As a key element in Birmingham Repertory Theatre's commitment to Early Years work, during October 2004, every baby born at City Hospital and Sandwell Hospital was offered the opportunity of a free theatre experience every year until the age of 10.   The parents of over 200 October babies signed up to this unique project.  So far this has involved coming to plays at the REP, and special events, and also two touring projects specially created for them, at the ages of 6 months and 18 months.  The Playmakers project will now be providing a whole new opportunity - for these children and their families to be contributing their own ideas to the next of these projects.

One of the five groups of playmakers was recruited from the REP's Children families, and has been meeting in Ladywood on Saturdays in October...the month when one thing is guaranteed - every one of these children was celebrating their second birthday.  What better way to celebrate than by creating their first play!

Playmaker Sessions

7th October

We had the first playmakers session in the Board Room at the REP, on the same day as the special Birthday Party for all of the REP's Children.  Of course they are all two during this month.  This makes them the youngest children involved in the Playmakers, and so it was great just how quickly they got involved in making up ideas for Peter's story....  Their ideas are all  added to the Ideas page, and you will see for yourself how imaginative and special they are.   Where else would we find a jelly-fish that lives in a tree, or pigs that play football? 

 Because our sessions are mostly on Saturdays, and the REP's Children come from a wide area, this group will be different from the others - there are brothers and sisters present, and some fathers, too.   The job of these 'ideas-catchers' - parents carers and brothers and sisters, will be especially important, making sure that the thoughts and feelings of the children are heard just as strongly as those who have after all been talking for longer. 

14th October

The first session at Nelson School was fantastic.  Joab and Cameron and Marcus came, and brothers and sisters and mums and dads too.  Several children were ill, and couldn't get there, but our small select group was in a very creative mood.  We looked at some of the stories made up so far [You can read them for yourselves by clicking here]  Then we acted some out.  There were some great butterflies, and monkeys, snakes and monsters....  and finally we drew some fantastic pictures.  You can see them on the main ideas page.

21st October

Four families at this session, and we found Peter stuck, with the problem of making one BIG story.  He was sad, and when he opened his Big Story Book, all that came out of it were questions.  Luckily our youngest playmakers were there to help, and between us we came up with quite a few answers.  There was Harry showing exactly how a dinosaur runs when he is sad, and Monica being a princess, a butterfly, and a very scary masked monster. Autumn took Peter to the scary cave, and Taylor was brave enough to laugh right in the face of the witch.   We found out a little about how animals play, why the witch is nasty. what a castle is like, and where the butterfly went.  In the end, Peter was definitely much happier.

4th November

A little thin on the ground this week - just Cameron and Harry...but Pizza's son Jim came, as well as Dot and Steve and Selene to help, and we still had fun, acting out pretty much the whole story.  We made butterflies too, and saw them fly, along with the kite and the elephant.  They certainly remember every bit of the story we have made up together, and we are all looking forward to getting together at the theatre next week...

9th November 10.30-12.00

All of the Playmakers met together for the very first time, at the REP.  It was a great session.  Peter read out the whole story, which is now finished, and then two actors, Lorna and Ali arrived.  They acted out some of the story.  Then the director, who had been there all the time, Iain, asked if the REP can make a play out of our story.  The playmakers all said 'yes'.