Writing Award 2008

Want to express yourself and tell great stories?
Want to use the exciting medium of theatre to do so?

Well now is your chance. If you are aged 14 to 19 and live in the East of England the University of Hertfordshire can offer you the unique opportunity to win a day working with the region’s top theatre professionals and to have your play produced and performed in front of a live audience at the Weston Auditorium, Hatfield.

Most importantly the overall winner can apply for a three year scholarship to the University of Hertfordshire.

How to enter – Write a fifteen minute play and send it to the University of Hertfordshire by 18 July 2008. Your play can be on any subject you like.
See www.go.herts.ac.uk/writing award for entry pack and guidance.

                    Sky Bigger Picture Fund - London

Grants of between £250 and £3,000 are available to charities and organisations that work with young people in Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Brent, Lambeth, Hounslow, Wandsworth and City of Westminster. The Fund will focus on supporting small organisations that work with young people in the following categories; Building Arts; Healthier Environment; Inspiring Learning and / or ‘Including Everyone. The fund is open to small organisations with an annual turnover of less than £75,000. Organisations in other London boroughs will be considered if endorsed by an employee of Sky who volunteers with the project. The funding can be used for a wide variety of purposes, including, equipment, tutoring, building works and running costs.

For more information, visit www.sky-makeadifference.com/sg_main.php

                       £1.4m fund for capital’s arts

London mayor Ken Livingstone has announced a £1.4 million boost for the city’s cultural industry in a bid to help sustain creative activity in the capital in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.

The fund, which has been established by the London Development Agency and will be delivered in partnership with Arts Council England, is for an initial period of 18 months. Money will be available for applications that offer opportunities for people who have not previously engaged in the arts, particularly those from hard to reach communities.

More: www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/20099/mayor-livingstone-announces-14m-fund

                                    

THE SOUND OF MUSIC COMPANION [rrp £15, but available at Amazon for £9.75] is the definitive book on the world's most beloved musical with the added bonus of the original soundtrack on CD. From Maria's birth in Vienna to the triumphal West End revival in 2007, this is a tale that began over a hundred years ago and the book details every step in the development of this global phenomenon. It profiles every creative artist who helped shape the musical version of the Von Trapp Family story - from Rodgers and Hammerstein and Mary Martin to Robert Wise, Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, and most recently Andrew Lloyd Webber. Folded into the tale are guest appearances by Petula Clark, Carol Burnett, John Coltrane and Noel Coward.

The Collection features a CD of the original film soundtrack and a book containing: more than 170 pictures, many never seen before; complete lyrics to a dozen songs; rare manuscript pages from the pens of R&H; a map of Salzburg and the film's locations; unseen storyboards from the film; and, updates on the Sing-A-Long phenomenon.

Weinbergers have ten copies of the book to give away free to the first ten emails they receive at amateur@jwmail.co.uk with your name and postal address and the phrase "The hills are still alive" in the subject field.

                            Clever Communications
          find out more about how the media works

A short book from the Voluntary Action Media Unit is for charities wanting to find out more about how the media works, 'Clever Communications' has a media directory and short personal takes from media and charity professionals on a range of communications topics.

Perhaps of most relevance to small national organisations and available at no charge - email your name and address to book@vamu.org.uk

               PYGMALION   7 May – 2 August 2008

                                    
 
Peter Hall brings his acclaimed production of Bernard Shaw’s enduring classic comedy Pygmalion to The Old Vic after its highly successful run at the Theatre Royal Bath.
 
Henry Higgins (Tim Pigott-Smith) is the arrogant Professor of Phonetics who makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he can turn Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle (Michelle Dockery), into a Duchess.
 
Pygmalion formed the basis of the much-loved musical My Fair Lady famously filmed with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.
 
Special Offer: Top price seats for £30* (usually £45 / £42.50 previews) for performances between 7 – 31 May (excluding Saturday performances). To book, call the box office on 0870 060 6628 and quote ‘Noda Offer’.
 
*Offer subject to availability, limited availability and not available online or retrospectively. 
 
                             THEATRE TICKET OFFERS

The Churchill, Bromley-0870 060 6620 
Hello Dolly - £5 off top price tickets from Mon 28 April - Thu 1 May (max. 2 tickets per person) 

Richmond Theatre-0870 060 6651
The Clean House - £15 tickets from Mon 21 - Thu 24 April, 7.45pm performances
Sleuth - £15 tickets from Mon 28 April - Thu 1 May, 7.45pm performances

Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent-0870 060 6649
Eurobeat - £15 tickets for Mon 5th - Thu 8th May, 8pm performances
Fiddler on the Roof - £15 tickets for Tue 20th - Thu 22nd May, 8pm performances

King's Theatre, Glasgow - 0870 060 6647
Thriller Live 2 for 1 top three price bands from Tuesday 27 – Thursday 29 May, 7.30pm performances

The Theatre Royal, Glasgow - 0870 060 6647
Sleuth - 2 for 1 top three price bands from Monday 26 – Thursday 29 May, 7.30pm performances

New Wimbledon Theatre - 0870 060 6646 
Fiddler On The Roof - £15 tickets from Tue 6 - Thu 8 May
Half A Sixpence - £15 tickets from Mon 12 - Thu 15 May
Aspects Of Love - £15 tickets from Tue 20 - Thu 22 May