24 HOUR NON-STOP IMPROTHON


Watch the fundraising Improthon here:

http://www.ridinglights.org/sub_sites/stl/video.html

24 hours of non-stop improvising from 5pm Friday 11th – 5pm Saturday 12th September

Pledge your sponsorship here:

www.justgiving.com/riding-lights

FUNDRAISING UPDATE!!

Here we are in the week leading up to our big Fundraising Weekend and there’s already news to report! Members of Riding Lights Theatre took part in a sponsored bike ride last Saturday raising over £1,000 towards The Sky’s The Limit.


You can read a bit more about this and even see a video by clicking HERE

You can also see read about some other activities happening as part of The Sky’s the Limit next weekend and it’s certainly not too late to add your sponsorship by clicking HERE

Non-stop Theatre!


The Sky’s the Limit – Fundraising Update

Buy Rob Gooch a parachute! Our stage manager Rob is going to be jumping out of an aeroplane on Saturday 12th September. As yet, he can’t afford to buy a parachute. Help him out by donating to his parachute fund HERE. He’d much prefer it if he had one come September, so be generous.


Snowy and Desmond perform at the top of mountains with Paul Burbridge and Kelvin Goodspeed. Long standing Riding Lights performers Snowy and Desmond will be reaching new heights with old sketches. Being quite small, this will be hard work for our favourite puppets, so make sure you encourage them by sponsoring generously HERE.


Riding Lights Youth Theatre fancy dress sponsored bike ride! Sally Maddison will be leading her adventurous Youth Theatre dressed in silly clothes 27 miles on the Tissington Trail in Ashbourne. She admits she’s never been able to finish this track herself, having tried it three times, so we’re hoping RLYT will help Sally to beat her record of ‘half way round’. You can sponsor the Youth Theatre HERE.

Pictures galore!

Hello, its Andrew again. Here are some more pictures from Summer School, including Sporting Mayhem, The Member’s Event on Wednesday night and The Final Night Party on Friday night. Just like my last entry to this blog, what I have done is create a big collection of these photos on Flickr, with lots of little sets to make them easier to browse.

The whole collection can be found here or you can click on each picture below to be taken to a slide show of each of the sets I have made, or click on the title to see a gallery of the photos.

Sporting Mayhem

08 Sporting Mayhem-010

Member’s Event

09 Members Event-005

The Final Night Party

10 Summer School Party-052

Lots More Summer School Photos

Hello, its Andrew writing again. I’ve just been sorting through all of the hundreds of photos I took at Summer Theatre School this year, and I have whittled them down to a number of little sets. There are far too many for me to show them all individually here, it would be an ugly mess, so what I have done is create a big collection of these photos on Flickr, with lots of little sets to make them easier to browse.

The whole collection can be found here or you can click on each picture below to be taken to a slide show of each of the sets I have made, or click on the title to see a gallery of the photos.

Behind The Lines

01 Behind The Lines-002

Multi Story.Net

02 Multi Story Net-013

Face The Music

03 Face The Music-007

Flying Colours

04 Flying Colours-014

Giant Leaps

05 Giant Leaps-012

Riding Lights Express

06 Riding Lights Express-014

Stage By Stage

07 Stage By Stage-031

Summer School Photographs

The Official Photos From Summer School! 🙂

Normally Jonathan writes these blog entries, but today he has asked me, Andrew, to upload a handful of the photos I took during this year’s Summer Theatre School. You will find photographs of almost everything that was produced in the week except the writers course, Behind The Lines, simply because their work doesn’t lend itself so naturally to being photographed!

Sporting Mayhem

RL Blog 11 August-001

Wednesday Night’s “Members Event”

RL Blog 11 August-002

Wednesday Night’s “Members Event”

RL Blog 11 August-003

Wednesday Night’s “Members Event”

RL Blog 11 August-004

Wednesday Night’s “Members Event”

RL Blog 11 August-005

Wednesday Night’s “Members Event”

RL Blog 11 August-006

Wednesday Night’s “Members Event”

RL Blog 11 August-007

Multi Story.Net

RL Blog 11 August-008

Multi Story.Net

RL Blog 11 August-009

Giant Leaps

RL Blog 11 August-010

Giant Leaps

RL Blog 11 August-011

Face The Music

RL Blog 11 August-012

Face The Music

RL Blog 11 August-013

Face The Music

RL Blog 11 August-014

Face The Music

RL Blog 11 August-015

Flying Colours

RL Blog 11 August-016

Flying Colours

RL Blog 11 August-017

Riding Lights Express

RL Blog 11 August-018

Riding Lights Express

RL Blog 11 August-019

Riding Lights Express

RL Blog 11 August-020

Stage By Stage

RL Blog 11 August-032

Stage By Stage

RL Blog 11 August-035

Stage By Stage

RL Blog 11 August-034

Stage By Stage

RL Blog 11 August-033

Summer Theatre School Party!

RL Blog 11 August-021

Summer Theatre School Party!

RL Blog 11 August-022

Summer Theatre School Party!

RL Blog 11 August-023

Summer Theatre School Party!

RL Blog 11 August-024

Summer Theatre School Party!

RL Blog 11 August-025

Summer Theatre School Party!

RL Blog 11 August-026

Summer Theatre School Party!

RL Blog 11 August-027

Summer Theatre School Party!

RL Blog 11 August-028

Summer Theatre School Party!

RL Blog 11 August-029

Summer Theatre School Party!

RL Blog 11 August-030

Summer Theatre School Party!

RL Blog 11 August-031

Summer School

It’s been tricky trying to keep the blog updated in the last few days of the Summer School. How to fit in blogging time, never mind time to download or upload pictures, in the midst of so much activity!! The absence of an internet connection other than a slightly slow one through my phone hasn’t helped much either……

Anyway, I’ll get some more pictures up as soon as possible but I’m off to London with the Palestinian group on Monday afternoon. We’ll celebrate Elena’s 18th birthday that day and we’ll then be sightseeing in London on Tuesday. They’re off home on Wednesday but won’t reach Beit Jala until Thursday. Hopefully they’ll be able to check in Amman if Hani’s luggage is still there as it never arrived here.

A little encouragement that I’m not just writing all this for myself would be great. Just add a few (publishable!) comments to this post to let me know there’s someone out there………..

Thanks to all of you who were there for helping to make it yet another fantastic week in the life of Riding Lights.

Also, don’t forget the Facebook group for those who were at the Summer School.

Summer School – Days Four and Five





Tuesday and Wednesday were busy working days at the Summer School with the shows that each course is presenting starting to come together. For those working on existing scripts it is the slog of getting through all the blocking and starting to give the play some shape and character. For those on devised courses its time to start making some decisions and some late nights for those staff who have to write scripts coming from the improvised work of the day. These shows also need to be cast and rehearsed so as we move to Thursday the pressure is starting to show a bit.

Thankfully the rather noisy and messy work cutting and digging up a bit of school playground right in the middle of our working areas has been postponed until we’ve gone. A huge relief!

On Tuesday evening the participants had an opportunity to take part in workshops on a variety of different skills -clowning, singing, dancing, acting etc.. Wednesday night saw our ‘Exclusive Members’ Event’ – an chance for those of us who work for Riding Lights to say thank you to all those who are here who give to the company throughout the year by donating money to our work. Our Palestinian guests were made honorary members for the night but quite what they made of us holding a slightly madcap Christmas party we’re not sure!! Party games, carols around the piano, a festive sketch and even a Christmas message from the Queen! Photos from this event soon!

Last night, at a midweek service presented by the Expressway group, Elena Shaer said a few words on behalf of the group visiting the Summer School from Palestine and we also enjoyed a Palestinian dance which Elena and Sari had taught to others who joined them on stage. There was also a much enjoyed improptu game of football yesterday afternoon.

Summer School 08 Group Photos