| Musical Performers Martin Guerre Course |
| Attended by: Vicky Clark (Milton Musical Society) |
|
From the minute I walked toward the registration office, I knew I was welcome on
summer school. The friendly NODA staff and the delegates ensured that as a
newbie, I felt comfortable very quickly. I had been accepted on the Martin
Guerre Musical Theatre course and was very eager to work with like minded people.
The quality of the tutors, (Director, Musical Director and Accompanist) was second
to none, I felt honoured to be working with such high calibre professionals.
The course was highly entertaining and informative; I found everyday had a variety
of workshops, exercises and ways of improving myself.
The other delegates varied in age, stature and experience and whilst I thought at the beginning I would be the least qualified to be doing this school, I realised the school catered for everyone and I was in fact like everyone else, we all had something to learn. Talking of catering, the accommodation and meals were great, (possibly too good if you ask my costume mistress). The evening workshops were very popular and booking early is essential. The finale on Friday included presentations from each of the courses, all of which were fabulous, and whetted my appetite for several other courses to try next year. I have made many new friends both during the day and during the evening and know that I have an opportunity every year to do it again. The only problem is knowing which superb programme to join, (if only they could run the summer school for several weeks, then I could do them all!) I would thoroughly recommend the NODA Summer School for anyone in musical theatre; drama etc. no matter where they are in terms of their career, the school offers something for everyone. |
| Directing a Musical Course |
| Attended by: Tracey Owen (Dover Operatic & Dramatic Society) |
|
I had an absolutely fabulous time at Noda Summer School 2008. My course, Directing
a Musical, was everything and more than I expected. Martyn Knight was hugely responsible
for the enjoyment of the course. He was very professional, approachable, humorous
and ensured that everyone on the course had all their queries answered. He gave
me so many tips and insights to directing, that I really felt that I came away full
of knowledge that I didn't previously have.
Other elements of the summer school that I enjoyed were the evening workshops that were arranged for us, it gave me the opportunity to try something new and fun. I chose to take part in two singing events and dancing for beginners. When I wasn't attending the workshops, other evenings were filled with a quiz night, disco and two nights of singing show songs in the bar - every evening was taken up with something enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed the final night where we were able to watch the presentations put on by each of the other groups. I would certainly recommend the summer school to everyone who has an interest in amateur dramatics - there really is something there for everyone - during the week I kept thinking how much I'd have missed out if I hadn't attended. Next year I will be attending again and the only difficulty will be choosing a course because there are so many that I would like to do. I also hope to meet up with some of the great friends I made this year. Thanks so much for the opportunity to attend. I shall certainly recommend it to all the other members of my society. I hope to see you there next year if not before. |
| Musical Performers Martin Guerre Course |
| Attended by: Laura Kimpton (Canterbury Operatic Society) |
|
What to say about the summer school?? It was an amazing week. I feel I learnt a
lot and it really helped me develop as a performer.
Having not really known what to expect and feeling slightly apprehensive when I arrived on the Saturday I quickly settled in (having been taken under the wing of a lovely group of people from my class) and soon felt right at home. And so began a week of hard work, with my group testing ourselves vocally (and occasionally emotionally!) through our exploration of the various ways in which a performer can get to the heart of a song, understand its meaning or various potential meanings and therefore perform it with greater insight and hopefully to better effect, but also a week of great fun in which some fantastic friendships were formed. Thanks to everyone who made summer school so fab - I’ll definitely be back! I had a fantastic time at summer school. |
| Physical Theatre Course |
| Attended by: Sebastiane Brewer (Colbury & Ashurst Theatrical Society) |
|
I hope something from below may be of use to you. I feel like I could gush, I really
did enjoy it all! I found the experience of summer school has left me feeling more
creative and excited about moving forward in my work in a new direction.
I began the course with interest as to how a diverse group of people would both work together and get on; by the end of the week we were a team all working together and I know I have gained both friends and future contemporaries. The whole experience of summer school from the fantastic food, the social life and the excellent tutoring was an experience I hope to repeat. On the Saturday evening we were all asking our tutor, Neil Bettles, ‘What is Physical Theatre’ and he gave us a range of examples, all of which drew us in and excited us, but did not exactly answer the question as it is a diverse field. We discovered this question can only be answered by experiencing the workshops, the methods and all of the starting points that Neil expertly guided us through during the week. We left with an understanding and a new approach to creating theatre, away from scripts and texts that are the usual starting points of a performance. We all took away a different level of how we will apply our new knowledge, based on the different backgrounds we have come from. I personally look forward to combining the physical movement work with more technical elements of lighting and music to make a more contemporary performance; other members of the group want to apply it to script work or more traditional styles of theatre. It was very rewarding that the overall response from other Summer School members to our presentation on the Friday night was extremely positive and interested in how we had worked. I am sure if the course is run again it will be oversubscribed. The biggest thing I gained from the week was a confidence to perform that I have never had before, within the methods we learnt I found I was comfortable devising and performing, and proud of the work I created. I look forward to continuing with my work in this new direction. Thank you very much for the opportunity to have had this experience; both in running the course this year and in the bursary I was awarded. I would not have been able to afford to come to the Summer School without your assistance and the experience I have had has been so valuable. I have already run a successful Physical Theatre workshop with my Youth Theatre and they are all excited to learn more in the autumn. It has given me a new confidence in both my physical work and in my workshop leading. I look forward to hopefully coming back next year. On the first day of the week I looked round and wondered what the special bond was that all these people had to keep coming back each year, I now know it is something you have to experience and NODA is a special place to make all of us feel like that by the end of the week and to be looking forward to the next year. |
| Directing a Musical Course |
| Attended by: Hilary Westbrook (Gosport Amateur Operatic Society) |
|
I had a really good week in spite of my initial apprehensions. Marina who gave me
a lift was very helpful telling me a lot about the course and what goes on. The
course itself was really useful and Martin Knight covered every aspect of Directing
making the sessions fun as well as informative. Plenty of hand outs from Martin
alleviated the need to take copious notes. We had plenty of hands on experience
in both directing and running an audition with members from local societies. The
other members of the group had various different stage and directing experiences
which we were all able to draw from, a very friendly and fun group to work with.
I was disappointed with the Silk Purses and Sows Ears evening class and I felt it
didn't provide what it said in the course notes, but the Keep your Wig on was very
informative and I learnt many tips to use in the future.
The Big Sing and the MD presentations provided an ideal opportunity to exercise the vocal chords and the lighting presentation showed what fantastic things can be done with lights. All useful for the future! I enjoyed the warm up sessions which again were fun if a bit energetic for first thing in the morning after a cooked breakfast. I noticed the numbers appeared to dwindle each day but they missed the 15 mins of fun!!!! The food was excellent although some of us felt that a lighter lunch of sandwiches and snacks could have been provided. The accommodation was very basic but sufficient for the week and the walk meant I had some exercise! Apparently we were the last people to use the hall for accommodation as it’s to be converted into offices. On the whole I thoroughly enjoyed the week; the Summer School Team were helpful and solved your problems. There was plenty to occupy you during the evenings and I would recommend the week to anyone. New friends were made, experiences shared, problems solved, new ideas learnt, and I came away with the know-how that will be valuable when I Direct a Musical. |