local community, local life ............... 6When The Lights Go Up by Rona SimpsonWe are lucky to have so many excellent local theatre groups in ourarea including the award-winning PACE Youth Theatre, KilbarchanKirk Drama Group, Johnston Phoenix Theatre Groups and KilmacolmDramatic Society. However, with auditoriums empty and no fundscoming in, over the last year many have employed unconventionalways to keep audiences engaged. From online pantos to communityworkshops delivered through zoom, these groups have pushed theboundaries of storytelling in our communities.PACE Theatre Company, based in Paisley, was founded in 1988 and isa non-profit making theatre specialising in work with young people. Itis the largest youth theatre in the UK. Jenni Mason, Artistic Directorhad this to say,“As for everyone, this has been an unprecedented year for PACE.Young people were quickly identified by children’s charities as beingparticularly vulnerable, and it was obvious to us that the arts had akey role to play ... Lockdown prompted a re-imagining of our coreactivity last March and we have been successfully running onlinedrama classes and building a creative community for new andexisting members since then … members have had access to onlinevideos, audio adventures, podcasts and digital theatre.”But you don’t need to be a member to take part in some of PACE’sonline workshops. Connected: A multi arts project for families, hasproved very successful. Family groups are invited each Monday at8pm to explore movement and share stories of Paisley, which is editedinto a short film. It is also completely free. The group also runs aseries of musical fitness classes for kids twice a week, allowing kids toconnect in person and get fit!Another winner was their amazing, free, streamed ChristmasPanto, “Lost in Pantoland”, which brought much neededChristmas cheer in November of last year.Despite the pandemic, PACE and Renfrewshire Council arepushing ahead with the conversion of 33 Sneddon Street– site of the old Mannequins night club – to be restored asExchange, a community theatre space for children and youngpeople. For more info on this exciting project check out thislink: www.pacetheatre.com/exchange/As the realisation dawned that there would be no performancesfor the foreseeable, Kilmacolm Dramatic Society, established in1945, decided to take matters into their own hands. The teamhave written a series of excellent monologues and passedthem to members to perform. Stand outs include SDCAMonologue and The Doctor. These often funny, moving andwell-observed slices of drama can be found on their websitekilmacolmdramaticsociety.co.uk/ or facebook page.Johnstone Phoenix Theatre Group, originally known as TheJohnstone Operatic and Dramatic Society, was formedin 1963 by founder Tom Carmichael. In 1993, daughterMargaret Carmichael created Johnston Youth Theatre. Bothorganisations have brought communities together throughinnovative and entertaining allowing children and adultsalike the opportunity to explore the creative arts in a funenvironment. They have a fab facebook page full of funnymemes, streamed theatre, and links to local castings.Culture and arts are the beating heart of any community andwhen local theatre gets the green light to open, we shouldall do our best to support them. Not only will you have agreat night out, but you get to share this experience withneighbours and friends. A truly magical connection that wehave all sorely missed.Photos by Alex Brady06-11 FEATURES 313_SPRING-APR21.indd 6 01/04/2021 14:33:47
e: info@advertizer.co.uk | www.advertizer.co.uk | SPRING April 2021 706-11 FEATURES 313_SPRING-APR21.indd 7 01/04/2021 14:33:53