Theatre for Kids - Ben Fletcher Watson reviews "Oily Cart"

Three Decades of Pioneering Practice

A Review of Oily Cart: all sort of theatre for all sorts of kids, edited by Mark Brown.

(Stoke on Trent: Trentham Books, 2012). 
168 p., £22.99. ISBN: 1858565103

 Royal Conservatoire of Scotland researcher Ben Fletcher Watson has uploaded his review of a book about theatre for children.  Visit his Academia.edu page here to read it.

Children Need Music, insists Royal Society for the Arts

Spotted in the news today, on the Royal Opera House website:-

"Every child should have an education in arts and culture

"A strong cultural education is vital for the UK's social and economic future, argues Vikki Heywood, chair of the RSA."

No-one at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland would argue with that observation!  Read the article online HERE.

Are you a Digital Native? Are your younger Siblings?

Interesting article here on the BBC News and Technology pages. Educationalists refer to the current generation as "digital natives" - it's a controversial subject, because not everyone is as comfortable in the digital environment as their most tech-minded peers.

This BBC article examines the topic in the context of an even younger generation:-

Do we need to rescue our kids from the digital world? 
By Jane Wakefield, Technology reporter

Opera de Paris children perform in Glasgow Concert

Date for your Diary: Weds 24th July  2013

(Les Enfants de L'Opera de Paris)

The Alliance Française de Glasgow is delighted to announce that the children's choir of the Opéra de Paris will perform in Glasgow on July 24th. You can find all the information here:

http://www.afglasgow.org.uk/l-enfant-et-les-sortileges.html Do forward this information to all your contacts to let them know about what promises to be a memorable concert not to be missed!

Your child can WIN a family weekend away!

Think parent power!  You work so hard for those kids ...

Now, if you can get them to write a short story for the Herald newspaper's competition, they can repay you by winning a family weekend away!  A win-win situation, I'd say.  Here are the details.

They have to submit their story by 14th January, and must be aged 17 or younger.

Sensory O, opera initiative

Calming the savage [little] beasts?

While you're practising your arias, you may wonder if the fruits of your labour could have anything pertinent to parents with toddlers.  (Screams, tantrums, trainer pants - ah, the happy memories!)

According to the Sensory O initiative, it might be more relevant than you think.  Here's a BBC report about it:- click here.  (Feature by Pauline McLean.)

• Scottish Opera Sensory O website (Rachel Drury, composer to the project, is also a doctoral student and member of staff at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.)
• Opera Scotland website - details of the Sensory O Tour.
• Last year's Tete a Tete, the earlier Baby O project, again featuring our own Rachel Drury.

You might also be interested in the work of another of our students, Ben Fletcher-Watson, Theatre for Babies.  (This link tells you about Oily Cart's latest production: 'Oily Cart: how to prepare your toddler for a trip to the theatre')

Keep the kids busy - short story writing competition

Cold winter holidays looming?  Here's an idea to keep the kids busy!

Organised by the Scottish Storytelling Centre.  Should keep kids out of mischief for an hour or two!

Find out more here.