The training is being delivered as part of Phase 2 of Word/Play, a two year initiative that brings together theatre, spoken word and digital media to create change for individuals, groups and communities across Somerset.

The Training Programme will be delivered in two stages: Wednesday 17 to Friday 19 July and Saturday 10 to Sunday 11 August 2013.

It will take place at Magdalen Farm, South Somerset and Beaford Arts, North Devon. The fee of £100 includes full board and accommodation.

Only ten places are available, allocated through a simple application process. For more details and application criteria, download the Training Programme Information and Application Form below.

The deadline for applications is mid-day on Monday 27 May 2013.

Please visit the Word/Play website for more information about the project.

The network will run until October 2014 providing a series of networking events and training opportunities across the region.

We aim to connect individuals and organisations keen to develop music with very young children and their families in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Devon, Somerset, Dorset and Cornwall.

It is free to join the network and you will receive regular e-bulletins, access web based resources and find information about training events in your area.

For further information and to join the network please email caroline@takeart.org.uk.

Please visit the Soundwaves project page for the latest information on the network.

This commission would suit a company with at least 3 years’ experience of making dance work with a strong desire to make work for young audiences.

How to apply:
Applicants must visit the South East Dance website for full details.

Closing date
9am on Monday 13 May 2013

Interview date
15 and 16 May, 2013

The purpose of this lab is to give participants the keys to intellectual, artistic and technical understanding of the relationship between choreography and light, and in particular, whether it can be thought of as a collaborative creative process, from a joint artistic vision.

In this laboratory, four teams of two artists, one choreographer and one lighting designer, will be mentored and guided by two leading artists who will share their artistic experience as a technique to develop the participants’ collaborative and technical lighting skills.

The mentors in this laboratory are the internationally acclaimed team: choreographer Russell Maliphant and lighting designer Michael Hulls, whose work is internationally recognized and has, among other successes, created the award-winning PUSH, a work originally created with ballerina Sylvie Guillem. Participants were chosen by the Laboratory leaders, after an open call throughout the eligible territories - the South East, South West, Normandy and Brittany.

The first day of the Lighting Lab featured a private performance by the Russell Maliphant Company, with a programme made up of some of the most iconic of this duos collaborations over the past 20 years. Michael Hulls will introduce each work and give some background and context for the creation and collaborative process between light and dancers. After the performance, Russell then joined the participants for a post show talk about the works, leading to an evening dinner table discussion.

The lucky participants:

• From South West England: Jane Castree and Jamie Smith
• From Brittany: Le Pole – Léonard Rainis and Nicolas Bazoge
• From South East England: Company Zoielogic – Zoie Golding and Luke Hornbuckle
• From Normandy: Company Ventura – Anna Ventura and Oliver Shobe

The Light Lab is one of a series of dance sector development activities to be offered over the next two years as part of DanSCe Dialogues 2 programme, an Interreg Iva-Manche funded French/UK dance axis and exchange of practices.

To find out more about DanSce Dialogues 2 please visit the Take Art project pages

Its purpose is to help the performing arts sector in Somerset to grow.  The fund, although modest, is still an important way in which we want to support and encourage Somerset practitioners, especially graduates, young and emerging artists.  It has been made possible by Somerset County Council's creative industries fund. 

The deadline for applications is Wednesday 17th April.   

Download the criteria and more information about the fund below, along with the application form.

Good luck...

Contact Sarah or Mark at Take Art if you need more help at Take Art on 01460 249450.

The Word/Play project run by Take Art is the first of its kind in Somerset, using the relatively new and exciting art form of performance poetry to empower individuals and give them the freedom and encouragement to tell their stories. Over 40 participants with mental health or specific learning difficulties have taken part so far, writing, recording and performing incredible pieces of original poetry.

Debs, a participant from the Chard group said, “It’s been amazing, I have finally found my voice for the first time in my life.”

Each group has had nine sessions working with a lead and shadow performance poet, including UK spoken word stars Jonny Fluffypunk, Chris Redmond, Sally Jenkinson and Liv Torc.

Liv Torc who is lead poet on the project said, “It’s been an amazing journey, to see people with absolutely no self belief or confidence go from shoe gazing to writing and performing with passion, courage and genius. This really has been life changing stuff for everyone involved and such has been the success, some of the groups are going to continue to meet beyond the life of the project.”

Word/Play: the thing is… culminates of Tuesday 26 March with a big celebration performance at The Tacchi Morris Arts Centre, where all four groups will come together to share their achievements and perform their creations, many of which will be accompanied by multi media films and animations. Participant’s work is also available to read online at www.takeart.org/wordplay

Word/Play: the thing is… is the first phase of the two year Word/Play project, that aims to empower Somerset individuals and communities through performance poetry, forum theatre and community theatre. The project has been funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales and Literature Works and is supported by Apples and Snakes, South Somerset Mind, Chard Intentional Peer Support, OpenStoryTellers and Somerset Skills and Learning.

If you would like more information, photos or a press pass to the event on Tues 26 March please call Louise Monks or Mark Helyar at Take Art on 01460 249450.

The Brewhouse plays a vital role in the arts infrastructure of Somerset and we hope that all those involved can come together and plan a new and secure future for the organisation. Our thoughts are with the staff, patrons and everyone who works for and loves the Theatre and Arts Centre.

Ralph Lister, Chief Executive, Take Art

For more information about this story please visit the BBC website.

In 2012, the Sprout commission to create and tour a new piece of Early Years theatre was awarded to Theatre Company Inspector Sands and their show Rock Pool, for 3-5 year olds.

Take Art, Farnham Maltings and Arts Partnership, Surrey set up the commission, aimed at creating a fresh and original show that would tour to new audiences across Surrey and Somerset. It was open to everyone, from individual artists, to new collaborators, through to established companies. 220 applications from UK and Europe vied for the award but only one was chosen.

Rock Pool is Inspector Sands’ first show for children. A sort of crustacean version of Waiting for Godot for children that will be touring Somerset Children’s Centres from the 4 to 7 March. 

When a big storm whips up the sea, two very different creatures are left stranded in an isolated rock pool, far from the open water. As their little pool starts to drain away, Prawn and Crab don’t have long to find a way of getting on and getting home. Funny, tender, exuberant, partially submerged theatre from award-winning company Inspector Sands. (Contains loud rock music and splashy dancing).

Quotes about Inspector Sands;

"They are brilliant and reckless, precise and inventive, intelligent and frank. They are kaleidoscopic creators. Don't miss them!" New York Theatre Guide

“A young company with big talent” The Times

Gina Westbrook, Early Years Director, Take Art, said; “Take Art is hugely excited about bringing Inspector Sands and Rock Pool into local Somerset Children’s Centres. With the power to inspire and engage young children and bring more creativity into family life, this show is bound to attract and delight new theatre-shy audiences.”

Gavin Stride, director, Farnham Maltings, said of the Sprout commissioning process; “We set out to find a group of artists who would bring something new to the table and we’re delighted that Inspector Sands have taken up this challenge. With over 200 proposals we have been astonished at the level of ambition and appetite within the theatre community to make work for the very young.”

Rock Pool Take Art Tour Dates - Spring 2013

• Monday 4 March Princess Hall, Burnham on Sea, Somerset, 10.30am & 1.30pm
• Tuesday 5 March St John and St Vigor School Hall, Radstock, Somerset, 11.00am & 2.00pm
• Wednesday 6  March Sydenham Children’s Centre, Bridgwater, Somerset, 11.00am & 2.00pm
• Thursday 7 March Minehead First School, Minehead, Somerset, 11.00am & 1.30pm

For more information please visit our What's On Pages.

Find out about Inspector Sands at www.inspectorsands.com

Note for Editor
Press contact: Louise Monk 01460 249450, louise@takeart.org

We want this project to be as much about performing online, as performing on a stage, so this website (along with being a great source of information) will also be a platform to showcase the best of the work from the project.

So visit the new Word/Play website and have a look around... it's pretty lush in a ramshackle and joyous sort of way.

Films, photos and written material will be uploaded to the Stuff We've Written showcase every week, sometimes twice a week... Some of that work will then be displayed via film at the the thing is... performance night on Tuesday March 26th at the Tacchi Morris.

The Word/Play Facebook and Twitter pages can be used by anyone from the groups to upload work and ideas as they happen... that way participants and artists can get instant feedback and find an immediate audience for their creations.

Find us on Facebook

Follow @takeartwordplay

DanSCe Dialogues 2 is a fantastic new international project, eight French and English partners (of which Take Art is one) will be working together on a two-year Cross-Channel programme, offering a unique range of opportunities, exchanges, training and performances for dance artists, choreographers and companies in Normandy and Brittany and in Southern England.

The partners are:
L’ODIA Normandie (Rouen and Caen, Normandy); The Point (Eastleigh); South East Dance (Brighton and Hextable); Take Art (Somerset); Spectacle Vivant en Bretagne (Rennes, Bretagne), Le Triangle (Rennes, Bretagne); Le Centre Choregraphique National De Caen (Basse-Normandie); and Le Centre Choregraphique National Du Havre (Haute-Normandie).

At the heart of DanSCe Dialogues 2 is the aim to stimulate artistic innovation and co-operation within the art form of contemporary dance, specifically between the UK and France. With more than £2.9 million (€3.5m) of investment from the Interreg IVA (Channel) France-England programme, DanSCe Dialogues 2 will promote contemporary dance to new audiences.

Over the two years it will feature a host of cross-border initiatives including:

• Research laboratories, providing artists and choreographers from Normandy, Brittany and the south and west of England the opportunity to explore and develop practice
• Cross-border Artists’ residencies, enabling artists and choreographers to share knowledge
• UK touring of work from Normandy and Brittany
• French touring of artists based in the South and West of England
• Conferences across the partnership
• Cross-Channel job shadowing opportunities
• The creation of a unique Early Years’ project specifically designed to work across the European partnership

Cath James, Co-Director of Dance at Take Art, said: “Take Art are very pleased to be a partner in what is a major two-year programme of dance sector development not only aimed at artists, promoters and producers, but to really accomplish mutual learning across borders. To learn about each other's different methods of creation, support, development and touring is an opportunity to increase our understanding and appreciation of the different ways the French and UK work within the arts. We look forward to bringing some exciting and innovative work into Somerset and the wider South East and West of the UK, and sending our extraordinary artists across the channel, as well as developing and celebrating contemporary dance in all its forms.”

You can download the full press release with quotes and information from all partner organisations below.

Look out for events and opportunities marked with the DanSCe Dialogue 2 logo throughout the next two years.