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LSW News Page |
LSW UPDATE
31/3/01
LSW is growing. The advent of the LSW Prison Project's second birthday
dictated that LSW needed to develop in tandem with its own maturity. Hundreds of
actors had entered unto the splendour of first the Covent and latterly the beloved art
room and the Sunday Workouts. Many of those same, employing and stretching their
classical theatrical training and considerable experience, have participated joyfully in
the LSW Prison Project. With luck, hundreds more will follow in their
footsteps. As much as one would like to culturally feed the world, however, this is,
simply, not realistically possible.
In December LSW organised to best reflect its history. We became a
registered charity with the Charity Commission of England and Wales, an Executive
Committee for the LSW Prison Project was formed, a Constitution, Equal Opportunities
Statement and Security and Professional Protocols were developed, and fund raising
commenced. Within a matter of months recognition from the Milton Keynes Community
Foundation, The Paul Hamlyn Foundation, The Tudor Trust, Lloyds TSB Foundation, The
Pilgrim Trust, The Hertfordshire Community Foundation, the Arts Council through the Awards
for All programme, The Henry Smith Charity and receipt of The High Sheriff's award were in
hand.
It has been determined that in an effort to best serve the needs of LSW's
ever growing membership and, at one and the same time, to answer the vast increase
in our wonderfully vital community outreach programme, the LSW Prison Project, (now with
weekly sessions in a ever widening variety of prisons), the LSW Workouts numbers are going
to have to be contained and, of necessity, they will be more limited in number, now
existing, primarily, to feed the LSW Prison Project teams themselves. There will,
outside of the annual Shakeathon, be no more sixty or eighty people sessions. Twenty
Five is the number which has been determined as a quality figure for active participation
within our wonderful 1,300 square foot Art Room space, and, so, no more than 25
it shall be. In order to strictly hold to this number a new reservation system has been established and will be adhered to on a
first come, first served manner for the LSW membership, whilst still holding to the
principal that the Workouts should be used as a tool by which to develop new incentives
and introduce new practioners to the the glory which is the LSW Prison Project.
Thus it is, that the LSW guest sessions themselves will be looked upon as 'events'.
Each 'event' will be bookable by e-mail.
For those without a current active e-mail facility, it is suggested that you establish one
on hotmail.com, which is completely free of charge.
Should you be a new reader of these pages and interested in attending one
of the LSW Sundays, it is kindly requested that, should you feel you have have the
appropriate classical training/experience and interactive skills to fully benefit from the
vast joy of the LSW Prison Project, please write to: Bruce Wall, LSW Co-ordinator, 181A Faunce House, Doddington Grove,
Kennington, London SE17 3TB or send your missive via an e-mail message. New applicants will be notified, where applicable, of the next
available 'New Member' LSW session. For the LSW Guest 'Events' established members
will be contacted after having made their reservation by e-mail or phone (0207 257 0114) ONLY
if there is NOT space available. As usual, there will
always be a mix of established LSW members and newcomers in order to better feed the
community service programmes.
In addition, whereas in the early LSW history there was a suggested donation guideline of
£2 donation for the 'Guest Events' themselves for LSW Members (as opposed to those who
are invited to either an initial session or are invited in reference to the LSW Prison
Project) that, too, is abandoned as very much a thing of the past. Why?
Proudly, because LSW has established its focus. Indeed, in the old fashioned sense,
we've earned it. LSW has now and will contiue to prove itself as a wholly
non-profit, public service organisation. The LSW joy has grown through the active
and on-going evolution of the rapture which has become the LSW: Prison Project.
Today, as suggested above, the LSW workouts for the professional theatre community exist
to feed the imaginations and innovative skills of the public servants who, it is hoped,
will go forward and serve in our beloved LSW Prison Project. Moreover, the sessions,
our 'gym for the Bard', will also be used, in part, to grow new and wholly innovative
incentives for the Prison Project. Let our imaginations feed those who have, as the
LSW Prison Project Participants will all to well know, have so fully kindled ours.
Lest we forget the splendours of the Shakespeare Name Game, of Interspersing Shakespeare
and of Bard-Libs were all, interactively, forged in the LSW Sunday sessions themselves.
Should any monies be collected (and these will be rare) those donations will go towards
the specific purchase of copies of the Bard's works for those prisons, such as HMP The
Mount, where reserves are sadly lacking. It broke my heart to know as I did, when
after our second session at HMP The Mount the chaps to a man, (here numbering over twenty
five), ran up to long-standing LSW member Robyn Moore wanting to know which plays they
could learn text from, when, in stark reality, only a solitary copy of Macbeth sat on
their library self. These chaps can't run out to their local Waterstones. This
situation, however, was very happily corrected at HMP The Mount on 28th November and in
future sessions. The offerings of so many LSW members have been presented with
labels in each edition stating: 'This volume is a gift of the LSW Prison Project in
celebration of the LSW Prison Programmes at HMP The Mount Workout.' This gift was
keenly appreciated by the librarian and the administrative staff, but it is really for the
men who give us all so much joy that these volumes will really serve. Of course,
there are many, many more prison libraries - without even the limited funds given to our
own public libraries and certainly minus the same opportunities to raise funds for
such. Thus, LSW, in its own small way, hopes to go what distance it can in offering
assistance. It will, I promise, through the active work of our own expanding LSW
Prison Project, be a gift which feeds. If anyone reading this has copies in their
possession of Shakespeare or other classical texts which they are no longer using, your
donation will, I promise, make a substantial difference.
But back to the LSW Sundays: Key LSW features, will, of course, - much as in any
workout - remain the same. In conventional terms, we are not throwing the nautalus
out with the bathwater, only striving to ensure that the rigour and quality of your LSW
workout is maintained; nay, enhanced. Should anyone wish to make comment on the
above, your comments will be welcomed, as always, on the LSW Postings Page under Waxing On LSW.
Unless you are new to these
pages, you will, of course, know that the LSW: Prison Project has recently turned a corner and has largely come into its own. It will,
of course, as it must, grow. However we can pause briefly and take a collective
breath of pride in the factual knowledge that the fundamental foundations of the LSW:
Prison Project's intent have now been clearly established. There will, of necessity,
be new projects; new incentives; but the path towards the ultimate goal, that of promoting confidence through the Will to
dream, has been secured.
Of this, I am more proud than of any other LSW achievement thus far (and there have
been a great many to choose from). The clarity now achieved in the initial
fulfilment of our goals clearly establishes LSW as a public service organistion in
the minds not only of LSW's own burgeoning membership, but also in that of the world at
large. Long may LSW continue to serve not only its own noted congregation but, at
one and the same time, strive to fulfill the needs of that same 'noted' wider
community.
In celebration of the above, (indeed of the LSW: Prison Project's new found
maturity), a new entity has been established on this website: The LSW:
Prison Project Diaries. Now you, dear reader, can revel for yourself in a
variety of varying opinions from the growing number of LSW: Prison Project participants
themselves, of key Prison Service Leaders and Prison governors and, where possible, even
inmates, as, together, we continue to forge the on-going LSW: Prison Project history.
Together we continue to strive to fulfill the dream which is LSW. Long may
there be new entries for your enjoyment.
Again, should you wish to make any suggestions at all they will be keenly appreciated, and
we encourage you to do so on the 'Waxing
On LSW' Forum, the first within the LSW Postings Page. Everyone at LSW
will benefit from the guidance of your esteemed wisdom and, graciously, it will be
appreciatively accepted.
But, I understand, of course, you will want to know: Who is the guests will be at
the next LSW Special Event: Follow me please, as ....
Of course, it is never too late to learn
and as we all live in a state of perpetual anticipation of good fortune!
......
Please note: Guests will now be announced to the larger LSW membership in e-mail distributions with other assorted news. Should you be interested in joining the LSW ranks, please send a note or e-mail to londonswo@hotmail.com or write to Bruce Wall, LSW Prison Project, 181A Faunce House, Doddington Grove, Kennington, London SE17 3TB enclosing a cv illusrating your classical training/experience. Thank you for your kind consideration.
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LSW: PRISON PROJECT UPDATE |
With the dawn of the New Year - 2001: An LSW Prison Project Continuing Odyssey - we see many new, key developments in the history of this vital enterprise. 26th January saw the LSW Prison Project officially become a registered national charity with the Charity Commission of England and Wales. Our Registered Charity Number is 1084717. As is known to many, LSW now has an Executive Committee, rich in its diversity, which, on 10th December 2000, formally adopted the LSW Prison Project Constitution and Equal Opportunities Policy.
As commenced on 25th November 2001, the LSW Prison Project will be weekly, with monthly sessions in four key institutions:-
HMP Woodhill, Milton Keynes (on
going monthly)
HMP The Mount, Bovingdon, Herts. (on going monthly)
HMYOI Huntercombe, Oxon. (ongoing monthly from 13.2.01)
HMP Bullingdon, Oxon. (ongoing monthly from 27.3.01)
HMP Rochester - Oasis Drug Rehabilitiation Programme
(proposed quarterly from 1.2.01)
There will be also special sessions as in the past at HMYOI Feltham and HMP Lewes, as well as in new introductory incentives. The requests, and certainly the demand, insists that we expand the project.
On 15th March 2001 we will commence filming a series of television programmes with PVM at HMP The Mount which will, initially, be broadcast in every prison in the United Kingdom. Moreover, at virtually every LSW Prison Project session now, there are usually at least one journalist and photographer, providing a platform for a broader record and in hope that the education for all can reach ever further afield.
Moreover, in a new incentive, there will be LSW Workouts for graduate students at major drama schools and universities held throughout 2001, to further encapture the imagination of future generations towards this vital element of public service. The first of these commences at Oxford on 7th February 2001.
The excitement continues and must only be bound by the limits of our collective imaginations which I would hope, with the addition of fresh incentives and creative forces, will be limitless. Bless all who have taken part thus far and those who have proved so worth in their support.
The confidence wrought through the dream which is LSW has, and must continue to be a matter of beckoning Will.
Please stay tuned.
Bruce Wall, Chairman, LSW Prison Project Executive Committee
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LSW
Community Outreach NEWS |
To mark the dawning of the new Century, there are plans afoot to investigate a new LSW Community Outreach Incentive Programme. This will include the commencement of doing unique LSW Workouts in Hospices for Terminal Cancer Patients. The theraputic value of the language, as we all know, and has been so proudly evidenced in the LSW Prison project is extremely potent. Special programmes are currently being developed with attendant experts. Please stay tuned for further details of this vitally important undertaking.
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SPECIAL COMPUTER HARDWARE DEALS |
As promised previously, I have now worked out a discount deal with Alan for purchase of quality computer hardware/software at reduced prices for LSW members. For £395 you will receive a K62400 Processor with a 4.3 GB Hard Drive; 32MB RAM, a 56K Modem for rapid on-line connections, a 50x CD ROM, a sound card, an additional disk drive and a 14" colour monitor plus Windows 98 and the full compliment of Microsoft Office Software. Alan’s work is meticulous and he, himself, will, I promise you, follow-up on both the equipment and be a valued source of council for any problems you may encounter along the way. Please contact me should you, or any of your acting associates, be interested. You can also reach Alan directly on 0207 231 2470. I am also currently investigating ways of being able to establish VERY inexpensive classes for actors who may not be computer literate, to show them (a) how easy and cost effective it can be and (b) to further illustrate how the internet can be made to work for actors, e.g., how you too can build your own web pages for free and do submissions electronically.
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Your
Generous Assistance is Requested |
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Much as with the Globe itself, in all its
various periods of re-construction, LSW cannot be a 'one man' effort. I would love to hear your comments about the web site, indeed about LSW. Every one is greatly valued. Upcoming features planned include:-
The options are as limitless as our imaginations. |
Still, this will not happen of its own accord. Thus, I'm going to ask for your assistance - your generous assistance. LSW will need the following:-
Remember: L:fe's but a learning experience and:-
The Bard sends us all back to its School - joyously!!!