Live Arts Programme

The Live Arts Programme will involve both those productions from our resident companies and those brought in from external producers.

Externally produced work coming into the site will largely be dictated by availability and budgetary constraints, but we anticipate that demand for both auditoria will grow over time.

The in-house productions will be run by our two main live production groups working in tandem; phoenix theatre arts and Phoenix Dance, with additional events staged by Phoenix Speciality Events. Publicity design (posters, fliers, programmes etc.) will be handled by Phoenix Graphic Arts and music for shows mainly by Phoenix Audio. Cast photographs, publicity stills and rehearsal pictures for press release and online presentation wioll be handled by our own photography department within the graphics division. Set, props, and costumes again will be largely dealt with in house by our own fully equipped departments.

The programme itself will be a combination of different elements, with the goal to produce eight to twelve full scale productions over the course of a year.

Our educational programme,which will be the cornerstone of the years work will concentrate on those texts being studied at examination level for GCSE and A Level students. Our plan has been put together on the assumption that the curriculum has not changed in the last eighteen months of touring and we are prepared to go with the original productions of Macbeth, A View From The Bridge(subject to acquiring the rights) The Tempest, and Romeo and Juliet. We are also planning a supplementary play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, as it is a good parallel to all the other works by Shakespeare in this programme, offering ideal material to compare and contrast with the other three. It is also one of the more popular and widely known of Shakespeare's plays, will allow us to draw on the full range of skills and performance types encompassed by Phoenix, and should attract a good audience from the wider community outside the student fraternity. There is ample room within the plan as it stands to insert some other works if needed, and budgets and time allowing, and at this stage we would be able to change this plan if, after consultation with teachers and education departments, we find that other texts would be preferable. This takes care of English and Drama, but we are uncertain as to whether A Level Dance is being offered, and if so, in which regions, so we will take any part of our programme geared to this under advisement and slot home any necessary works into the gaps left in our schedule for this purpose. With our schedule under revisement from year to year we will look to streamline and accomodate as much material and as many necessities as possible.

We will be producing several original works either from our existing catalogue or from the growing selection of works in development that will include new dance shows, musicals and plays. We will also recreate a well known pantomime or seasonal story as a fully fledged comedy musical for the Christmas and Easter seasons, complete with original script, lyrics, score and choreography. And as is our wont, there will of course be new illusions and probably a combination of circus skills just to add to what will already be a world class production.

Our season does not stop there either. We will also be looking to stage a series of variety performances featuring well known names as well as rising performers staged alternately as headline evening shows and as matinees aimed at the OAP market, as well as orchestral and popular music concerts.

All of this will add up to one of the most packed, entertaining and educative programmes staged in the UK by a single production company, and something to make everyone involved with it, either watching or taking part, proud.