Age Concern Hythe is always looking for new ways to raise money and its ever enthusiastic Manager, Cleo Drury, has been running regular drama workshops at the centre for local children aged up to 16 since March 2009.
“I’m A Performer” meets twice weekly in the evenings with extra sessions held during half term and each child pays £2.00 to attend. As well as giving local children the opportunity to sing, dance and act at an affordable rate, the group helps establish links and relationships between younger and older people. Running costs are covered by the attendance fees and any money left is donated to Age Concern Hythe. Cleo and her partner, her parents and sister all give up their time voluntarily to run the workshops and all have an established background in performing. Cleo herself has been a member of a number of drama academies and local dance groups such as “Studio 6” and the Jan Anton Dancers, her Dad is a professional Neil Diamond Tribute Act and her sister is a professionally trained singer. So, Hythe’s budding stars of the future have some serious talent to help them on their way!
The group is working towards putting on a musical towards the end of the year; auditions have been held and parts distributed. The show will feature excerpts from the Wizard of Oz, Oliver, Chorus Line and Fame and the children are incredibly excited and passionate about the whole experience. Cleo is hoping to secure the use of the Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone as a venue for the production, but this will depend upon whether an application to Shepway District Council is successful in obtaining one of the organisation’s “Free Use Days” (free use of the venue is granted to community organisations for 8 days of the year).
The group has already succeeded in bringing young and old together as one of the Centre’s client’s Patricia Sheppard has been working with the children, singing to them and helping at their workshops. Patricia was a locally renowned singer in the 1930s and 1940s and actually performed at the Leas Cliff Hall. It would be her dream come true to be able to perform there again with the children, singing “I Could Have Danced All Night” from the musical “My Fair Lady”.
During May half term, Clients from the Day Centre visited the children at their all day workshop, held in Newington Village Hall to get involved and see what progress they were making.
Cleo is always looking for people to volunteer to help, especially with the production looming; costumes need to be made, sound & lighting sourced and so on, so please feel free to get in touch. A website for the group is under construction at the time of going to print (June 2009) and should be accessible within a fortnight; www.imaperformer.co.uk . New children will be welcome to join the group for its next performance.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=fee71be0-02f0-4eb7-8c46-9df7639569a7)
