We set up HENS Theatre Co. in 2001 after completing our A Levels.
We had all known each other throughout secondary school and all shared a similar interest in our love for drama.
Inspired by other companies such as "Frantic Assembly", "DV8" and "Told By an Idiot" we decided to set up a company of our own to tour around schools, colleges and theatres and make a diffrence in some way.
Natalie says, "I remember we used to spend lunchtimes in the drama rooms during our time in Sixth Form and we decided instead of chatting about plays we had seen we would come up with some ideas on how to form our company.
So this is how HENs came about.
We started by performing at Brentwood Theatre, in Essex with a double bill about Autism. One of the pieces we actually perfromed for our Theatre Studies exam, 'Gum 'n' Goo' by Howard Brenton and as it worked so well we decided it would be a great piece for our debut. It explored an Autistic child's experience of the world.
The second part was called 'Detained' and was written specially for us by Nita Jackson. We actually met Nita, who has Aspergers syndrome (a form of Autisim) when we went to the Theatre to book the dates for the show, originally only planning on performing 'Gum 'n' Goo'. She was on work experience at the Theatre and was a budding writer so it was then decided that she would write us a series of short scenes exploring sanity and her experiences of life. Nita then came back to us with almost 75 pages of brillant work that we then crafted into a play. The series of scenes were very funny, ranging from kids playing, old biddies at a bus stop, to essex girls learning how to disect a frog.
The double bill was greatly received and was sold out on both nights. This had us itching for more.
Our next play was to be a play for primary schools. At School ourselves, we had already worked with our local council (Brentwood) on a Road Saftey play called 'Why did the Chicken cross the road?' and thought this was a great way to continue. It is so rewarding being able to teach the children something new by the use of theatre. Most primary school children have never seen or been involved in drama so its a great way of putting a message across to them and for them to remember it.
Our first Theatre In Education play was You've Got a Blue Face tackling the issue of bulllying. We were part funded by Brentwood Council and toured this production of a play and a workshop to Year 6 primary children in and around Brentwood. This tour was very successful and continued on to second and third tours in later years.
Since then was have toured plays on Stranger Danger, Domestic Abuse, and mental health. Our next tour Golden Spoon is on Healthy Living aimed at age 8 children and is being supported by the Sports Development Officer at Brentwood Council. This tour is planned for June and November 2006 and will be toured to primary schools in the Brentwood Borough. For more information please see the Project Diary page.
We also work with schools, colleges and other intitutions on set texts for GCSE and A Level English and Drama students. We use drama to examine the text giving the students a better idea of what is being said and how different a text can be interpreted once it is acted.
We also run Drama clubs and workshops in Essex which are new additions to HENs called OSCARS.
At the moment we rely heavily on funding for all our projects as we try not to charge the schools, colleges and instituions we visit. We are currently in the process of applying for charity status which will broaden the company's capabilites in terms of funding and support. We want to apply to be a charity so that we can offer our shows to schools for free, that way a lot more people get to see our work and what we are all about.
For more information on productions / workshops we have available, please see the project diary or contact us via the feedback form.
We will also be offering an opportunity for volunteers to help with projects or just to gain some experience of running a company and touring shows. If you are interested in joining the company as a volunteer then please look out for the Opportunities page for upcoming tours and positions.