YOU ARE INVITED!

"Big Red Bus" Performance

What an amazing experience! I can safely say that both the children from the ELC and the Futures group had a lot of fun performing in the Rosina! We all were very nervous as we had a big audience.

We Did it!

After 14 weeks of workshops, the Wattles’ long collaboration with the Bright Young Futures group at Interact’s Arts Education at the Convent, came to fruition with a memorable performance of THE BIG RED BUS last Thursday 11th June.

The children and young adults played their roles beautifully and it was joyous to see the two groups work so well together. The performance was a great testament to team work, with everybody playing their part and the whole felt a true bonding experience!

Together we boarded the bus and journeyed to different lands where we encountered dinosaurs, birds and butterflies and fairies. At first we wanted to keep our bus to ourselves, but we learnt to overcome our suspicions and accept them on the bus to travel with us to the land of dreams and to carry their special eggs. In the land of dreams we learnt that their eggs delivered special messages about peace and friendship!

I’d like to say huge well done to everyone who worked so hard to bring it all together in a rush at the end (I don’t think we anticipated the scale of the whole event would grow so large!). So a big pat on the back to Leonie, Cherie, Liam, Jo, Jade, Jane, Natalie, the 'team leaders' Jan and Kara and everyone else from Interact and the ELC who supported so well. And of course, the biggest thanks to all the Futures Gang, Renato - brilliant music, Simon, great egg collecting,Michelle, great bus driving, Camilla, keeping the dinosaur in order, Toby, great messages of peace, Ryan, great filming, James, a great showman, Megan, a star, Chiara, a cool dude... have I forgotten anyone?... and the Wattle children, a vision in red as they rode that bus!

Oh and thanks to Michael for filming the day - can't wait for the DVD to be finished... and the book!

Victoria

Week 12 - The Rehearsal

Today was a day where we all needed to put our listening hats on. With only two weeks to go before the show there was a lot to get through.

Our song is strong, and our voices are getting louder. Today we were learning the script, and the students had a lot to remember.

Everyone needed to give themselves a big pat on the back for a good job despite the unnerving unknowing... but as of today we have our script, and everyone has a role to play.

The show is coming together in a big way and we're almost there, well done everyone!

Week 11 - On the move

Today was splendid as we learnt our song with signing actions, and rehearsed our show.

The puppets have only a few finishing touches. The Kinder children arrived at the Refectory humming ‘We all travel on a Big Red Bus’ and Wow! There was the bus standing ready for us to get on! The Futures gang have done a great job getting it almost finished…

We gathered in our circle and practiced our song – we’ve put actions to it to help us remember it. Then we rehearsed the different scenes - lots of problem solving and decisions to make, but we're getting there.

Two weeks to go before show day - Hoping for fine weather as we are planning an outdoor performance, weather allowing!

You Are Invited!

Week 10: The Big Red Bus

We're all travelling on a big red bus! Today we locked in a place to perform our show (fingers crossed for good weather!). Toby suggested a nice way to jump from one part of the show to the next, by closing our eyes and stepping into our imaginations. We discussed and practised soundscapes for each of the places we will visit on our journey... and we have nearly finished our dinosaur!

The students from Arts Education helped paint the inside of our bus during the week. In the theme of the forest to suit all our lands or places that we are going to visit.
Our first attempt to move the bus means we need to make a few alterations on the cardboard to get it working without falling apart...

The children tried out their hand puppets on the bus. Afterwards the dinasoaur group got together and attached sticky parts to the body of our HUGE dinosaur. It is beginning to look seriously scary...

Those puppets can be a bit cheeky now and then... but Camilla doesn't mind!

"We all travel on a Big Red Bus, a Big Red Bus, a Big Red Bus...." (To the tune of the Beatles' 'Yellow Submarine'!)

Look out for the invitations to our show, coming soon...

Week 9 - The day of the red paint!

The show is beginning to take some sort of shape... All the ideas we started last week are now coming together. In the case of the dinosaur - literally! Leonie introduced us to a special glue called InstaBond for sticking foam. It is a two part bond and after spreading the glue you spray it with what looks like water and then the foam sticks almost instantly! The dinasoar is gaining size as the legs sproing along with the children taking care of a leg each and a neck which stertches as it walks.

We painted the town red - well at least the bus! Its got windows and handles for holding. We just have to work out which is the front and which is the back.

The bird group set to work on creating a wedge tailed eagle with some great ideas on how to make the wings. Our stories are having closer examination and the mysterious notion that all our creatures lay eggs is an exciting idea to add to our bus journey.

It took a combined effort from almost everyone to get the five sections all painted. A special thanks to Cherie and Liam for the clear up job afterwards.

With four weeks to countdown, we are growing larger and larger, the excitement is building and the hairs on our necks are quivering.

Week 8: Our Story's Taking Shape...

This week we didn't get to ride on the bus... instead we got stuck into some serious designing and making.

We worked in groups to design and begin making puppets for the Dinosaur park, the bird park and the butterfly/fairy park.
The 'bird' group designed and made an owl, a red bird and a parrot with fabric and stuffing.

The 'dinosaur' group explored all sorts of recycled ducts, foam and other odds and ends to begin the constructruction of a giant dinosaur puppet.

Michelle and Varuni invented a telephone!

Fun and games with foam and other recycled bits and pieces!

We measured up the bus - it will be a double decker London Bus! We chose the tallest and smallest members of the group to check the windows were in the right place.

After designing these beautiful butterflies, the butterfly' group headed outside to collect autumn leaves to make the wings.

Week seven: On the Bus

Today we explored what it is like to travel on a bus, the places we go, and the grand assortment of what we can see from the window. Kye was the first bus driver, and he took us to a dinasaur park. Then we headed off to a bird park, where we all got to create the sounds of the parrots. In the playground, the children turned into monkeys and gathered in the tree. The bus started up again and we travelled to the playground, where we discovered pathways and gazebos and magic fairy lands which would make fabulous stages for our puppetry performance.

After running and exloring and having lots of fun and good ideas in the garden, we all got back on the bus and headed indoors, to draw our experiences of being on a bus, and the places we went and the creatures we saw.

We sang a song to say goodbye and decided that next week we wwould have a big making session where some people will help to create the bus, and others will work on their puppet shows.

When the children left, the futures students decided that they would like to work as a group and present a combination of their stories as a puppet show. Its very exciting to hear about their ideas and how they will work together.

Week 6 Telling our stories

This week the futures students were given the opportunity to tell their individual stories after an imagination session. We discussed some ideas for where the project could take us, and then got our imaginations humming after warming up our bodies and focusing with breathwork.

Some of the stories were either drawn or written and then shared at the end of the session. It was great to be able to hear everybody's story and share ideas about how they might turn into puppet shows.

Some of our stories stemmed from talking about proud moments in our lives and scary moments. Toby's story was about when he kicked five goals in a game. Ryan, who was discovered to be a novelist, wrote his story about having a tree fall on him in a fire and Camilla wrote about a snake in Africa who she wanted to take care of until it rained and put out the fire that was keeping her and her animal friends warm...

The children weren't able to make it today and they were very much missed. We look forward to meeting up with everyone again after the break.

Week 5: In The Booth

Today we met again in the Rosina Theatre. After warming up our bodies and in particular our hands, we were ready to introduce our little puppet people to the group.

One of the stories from last week was revisited.

The sun rose in the sky, four children went swimming at the beach. Along came a shark. The children swam as fast as they could to get away. Along came a red plane and frightened away the shark. the children climbed aboard and were saved.

It was wonderful to see the students developing their skills at keeping the shark in the water, and the puppets learning how to swim. Next weekl we will be developing our characters and finding new locations for our stories to come alive in.

Week 4: Gesture In The Rosina Hall

This week our group met in the Rosina Hall. So far we have touched on different ways of making puppets, experimented with using them to tell a story and how we might give them a voice. Today the group began to grapple with communicating through gestures. Leonie explained how there is a difference between gestures and actions (such as running, hopping etc.). She told us that gestures communicate a message or make something happen. We tried out some gestures such as waving, pointing and beckoning. Then we tried to express these gestures through the puppets.

Next we broke into groups and tried to think of a story that we could tell with the puppets. first we drew our story on large bits of paper and then improvised props.

At the end of the session one group got to perform their story about going to a party. They did a great job. Next week, the other groups will have their turn. I look forward to hearing about Aunt Sue who lives in a volcano!

We have also turned all (well, most) of the participants into mini puppets. Curious? Have a look at them in the Wattle room at the ELC. We will bring them to the next session.

Victoria