I have some newly appointed Creative Learning teachers and I'm very pleased to add them to our little team. They are all geared up for our new term and we are ready for action.We have gone into wonderful discussions about what being truly creative means and what a joy it is to delve into your imagination - and this can be done at any age. With the little ones its all about engaging the early senses - and what better way to do that with an exciting interactive story where you can be anyone and anywhere. What worlds can you create? What lives and lifetimes can you explore?Wi…

We had a very exciting day today, as for the first time we had a group of children on site.  The children, who all live on the Andover Estate, were given a special tour by Jez.  They also had the distinction of being the first people to play a game in the half-built Education Floor.  If you're curious, we played a special version of Grandma's Footsteps where the persecutors had to don a hard hat and a high visibility jacket along the way!  It was a fantastic evening, and we can't wait to welcome more young people from the local area to the finished buildin…

We've had so many discussions about the lighting for the education-studio-cum-rehearsal-room on second floor level. The difficulty is that we want it to be both a rehearsal space (for rehearsals, workshops and classes) and a performance space (for readings and rehearsed readings). I want to keep any lighting, tracks and other gubbins off the ceiling - as I'm concerned about ceiling height: not that it's uber-tight but it's not vast either and I alwa…

This morning I was excited and provoked by Lyn Gardner's blog entry for the Guardian: Why major theatre institutions should be left to die.  The headline doesn't quite do justice to her argument, but it's a great read.  Her quote from Richard Dawkins about unrealised potential is particularly moving.  While the suggestion of the headline is one I'm still pondering, I am wholeheartedly behind Lyn's call to arms on education: …

The funding application I'm working on at the moment is an interesting one, because the foundation I'm applying to sees every grant as an investment.  Although the principals are largely the same, it has encouraged me to see the project in business terms (no flip-board jokes please) and this has actually helped to clarify my thinking on the project as a whole.  Because we have no access to public money, Jez and Dave have had to be incredibly efficient in the the design and construction of the building.  It's a project that has called for a certain amount of ing…

Our cafe will be open in the morning - bright and early for all those folks passing by who fancy a really good cup of coffee or cold drink on their way into work. Later on in the morning mums will enjoying hanging out at the cafe because of the atmosphere-  it's child friendly - it's bright, airy, and there'll be a baby change too. We have so much to look forward to - not only is the cafe child friendly but you might even think - I'd love for my child to participate in a drama workshop - and guess what - they can! Lots of fun times for our young ones ahead! 

Like most emerging directors, I do several other things to make ends meet and keep my toes in the water.  Today I was taking photographs at a great new venture called Ingenium, where talented young musicians from all over the world come together to learn from each other.  It was a fantastic reminder of the way young people can grow in confidence through creative exploration, but I also enjoyed talking to conductors about the discipline of leading an orchestra.  Interdisciplinary workshop, anyone?

I'm so excited, the first few panels of our tension wire grid have arrived. They are standing on their side, three metres square, in the foyer - soon to be installed in Park 200. Sleek black steel that will soon bear the weight of people and equipment high above the audience's heads. I'm most excited because, as I have said to many people on our tours, the grid will be a wonderful benefit to us in terms of our ability to work with young people. Suddenly the health and safety issues - and countless risk assessments and other paperwork - disappear with this safe working platfor…

  That's right everyone - it's been 2 years since Ursula and I co-founded Transmission. You probably haven't heard too much about my very important second string because we've cheekily been growing and developing slightly under the radar. Well with 2 years of workshops behind us it's time to start stepping into the limelight. Transmission is a weekly workshop for profes…