Post written by: Polly Ferguson-Carruthers
In February 2018 we were approached by Daisi to work together on a new project called Greenway Imagined. ‘Daisi is a non-profit arts education organisation creating and promoting inspiring artistic and cultural experiences which enable more children and young people to access the transformative and inclusive power of the arts.’
Greenway Imagined worked in partnership with the National Trust property Greenway and enabled participants to gain a sense of life at Greenway during the First World War and to make a creative response to it.
Our Doorstep team were delighted to be part of this project and jumped at the opportunity to make new exciting work with young adults in a style that they were unfamiliar with. Polly Ferguson, Meg Searle, Mair George & Dan Armstrong worked with the Wednesday DAS Senior Group to make a film of their creation. Rachel Thame supported Splash Holiday Play scheme’s young people to make a sound sculpture in response to the gardens at Greenway. Galmpton Primary school pupils learnt about their local heritage and with the poet, Roselle Angwin, and wrote original poetry in response to the changing seasons at Greenway.
Wednesday Seniors explored text, lyrics, war letters, Agatha Christie’s family history, costume, hair and makeup, music, occupations and status from this era during a 12-week term. The process gave our young people an opportunity to develop skills in screen, storyboarding and character building, as well as learning about how life was during World War 1 in Devon. It wasn’t until our week intensive did Meg and Polly begin to sculpt the storyline of the piece.
We had a diversely experienced team with vast knowledge in various settings within the arts. Meg Seattle – Director and Producer, co-director Polly Ferguson and choreographer, Mair George- costumer and props, Rae Hoole coordinator for the project, Carly Greenway Locations specialist and Phil Gurr, our incredible cameraman.
This collaboration reinforced the importance of sharing art projects and working with professional artists to enable young people the opportunity to learn and understand a new skill set with a supportive and knowledgable team, as well as learning masses about the historical essence of Greenway.
Our young people and Directors felt extremely privileged to be a part of such a memorable process and it has encouraged our team to look at creating film projects in historical sites throughout Torbay in future.
Please enjoy our silent film: ‘From Pillar to Post’, by clicking the link below.