The Tree Sparrow's Tale - Dress Rehearsal in the Woods!

As the Summer finally hits Barnsley and temperatures soar to 30 degrees we picked a great day for a dress rehearsal in Wombwell Woods!

It was a hot and sticky Tuesday day as we made our way to the woods, happy to be cooled down by the shade of the trees. Performers and musicians gathered together to see what would happen when we put performance, music costume and props all together and the result was pleasing indeed!

As our site specific production of "The Tree Sparrows Tale" has slowly come together, more recent weeks has seen our wonderful musicians Hayley & James take over the devising mantel and create a soundtrack in keeping with our Woodland adventure. With a little help from our friends at Re:Sound this talented bunch have come up with the most marvelous melodies which include, "When I had my Song" "Hideout" and "Home is".

Another big component in the creative imagining of this piece is the costume & props. Friend of Creative Recovery, Becky Newbould has done a cracking job on this front and has played with colour and fabric to create costume representative of our feathered friends and their contrasting characters. We're particular loving our steampunk starling! 

So after all beevoring away on our own creative disciplines it was exciting to bring this together in the form of a dress rehearsal ahead of the event next week! It was a smashing day that was even captured by Barnsley's favourite broadsheet, the Chron! Who agreed the audience are in for a real treat! 

We hope plenty of families join us down at the Woods next weekend to join in the fun! There's still  places left on lot of the workshops so please give us a call on 01226 320147 if you wish to book and we'll see you there!

Bookings are now being taken for the UPLIFT Wombwell Woods Weekend!

Please contact the office on 01226 320147 to reserve places on the Pewter Casting & Woodland Instruments Workshops, performances on The Tree Sparrows Tale and transportation to the event.

If you come down to the Woods today...

This July sees us return to Wombwell Woods for an even bigger UPLIFT event, which this year will feature a walkabout Woodland performance.

It was therefore a fun filled Tuesday as we gathered our lovely performers together to begin the devising process!

It was decided early on in the process that our walkabout performance in the Woods would focus on some of the creatures we might meet there and the idea of meeting some birdy characters offered lots of scope and excitement. 

Working with the Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership and the Forestry Commission, we were keen to separate fact from fiction and keep our characters rooted in their habitat whilst keeping the magic and playful nature alive. So after flocking through lots bird research we were able to select some beautiful birds native to the Woods and had some fun developing our feathered friends into characters for the site specific show. Looking at each of the birds behaviours made for a fun exploration into building them as characters -  What are there quirks? What are they notoriously known for? What can be exaggerated? And what are the links between them, where would relationships be formed?

As with creating anything from scratch you have to start somewhere and there's no better place than with a structure, so we set about giving the piece a beginning, middle and end. With our narrative and characters in place we ventured out into the Woods for another recce and to soak up more inspiration from the wonderful surroundings. With the creative juices flowing and more ideas flourishing, things are bubbling away nicely! 

We don't want to give too much away just yet but here's a taster of what's to come, do keep posted for further info and we hope lots of you can make it to hear,

"The Tree Sparrows Tale"

A family friendly woodland promenade performance from the lake to the fire.

Join the humble tree sparrow as she takes you around her Woodland home, telling tales of loss, courage and friendship. With some feathered friends along the way, come and join the flock, because after all, the best journey takes you home.

Meet at The Lake
Saturday 30th July, 4pm and 7pm
Sunday 31st July 2pm

May & June Dates!

Art with Heart Creative Workshop

Wednesday 11th May, 2pm @ The Hut

Award-winning Art with Heart will be running a creative session with Creative Recovery!

Art with Heart are currently developing their new theatre production, Declaration with The Lowry Theatre Manchester.

Declaration is a raw, honest and hopeful exploration of ADHD, mental health and diagnosis and need your help!

Autobiographically written, with comedy, storytelling and conversations with audiences, Art with Heart are looking for people to give them feedback on their work. They will be sharing 20 minutes of Declaration, asking for feedback and running a short creative workshop to discuss diagnosis and mental health

www.artwithheart.org.uk

There will be limited spaces to 15 people, if you would like to take part please contact the office on 01226 320147.

Instinctive, curious, bold and bouncy; Sarah is a mighty proud square peg, which wouldn’t be such a problem if the hole wasn’t so damn round.

Sarah grew up feeling different. Her childhood Doctor thought it was sugar. Her current Doctor thinks its ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder). Sarah still feels different, so what will a label do? Will it change the way you see her and the way she sees herself?

Developed in consultation with medical professionals, ADHD and mental health support groups, 'Declaration' examines when we want, need or are forced to declare our differences, and the faces we wear to fit in.

Declaration takes you on vibrant and daring adventure that asks you to roll around in your weirdness, make a hat out of it and dance.

Wombwell Woods Promenade Performance Devising Workshop

Tuesday 24th May, 10am – 4pm @ The Hut

After the success of last year’s takeover, Creative Recovery will be returning to Wombwell Woods for the weekend of July 30th & 31st for more Woodland adventures featuring a very special promenade performance!

Working with some of our favourite artists who just happen to be professional performers, we invite you to come along and devise our story, create our characters and perform in this magical piece!

Our devising day will take place at the Hut on Tuesday 24th May from 10am - 4pm, if you would like to be involved please contact the office on 01226 320147.

Please note that if you would like to participate in the performance itself you must be able to commit to 2 performances on Saturday 30th July (4pm & 7pm) & a performance on Sunday 31st July (2pm) and must be available to attend the devising day on Tues 24th.

It would be great to have as many of you involved in what hopes to be a truly special production!

Moves Us! Live ARTS Cafe Special

Wednesday 1st June, 3.30-8pm @ The Recovery College

Join us for an afternoon and evening of music, movement and mindfulness. Discover and share how music can move you!

Creative Workshops from 4pm to include;

Mindful Movement- Stretch, relax, be revived!

Express Yourself (Dance and Movement)- A creative, active workshop for those intrigued yet maybe slightly frightened by dance.

Help us to finish The ‘Music Moves Us!’ Artwork

5.30- 8pm Enjoy a serving of Summer Tunes from the UPLIFT Coffee Cafe Choir, sharing’s from the day, live music from Paul Newman and an evening meal in the beautiful gardens of The Recovery College.

Throughout the day, learn about different opportunities for learning and boosting your wellbeing in Barnsley.

We are also looking for volunteers to help with this event: set up, refreshments and support.

This event has been made possible with funding from the ‘Great Minds Think Differently’ project in partnership with Northern College.

Music Moves Us!

Join us on Saturday 9th April and celebrate musical movements as we explore how music can help you feel good!

With performances from the UPLIFT Coffee Café Choir and Re:Sound, open mic sessions and a live DJ set, as well as all day crafting and home baking, we're set to have ourselves a creative, feel good, fun day!  

You'll find us at St Paul's Church, Old Town, Barnsley, with doors opening from 3.30pm - 10pm.

We hope to see you there! 

2015 in Pictures

Happy New Year one and all!

It's been another action packed year for Creative Recovery.

Here's a whistle stop tour of 2015 across all of our wonderful projects.

Recovery Through Art - Recovery Wall



An Afternoon with the Engine Room Experience



Podium Protest



Wombwell Woods Takeover

Delightful Downton Picnic!

Northern College Residential

Filey!

Live in Barnsley!



The "I Matter" Campaign
 

Changing Perspectives

The UPLIFT Coffee Café Choir





HYGGE!

And not forgetting the smash hit single, complete with music video from Re:sound

Oh Emma!



Here's to making more lovely memories in 2016!