St. George’s Theatre

A short digital film has been released to show how St. George’s will look and what its role will be within the community .  The film can be viewed on line at www.stgeorgestheatre.com

Two full-time members of staff have  been appointed  to assist the manager, Chris Moore, and  the team is  now recruiting for volunteers ready for the theatre opening later this year.  Volunteer support is being sought for the front-of-house team  and for the Box Office which is located at the Drill Hall in York Road, now the  home of SeaChange Arts.

As well as working with amateur groups who will be using the theatre,  St. George’s has its own drama club, which will offer members  opportunities to learn acting skills and stagecraft  and be involved in productions.   Chris Moore is also working on developing a comedy club.

To find out more about getting involved, send an email to the St. George’s team at hello@StGeorgesTheatre.com, with details of which areas of the theatre you are interested in.

Private Resistance

Private Resistance is a play by Ivan Cutting  about Churchill’s secret army, the Auxiliary Units, prepared to fight from behind the lines if Hitler had successfully invated UK. Ths is an Eastern Angles production and more information is available on their website www.easternangles.co.uk .  
The play is touring Suffolk and Norfolk February – May and is scheduled to be performed at St. George’s Theater, Great Yarmouth
 on Thursday, 10th May, 17.30 pm.  Tickets from St. George’s Theatre box office : 01493 846346.  Check details however, as there has been a delay to the opening of St. George’s owing to the discovery of amazing original decorations on the columns, four of which are being fully restored.

There is also a performance at the Seagull Theatre in Pakefield, Lowestoft, on 2nd April.  Box Office 01502 589726  The Seagull has a very lively and varied Spring programme. To ask to be added to the Seagull mailing list email to info@theseagull.co.uk

Historic features at St. George’s Chapel

Restoration work at St. George’s Chapel has uncovered “lavish and unique” original paint finishes on its timber columns which experts believe are of major historical significance.

A team from the University of Lincoln discovered the 300 year old finishes hidden under many layers of paint applied over the centuries and the original finishes appear to be still intact and well preserved.

The four most important columns at the East end of the building were decorated with an opulent scheme imitating lapis lazuli using ground blue glass and gold.  Experts now believe that these were part of a much more extensive paint scheme covering the entire chapel.  Michael Crick-Smith, a senior research fellow at University of Lincoln, said “What makes this find so exciting is the exceptional quality of these finishes.  You would normally only find such work in Royal Palaces and, in addition, we have found very unusual application techniques were used.  We consider this to be a find of national importance.”

Historian Stephen Heywood said the find significantly added to the historical understanding about the building. He said, ” St. George’s has recently been recognised as one of the most important examples of Baroque church architecture outside London.  These rich decorations – which would have involved great expense – demonstrate the great wealth and ambition of the Borough in the early 18th Century. Yet it was probably only a few decades before changes in the church towards a more radical Protestant ethic led to all these decorations being washed off or painted over.  It is wonderful to find that such an important element of the original scheme has survived.”

At present only small sample areas of the columns have been treated. Consultation is taking place between Hopkins Architects, English Heritage and the St. George’s Trust to decide whether to reveal all or some of the columns.  Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s Conservation Officer, Darren Barker, said. “It is a difficult decision – while it would be great to reveal the columns in their original state for the public to see, we also need to consider how this can be blended into a working performance venue.  We must ensure the long term protection of the finishes, and of course, cost may in the short term be a factor. Whatever decision is made, we are keen that it does not delay the completion of the building works.”

Repair work on the building by the contractor R. G. Carter is nearly complete and the intricate process has begun of fitting out and installing services into the building without effecting the historic fabric.

Gemma Smart, Conservator, working on the columns at St. George’s Chapel.

Job opportunity at St. George’s Theatre

Marketing and Communications Officer – freelance
Reporting to: General Manager of St George’s and Co-Director of SeaChange Arts.

Background:
St. George’s is a mixed use entertainment facility housed in a beautiful 18th century baroque chapel. It is due to open in the summer of 2012 after high profile, publically financed redevelopment. The St. George’s Trust is the registered charity that will operate the building with a board of Trustees, a small professional paid staff and a large body of volunteers. The venue will be hosting drama, music, conferencing, art and private events.

The St George’s Trust is will also be working in close partnership with SeaChange Arts – the arts development agency for Great Yarmouth Borough who produce the Out There International Street Arts and Circus Festival and other activities with artists and communities locally and internationally. SeaChange is developing the Drill Hall, York Road into a training and creation space in the immediate vicinity that will compliment St George’s. Both Trusts will work together using the complex of buildings and activities to create a vibrant cultural quarter that will regenerate this historic and diverse area.

The Marketing and Communications Officer will work across both venues to help promote and publicize all the cultural activities on offer, create a strong brand for the two venues and help market specific events such as Mardi Gras and the Out There International Street Arts and Circus Festival.

Principle responsibilities:

•To lead on the management, development and implementation of a communications, events and audience development strategy designed to raise the profile of SeaChange Arts products (Out There, Drill Hall, year round creative programme and St George’s)
•Develop and lead on the branding of these afore mentioned products and customer awareness of these brands
•Promotion of Drill Hall and St. George’s to local potential hirers as well as across the street arts and circus sector nationally and internationally
•Broker sponsorship and partnership agreements such as media partners, sponsors for print and advertising in brochures
•Writing press releases, copy for print, contacting radio stations, magazines and journals and TV
•Contributing content to partnership marketing and comms plans/products e.g. Seachange Arts European Partnerships: ZEPA, PASS
•Organising and promoting press launches, PR events and sponsors/VIP events (linked to Drill Hall and Out There). Represent Seachange at the Out There Festival
•Working in partnership with marketing networks to promote our products e.g ISAN, Tourism, Arts Council, GYBC etc
•Updating websites, facebook, twitter pages and electronic marketing/communication approaches (promoting St.George’s, Drill Hall, regular creative sessions and Out There)
•Audience Development: employing marketing and communication approaches to engage different audiences – particularly young people aged 16 to 25 and BME communities with our work
•Manage all project and events documentation including working with external photographers and film makers
•Oversee and implement a marketing plan for the Out There Festival including programme design, distribution, copy, advertisement, PR and media, press coverage and Festival Signage
•Design and market merchandising for the Out There Festival
•Work with Seachange Arts and St George’s to oversee marketing spend and budget management
•Work with Seachange Arts and St George’s on design and copy for Annual Report
•Produce In-house designed posters, flyers, printed material for regular sessions and associated events
•Represent the organisations across a range of contexts and meetings

Terms of Employment:
The role is a freelance role for one calendar year from the start date and there will be an expectation of some home working as well as some regular presence in the two venues in Great Yarmouth. An office desk and facilities will be provided for the post in the Drill Hall in York Road.  The hours and contract will be negotiated with the shortlisted candidates but we are envisaging approximately up to 90 days a year for an overall fee of £10k to be confirmed.

For more information about the post and person specification contact  Sarah James at sarah@seachangearts.org.uk

The closing date for applications is 5pm Friday the 17th February 2012. Interviews will be held on Friday morning the 24 February 2012 in Great Yarmouth.  Please send a recent CV and covering letter explaining why you are interested in applying for the post and your skills and experience you can bring to the role to nSarah James on : sarah@seachangearts.org.uk  For an informal discussion on the post please contact Sarah on 01493 846436.

Please note Seachange Arts are in the process of moving office and hence will not be able to accept posted applications. It is also possible the enclosed telephone number will not be available at some point so e-mail is the best option!

Job Opportunities at St. George’s Theatre

Assistant Manager: £17,000 – £20,000 per annum
Buildings Operations Assistant: £14,000 – £15,000 per annum

St Georges in Great Yarmouth is a Grade 1 listed building currently undergoing restoration and conversion to a new multi-purpose arts and cultural venue.  St. George’s Trust seeks to appoint new team members for thev300+ seat venue,its outdoor space, Café and Box Office.  You’ll be joining the project at an exciting time and be instrumental in preparing St Georges for its opening in the Spring of 2012.

Closing date: Tuesday 3rd January 2012.

For a full job description and application pack please download at www.stgeorgestheatre.com or email: info@stgeorgestheatre.com
For more information or an informal discussion please contact Chris Moore, General Manager, on 01493 846565 or 07900924210.

Street mural installed on St. George’s Theatre hoardings

The completed mural created by street artist Silent Hobo has now been installed in Great Yarmouth to decorate the hoardings around the St George’s Chapel development whilst work is currently under way to renovate the building. The mural was commissioned for the town through a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The mural depicts characters representing key points in Yarmouth’s heritage and cultural life, from the 17th Century, to the maritime and tourist heritage up to its focus in 1960s youth culture with the Mods and Rockers.

“My main idea for the piece was to represent the people through this period of history right up to the present day with elements of history passing by in the background” explained artist Silent Hobo.

“To manage such a large mural, I broke the periods of history into sections and I’d originally sketched out a design for approval and pretty much stuck with it. There are many misconceptions when it comes to spray painting, It can have a negative effect on an area, but it also can have a positive effect too when done with ideas and consideration.”

The mural also features a local man, Michael Blank, who is chairman of “Comeunity”, the local Neighbourhood Management organisation. Michael is also Treasurer of the Middlegate Community Association. He was nominated and won a public vote to feature in the mural in recognition of his work to improve the lives of people from South and Central Yarmouth.

    St. George’s Chapel, 19.01.11

It is expected the decorative hoardings will stay in place around St Georges until major works are completed during its renovation into a multi-purpose arts centre. The development of St George’s is the Borough’s principle regeneration programme. The building is expected to be open to the public in early 2012.

To see a video of the mural with the artist at work, a time lapse animation can be viewed on the homepage of Seachange Arts website – www.seachangearts.org.uk

Information provided by SeaChange Arts.

PROJECTS – ST GEORGE’S CHAPEL, GREAT YARMOUTH

I am looking for incredible people from the community doing inspiring work in a creative way to make a play to be performed at the new St George’s Theatre, Great Yarmouth on 2012. It could be amateurs, semi-professionals or professionals. Please feel free to get in touch, we can make Great Yarmouth a better place.

http://www.charcoalblue.co.uk/projects/being-built/st-georges-chapel.html

Spray Art workshops

Street artist Silent Hobo will be in Great Yarmouth on Saturday 6th November to work with the community to finish a large street mural being commissioned for the town, funded with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The drop-in workshops take place outside Great Yarmouth library from 10am-4pm, where the local community will be given the chance to finish off filling in the mural in a paint by numbers spray art workshop.

The finished mural will then be used to decorate the hoardings around the St George’s Chapel development whilst work is under way to renovate the building.

The work depicts key points in Yarmouth’s heritage and cultural life, from earliest beginnings, through maritime and tourist heritage up to its focus in 1960s youth culture with the Mods and Rockers.

The mural has been created by Bristol based artist Silent Hobo. A character-based artist who works on large-scale street murals, Silent Hobo mixes comic art influences, graffiti and Manga. His work is featured on buildings around Bristol and has been exhibited at The Tobacco factory in Bristol and Selfridges in London.

“My main idea for the piece was to represent the people through this period of history right up to the present day with elements of history passing by in the background” explained Silent Hobo. “To manage such a large mural, I broke the periods of history into sections and I’d originally sketched out a design for approval from the board and pretty much stuck with it. It is so important to have a good design before attempting a mural of any kind.”

The mural also features a local man, Michael Blank, who is chairman of “Comeunity”, the local Neighbourhood Management organisation. Michael is also Treasurer of the Middlegate Community Association. He was nominated and won a public vote to feature in the mural in recognition of his work to improve the lives of people from South and Central Yarmouth.

The works have all been created on panels, which will be attached to the hoarding around the chapel during its renovation into a multi-purpose arts centre and it is expected these will stay in place until major works are completed. Work on erecting the hoardings is due to start within the next few weeks.

Silent Hobo’s Spray Art workshop takes places outside Great Yarmouth’s Central Library from 10am-4pm on Saturday 6th November

Silent Hobo to create murals at St. George’s

SeaChange Arts are calling for nominations for a Great Yarmouth community champion to take their part in two murals being commissioned for the town and supported by the heritage lottery fund.

The murals will be used to decorate hoardings around the St George’s Chapel development. The work depicts key points in Yarmouth’s heritage and cultural life, from earliest beginnings, through maritime and tourist heritage up to its focus in 1960s youth culture with the Mods and Rockers.

The murals are being created by Bristol based artist Silent Hobo.  A character-based artist who works on large-scale street murals, Silent Hobo’s work mixes comic art influences, graffiti and Manga. His work is featured on buildings around Bristol and has been exhibited at The Tobacco factory in Bristol and Selfridges in London.

Silent Hobo will work on the 30-metre mural for St George’s Chapel during two visits to the town over the coming months. The work will be created on panels, which will be attached to the hoarding around the chapel during its renovation into a multi-purpose arts centre. It is expected these will stay in place until major works are completed. Following that, individual panels will be donated to various groups around town with the successfully nominated local figure receiving the panel featuring them.

As the murals will exhibited in the King Street area and are part of the ongoing regeneration project there, SeaChange Arts would like people to nominate community champions from the King Street and Middlegate areas. “We’re looking for someone who’s an unsung hero, someone who enhances their community, environment or who supports the work and lives of others,” explained Sarah James. “They could be a neighbour, a friend or a relative, perhaps someone who works tirelessly for charity, the environment or inspires in any aspect of life.”

Nominations can be made by emailing their name and 100 words explaining why they’ve been nominated to mailto://David1@seachangearts.org.uk Alternatively, nomination forms can be picked up in venues along King Street.

St. George’s and King Street regeneration project

St. George’s Chapel and Plain (with trees felled) 15.10.09

Major improvement works to enhance the setting of St George’s Chapel in Great Yarmouth started on Monday 5 October and changes to the highway layout should be in place before the run-up to Christmas is in full swing. This initial phase of the £8.5m regeneration project will include the realignment of Yarmouth Way to help restore the setting of the chapel to that of its historic footprint, while allowing the green corridor that was started as part of the St George’s Park refurbishment to be extended along Yarmouth Way through to King Street. This will eventually run from the seafront through to South Quay. An enhanced pedestrian environment is a key aspect of the proposals.

The project is being jointly funded by the Government’s Sea Change programme, English Heritage, East of England Development Agency, Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Norfolk County Council. (The project has also won first round support from the Heritage Lottery Fund through the Townscape Heritage Initiative but is competing with other schemes for final approval.)

It is hoped to publicise outline proposals for the enhancement of St George’s Chapel itself and a purpose built new pavilion later in the Autumn.

To see a full press release on NCC website, click here. See also press release dated 8.6.09 on GYBC website here.