Performances, Live Music, Workshops and Skills Demos Set for RSC's MIDSUMMER SUNDAE, June 22

The Royal Shakespeare Company celebrates Midsummer on Sunday 22 June in Stratford-upon-Avon with A Midsummer Sundae, a fun packed day for all the family. The free activities include performances, live music, theatre workshops and skills demonstrations.

Highlights include stage fighting workshops, a special Shakespeare drumming performance using full size djembe drums, and the chance to ask an RSC actor to perform a sonnet for you or a friend.

Part of Midsummer Mischief, a festival of new plays at The Other Place at The Courtyard Theatre running 14 June - 12 July, the day will also be an opportunity to explore an exhibition about Buzz Goodbody, the founding director of The Other Place.

DROP IN ACTIVITIES
Free activities for all ages, just drop in no need to book.
Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Unless otherwise indicated all activities take place in the Avonbank Gardens opposite The Other Place at The Courtyard Theatre.

The Enchanted Forest
11.30am - 4.30pm
Come and experience the magic of The Enchanted Forest for a dazzling encounter! A feast for all the senses, listen to the sounds of the forest, hear A Midsummer Night's Dream characters chatting in the distance, run your hands through the plants growing in the forest, and see if you can spot the fairies flying between the trees.

But the Enchanted Forest isn't just a place to escape to...we need your help to complete it! Artists Megan Clark Bagnall and Jasmine Loveys will be on hand to help you make your own leaves and foliage, create your very own mystical creatures, and make the forest your own. Let your imagination run wild...anything could happen in the Enchanted Forest...

Screen Printing Workshops
11.30am - 1.30pm and 2.30 - 4.30pm
Join artist Karoline Rerrie from Girls Who Draw to create your own screen prints. To celebrate our family exhibition, Who Wears The Trousers? (currently on display in the Ferguson Room, Swan Theatre) Karoline will be on hand to help create your own characters and fun prints.

Sonnets For You
1.30 - 3.30pm
Watch a short performance on The Dell stage as we introduce our menu of RSC actors and sonnets. Choose a sonnet, and an actor will then be on hand to give you, a chosen friend or partner, a personalised individual rendition of heartbreak, love or strife!

The Original Spinners
12 - 5pm
Look out for the Original Spinners as they combine clowning, dance, music, puppetry and storytelling to create honest, simple and magical experiences throughout the day. Listen out for their ever-changing soundtrack for chances to get involved and participate in their Land of Play. http://theoriginalspinners.co.uk/

THE DELL STAGE
Join us on The Dell main stage for live music, performances of Shakespeare and practical theatre demonstrations.

The Tripp Ensemble
11.30am-12.15pm and 3-3.45pm
The Tripp Ensemble was founded by Tobie Tripp, a Cardiff-based musician who uses a cross-pollination of musical styles to create unique, unforgettable pieces. The Tripp Ensemble's aim is to combine genres of music across the board that wouldn't be expected in a single performance.
"There's something refreshingly unique about this band that really separates them from what the rest of Cardiff is offering," Radio Cardiff (B-side)
www.facebook.com/thetrippensemble
www.twitter.com/TrippEnsemble

The Old Dance School
12.30-1.15pm and 4.15-5pm
The Old Dance School's expansive landscapes of ear-bending contemporary folk place them as true innovators of the genre. Duelling fiddles, soaring brass crescendos, and irresistible grooves, their live show charts their remarkable journey from ballet school basement jam sessions and cowshed rehearsals, to remote lighthouses, to headline appearances at international festivals.
http://www.theolddanceschool.com/

London Youth Gospel Choir (LYGC)
1.45-2.45pm
Having worked with participants in just a 2 hour workshop the day before, LYGC presents Shakespeare text through the uplifting energy of singing gospel music. London Youth Gospel Choir was set up to enable people who enjoy singing to meet others whilst developing their music and vocal skills. The choir sings uplifting material including Gospel, pop/funk/soul and African traditional.

Shakespeare Rhythms Drumming Performance
1.30-1.45pm
Listen to a performance fusing the words and sounds of Shakespeare with traditional full size djembe drums. Anyone who wants to be part of the performance should take part in the workshop between 11.30am-1pm in The Other Place at The Courtyard Theatre (details below).

Stage Fighting Demonstration
4-4.15pm
Join Stage Fighting director Tom Jordan as he demonstrates how to pull a punch.

Shakespeare Bingo!
12.15 - 12.30pm, 2.45-3pm, 3.45-4pm
Get your dabbers at the ready for our special Shakespeare themed bingo calls! Play a quick game between performances with prizes for a full house.

THE WRITERS' HUT
Discover our writers' hut for inspiration and workshops about creating your own new writing. Come in and find books on writing and theatre that have inspired the writers from our Midsummer Mischief season.

Helen Mort: Smell/Taste
12-1pm, 2-3pm, 4-5pm
Join former Foyle Young Poet Helen Mort in our comfy writers' hut as she asks how we can give surprising objects or things a 'voice' in poetry. In partnership with Cape Farwell.

WORKSHOPS AT THE OTHER PLACE AT THE COURTYARD THEATRE
All workshops are free and can be booked in advance via our website. A small number of tickets will be held for booking on the day.

Shakespeare Rhythms
11.30am - 1pm
MSD Rehearsal Room, The Other Place at The Courtyard Theatre
Suitable for ages 8+ - no previous experience required.

Learn how to create African rhythms on traditional full size djembe drums with local company, In2Culture. They will bring together the words and sounds of Shakespeare with RSC voice coach Nia Lynn with this fun and beginners introduction to drumming. The group will then be able to take their newly learnt skills to the Dell main stage for a performance at 1.30pm.

Stage Fighting
2.30-4pm
MSD Rehearsal Room, The Other Place at The Courtyard Theatre
Suitable for adults and young people aged 11+

Learn how to pull a punch in this active workshop and demonstration of stage fighting techniques.

Food and Drink
Available from 11.30am - 5pm
Take a seat in our chill out marquee with a drink and ice cream sundae alongside our open mic entertainment. We're calling on local performers to come and perform music, spoken word and comedy in 20 minute sets. For information on how to get involved, email midsummersundae@rsc.org.uk

BUZZ GOODBODY EXHIBITION
Throughout the day
Foyer area of The Other Place at The Courtyard Theatre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the opening of The Other Place this exhibition explores Buzz Goodbody's radical work, her theatre manifesto and the reasoning behind creating a theatre in a small tin shed in 1974.