Blog 2011
October 2011
Dates for your diary :
Hallelujah Night – Sponsored Stay Awake(in conjunction with Miracle Church) – Wednesday 26th10pm to Thursday 27thOctober 6am (may stay until 8am)
“Monopoly Money Race Night”– A FUNdraising event” Saturday 3rdDecember, Tickets £3 for an individual, £10 per family.
“Disney Camp Rock The Musical”Saturday 4thFebruary 2012 (2.30pm / 7pm).
What have we been up to in the last month?
Auditions were an important evening last month, although everyone is guaranteed a part we invited guests to make up an audition panel to give the youngsters this important experience and to be sure that the lead parts are allocated fairly. Most of the youngsters gave a solo singing audition – much like X-Factor - although the feedback was that all the youngsters sang in tune and the competition was high. One young candidate took a quick look at the panel and bolted - everything was just too much for this new member who had recently only just begun secondary school. Having seen promise in this young person prior to this we have given them the opportunity to share a speaking part and they are currently working hard to shine.
It’s a relief to get to the rehearsal stage after this and each evening has been planned to include a session of dance, a singing practice and an opportunity to work on a small part of the script. Different leaders are taking responsibility for each of these sections. In addition this year we are finding time to play games and continue developing teamwork skills – this helps keep the youngsters active and excited.
Some members attended “2x2”, joining with those from our other church organisations for young people, and members from Miracle Church. A total of 50 young people participated and thanks must go to Lizzy, Alice and Amelia for their work in making it a success, as well as several adults whom I’m not going to name for fear of missing someone out!
What next?
Rather than hiring lighting for our performances in 2012 we have been exploring how to achieve this ourselves. To begin with we plan to purchase 4 lights and a control desk, with an opportunity to expand this as we can afford to. This will cost in the region of £600. We have some funds that we can put towards this but we hope that we can raise some more through a social event for all the family: “Monopoly Money Race Night”. The cost of entrance will include your quota of monopoly money for the evening, and prizes will be awarded for those who are able to increase this the most – in the same way the winner of Monopoly is decided. Come and join us for soup, fellowship and fun on Saturday 3rdDecember from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.
NewsFlash! Hallelujah Night – Sponsored Stay Awake
Miracle Church are raising money for their youth work and for a chosen charity and have invited us to choose our own projects and join them. Its a great time to get together in the half term hols and seems a good opportunity to kick start our fundraising. Any money raised will be shared between our project for some theatre lighting and Thomas’s Fund, (the charity which we support) who offer music therapyfor children and young people with life-limiting illnesses or a disability which, for medical reasons, means they are too ill to attend school for extended periods.
September 2011
Last Thursday (8thSeptember) we began a new term, I had no idea how many people would turn up as many of our older, long standing members had said their 'goodbyes' so that they could concentrate on their academic studies and many who had joined us in the last few weeks of summer had only had a brief glimpse of what we offer. I as glad to say that we were able to welcome 33 youngsters, some who are only 12 years old but have already been with us for 5 + years, those new faces from just before the summer, and some who came for the first time.
Congratulations to Lizzy and Chris on their recent marriage! U R Actors were able to surprise them at their wedding rehearsal (with the prior agreement of Rev. John Slow) by coming down the aisle, sharing a poem about love linked to Lizzy's performances with U R Actors since our small beginnings in 2002, and present the couple with a gift. We are very grateful for all the work and support that Lizzy continues to give to the group.
Before the holidays most of us enjoyed a residential weekend at 'Crossways' with special guest John Beales. We were extremely grateful for a grant from the Dean Manse Fund that helped make this possible. The sun shone (mostly) as we explored God's word through puppetry and illusions, interspersed with team games. We then shared what we had learnt about walking together with Jesus as our friend, with the congregation of Yardley Hastings's U.R.C.
We also held an evening where we invited parents and friends to share refreshments and see some of the drama and singing the members had been working on during the summer term. Our thanks go to Alice Roberts for teaching the singing, and to Matthew Wilson, who both came to help after their exams.
After a shower of rain, our final Thursday meeting was able to take place at Stanwick Lakes. This gave us the opportunity to laugh and play. Almost everyone climbed the rock there to pose for a photograph (as we thought about our forthcoming show 'Disney's Camp Rock') as well as having fun on the obstacle course; the rope bridge, the tyre swing and the zip wire. We didn't have time to enjoy the activity area near the car-park as we finished close to normal time hoping not to get soaked!
Time now through to plan and prepare for our show. Auditions will have taken place, and songs and dances started. Arlee Roe has rejoined us to use her dance skills to choreograph the music numbers, having just performed in an excellent production of 'We Will Rock You'.
Put the date in your diary : Saturday 4thFebruary 2012 (2.30pm / 7pm).