Unlocked and Unbolted - free online session

We are looking for young people from across the country to take part in Unlocked and Unbolted - a collaborative project which asks you to share your voices, experiences and thoughts of the past few months. Through online conversations, we’d like to hear how Covid-19, lockdown, isolation, social distancing and the realities of this pandemic have directly affected you and your thoughts for the future. These informal discussions will ask questions about how the world looks to you at this time, what should a return to a ‘new normal’ look like, have some things changed for the better or has visualising the future become increasingly difficult?

Young people aged 14 – 21 are invited to sign up for group Zoom conversations with the creative team, led by director Bryn Holding. These conversations will become the inspiration and the source material for a new piece of theatre which will form a socially distanced live performance presented by a group of young performers later in the year.

By taking part in these conversation you will shape the play and how that story is told as you listen to one another, discuss how you see the world and reimagine your futures together.

Zoom conversations will take place at the following times and you can book on to more than one session:

Thursday 9 July ‘Respond’
We’ll talk about your responses to Covid 19, lockdown and the impact it has had on your own lives and hopes for the future.

4pm – 5pm
Suitable for those aged 14 – 17

6pm – 7pm
Suitable for those aged 18 - 21

Tuesday 14 July ‘Imagine’
A chance to imagine the future, your futures and the new normal/world you would like to see - what good could come out of our situations?

4pm – 5pm
Suitable for those aged 14 – 17

6pm – 7pm
Suitable for those aged 18 - 21

Thursday 16 July ‘Shape’
A chance for you to shape the material gathered, and to have a voice in how we may see the storytelling options presented by this new piece of work. This Zoom session will include 20 minutes for a Q&A discussion about theatre making and the theatre industry as a whole.

4pm – 5pm
Suitable for those aged 14 – 17

6pm – 7pm
Suitable for those aged 18 - 21

If you have any access requirements which would enable you to take part in the Zoom conversations, such as a BSL interpreter, please contact getinvolved@cornexchangenew.co.uk.

Written or recorded responses

For those who are unable to attend or who wish to share thoughts in a different way, either as a piece of writing, as a poem, as a piece of spoken word or in the form of a short video, we would love hear your responses to this provocation:

‘How has Covid-19 and the national lockdown impacted your life? How has it made you feel? How has it affected the way you see your own future and the future of the world around us?’

These responses should be sent to getinvolved@cornexchangenew.co.uk by Friday 17 July.

Director Bryn Holding will create a 30 minute performance based on these thoughts and ideas. This will be a socially distanced performance which, depending on current government guidelines, will either be presented in front of a socially distanced audience or will be streamed to watch from home in September.

Auditions for performers

We are also keen to hear from West Berkshire-based young people aged 16 – 21 who would like to take part as a performer. Twelve young people will take part in a two-week rehearsal process from 19 August with both online and physically distanced rehearsals. Some previous performance experience is necessary and those interested should submit a video including the following information:

1. Your name and age
2. A performance of the poem What if it’s just nature? as if it were a monologue. (See PDF download below).
3. A brief explanation of why you would like to join the Unlocked and Unbolted ensemble at the Corn Exchange this summer and what being part of this ensemble would mean to you?

These videos should be sent to getinvolved@cornexchangenew.co.uk by 5pm on 24 July 2020. Successful applicants will be informed by 31 July 2020.

The Corn Exchange Newbury is delighted to be working with West Berkshire Youth Hub on this project which has been kindly supported by the Lily and Marcus Sieff Charitable Trust and Greenham Trust.

Audition poem

What if it's Just Nature?

Pdf 313.79KB