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Active Arts, Spin

Active Arts, Spin

Laugh, dance and actively support local arts

Local charity Active Arts have put together a fabulous line-up of live music and comedy for their benefit night at the Brass Monkey in Hastings this Friday, writes HOT’s Zelly Restorick.

Active Arts ComedyActive Arts is a visual and performance arts project run by Hastings & Bexhill Mencap Society. Professional artists and performers teach the courses and students have the opportunity to exhibit and perform their work and to take part in an end-of-year show at the Phoenix Arts Centre.

“We have different classes each day,” explains Ann Blomfield, Active Arts’ administrator and a talented performer in her own right, “and our tutors are professional artists and performers who live locally to Hastings and St Leonards. The ‘Making for the Stage’ course and comedy and drama class are run by Anthony Bradnum from Inside Out Theatre Company. Our dance class is taught by dancer and performer, Yumino Seki. The art and design class is taught by Zeline Duprez – and we’re also lucky to have the artist Chris Hoggins as volunteer tutor for the class. Our musical theatre class is taught by Lisa Morris. Students at Active Arts are all artists and performers with a learning disability.

“We’re raising money to help continue the project. Active Arts does not receive any direct funding. Students have to pay to attend their class and Active Arts continues to fund-raise to offset the cost of the classes, which helps more students to attend.

Active Arts Net Huts“Active Arts’ performing students work using music, movement, comedy and mime and include singing and acting techniques to create improvised or structured solo or ensemble work; these classes take place at the White Rock Theatre. We strive to raise the profile of artists and performers with a learning disability and, where possible, we run our classes in community spaces and collaborate with other artists. We have had work exhibited at The Stade, Hastings Museum, Eat@cafes, Open Studios, Coastal Currents Arts Festival and the Tate Modern in London. Our fund-raising helps us to continue this work.

Active Arts Benefit Night poster“The comedy acts which will be performing on Friday at the Brass Monkey are students from the comedy and drama class. They are acts which have either been performed at last year’s Active Arts show or are work in progress for our show in July. The pieces have been created through improvisation and give students an opportunity to explore comic ideas and timing. Performing these sketches at the Brass Monkey also allows the performer to experience different performing spaces and environments.”

Comperes for the night are Richard Alan and Anthony Bradnum, with comedy from The Chimers, Pink Panthers and Mexican Flying Hats. They’ll be performing alongside fabulous local bands, Cajun Dawgs and Colonel Mustard, both of whom are brilliant live performers, producing music designed to penetrate your heart and soul – and get your body moving to their amazing rhythms.

Cajun Dawgs are a deep south gumbo of cajun, zydeco, swamp pop, rockin’ blues and rockabilly, authentically played on screaming accordion, twanging guitars, thumping bass and crazy drums. Music to dance, cry, fight and love to.

Colonel Mustard, a four-piece group from the heart of Hastings, play an original mix of heartfelt songs with the odd cover thrown in, taking you on an emotional and electric musical extravaganza, titillating and tickling your aural and visual taste buds. Riding a magical musical omnibus that makes stops in 80’s new wave and 60’s beatnik, the Colonels are the ideal antidote for the modern world.

Active Arts Benefit Night, Friday 3 May at the Brass Monkey, 18 Havelock Road, Hastings. Live music from the Cajun Dawgs and Colonel Mustard.

Tickets cost £8 in advance and £10 on the door. Available from Trinity Wholefoods, Brass Monkey, Eat@Stade or Eat@Park and from Hastings & Bexhill Mencap Society on 01424 422082.

Find out more about Hastings & Bexhill Mencap Society and the Active Arts programme here.

 

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Posted 16:39 Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 In: Community Arts

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