The Chronicle, No. 669, January 2016

14 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

ArtsLab at The NorthWall By Amy Walters, Theatre Manager

Alongside St Edward’s curricular and co- curricular drama and dance, The North Wall runs a public arts programme for the local community in Oxford and beyond. The programme offers a wide range of events - from plays that deal with urgent political issues, to dance-theatre adaptations of classic texts and more light-hearted comedy events. Pupils are encouraged to engage with the programme outside of the academic side of school life: this autumn, Sing’s Sixth Formers attended No Such Thing as a Fish , a panel show by the researchers of comedy TV show, QI ; and pupils who watched Kay Adshead’s The Bogus Woman also took part in a post-show debate about the current European refugee crisis, featuring speakers from the University of Oxford’s Centre of Migration Studies and organisations in the city who work with

to create, rehearse and perform a new piece of work. We hold an open national call out to recruit young people from across the UK through auditions and interviews. They are united by their talent and by their desire to pursue a career in the arts. The residential nature of the project is an immersive experience, creating an intensity of learning that makes the creative process completely unique. Many past participants say that they have never learnt so much in such a short space of time in all their years of education and training. Professionals ArtsLab supports professional writers, directors and actors, giving them the space and time to research and develop new work.

refugees. Since its opening, the North Wall has always enriched both the academic and pastoral side of life at Teddies. But have you ever wondered what goes on in The North Wall outside of term time? Through a programme of initiatives held during the school holidays, the North Wall supports the production of new work and development opportunities for emerging and professional artists. We call this ArtsLab.

Who is it for? Emerging Artists Since 2007, ArtsLab has provided

opportunities for young, talented artists aged 18-25 to succeed and excel in the arts. In our annual Summer Residency, for example, young artists work as an ensemble with professionals over the course of three weeks

Fragment: Summer Residency 2014