18 Guildhall to the World Child's Play 20 40 Years of Silk Street 26
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The Guildhall School Magazine Spring/ Summer 2017 12 Making a Scene 28 The Interview Opera making Jules Buckley at Guildhall PLAY 18 Guildhall to the World Child’s Play 32 Class Notes 16 Takes one to 20 40 years of Silk 34 Recent Releases 4 Chamber of Secrets know one Street Beneath Tower Bridge 36 In Memoriam 6 Your latest School 38 A Day in the Life news and stories Ailsa Wynn-Williams 26 Then & Now Matt Smith Editorial Group Welcome to the latest edition of PLAY Short Courses Deputy Head of Development (Engagement) I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My Helen Bradley 2017 name is Helen Bradley and I have been appointed to replace Head of External Affairs & Acting Head of Development Rachel Dyson, former editor of PLAY as Deputy Head of Jo Hutchinson Development (Engagement). Cross-Arts Summer School in association with Marketing & Communications the Barbican Manager I arrived at the School in January 2017 and it seems change is Summer Arts Camp (11-14 years) Rosanna Chianta Performing Arts Course (15+) in the air. The arrival of Lynne Williams as the new Principal Copywriter marks a new era in Guildhall’s history. Editing this magazine Drama Summer School Caroline Bishop has been a wonderful way for me to get to know a bit about the Acting in Shakespeare & Contemporary Theatre Art Direction & Design Acting in Musical Theatre Jessie Earle School’s past, present and future. Drama Summer School (16-17 years) Music Summer School Contact In this issue we will talk about many of the changes the School Brass & Percussion Week Email has faced and continues to face: buildings, courses, staff, Advanced instrumental courses in Saxophone, [email protected] students and funding. But as you can see from the 40 years of Violin, Viola, Oboe, Bassoon Jazz & Rock Week Twitter Silk Street feature, regardless of the changes the Guildhall Advanced Jazz @guildhallschool spirit is what endures. Singers’ Weekend Facebook Singing Taster GuildhallSchoolAlumni Contemporary A Cappella with Accent When I arrived at the School I was struck by how friendly and Essential Music Theory Post welcoming everyone is. Despite being surrounded by brutalist Music Theory: Beyond Grade 5 Development & Alumni Essential Aural Skills Relations Office architecture, the Silk Street building is not reflective of the Aural Skills: Beyond Grade 5 Guildhall School atmosphere created by the staff and students. There is energy of Music & Drama as soon as you enter the School, students practicing in corridors, Technical Theatre Summer School Silk Street, Barbican Stage Management Skills London EC2Y 8DT meeting in the foyer, auditioning opposite the Development Opera Stage Management office. Staff and students create and thrive off this energy and Stage Lighting Skills Photo Credits I am sure in the coming months and years our new Principal Practical Theatre Sound Skills Video Projection Mapping Mark Allan, Clive Barda, will harness this to drive forward the institution to do even Scenic Art Skills Chris Christodoulou, greater things. Prop Making Skills Paul Cochrane, Stephen Introduction to Costume Cummiskey, Getty images, Introduction to Wigs, Hair and Make-up for Theatre Andrew McConnell, I look forward to putting together many more editions of PLAY Alistair Muir, Shutterstock magazine and meeting as many of you as possible in the months Continuing Professional Development Training in Classical Voice and years to come. Mindfulness for Performers Creative Music Training Best wishes, Introduction to Automation for the Entertainment Industry Helen Bradley, Editor Technical Theatre for Drama Teachers Creative Entrepreneurs Short Course Coaching 5 Day Intensive Skills Course 3 Day Coaching Course for Leaders and Managers Booking now open. Find out more at gsmd.ac.uk/summer 2 3 BEHIND THE SCENES This February, Guildhall artists Bascule Chamber for the first time is so chamber is the roof comes all the way collaborated on an event like no extraordinary. What I couldn’t get away down; the roof is the weight system for other. Terra Incognita: Here Be from was that there’s this instantly lifting the bridge. Behind where everyone Dragons was a site-specific light and recognisable place that you’ve seen a was seated during the show was a row for sound installation in the unique setting million times, which has this mysterious, all the projectors – anything that wasn’t of the Bascule Chamber of Tower secret cavern beneath it that you didn’t in that area had to be moved. Bridge – a dramatic, subterranean know anything about. I wanted to focus It’s incredible that this experience is space hidden below river-level. the project on a magnification of that part of a course. So far, in my first year, experience. Ideas of alternate perceptions our projects have been working on and realities became a running theme Blackpool Illuminations, a project for Chris Earlie throughout all of our visual signposts, Guildhall Festival, and then this. There Head of Tower Bridge alongside the overarching themes of aren’t many university courses where The inception of Terra Incognita: Here Be bridges, connections, water; symbolic the third project you do is at Tower Bridge! Dragons was the Son et Lumiere event in references to the bridge itself. Ours is a brilliant course because we all Guildhall Yard last summer. Having seen With all architectural mapping, when work together. We’re not just learning how fantastic that was, I was having a you’re treating a very well-known and from the teachers, we’re learning from coffee with Head of Guildhall Libraries beautiful building, your first concern is the older students. When you’re working Sara Pink and she suggested doing a video how to do it justice. You have to understand on any live event, there’s always a feeling mapping event at Tower Bridge. We’d that people want to see the space, so it’s of excitement and anticipation, but also, just had the Bascule Chamber approved about how you welcome them in to the that until we open the doors to the public, for our Totally Thames event; Sara and work and engage them in the art while it’s our little secret. When you’re inside I couldn’t think of a project and space allowing them to become attuned to Tower Bridge until 10.30pm and it’s just more perfectly matched. where they are and what that feels like. you, your course mates, your teachers and The Bascule Chamber is located within This site-responsive sensitivity is part of no one else, it feels very special. Tower Bridge, directly beneath one of the what we’re trying to do. iconic towers. It’s a completely unique I think it’s really important for students Abbi Asante shape designed to allow the counterweights to work on projects like this. From an BA Performance & Creative Enterprise to swing in when bridge lifts take place. employment point of view, it gives them I wrote, recorded and produced an CHAMBER It’s almost like the Victorians set it up to be a real head start. original song entitled ‘Wash Over Me’ an event space – it’s an operational space, The students we attract are very which I sang as audiences exited the but the acoustic is fantastic. The Bascule practical-minded and like to be vocational Bascule Chamber. I serenaded them as Chamber is still used today for bridge lifts. in their approach, so provided we’ve got they walked out back into reality. There are huge challenges to staging the people and the time to accommodate The main challenge I had was internal, OF SECRETS an event in this space. The biggest that in to a production process without my creative identity. At first, I tried to be challenge is that we’re bound by an act impacting on the quality of the work, abstract with the work I produced, to fit of parliament which means we have that’s my preferred method. We can’t do it into such an unorthodox performance to raise the bridge at 24 hours’ notice. everything like that because then there’s space. But I decided that instead of Basically this means we could arrange no real freedom for the students to make changing my art for the space, I would an entire weekend of performances and mistakes, so there needs to be some change the space with my art by bringing they could be scuppered. There are lots offline, classroom-based teaching too. in my personality and song style. I ended of stakeholders involved – vessel owners, up bringing forward a pop song with TFL, the Port of London Authority – Amelia Kosminsky strong roots in soul and R&B. not just your tourist stood on the side. BA Video Design for Live Performance It sounds cheesy, but while I was The way we designed the event was to As first years, we only started working singing up to the audience at the bottom plan very carefully so that if we got any on the project the week before the event. of the cold and damp chamber, seeing requests we could accommodate them Our role was to help the second years, audience members smiling, and stopping – we held 16 performances across the Ruairidh Nelson and Andrew Monks, to listen, it made me feel all warm and weekend, with an hour between each. with the show and to help Dan with the fuzzy inside. Somebody approached me The event surpassed my expectations. maintenance. There was a bit of content afterwards and said that my performance Being sat down in the belly of the creation – I made a small piece with made them forget about the cold, Chamber, looking at what Dan and the Toby McManus for the main chamber, claustrophobic environment of the students achieved, was incredible, from and I made the soundscape for the chamber and guided them out with the abstract dreamscapes to the more machinery room.