ‘Living Newspaper’ from the Royal Court Theatre

Wednesdays
3:30pm-5:30pm – Write Now (Stewart & Hannah)
BLENDED DELIVERY AVAILABLE
6:30pm-8:30pm – West London Drop-In Drama (Tunde & Julia)
BLENDED DELIVERY AVAILABLE

Thursdays
12:30pm-2:30pm – Women’s Drama Group (Gemma & Charon)
BLENDED DELIVERY AVAILABLE
6:30pm-8:30pm – Moving Recovery (Paul and Claire – a collaboration with Fallen Angels Dance Theatre)
7:00pm – Watch Theatre Club Show
Watch the show for next week’s Theatre Club or catch up whenever you get the chance. The plays and viewing links are listed above.

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.
***Please note that on 18th December Peer-led Check-in will run from 12:30pm-1:30pm to accommodate the Christmas party at 3pm
6:30pm-8:30pm – South London Drop-In Drama (Julia & Shiv) 


Please note that all OETC groups are currently delivered on Zoom in addition to the blended sessions (groups with blended delivery available are specified). All current OETC participants should have received an email and/or text message from us with information on how to join in the activities (either via zoom link or booking for in person attendance slot). 

If you are a participant who did not yet receive this information, please email [email protected] 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. 

Christmas Party

Christmas is nearly here and after the year of 2020 we deserve some celebration!

From 3pm-5pm on Friday 18th we’ll be hosting a virtual Christmas Party on Zoom. Expect nothing but fun, games and Christmas spirit. Those who confirm their attendance will be receiving an extra special Outside Edge Christmas hamper with a few little goodies inside that will be used for activities at the party (can I get an ooooooooooh!)

Our schedule for the afternoon is as follows:
Please note that YOU MUST CONFIRM ATTENDANCE IN ADVANCE so we can make sure you have your hamper and craft materials in good time. Places and hampers will be given on a first come first serve basis so let us know as soon as possible if you’ll be attending via the Eventbrite link:

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE!

The deadline for confirming your attendance is NO LATER THAN 8TH DECEMBER as we need to arrange for Santa to deliver your hamper to you…

Outside Edge mourns the passing of Sonya Hale…

Outside Edge Theatre Company was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Sonya Hale after a long battle with cancer. Sonya was our much-loved Associate Theatre Facilitator and Write Now facilitator. Please read our full statement here.

Everyone at Outside Edge Theatre Company sends their condolences and love to Sonya’s family and friends at this terribly sad time.

Outside Edge service users and staff affected by this news will be offered support over the coming weeks. We encourage service users, staff and friends to send us your memories and condolence messages, which we will collate and send to Sonya’s family and friends. Please email [email protected] with your message by Friday 11th December.

Phil Fox Award for Playwriting: Winner Announced

On November 4th, Silas Parry was announced as the winner of the inaugural Phil Fox Award for Playwriting, with his magic realist script Lessons For Diving. Silas will receive a £6,000 commission and mentorship from chair of the judging panel, Tony Award-winning playwright Enda Walsh.

In its debut year, the prize was created to recognise original scripts looking at issues of addiction, by playwrights from all backgrounds and experience levels. In recognition of the exceptional quality of submissions this year, judges also awarded Special Commendations to two finalist playwrights for their scripts: Kristian Phillips (Drift) and Jack Stanley (Boomerang). Along with Lessons for Diving, the two Special Commendation scripts will receive a package of development support and a public reading in the new year. Please read the full announcement here.

A huge congratulations to Silas! We can’t wait to work with him and Enda Walsh to develop his fantastic script Lessons for Diving.
The Phil Fox Award for Playwriting is generously supported by:
An Anonymous Friend of OETC  

Bespoke Drama Workshops For Treatment Services 

In November we visited Lewisham PCRS to deliver a bespoke workshop for their ‘Recovery Pride’ event. Feedback from the workshop was great:

Facilitators lead really well and engage everyone, leaning into their natural skills and abilities.” – Key Worker

I enjoyed the participation and inclusion. The facilitators were fun and engaging. I was asked to come out of my comfort zone and take a risk. I particularly enjoyed imagining how I would feel and behave when playing different characters. I feel these exercises can be very beneficial to people with anxiety issues as they can connect to positive feelings and learn to be something more.” – Workshop Participant

We are now visiting services for in-person (Covid-safe) delivery if preferred, however we can develop the content of the workshop to translate across any video conferencing platform that services may already be using (e.g. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc). Our specially trained facilitators can also make work accessible to Service Users who are only able to use audio and not video.

If you would like to book a Bespoke Drama Workshop please contact Alessandra for more information ([email protected]).  

Quotes of the month


Community Christmas Activities

Narcotics Anonymous: NA Devon JFC (Just For Christmas)

Date: Friday, December 25th: 7pm to 9:30pm
Time:  7pm to 9:30pm
Price: Free

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/990990465?pwd=R2VBUm9uQWorMlhOQTZ2dnVRYm54QT09
Zoom meeting ID – 990 990 465
Password – JFT

Event description: Speaker jam! Two guest speakers, fellowship, DJ and dancing. Outrageous outfits, fancy dress or Xmassy hats. Come clean and crazy. More info here

Narcotics Anonymous: Zoom Event “Boxing Day Christmas Bonanza”

Date: Saturday, December 26th
Time:  4pm to 9pm
Price: Free

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81026892646?pwd=dnhmVkE0QXQ3bkplOWYzV1BjeHordz09
Meeting ID: 810 2689 2646
Passcode: historyday

Event description: More info here

Narcotics Anonymous: UKCNA New Years Eve – Celebration of Recovery

Dates/Times: Thursday, December 31st 2020: 4:30pm to 2am and Friday, January 1st 2021: 10am to 4pm
Price: Free but donations welcome here.

Zoom meeting ID: 870 5385 2127
Password: SERENITY

Event description: We will have a number of speakers who will be sharing on a wide variety of topics. We will have entertainment in the evening of New Years Eve and more speakers on New Year’s Day! We start on New Years Eve at 16:30 with the last speaker starting at 21:30 from then we will have entertainment until 02:00 New Years Day. The event starts again on New Years Day at 10:00 and finishes at 16:00. More info here

Crisis: Virtual Carol Service

Date: Saturday, 12th December
Time: 6pm
Price: Free but donations welcome here.

Facebook event link

Event description: You’re invited to join us for our first ever virtual carol service! We know that Crisis carol services around the country are an important part of Christmas for many of our members, volunteers and supporters. They offer us all a moment to reflect and a chance to feel part of a community. This year, we need that more than ever. Join us for a night of music, reflections from members and special guest appearances. Although things will be different this year, we will bring you an event that will entertain and enlighten and help us bring an end to homelessness. More info here.

Helpful recovery related Christmas articles and resources…

Priory Group Free Addiction Assessment
Christmas in Rehab – What to expect
Fighting Addiction Replase at Christmas
Addiction and Recovery at Christmas – Family Stories
Christmas without alcohol – Tips for staying sober

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:

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.
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