Word on the Street 2013
We are very pleased to announce that our Project 'Word on the Street' will be starting on 8th February 2013.

What is Word on the Street?

Word on the Street is....
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….the name of an exciting and dynamic series of free drama and writing workshops starting in early February in Folkestone’s Creative Quarter leading to the Word on the Street Festival – a new street and café theatre event this summer. The project is the latest creation of JimJam Arts, a Folkestone based community arts group founded by three of the original Performing Arts graduates from UCF. The Friday evening workshops start in early February and are open to everyone whether you have any previous experience or not. They are completely free thanks to funding from the Creative Foundation, the Roger de Haan Charitable Trust and the University Centre Folkestone.
So if you’ve always secretly thought there might be a hidden actor or playwright in you, now’s the chance to discover it.
The drama sessions will focus on improvisation, movement, vocal technique and script work and will be geared to suit the participants. They will also offer the freedom to play and express yourself in a safe and friendly environment. So whether you’re looking to hone your acting skills, want to improve your public speaking or just have a great deal of fun, you should find these classes very rewarding and they can certainly lead to enhanced confidence and self-esteem as well as being a good way to make new friends.
There will be twenty weekly classes for people over 18 and ten separate fortnightly workshops for young people aged 15 – 18. It’s planned to present surprise pop-up performances in the streets and cafés and even empty shop windows of the Creative Quarter as the series progresses. So keep your eyes peeled for some unusual happenings!
The playwriting workshops will be held fortnightly starting in February and will look at structure, characterisation, motivation and style with exercises to free up your inner Pinter. Towards the end of the course, you will have the opportunity to write a short play to be performed as a rehearsed reading in a final public showcase of the workshops.
It is hoped to showcase both the writing and acting in a new street theatre festival in July.
The workshops will by run by Sadie Hurley and Sue Blakesley, two of the founder members of JimJam Arts. Since graduating with First Class Honours Degrees in Performing Arts at UCF, they have been busy performing, plus directing and running drama, singing, movement and Forum Theatre workshops and events for a wide range of community groups, as well as their playwriting projects.
If you’d like to find out more about the free workshops, come along to one of the short introductory sessions on Friday 8 February at the University Centre Folkestone.

The times are: 6.30pm – 7 pm for the 15- 18 year old group; 7.15pm – 7.45pm for the playwriting group, and 8pm – 8.30pm for the 18 plus Drama Group.
For more details check out JimJam Arts on Facebook, e-mail jimjamarts@hotmail.com, or call 07784 275167 or 01303 210456

OUR VISION
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Bringing the Creative Quarter to life with Pop up Theatre Performances every month – in the streets, in cafés and even empty shops.

Building a company of potential performers from local people with weekly drama workshops open to anyone over 16 and working particularly on improvisation, movement and vocal technique all of which lead to enhanced confidence and self-esteem.
Creating new material in playwriting workshops to be showcased by the actors both at the Pop-up performances and at Rehearsed Readings in local venues. Workshops will focus particularly on structure, characterisation, motivation and style.
Starting a new Festival of Street, Shop Window and Café Theatre in Summer 2013.
Event Challenge 2012

This workshop was commissioned by the University Centre Folkestone as an outreach project with local schools.

This challenging, fast-paced, ‘Young Apprentice’ style workshop allows students to devise their own Creative Event in just one day.
The workshop kicks off with a presentation on the key factors of a creative business. Students will discover and discuss what jobs are available in the Arts sector and all the aspects of starting up and running there own creative business.
Students will then be split into small groups and will be given a commission brief. This will entail them setting up their own business and creating a community event which celebrates one or several of the significant events of 2012.
Teams will work towards a final presentation when they make a pitch for funding to a Board of Professionals working in the creative industry.
The workshop is an excellent team-building exercise. It encourages lateral thinking and gives a real insight into the many avenues open in the creative industries, as well as the opportunities available for study at the University Centre Folkestone, particularly in Arts Management.