The Guildford School of Acting has teamed up with Industry partners to create a unique project that aims to get the lights back on in theatre this autumn and we are inviting you to come and see our finished shows.

The project will harness the talent of our next generation of GSA production students currently in their 2nd and 3rd years (specialising in Stage & Production Management, Lighting, Sound, and Construction and Scenic Arts). We have paired them with professional creative teams to work and produce Covid compliant pieces of live theatre. Our aim was to produce cost effective achievable live theatre that was devised with Covid guidance in mind, in the hope that venues could consider deciding to stage them in theatres.

By facilitating the production process, GSA wanted to take some of the financial risk out of producing live theatre for venues. They  strongly feel that as a university that trains the next generation of Theatre Production Technicians that wanted to do their part in helping the industry to reopen its doors after this unprecedented time of closure.

The aim of the Covid project has been to:

• Leverage the creative talent and expertise of the next generation of production technicians resident at GSA, pairing them with creative professionals to devise, create and tech Covid compliant live theatre shows.
• Prove that innovative and provocative theatre can be produced in a Covid-compliant way, using multiple actors and cutting edge theatre technology
• Provide self-contained performance pieces that can help get the lights back on in theatres up and down the country.  We wanted to bear the financial burden of producing here at our university to help create new pieces of live theatre.  The aim is to gift it to industry in the hope it helps to give our venues some much needed content to get the doors open when we are allowed.

They would like to invite you to come and watch.

Friday 27th November – 3.30pm – 5pm

You will see a complete live streamed version of “Home” – a sound and video installation that explores the concept of what home is to people.

“Home is where we should feel safe and secure. For many people Home conjures up images of pain, tragedy and worlds crumbling. For the many homeless people on the streets today, home is a complex place. But could the word ‘home’ be reclaimed for these people? What would represent the essence of it? If ‘home’ was an object, what would it be?”

Extracts from “Refuge” a fully staged Covid compliant show with actor and video.

“Syria was one of the cradles of civilisation.  The birthplace of the old Gods. A show featuring the Syrian Goddess Atargatis, and Amira a Syrian caught up in the modern day destruction.”

“When did we stop seeing Syria as a country rich in culture and tradition? Shouldn’t we be doing more to save its people and its history? This story explores these questions and many more.”

During the seminar you will also hear from the creative teams but also from the next generation of technicians and performers, before opening into a broader discussion and Q&A that explores the challenges and possibilities of working in the current space.  

GSA would welcome anyone to come and watch their performances and hear from their students and professional creative teams.  But more than that they ask you to come and consider taking these pieces away and see if they can be performed in your venues.  The students wanted to help the industry they love so much and they would love to share this with you all.  Full tech info, scripts and riders will be available after the showings should you wish to know more.

Please RSVP (gsaevents@gsa.surrey.ac.uk) to be added to our live streaming email list.  The live stream link will be sent to you on the day.

We look forward to seeing you there.

More details on the shows can be found here.