Roughshod on the Road: Chippenham and Corsham

Emma BagnallIt’s fair to say us Shoddies love the work we do, but, it’s also true to say we’ll do anything to avoid a 5am alarm call. During our second visit back to ‘home turf’ (York) we performed a show and workshops in the Bradford Christian School, which meant we were facing this unenviable early morning wake up call. Luckily, a friend of Rob’s came to the rescue, offering us a place to stay nearer the school. The payment? Perform a sketch in their lounge. For an extra hour and a half in bed, that was five minutes well spent!

While we were back in York, Roughshod also had the pleasure of performing in my home church in Skipton. For me it was a proud moment to perform in front of so many familiar faces – particularly as I’ve enthused about Riding Lights since I first saw Roughshod at my first Summer Theatre School when I was just 14.

It was lovely to have so many positive comments afterwards too – particularly about the uniqueness and honesty of our personal stories in the show. Every show we do is special in its own way, but for me Skipton’s show will be a fond memory.

After leaving our beloved York we headed off to Chippenham and Corsham where we were part of the Flame of Hope festival – a whole series of events organised by local churches, celebrating the christian faith as part of their communities.

rob fire

As part of our week there we went from performing theatre in the street, to theatre in schools to theatre in an actual theatre – another first for us, and a rare occurrence with Roughshod! The theatre was The Pound Arts Centre, and it was a treat to perform iWitness in a space with excellent acoustics, tiered theatre seats, and professional lighting.

Still, before we get too comfortable, it’s worth pointing out Roughshod wouldn’t be Roughshod if we couldn’t perform in a hosts living room just as easily as a professional arts centre.

We absolutely loved the variety here in Chippenham and Corsham. A standout memory of the festival being Rob, who got to put his fire-staff skills to good use out on the streets. Roughshod’s very own flame of hope… hope that an audience might stick around and watch a sketch or two afterwards.

Emma.

Roughshod on the road: familiar faces in Sunderland

Michael PerkinsOh The joys of being re-united with familiar faces… One of the great things about doing Roughshod for a second year is getting to return to places that I visited last year with Roughshod 2012.

So when I found out that we were heading back to Sunderland but this year with different organisers you can imagine my turmoil! Roughshod 2012 had a glorious time in Sunderland last year, with Father David and Father Andrew being a highlight of our stay. (Joe described them as Sunderland’s very own Morecambe and Wise on the old Roughshod blog).

But never fear,  we had fantastic organisers in ‘Youth For Christ’ and then St Gabriel’s over our two weeks. They more than lived up to the job (we even got a puppet show from some of the kids at St Gabriel’s). We were worked hard over our two weeks in Sunderland too, and it was great to be able to use our full range of sketches, workshops and other material in different places. In fact we really got to test our skills with the broadest age range, performing for both the St Gabriel’s Youth Group and Day Club For The Elderly on the same day. Such a range of activity isn’t  something we’re guaranteed at every Roughshod Base, and it keeps us on our toes, making sure we can still remember all our pieces. In fact I’ve started a tally of each sketch we perform – and if you’re wondering, Newcomer e.g ‘Gav the chav’ at the gates of heaven, is by far the most performed.

What was especially nice was to find out that we were brought back to Sunderland because of a solitary workshop we had done the year before. The organisers at St Gabriel’s had been so impressed that they’d invited us back for a whole week! A great compliment to the work of the company (not to mention the work of Roughshod 2012.)  Still, the icing on the Sunderland cake?  I discovered I was returning to stay with the previously mentioned Father David Chadwick who I had gotten to know the previous year. So at the end of the day it was fantastic to be able to relax, spend time and catch-up with people who were generous enough (or maybe mad enough) to put me up again! I was introduced to classic episodes of ‘Doctor Who’, re-introduced to the ‘who’s birthday today’ quiz and generally looked after incredibly well by both David and Andrew, or as they shall be forever remembered by Roughshod 2013 ‘The Fathers’.

Mike

 

Roughshod on the road: Brough

Stefi Drayson Le TissierHave you ever had that slightly awkward moment when you bump into someone you know but haven’t seen in years? In fact,  so many years they don’t believe it’s you? This happened to me about 80 times over when we had a show in Beverley, my old home town from some years ago.

We performed iWitness at St Mary’s Beverley as part of our stay in Brough (near Hull) and one thing that made this performance particularly special was the fact my Dad got along to see the show. He loved it, though suggested Mike, when playing him in my personal story, needed to grow a bigger beard to really get into character.

We had a brilliantly diverse week in and around Brough visiting two prisons, two youth groups, two churches, a school and doing two wonderful shows. It was a rather bizarre sensation being back in an area I had known so well, everything was the same but yet so different. Plus this time I was there working, not visiting, and it was a little disorienting. Still, it was really lovely to see old friends again. (I was very glad to find time in our crazy schedule for this). I even bumped into a friend unexpected while we were performing in a prison – he is a tutor there, but totally unexpected all the same).

St Marys, Beverley

With all this going on during the week, the concept of home really hit me. Beverley was a place I had once called home, but no longer have such strong attachments to. It all go me thinking ‘What is home?’ I came to the conclusion that while it is different for everyone, for me, at the moment, it’s where I hang my hat. This led me to think about where my hat is hung  – and how many amazing people have welcomed us Shoddies into their own homes. People willing to host a crazy actor for week or two at a time. Hosts which enable us to take shows and workshops into places where theatre can’t always get. How blessed we are to have people that will share that with us. Thank you lovely hosts!

Stefi

We’re Hiring!

Last week Roughshod were based in York, bouncing round the office with just as much enthusiasm as they had when they set off in February. It’s always lovely to have them back.

Each Roughshod company definitely develops its own character (along with enthusiasms, in-jokes, and favourite van snacks) over the seven months they work  for, and the 2013 shoddies are no exception. Still all this is an apt reminder that no Roughshod lasts forever, and we’ve started the search for a 2014 Roughshod company.

So, do you, or someone you know, have  a passion for theatre? A passion for telling your story and God’s story? If you do, why not take a look at our jobs page and download an application pack.
… and we’re looking for a new Youth Theatre Director

Jonathan Boustead, our wonderful Youth Theatre Director is also moving on – having landed a job as with the Chichester Festival Theatre as a Senior Youth Theatre Leader. I’m sure you’ll all join us in thanking him for all his hard work, and wishing him well in a very exciting new endeavour. Jonty will be staying with us until after Summer Theatre School, so you’ll hear more from him before he goes, but in the mean time we’re looking for a new Youth Theatre Director and Education Practitioner. Again there’s more info on the jobs page.

Roughshod on the road: filming in York

I love being on tour. Going to new places, meeting new people, doing new things – but I must say there is something special about coming back to the familiarity of Friargate.

Filming in the van

We were back there recently filming two trailers; one for iWitness and the other to show the work that Roughshod do. I was really looking forward to it; I’d never done filming like this before and it was all very exciting – I was just gutted I’d not packed my feather boa, but in hindsight that may have been seen as a tad excessive.

It was a great week – certainly busy and challenging in a new way. We were used to doing workshops and shows; not getting dizzy from driving up and down the same stretch of road to get the perfect shot, or attracting a crowd whilst wearing balaclavas and leaping from the back of a van! It was a really refreshing change from what we normally get to do on tour and safe to say we had a lot of fun whilst we were doing it too!

We may have also been a little bit competitive about who managed to film our close ups in the fewest takes. We all did pretty well and at one point I did dub us as “One Take Shod”. That name (sadly) did not catch on.

Roughshod at their most terrifying

It does have to be said; I now have a whole new appreciation for the amount of time and planning and preparation that goes into organising something like this. It really is fascinating to see what goes on behind the scenes and I learned a lot in the week about how important angles and timing and lighting is – and that getting all of them right at the same time is not always as easy as it looks.

I’m always happy to be back in York and getting to be part of a project like this was a really fascinating experience. I’m told the trailer is currently being edited (we’ll post it on to the blog when it’s done) and hope it shows people how Roughshod is more than five actors travelling around the country in a tin can, doing funny sketches and that it benefits the company for many years to come.

The fact it features five of our fabulous faces for years is surely just a happy by-product.

Emma.

Roughshod on the road: Spring Harvest

Reunite!

After an Easter break, Roughshod 2013 encountered some great reunions. Spring Harvest was reunited with Riding Lights for another year. The company worked at one Spring Harvest site last year but this was the first time in recent years that Riding Lights have been part of both Minehead & Skegness sites.

It was a privilege – performing sketches at the main meetings in front of up to 3000 people, running workshops giving a ‘drama toolkit’ to participants of all ages, and performing an hour of iWitness. Here’s Mike and Rob on stage and on the big screen, a proud moment for them both, even if Rob is wearing a ghastly jumper and Mike is dressed as a 6ft tall infant, complete with bonnet and giant dummy…

Spring-Harvest-performance

 Not only do I hope the people who came, but also that as more people see what Roughshod does, we open up opportunities and connections with people who can put us to use in their home community. Were you there? Why not drop in on our Facebook Page or Twitter and let us know what you thought!

Another nice treat at Spring Harvest, we were reunited with some guys who went to Riding Lights Youth Theatre, and some Riding Lights Members, and it was great to see them. One Member we had already met back in February at Members’ Day. We chatted after a show of ours and she asked how things were going at work & within the group. She was lovely & it was a brilliant encouragement to be reminded of the care RL Members have for us & of their prayers.

Pippa

Roughshod on the Road: 4 weeks in and I’m already going home

Rob HolmanFrom the 18th to the 24th of March, we had the privilege of spending a week in Thornton, near Blackpool. This also happens to be near home for me, as I live in Garstang, which is only half an hour away. So I spent the week living at home and commuting.

Living at home was something of a change from the lovely, exuberant “please help yourself to fourteenths” hospitality of the Roughshod hosts we normally stay with. It was much more a case of “you know where the bread is, you can make yourself a sandwich Rob.” Although I have to say my mum’s hospitality was top-notch… when the other Shoddies came over for lunch… being a guest is so much more fun than a resident.

But it was nice being able to hang out with friends or my brother after a day’s workshopping/performing. I’ll confess many a McDonalds was consumed that week.

The week went really well, with performances and workshops in various schools and in Kirkham prison, where we met some truly inspirational prisoners with great stories of turning their lives around. The show at the end of the week at Thornton Methodist went down a storm (and I invited along my rowdier friends to ensure the applause was rapturous). We weren’t sure if the towers (the main component of our set) would be too tall for the venues, but they just fitted in, with literally less than an inch to spare.

Peace-in-our-time

But the moment that stood out to me most was after a show we did for a youth group. Throughout the whole show, kids were talking and giggling, and we almost considered it a write-off, as they didn’t seem to be paying a great deal of attention. The giggling was particularly annoying during my personal story, which looks at my dad’s death when I was younger. But after the show, a girl came up to me to say that she had grown up without a dad and as such, my personal story and the way I’d experienced the fatherly love of God had really spoken to her. I got to pray with her and was quite moved. It really encouraged me and reassured me that even though sometimes it seems like an uphill struggle, our labours are rarely pointless and God still uses us. Even if, at first, we considered those situations a write-off.

Rob.

Roughshod on the road: High Peak

Ready for the road Rob?About two weeks ago we were loading the van setting off for our very first base on tour, with a smile on our faces, a spring in our step and a box full of food. I think it’s safe to say all of these things are still the case, except with less food in the box.

Our first destination was just over the Pennines in High Peak. The five of us split three ways as we headed to our different hosts. I was overwhelmed by the wonderful welcome and generosity of our hosts as they let us live in their houses, fed us incredible (and copious!) amounts of food and generally looked after us. Hosts truly are brilliant people who we (literally) couldn’t manage without.

Our take on 'a different drum' in Eyam

Monday was our day off so we headed to Eyam – the beautiful (and heart-breaking) setting of a different drum. The sun wasn’t exactly shining, but armed with layers and our Doc Martins we set off for a treasure trail around the village learning more about the story of Eyam (from which we nearly missed one vital clue!). It was so inspiring and all the more poignant having seen the show. A lovely way to spend a day.

Then it was down to work… and how we kicked off the tour in workshop delivering style!

Since arriving in High Peak we have done a total of 22 workshops and had the pleasure of working with (by my reckoning) around 500 young people from schools, churches, youth groups, Girl Guide and Scouts groups. That’s amazing! We’ve had a lot of fun, as well as great discussions and interesting thoughts on theology as suggested by year 7s (entertaining thoughts like ‘perhaps Jesus was either a super ninja turtle or an X-man’ or ‘maybe heaven is a giant aeroplane with different classes on board’). There’s been a couple of scrapes too… in particular Stefi had a run in with a Brownie Guides totem pole type thing. Surprisingly, not an object which came up in our ‘health and safety’ training back at Friargate.

We’ve also had the pleasure of performing iWitness at the Chinley WI Hall and Buxton Methodist Church. We had such a great time performing the show again, made all the better by having such wonderful audiences who were generous with their laughter! The reception and feedback afterwards has been so positive, too, which has been a real blessing and encouragement for us all.

I can’t believe we are nearly at the end of our time in High Peak and just how much we have done since first loading our bags (and all important biscuits) into the van! It’s already been so eventful and amazing, I literally can’t wait to see what the coming days, weeks and months have in store for us.

Next stop – Manchester!

 

Roughshod at the Arc Light

Paul Birch 2010 (2)It’s not the first place you hope to run into an ex-pupil. Actually a homeless shelter is just about one of the last places. The young man in front of me, having left school, ended up in prison and now upon release found himself without a place to go. It was a sad encounter (although both of us were pleased to see each other again!) But there was also hope – especially knowing that he was in the capable hands of Ian and Arc Light.

I was at Arc Light with Roughshod, who were performing sections of their new show iWitness at the shelter. Arc Light is a hostel and support organisation who work with ex-rough sleepers and those at risk of sleeping rough – the majority of whom have complex issues primarily connected with drug and alcohol misuse and mental ill-health.

Their aim? ‘Reconnecting our clients with the opportunities that life offers and encouraging them to embrace and maximise them.’ Or as organiser Ian Bretherton put it, rather powerfully, ‘a good hostel should provide people with a bed as well as a reason to get out of it.’ Ian describes his job as about empowering the people he works with by offering them many different opportunities. So he invited Roughshod to perform and run a drama workshop.

It was a powerful afternoon and Ian had plugged the event with such passion that a homeless woman with a broken foot was wheeled across the city by another homeless man just so she could be there! It was like being inside a biblical parable.

Peace-in-our-time

The performance was much appreciated and there was a lot of laughter during the afternoon. One audience member declared the actors ‘very brave, because it takes a lot to make homeless people laugh and they made me laugh out loud’. Another said ‘I thought it was really deep – it made you think. The games were fantastic, I’m really glad I stayed.’

In particular a new monologue about the beggar Blind Bartimaeus was very well received and the workshop also provided a great deal of interest. I way proud of the Shoddies, who did a good job of helping the participants act out some of their own life stories.

But above all, this afternoon in Arc Light reminded me precisely why Roughshod does the work it does – taking theatre, filled with ‘good news’ into all the places this ex-pupil of mine had journeyed through – schools, prisons and shelters. We hope that our own work can inspire and encourage people along the same road to choose a different one.

In the meantime we are talking with Arc Light about how we can partner and support their work more fully. To find out more about Arc Light, including how to support them, visit their website.

To support our work through our membership scheme so that we can reach people without charge please go to the membership page on this website.

 

Paul Birch

 

Life as a returning Shoddy

Michael PerkinsAll Roughshod companies are a unique thing, I don’t think any two have ever been the same, so to try and compare the two is extremely difficult. Many times have my new shoddies asked who was the better company and many times I have deflected the question, smiling secretly to myself in a way that apparently comes across as ‘I’m not telling’ but actually means ‘It is absolutely impossible to say because I have no idea!’

Coming back to Roughshod was a scary thought, when you first start Roughshod you never quite know what’s in store, but returning in January after a seven month tour I knew exactly what was in store! This time my greatest fear was starting rehearsals and workshop preparation only to end up thinking ‘Oh no, I’m bored!’

The difference a year makes

The difference between pre-tour and post-tour boots

Fortunately this hasn’t happened. Instead I’ve met and become friends with a whole new group of people, I’m able to pass on valuable information (such as how to avoid blisters when breaking-in the famous Roughshod Doc’s, and the best type of cake/chocolate to have in a Friday rehearsal). Even more than this I’m being challenged all over again. Challenged to learn a script a day (almost), to discover energy levels far beyond that of a normal human being, and to become part of a team that will spend the next seven months travelling  around the country in a tin can, sorry Roughshod van.

I think I’ve learnt that you could probably do Roughshod as many as a hundred times and you would still never be able to predict what it would be like, what you would learn, or how you would grow as a person whilst on tour. Most certainly you would never get bored! At least I’m not… so bring on the next seven months!