Bounce Summer School Experience!

By Serena Lola

The Bounce Theatre Summer School was set up by the Big Local and Bounce Theatre to allow up to 75 children to do something creative and innovative for 4 weeks this summer holidays. The idea behind it all was to give young people a space where they can express themselves through creativity in a safe, friendly and nurturing environment whilst learning new and amazing skills but also having fun at the same time with new found friends.

"The trips were amazing!”
Brooke, 11yrs old

This project also allowed them to get out of the area and go on some fantastic trips such as Hampton court Palace and the boat ride on the River Thames, all of which were enjoyed very much by the children. Brooke, 11yrs old, said: The trips were amazing!” Furthermore this project helped them to open their eyes and see what’s out there in the world as opposed to staying at home all day.

The theme of the project was Hansel and Gretel and with this theme they turned three normal and boring classrooms into the magical scenes of the story which were: the forest, the witches’ house and the market place and they all turned out to look spectacular and it also was something they could be proud of to have done this summer.

It’s also clear that they’ve had a lot of fun during their time here. Saani, 7yrs old, said: “I like the art, filming, fun and creativity, I just love it” and the same goes for the other children who said it was really fun and enjoyable.

In addition they had some exciting visits from people who helped with the performance such as Emma who did drama workshops and Andrea who created and helped with the art of the production. This was all done to encourage children to try something new and be allowed to have creative freedom but also have a good time whilst doing it and through this summer school that has been achieved.

The project was led by Rachel Doherty (centre) and Daniel Ramsden (right) at Bounce Theatre.

“I like the art, filming, fun and creativity, I just love it."
Saani, 7yrs old

At my time in the summer school I got to see sneak peeks of the performances and works that had been created and all I can say was that it looked terrific and I could see a phenomenal amount of time and effort was put into it which was amazing to see as it had been created by young people in a matter of 4 weeks.

Finally, it was not only the children who enjoyed this experience but out Big Local volunteers as well as they enjoyed helping the kids and just having fun with something that got them out the house during the holidays.

THE FINAL PRODUCTION:

When I first arrived I was amazed at how a simple classroom had been turned into a market place which was full of colour and life and it was also nice to see how all the children were involved in running their own market stalls which ranged from decorating bowls to fortune telling. What made this even better was we got to get involved by writing our positive messages and making things, which was pretty fun.

After hanging round the production began for the first time with handmade tickets in our hands we went through to watch. It began with a rap about Hansel and Gretel that had been written and performed by two of the boys. Then we were led through the door and were cascaded by tissue paper, which created a beautiful forest where the leaves were blowing around.

As we stood in this almost magical place two girls through the forest surprised us and the play began with them narrating through song that is different and really interesting to other things I’ve seen before. Suddenly we saw Hansel and Gretel come running in and then out like a flash and we are led into another room where the play continues.

Once again the room had been transformed and we were in the middle of the action, it was like we were apart of the story. The acting of the children was also amazing as you could see how much time and effort they had put into the whole thing and in the end was quite spectacular I particularly enjoyed the witch who was very scary and demanding. We not only saw the live play but we also got to watch a mini film they had produced throughout the summer school and it clearly showed all the new skills they had learnt and just showed how talented they are.

Finally we were then led back through the forest and into another room, which was transformed, into the witches house, it looked spectacular with an oven in the middle and covered in giant sweets and candy. The play continued and was really exciting as I was standing in the middle of all of it as Hansel and Gretel escaped and the witches were made good, it was a great ending to an amazing performance and I thought it was so good that I watched it again the second time.

They had done a magnificent job with everything and it was hard to believe that they only had 4 weeks it seemed like a full on west end production, it was quite impressive. Overall the final production was outstanding and many parents there agreed who thought it ‘was really good’ and ‘was something fun they could do in the holidays.’ It is something that is great to be involved in and will keep you busy in the boring old holidays.

Members from our Big Local Youth Action Team gained amazing work experience during the Summer School programme with (left to right) Harpreet Kaur, Megha Dahdrai, Anajli Kumar, Juhi Kumra and Abbie McFerran.