In partnership with Portland Museum, The Atlantic Academy School, Doppelganger Productions and The Island Voices Community Choir, Heart of Stone is a community project offering outreach engagement in the local community and free theatre making/performing workshops and discussion cafes throughout July and August. The aim is to create a group, The Portland Players, and perform a play co-created during the workshops at two outdoor performances on 11th and 12th September. The project is supported by Portland-based arts organisation, b-side.
Anyone is welcome to join The Portland Players, all ages, all abilities and skills. We are looking for actors, dancers, and backstage and support crew. You need to be enthusiastic and available for most (but not all of the workshops) and for the final weekend of dress rehearsal and performance dates.
There are two taster sessions to come and have a chat with the team and sign up! They are taking place on Saturday 19th June 1-3pm at Peter Trim Hall and Thursday 24th June 6-9pm at Royal Manor Theatre, Fortuneswell. Please email to book a place for the tasters, the 19th June taster has time and number restrictions so you will be allocated a time to come. You can also join up to be a Portland Player by emailing [email protected]
Or you can tell us a little about yourself and book through this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NPVKY78
The Portland Players will take part in the outdoor performances in September. The project is made possible by funding from the Arts Council England Lottery Project Grants Funding, The Dorset Community Foundation Performing Arts Grant Fund and support from b-side. All dates are in the attached leaflet and on the Facebook community page:
www.facebook.com/groups/heartofstoneproject
Our Story
Back in 2019, writer Sarah Acton ran a series of events and discussion cafes about Portland stone quarrying during a writing residency at Portland Museum supported by the Jurassic Coast Trust Coastal Volunteer Network. The events were a great success and sparked strong interest and lively conversations within the local community. The discussion cafes were attended by ex-quarrymen and stone masons, culminating with a celebratory ‘In Conversation’ event as a museum fundraiser in December 2019 which invited over forty members of the public to join in the public conversationabout Portland stone quarrying and industry, and life on Portland past and present. All of this has inspired Sarah to write a new community play.
“It was a great privilege to work with Portland Museum and talk at length with Rab Stone, Mr Peter and Paul Knight, Trevor Mccolm amongst many others who kindly offered their time, voices and stories, and everyone who came to listen. The play is about ordinary life and people on the extra-ordinary Isle of Portland, how things have changed on Portland in living memory, and about the epic myth and history of Portland stone itself, with lots of songs. I’m so excited to see what Charmaine, and the creative team co-create with the community and our fantastic partners.”
Sarah Acton
Playwrite
The original script also pays homage to Skylark Durston and the much-loved Portland Poets (Bob Wollage and George Davey, plus writer, Boy Male). Sarah has interwoven their voices with voices from audio recordings at the discussion cafes, plus interviews with geologists. These, together with an original story and songs which composer, Lucie Treacher, has put to music in collaboration with Su Lewis and the singers of the Island Voices Community Choir. Alastair Simpson is a local instrumentalist and performer who will also be making and directing music for the performances.
The Heart of Stone script will be developed into a play with the Portland community during upcoming workshops over the summer. They will be led by theatre director, Charmaine K Parkin, and two professional actors, Pearl Marsland and Charlotte Peach. The script will be developed by drama GCSE students at the Atlantic School, students at Westfield Arts College in Weymouth, Dorset Libraries and with a new group of community players, The Portland Players, over a ten week programme of workshops in July and August on Portland.
‘I am really excited to help bring people together from different generations and hear their Portland stone stories. Through drama workshops and fun exercises we can collaborate on bringing these stories and Sarah’s script to life and create a really playful and dynamic new theatre experience.’
Charmaine K Parkin
Creative Director
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