Open Minds Theatre CompanyOpen Minds Theatre Company was founded two years ago by Steve Rogers and Katherine Fletcher, Artistic Director and Community Director of the company respectively. As the only professional theatre company based in Rotherham, over the last two years it has firmly established itself as a major player in the borough's growing art scene.
From its inception, Open Minds Theatre Company began life with a firm remit. Open Minds was to be an organisation that would actively contribute to the regeneration of the area, working with different groups of people on long term projects that would aim to develop further the thriving Rotherham arts sector.
Open Minds also continues to have a clear educational message to deliver. They set out to provide a service to schools through supplying courses which would enhance their provision and to provide courses for teachers on how to incorporate drama into their teaching methods.
Above all though, Open Minds sphere of activity is a social one. Open Minds aims to offer courses for disadvantaged groups which may enhance their qualifications, self esteem and communication skills. By using performance drama as a means of opening people's minds, bigotry and prejudice are quelled and the opportunity of public performance is offered to a wider group of people who would never normally be given the chance to present themselves in such a way.
Over the last two years, Open Minds has engaged in several large scale ventures. The Kashmir Project involved the researching, writing and performing of a play, 'Faultlines. Tales from Kashmir and Rotherham', which tells the story of the first generation of Kashmiri immigrants to Rotherham. Based on the real stories of surviving members of the first generation, it was performed by young people of the third generation to sell out audiences in Rotherham Arts Centre and Clifton Museum. Toured to Birmingham, Blackburn, Bradford, Dewsbury and Oldham, it played to audiences largely drawn from the town's Kashmiri and Pakistani communities.
This success was then accelerated with the creation of Faultlines. The Second Generation which tells the story of those children who came with families from Kashmir in the 70s and 80s who were faced with ill-prepared schools, the growth of the National Front, "paki bashing" and skinheads. This is in rehearsal now and will be performed by older young people to schools and community groups in Rotherham at the end of this year and the beginning of 2006.
Following on from the accomplishment of the original Faultlines, Open Minds secured funding to start rehearsing the play with a new cast to do further performances in Rotherham and in particular a commissioned performance to RMBC council officers. There are also plans to take this production to Kashmir and Pakistan next year.
One of Open Minds' greatest and most recent accomplishments was the Rotherham Colourscape Festival. Open Minds was the instigator and lead partner of what was probably the biggest arts event for young people that Rotherham has ever seen. In July 2005, Rotherham played host to a wealth of arts activities, all centred around a Colour structure known as 'Colourscape'. The Colourscape structure used throughout the event was the largest of the four structures owned by Nettlefold Trust and has only appeared before in London and Vienna. An acre in size, it has 100 chambers including a large performance space in the centre.
Colourscape is a multi-chambered walk-in sculpture of colour and light in to which the public can enter the labyrinth-like space and explore endless views of radiating colours illuminated by natural sunlight. Music, dance and theatre performances may be found anywhere in the structure leading the public on a journey of music and colour. Children, families and Special Needs particularly benefit from the experience. Educational workshops in colour, music, visual arts and poetry, for large numbers of school students, can take place inside the structure.
Over the 10 days, Open Minds presented a weekend of performances in Colourscape of local and national artists, a week of workshops both in schools and the Colourscape structure, a weekend of school performances in Colourscape in addition to extra arts sessions and activities. Over 1500 young people from 38 schools took part in Music and Colour workshops in Colourscape during the week and a half. Nearly 2000 people visited Colourscape during the periods when it was open to the public. Over 20 artists were employed running workshops for eight days as well as many more for performances in the structure.
"Just been round Colourscape – I’m a different person to the one who went in."
The event proved a huge success, both with the schools who took part and with the general public and plans have already been drawn up for next year's event which promises to be even bigger and better. Colourscape 2006 will incorporate two Colour structures, one in the centre of Rotherham and one in Clifton Park.
Open Minds employs good freelance drama practitioners as well as other arts practitioners and is always interested in hearing from artists looking for work!
Open Minds Theatre Company has been supported by a number of different organisations including Arts Council Yorkshire, Awards for All, Rotherham Community Arts, The Unity Centre and Creative Industries Development Agency (CIDA).
For more information, please contact Steve Rogers of Open Minds Theatre Company on:
Tel: 01709 367287
Fax: 01709 368813
Mobile: 07770984704
E-mail: steve@omtc.org.uk
