Millie Gray
Derby Visit
I also collected a range of leaflets and posters for events happening around Derby to aid my research
We gathered imagery, leaflets and research during our trip to Derby. Our focus was to look for things that intrigued us and find the stories within them in preperation for our worshop with HandMade Theatre. My group explored the Derby museum of making, the Museum and Art Gallery and Pickford's House recording our finds along the way.
Bringing together my research
I compiled my research into a double page spread including images, notes, research, litem lists, and sketches. I gathered the images and leaflets from a range of sites around Derby and then continued my research after the trip as I was intrigued by Pickford House and wanted to learn about the history. I also created a few sketches from images taken on the trip looking at patterns and shapes that caught my eye as well as the beautiful gardens and Georgian exterior of Pickford's House
Creating work inspired by our trip
We chose an item from our visit to use as an anchor for
an initial set design concept.
HandMade Theatre Workshop
We spent the end of our first term working with Handmade Theatre building ideas for their next show around
memories and childhood.
​
​
​
​
We then worked with costume design to create costumes out of paper that we
could then project onto. Our dress was based on the word possession so we
looked at the different connotations of the word thinking about both positive
and negative meanings. We created a large neckpiece tying into the idea of
being a possession and the feeling of entrapment this can impose. We then took
a more free flowing approach to the skirt. It was built of many pieces that fit
together almost hugging one another to represent those physical possessions
that are important parts of peoples lives offering feelings of warmth and support.
​
​
​
In our first session we gathered objects, stories and
memories to create short performances which would
inspire our showcase on Friday. In small groups we
explored each others memories using puppets, soft
toys and a range of props.
​
​
​
We worked then worked in larger groups using projectors to
add colour, texture, images and videos to each others creations.
We then showcased these dresses in our small performance on
Friday.
​
​
Our Thursday session started with creating a puppet using a
range of recycled paper inspired by the puppets used in The
Fir Tree at Shakespeare's globe. We based our dog puppet of
off a toy from Ellie's childhood so that we could incorporate him
into the performance we had created earlier that week.
Reflection
Our final workshop of the week allowed us to gather all of the
projects we had been working on and present them to an
audience.
Working with HandMade theatre was an amazing opportunity that I have really
enjoyed. It has helped me to build on a range of skills such as collaboration,
experimentation and .............
​