2022 Autumn Brochure by Take Art

What's On Celebrate autumn with a Touringselectionhand-pickedofRuralperformances facebook.com/takeart twitter.com/takeart facebook.com/takeartwww.takeart.orgtwitter.com/takeartwww.takeart.org What We Do Read about what our team is working on and how Take Art is making a difference in 2022 2022SeptemberAutumn-December

2022 & Beyond Ralph Lister, Executive Director We’re moving into autumn on the back of a successful summer, building up momentum as Covid-19 hovers in the background. Thanks to the flexibility of the many types of venues and settings we work in we’ve been able to reconnect with audiences within a relatively low risk environment.

Somerset.

Sept-Dec 2022 | Take Art2 Book online at www.takeart.orgBook online at www.takeart.org 3Welcome NEVER MISS AN EVENT AGAIN! Welcome to Take Art's Autumn 2022 brochure! We've

WHAT WE DO 4 Meet the faces behind Take Art 6 Early Years 7 Dance 8 Theatre 9 Music 10 Rural WHAT'STouring ON 12 David Eagle: Flying Solo 13 Nick Hart: Live 14 Florence Espeut-Nickless: Destiny 15 Farnham Maltings: The Syrian Baker 16 Silent Faces Theatre: Godot Is A Woman 17 Opa Rosa: Live 18 Derby Theatre: Let's Play Messing Around 19 Poetry Tribe: For The Love of It 20 Event Diary 21 Events On The Map Keep up to date with our latest news and events by joining our mailing list. Sign up here: www.takeart.org For enquiries call 01460 249450 or email info@takeart.org CONTENTS

Circus Around & About - our touring circus project - was a great success, and there are plans for a new, three year touring circus project to start in 2023. Working alongside Diverse City and Crying Out Loud, we aim to extend the project reach to involve artists and audiences with Cultivate,disabilities.our local food and arts partnership enjoyed a busy summer, supporting the Somerset Food Trail with arts-related activities. Our commitment to local sustainability has found a natural ally among a number of small food producers and distributors. The fit between our two worlds feels just right and we are determined to continue developing these relationships.

For the first time, with the launch of the new National Plan for Music Education (June 2022), there is an acknowledgement of the importance of music in early years education. With this being one of our specialisms, Take Art is well placed to be an advocate for early years music in Somerset. It also aligns with the partnership project we currently have with many of the Music Education Hubs in the south west. We've recently learned that our Rural Touring Dance Initiative bid to the Arts Council has been successful. As one of three partners, Take Art is central to the delivery of the project, which has also secured substantial funding for the next three years from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. To better illustrate our work, we're excited to be producing a Take Art Feature film, coming in the end of 2022, so stay tuned! some special on discover What's On and What's New in your corner of

REFLECTIONS

The Rural Touring programme is starting its autumn season under the stewardship of Danny Pedler, and it’s as diverse and ambitious as ever.

treats lined up for you, read

Meet the Take Art Team 4 5 Alison Lord Director of Dance Ralph ExecutiveListerDirector Veronika Kovacs Marketing Manager Jane Parker The SW Network Project Manager Mark Helyar Director of Theatre Danny Pedler Rural Touring Manager Nadine Griffiths Project Coordinator Katy Tilley CultivateJennieFacilitatorLoaderEY Project Manager Ruth Copping Office Manager

"These sessions make me happy, my favourite part is the balls! I really enjoy throwing them!" (Participant) Seeing the joy on the participants faces and the improvements the classes make to their wellbeing is truly wonderful!

Our highly skilled team of Early Childhood Music practitioners bring the joys of music to young children via our SoundWaves Network SW project. Training is also offered to Early Years practitioners and musicians to strengthen their skills and confidence in offering music to very young children. Taking place across South West England, this project is funded by Youth Music and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Take Art Early Years Take Art Dance

COMING SOON Theatre Shows in Early Years Settings, October 2022 Let's Play Messing Around by award winning artist Sarah Argent is a show full of mischief and joy. Book it for your setting now! Subsidised fee of £125 per day for up to 2 shows. Artist residencies in Spring 2023 Specialist artists are available to work with your practitioners in your setting. We offer 10 x half day visits per residency for £250. Enquire now! Supporting Musical Play A SoundWaves Network SW training session on Monday 19th Sept, taking place 7.30pm – 9.00pm via Zoom.

The Take Art Early Years team continues to bring the joys and benefits of creativity to very young children and the people who care for and educate them. Through CPD training opportunities, visits by specialist artists, theatre companies and musicians, we offer a rich programme of opportunities you can access. Through our Making & Believing project, we bring specialist theatre companies and cross-artform artists to early years settings across three counties, to provide enriching creative activities to the children. This programme takes place in partnership with Derby Theatre and Surrey Arts with funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

September-December 2022 | Take Art Book online at www.takeart.org/whats-on

We have had a busy year at Take Art with dance events and participation opportunities happening across the county and nationally.

This is a 6 week online evening course running on Mondays (10 Oct, 17 Oct, 31 Oct, 14 Nov, 21 Nov, and 28 Nov.) between 7.30pm – 9.00pm via Zoom. For further details and to book visit our website takeart.org/whats-on or contact earlyyears@takeart.org.

Little Big Dance took live performances into 4 early years settings and 4 South West venues as part of Cycle 1. Seeing the shortlisted artists finally perform their fantastic new works to the under 5s was a delight and joyful to witness. Cycle 2 looks likely to be just as exciting as we continue to work with our national partners South East Dance, Dance East and Yorkshire Dance on the selection of a new artist to commission for next season. We are about to enter into a new period of delivery with Rural Touring Dance Initiative phase 3, and will be developing a South West Hub to support longer tours and residencies with world class dance artists in our rural village halls and venues. The coming year continues to look extremely positive and productive with continued support for our youth dance sector, new commissions and opportunities, new partnerships and new projects. We are looking forward to celebrating this wonderful art form by sharing the many events and opportunities that will arise as part of our programme!

Spring Forward 2022

Introduction to Early Childhood Music Education

(Flibbertigibbet Theatre in action as part of the Making & Believing project)

(Willow Childcare, Plymouth)

"The training's been inspirational - all we have learnt will continue to inform our practice and have enduring impact."

Our Turn also continues to deliver vital support for people living with dementia and their carers. Weekly sessions provide participants and their loved ones a safe space to move and socialise together.

One of the highlights has been Spring Forward, which happened in March and April this year. All 3 platforms were performed to a record number of audience members and the atmostphere was one of enthusiasm and renewed energy as we returned to the theatre to celebrate our thriving youth dance sector once more.

Our Turn session in Yeovil

September - December 2017 | Take Art6 What We Do 7What We Do

In March we produced BARNfest, in partnership with Taunton Brewhouse, a two-day theatre festival showcasing theatre made in Somerset and the South West. It also featured the Venues South West Symposium, which, with a femaleled artists panel, included rich debate around responding to post-covid challenges, breaking down barriers and creating more collaborative and inclusive working opportunities.

It’s always heartwarming when you experience a young person come out of their shell and explore their creative side. Using the power of art and music to support these positive shifts and change lives is at the core of what we do at Take Art. Our two music projects, My Tunes and Outthere, are especially close to our hearts. The participatory music sessions we run in collaboration with Actiontrack and Focus 5 aim to help students excluded from mainstream education and young adults who are NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training). Our relationship with our partners, is essential to reaching participants. They provide one to one support for young people and their website carries a series of amazing case studies. (One of them features Simples, an Outthere Take Art project participant). We can’t think of anyone who does not engage with music in one form or another and it provides a fantastic starting point to tease out a young person’s creativity. As one recent participant has said: “When I joined #Focus5 I wasn’t doing much or going out hardly at all and my Key Worker talked to me about what I might be interested in. We looked at some of the partner programmes that #Focus5 offers and I chose music studio sessions with ActionTrack to record some songs. I really enjoyed my time at Actiontrack. I already had some beats in mind and some lyrics already down. It was good to get them recorded together properly because I’ve wanted to do that for a while. I’m really pleased with the final pieces and have been playing them to my mates – they know all the words to all three songs now! I’ve also uploaded them to Sound Cloud.”

September - December 2017 | Take Art8 What We Do 9What We Do

Recent highlights include the Slow Burn Community project, working with children from the charity PROMISEworks in a pizza oven building project at ARK, Egwood.

Some of the participants described the creative sessions as their weekly ‘lifeline’.

We were also thrilled to collaborate with the Somerset Food Trail to celebrate and raise awareness of the environmental, health and economic benefits of sustainably grown, locally sourced food. Our ‘patch’ in South Somerset included a programme of family shows, visual arts workshops, poetry, storytelling, and music to tell the local food story. Future plans include a project exploring how to increase access to rural areas and the natural environment, particularly for ethnically diverse communities, through the enjoyment and celebration of local food and arts activity.

We also have a great working relation ship with several of the Partnership Colleges (formerly Pupil Referral Units – PRUs) in Somerset. This work is supported by the Somerset Music Education Hub and working alongside Actiontrack we have developed a well structured programme that runs on a continuous basis. As mental health issues have been on the rise even among young people, offering these opportunities and keeping these project alive are now more important than ever. ActiontrPerSeptember-December 2022 | Take Art Book online at www.takeart.org/whats-on Take Art Theatre Take Art Music

Our team enjoyed a busy summer filled with exchange visits with two of the European projects we’re partners in: RIOTE3 and Ruritage. This autumn we’re excited to be working on producing two books: a life quality toolkit for arts practitioners who want to use technology in their community work; and a practical guide to developing participatory theatre in rural areas. As part of Ruritage, the theatre team facilitates Cultivate, a creative partnership that brings local food, arts and people together for the benefit of rural communities and the natural environment in South Somerset.

The theatre team have enjoyed a fruitful spring and summer, paving the way for an autumn of reflection and planning. The Word/Play poetry workshops, run online as part of the Thriving Communities social prescribing programme, supported people who were experiencing the impact of long covid and other respiratory conditions.

September - December 2017 | Take Art10 What We Do 11What We DoSeptember-December 2022 Take Art Book online at www.takeart.org/whats-on Take Art Rural Touring

Take Art’s Rural Touring scheme proudly presents a new wave of wonderful shows that are touring to Somerset’s local communities. Coming off the back of a successful summer programme we are once again presenting high quality, entertaining, progressive art performances inside communities’ local venues. Our village halls will be filled with life as we enter the colder months of the year. We have a wonderfully diverse pro gramme this season with a wide range of voices on offer, presenting shows that span the worlds of music, poetry, story telling, comedy and theatre. We love bringing a wide variety of acts to Somer set to spark conversation, bring people together and provide shared moments that will be talked about for years to come. As we emerge from two Covid-stricken years, we want our shows to bring people out and together once again. With hybrid working becoming the norm for many professionals, families have the freedom to move to villages and continue working. This influx of new village residents means that Take Art events provide opportunities for meetings between new neighbours and shared experien ces that bring communities together. We are looking forward to welcoming both old and young, locals and new residents to shows that will excite and inspire. Rural Touring is funded by your local authorities. As we enter into the new unitary authority in 2023, we are happy to be bringing shows to Sedgemoor district once again. This means we can now bring high quality, affordable shows to any village in Somerset; this universal provision is essential for securing the health of rural arts for the future landscape of arts funding in this county. We would like to thank Seed Sedgemoor for their funding and partnership as we develop a new network of communities putting on shows through Take Art. In the same way a body does not work without its heart, the Rural Touring scheme does not function without the Take Art local promoters. The work that is done ‘on the ground’ by groups of people hosting and promo ting the shows to entertain and enrich their communities is paramount. Through these voluntary efforts, we look forward to another

David SoloFlyingEagle

NickLiveHart

– Mike Harding Dates and Details

David Eagle is a multi-award winning comedian and musician, who has played at major festivals all over the world, including a joint gig with Billy Bragg at Glastonbury. He is blind and his stand up often explores how this leads him into many surprising, hilarious encounters and mis adventures. Armed with an accordion, he punctuates the jokes and stories with the occasional comedy song.

13What's On

481909 | licenced bar What's On September-December 2022 | Take

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Nick Hart is an award-winning singer and multi-instrumentalist whose work with English folk song is rapidly gain ing him a reputation as one of the most acclaimed performers of his generation. His considered approach to accompa niment is informed by a deep respect for the nuances of traditional song and his captivating live performances are a testament to the importance he places on story-telling. great singing that reminds me of the very best English roots sing this is the real deal”

"Constantly hilarious, gag on gag, leav ing an audience gasping in admiration, and applause that goes on for minutes. You’ll be seeing him on Live at the Apollo before long, guaranteed." (Bath Echo) "Just seen the future of stand up comedy and his name is David Eagle." (Boothby Graffoe) David is a charming and versatile performer engaging a broad range of people with his irreverent brand of music and comedy.

“Uncluttered,

Dates and Details

Fri Oct

5% of the world’s population is on the move at any one time, desperate to get away from trouble, but this is a story about two people deciding to go home despite the state of their country.

14 What's On 15What's On

| £12 / Under 25’s £8 | 07771 Thurs81427017 Nov |

Destiny dreams big. She dreams glamour. She’s gonna be an MTV Base backing dancer, you watch. If J-Lo can make it outta the Bronx then Destiny can make it off the Hill Rise estate in Chippenham. She’s fearless, ferocious and up for the fight (she’s had to be). Born below the breadline, she’s desperate to see beyond the neighbour hood and find hope in hopelessness. This monologue follows the story of a teenage girl growing up on a rural Wiltshire council estate. After a big night out that takes a turn for the worst, Destiny’s life spirals out of control as she desperately tries to learn how to love and be loved. “Abundantly clear how much of the world is inaccessible to characters like Destiny: Espeut-Nickless refuses to let theatre be one such place any longer.”(EdFringe Review) Free theatre skills workshop available with Florence in Croscombe before the show. Call the ticket number for more details.

Village

Dates and Details Fri

| Porlock

It's a story about coming home. From the company that brought you Brilliance and The Iranian Feast, this is an evening in the company of friends with Book online at www.takeart.org/whats-on

The Syrian Baker tells the story of resiliance and how small actions can make the biggest difference in our lives and in rebuilding a community.

Farnham

Maltings The SyrianBaker

and Details Thurs

| Main HallHolyrood Academy | £10/£5 students | 01460 260131

| £10 | from Porlock Visitor Centre or via 01643 862150 Sun

It is a piece about humanity, hope and courage told with affection, irrepressible humour and bread - because with out bread nothing else will happenthis is about how we all have so much more in common than we realise.

| Croscombe Village

| Norton

DestinyEspeut-NicklessFlorence

year olds | from

Shop Sat

Dates 27 Oct 7:00pm Hall 6:30pm

stories, freshly made bread, Syrian coffee and Mamoull like the ones from caffé plaza in Homs old town. The show was written by Kevin Dyer and directed by Gavin Stride. 18 Nov 8pm Sub Hamdon Hall 12-16 the Norton 19 Nov 7:30pm Village Hall 20 Nov 7:30pm

| £11 or £6

Opa Rosa are an energetic quartet of Bristol-based instrumentalists. As skilled interpreters of music from the Klezmer, Balkan, Greek & Roma traditions, they are fast gaining a reputation as one of the city’s most dynamic and virtuosic bands. In their repertoire is a vibrant collection of melodies from across the Balkans, every detail and ornament of which is played with fiery precision. Opa Rosa's masterfully arranged tunes capture all the joy and sorrow that these traditions are so renowned for Theexpressing.ornateinterplay of Isis Wolf-Light’s clarinet and Lulu Ruby Rose’s violin blends with the authentic sound of Thomas Hodson’s accordion, while Isaac Ellis dances up and down the double bass fingerboard with punchy grace. With several combined decades of study and experience, all four musicians are well-versed in the music’s syntax and significance, and their sensitive arrangements are grounded in a deep respect for the heritage and cultures from which these beautiful styles originate.

Dates Details

| Ditcheat

Sat 26 Nov | 7:30pm doors and bar open from 6:30pm | West Pennard Village Hall | £12 www.takeart.org/whats-on

"Godot Is a Woman will have you laughing all evening and arguing all night." (The Spectator)

| 07733 308900 17What's On September-December 2022 | Take Art Book online at

Silent GodotTheatreFacesis a Woman OpaLiveRosa

| 01749 860444 16 What's On

| Axbridge

Dates and Details

Sat 26 Nov | 7:30pm Town Hall | £13 £8 student/low income Sun 27 Nov | 7:30pm Village Hall | £12 £8 low income

In 1953, Samuel Beckett wrote Waiting for Godot. In 1988, he sued five women for trying to perform it. Since his death in 1989, his estate has continued to challenge any company that expresses a desire to perform Beckett's seminal work if they aren't all men. Why? Since Waiting For Godot was written, non-men all over the world have been waiting to fill the boots of Vladimir and Estragon. Nearly 70 years later, even though the playwright is long dead, his estate still says no. With their trademark style of playful and political physical theatre, Silent Faces explore permission, patriarchy and pop music in Godot is a Woman.

and

"The play was created in response to our frustration with the barriers and gender inequality within the industry, and a desire to provoke change within British theatre and beyond."

| 01934 732128

Dates and Details

18 What's On

Jonny Fluffypunk, Clare Ferguson Walker and Liv Torc are three crazily talented stand-up poets and flawed human wonder kestrels.

After 18 months of only one live gig in front of three anxious people in hazmat suits, they are trying to rediscover their love of live performance and touring. They bring genuine joy and human connection to their audiences through art experiences out in the real world. Join Jonny, Clare and Liv as they strip it right back to their poetry pants, touring a simple but brilliant poetry show, all about poking human hearts and cracking cold faces into hot lava soup.

“The best Spoken-Word show I’ve ever seen.” - Patrick Thomas, Theatre Gwaun “In Liv Torc’s witty, inventive and gen erous hands, poetry opens up new ways of noticing and sharing all that matters most.” - Susannah Her bert, Head of Forward Arts Foundation and National Poetry Day (2012–2021) “Clare is an amazing wordsmith with razor sharp wit” - The Metro “Jonny truly relishes language. Go see him.” - Tony Allen Dates and Details Sat 3 Dec | doors 7:15pm show 8pm | Churchinford Village Hall £48 of 4, £10 studens/low 601468

19What's On September-December 2022 | Take Art Book online at www.takeart.org/whats-on Poetry Tribe For The Love of It Derby AroundMessingLet'sTheatrePlay

Sat 8 Oct | 11am & 2pm | The Princess Theatre & Arts Centre | £6 all ages welcome | tickets from theatre's website or call 01278 784464

Derby Theatre presents Let’s Play Messing Around, a magical, musical tale full of mischief and mayhem for nursery children, their parents, teachers and carers.

Roo is thoughtful, reflective, happy to play alone - absorbed in activities and contemplating what’s going on around them. Brodie is a force of nature, loves singing loudly, dancing, playing with others and rushing around. They meet for the first time. They have very different personalities. They play very differently. Brodie lures Roo out of their shell and into playful mischief! Do you want to join in? Together, Roo and Brodie joyously sing, dance, make up stories and do a few things that are considered ‘very bad behaviour’. But they also learn to share, take turns, compromise, handle their emotions and become good friends. This show created by Sarah Argent was inspired by creative encounters between artists and young children in Derby, Somerset and Surrey as part of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation funded project, Making and Believing.

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Date Time Company Event Venue, Sat Nav, Postcode & Tel Page Fri 30 Sept 7.30pm David Eagle Flying Solo Wootton Courtenay Village Hall TA24 8RH 01643 841067 12 Sat 1 Oct 7.30pm David Eagle Flying Solo Bruton Club| BA10 0HG 01749 813694 12 Fri 7 Oct 8pm Nick Hart Live Baltonsborough Village Hall| BA6 8PX | 07773 050214 13 Fri 7 Oct 7:30 David Eagle Flying Solo Hatch Beauchamp Village Hall TA3 6SG 01823481909 12 Sat 8 Oct 7.30pm Nick Hart Live Roadwater Village Hall TA23 0QY 07745 318486 13 Sat 8 Oct 11am Sarah Argent Let's Play Messing Around The Princess Theatre & Arts Centre | TA8 1EH 01278 784464 18 Sat 8 Oct 2pm Sarah Argent Let's Play Messing Around The Princess Theatre & Arts Centre | TA8 1EH 01278 784464 18 Sun 9 Oct 7:30 Nick Hart Live Charton Horethorne Village hall DT9 4PB 01935814199 13 Thurs 27 Oct 7:00pm Florence EspeutNickless Destiny Croscombe Village Hall | BA5 3RA | 01460 249450 14 Fri 11 Nov 7:30pm Nick Hart Live Penselwood Village Hall | BA9 8LS 01747 840680 13 Sat 12 Nov 7:30pm Nick Hart Live Holford & District Village Hall | TA5 1SD 07843 348057 13 Sun 13 Nov 7:30pm Nick Hart Live North Curry Village Hall TA3 6LJ 13 Thurs 17 Nov 6:30pm Florence EspeutNickless Destiny Main Hall, Holyrood Academy TA20 1JL 01460 260131 14 Fri 18 Nov 8pm MaltingsFarnham The Syrian Baker Norton Sub Hamdon Village Hall | TA14 6SF 01935 881227 15 Sat 19 Nov 7:30pm MaltingsFarnham The Syrian Baker Porlock Village Hall TA24 8JH 01643 862150 15 Sun 20 Nov 7.30pm MaltingsFarnham The Syrian Baker Caryford Community Hall BA7 7JJ 01963 350 980 15 Sat 26 Nov 7:30pm Silent Faces Theatre Godot Is A Woman Axbridge Town Hall BS26 2AR 01934732128 16 Sat 26 Nov 7:30pm Opa Rosa Live West Pennard Village Hall | BA6 8RT 07733 308900 17 Sun 27 Nov 7:30pm Silent Faces Theatre Godot Is A Woman Ditcheat Village Hall BA4 6RB 01749860444 16 Sat 3 Dec 7:15pm Poetry Tribe For The Love Of It Churchinford Village Hall TA3 7QY | 01823 601468 19 Listings20 19September-December 2022 Take Art Listings 21 Find us online For more information on Take Art including our events, projects and news, visit our website: www.takeart.org If you would like to receive a copy of the programme through the post, or sign up to receive our newsletter, email info@takeart.org or sign up at Printedwww.takeart.orgonrecycled paper - please recycle after use Get in info@takeart.org01460touch249450 Take Art Ltd The Mill Flaxdrayton Farm South Petherton Somerset TA13 5LR Registered Charity No: 298671 Registered in England: 2203943 3 1. Axbridge 2. Baltonsborough 3. Bruton 4. Burnham-On-Sea 5. Castle Cary 6. Chard 7. Charton Horethorne 8. Churchinford 9. 14.13.12.11.10.CroscombeDitcheatHatchBeauchampHolford&DistrictNorthCurryNortonSubHamdon 15. Penselwood 16. Porlock 17. Roadwater 18. West Pennard 19. Wooton Courtenay 1 2 4 8 12 EVENT DIARY TAKE ART EVENTS ON THE MAP 7 9 13 14 15 16 17 18 5 6 10 11 19 Book online at www.takeart.org/whats-on

2022 Autumn Brochure

Articles inside

Rural Touring

Florence Espeut-Nickless: Destiny

David Eagle: Flying Solo

Theatre

Music

Early Years