JON ORAM - ARTISTIC DIRECTOR CLAQUE THEATRE

Place & Date of Birth: 2nd July 1947. St Athans, Wales.
Present Address: 12 Apsley Street, Rusthall. Tunbridge Wells, Kent. TN4 8NU Telephone: 01892 537034 email: jon.oram@virgin.net

TRAINING
Jon Trained as a teacher at Froebel and as a Drama Teacher at the Royal Academy of Music and Drama. Further training includes Mime and physical Theatre with Lindsey Kemp, Desmond Jones, Marcel Marceau, Jacques LeCoq, Theatre du Movement, Sanko Juko. He also studied Improvisation, with Keith Johnstone, Roddy Maude -Roxby and Theatre Machine and Design, Ritual Celebration and Street Theatre with Welfare State International.

TEACHING
Jon was a fulltime teacher between 1969 and 1975 teaching in London, Newcastle and Sunderland before becoming Drama Advisor for Norfolk County Council until 1980. He has taught and directed a countless number of courses and workshops including:
And Educational theatre tutor for Joan Littlewood's Theatre Projects 1969. Course Director for Youth at Cockpit Theatre, London, 1969-71. Play - Coordinator for Ed Burman's Theatre Projects, Play-bus, 1970. Director of Youth Theatre for Group 64, London 1970-71. Director of Arts in Prison in the HM Prison, Norwich, 1975-80. Director for three Norfolk Educational Authority National Summer Schools. Director of National Summer School, Truro, Cornwall for South West Arts. Co-Tutor with Bill Gaskill on a professional actors course, St Austell Arts Centre. 1983. Director of Remedial Drama Course, Norfolk Teachers Centre. Director for two years of Bristol University Drama Department Summer Schools. 1983. Co-Director with Ann Jellicoe for Colway Theatre Trust on a professional writers course, Dorset, 1984. Director of three Community Play National Summer Schools,1985-88. Director of Keith Johnson 'Impro' course 1986. Tutor on Arvon Foundation writers course- 'writing for Physical Theatre' 1986. Director of the Canadian Community Play Symposiums, Guelph University, Ontario, 1991 and Fort Quappell, Saskatchewan, 1993.

PERFORMER
Jon started performing with Billy Smarts Circus 1966. He devised performed the 'Seven Ages of Man' a one-man mime that was awarded the AJ Cronin Award 1968. This led to a world tour ' Anything to Declare' solo mime which toured New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Iran, Malta, Italy. England. 1970- 71. In 1979 he performed and devised 'Lucy' for Clowns Mime Theatre, an ensemble mime circus based on Beatles Music and his one man show 'Gobstopper' both of which toured Internationally. Also toured Ad Hoc Impro shows and worked with Theatre Machine 1978- 80. Between 1983-5 he performed several shows with Knee High Theatre.

THEATRE DIRECTOR
Jon was Director of Community Arts, Norwich Arts Centre 1980 where he founded Tie Break Theatre now East Anglia's leading theatre in Education Company. From 1882 -84 He was Theatre Animator for South West Arts and a member of the Regional Arts Theatre Panel. He became Artistic Director Colway Theatre Trust in 1985. The company changed its name to Claque in 2002.

Jon has directed numerous touring theatre shows for TIE Break Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Bristol University, Knee High Theatre. In 1998 he wrote and directed 'Fightback' a play about and featuring the Ex Miners of Kent. He directed 'Anchor Lane' two major street reenactments for the International Festival of the Sea that attracted a million visitors. He has directed twenty five major community plays for Colway Theatre Trust; Blyth Festival Theatre, Canada; Towngate Theatre, Basildon; Remould Theatre, Hull; Claque Theatre; Two community plays transferred to the National Theatre, London. He has directed new plays by some of this countries leading writers including Nick Darke, Peter Terson, Arnold Wesker, David Edgar, and David Cregan. The plays have been performed in communities across Britain, America, Canada, France, Finland, and Denmark.

WRITER
'Seven Ages' won AJ Cronin Award. 'Lucy' a mime circus based on the music of the Beatles. National Tour; ' Gobstopper' a solo mime show for the Edinburgh Festival and National Tour; 'Treageagle' Knee High Theatre Company. The play has been revised three times and toured internationally with over 1,000 performances. 1985. 'Fools Paradise' for Knee High Theatre. London Mime Festival and International Tour .1984. 'Waves Against the Flames' a community play for Gainsborough 1985. Co wrote with Boris Howarth 'Dennisons Vs Dishwater' for Welfare Stare International 1987.'The Kings Shilling' a community play for Shillingstone, Dorset 1987. 'Out of the Blue' a community play for the Frome Valley, Somerset. 1989. 'Flying Crooked' a community play for Minneapolis. USA 1990. 'Vital Spark' for Remould Theatre. Hull 1992. 'Birds of Passage' for David Hall Arts Centre, Somerset. 1993. Adaptation of ' The Happy Prince' by Oscar Wilde for Kent Youth Services. 'Torbay Tempest' a Community Play for Torbay, South Devon College 1994. 'Over and Under the Earth' a community play for the ex mining village of Aylesham, Kent. 1996. 'Fightback' a national touring play about and with the ex Miners of Kent. 1998. 'Changing Views' environmental theatre for Chiltern Open Air Museum 1999. 'The Floating Republic' a community play for the Isle of Sheppey. 2002

FACILITATOR
Consultant, Arts in Prison programming, HM Prison, Norwich 1975; Facilitator ' Looking for solutions to Everyday Conflicts' Teachers Seminar, Norwich Teachers Centre. 1980. Consultant 'Coping with Conflict' Learning Development Aids for Middle School Years publication. 1986. Consultant Guelph University Rural Action Public Soundings, Ontario, Canada. 1989; Facilitator Future search for Eramosa Township Public Participation Campaign, Ontario, Canada. 1991; Facilitator Blyth Township Evaluation, Blyth Festival Theatre 1993, Ontario, Canada; Facilitator ' Future Search 'Mislaid Community to Inclusive Community' for Rural Learning Association, Toronto, Canada; Consultation Art Therapy, Tonbridge Community Health Service; Facilitator Arts Therapy project, Tunbridge Wells Mental Health Resource Centre, 2001. Consultant for Kent Rural Development Association Planning for Real project 1994; Consultant ' Education for Neighbourhood Change for Neighbourhood Initiative Foundation; Facilitator - Planning for Real Model in Aylesham, Kent 1995- 96. Consultant for Hillview School, Tonbridge, bid for Performance College status.
Facilitated Community 'Soundings' for Eramosa and Blyth, Ontario, Canada, Minneapolis, USA. Hull; Aylesham, Kent; Kent; Shaftesbury, Dorset; Isle of Sheppey, Karkilla, Finland; Holstebro, Denmark.

OTHER
Chair of 'Applause'. West Kent Rural Touring.

MARY LIDGATE - PROJECTS DIRECTOR CLAQUE THEATRE

Date & place of birth: 20th March 1949
Present Address: Flat 4 14 Hilbert Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 3RY. Telephone 01892 547076 email: mary.Lidgate@virgin.net

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS

University of Exeter

1992-1993 Master of Arts in Theatre Practice
writing, directing, design, part-time teaching.

1989-1992 Bachelor of Arts with combined Honours in English and Drama
Class II Division I

English Literature:
Renaissance Literature (Castiglione, Spenser, Plato, Ovid, Donne, Marvell, Milton, Herbert)
Shakespeare & the Drama of his Time (Kyd, Marlowe, Webster, Ford, Shakespeare)
20th Century Literature (Modernism, Yeats, Conrad & Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Joyce, Lawrence, Eliot, Chekhov, Pirandello, Brecht, Pound, Auden, Plath, Heaney, Rhys, Pynchon, Marquez, Carter, Swift, Ishiguro (Remains of the Day), Beckett, Pinter, Bond, Griffiths, Edgar)

Theatre Studies:
Politics of Culture (option)
The language of cultural analysis, definitions of culture.
The Mystery Plays
The Wakefield (or Towneley) Cycle, York & unidentified, possibly Coventry, plays.
Forms of Theatre
Play and ritual, mythology, Peoples' theatre (John McGrath, Brecht, Dario Fo), Naturalism, Noh Theatre, Commedia dell'arte.
Playwrighting
Method, technique
1987-1989 South Devon College, Torquay
GCE A Levels
English Literature (B)
Theatre Studies (B)
Psychology (A)
1985 'Women in Technology Course', Dartington Hall
Computer skills course, word-processing, database, worksheet.
1969-71 Secretarial agency work
1966-69 BBC Television
Secretary to Head of Television Recording Dept.
responsibility for staff files, liaison with outside broadcasts.
1965-66 London School of Secretaries, Lancaster Place
Secretarial Diploma
Shorthand/typing/book-keeping
1960-1965
Stover School, Newton Abbot, Devon
GCE 'O' level English Language
GCE 'O' level English Literature
GCE 'O' level Religious Knowledge

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
1992 :'The Optimist' Monologue (20 minutes) written and directed for performance at Exeter University. 1992: 'Tea' A monologue written and directed for 'site specific' performance in a chapel. Adaptation for performance at Exeter Festival, Platform 4 under the railway arches.
Teaching at South Devon College, B.Tech. National Diploma in Performing Arts 'Understanding Drama'. 1993: 'Champagne & Kippers' co-directed for Exeter Festival, involved negotiations for use of space (Harlequin Shopping Centre, Exeter), acquiring set and props, arranging and running rehearsals.Teaching at South Devon College, B.Tech.National Diploma in Performing Arts 'Understanding Drama'. English Speaking Board, Syllabus of Spoken English Assessments in Social Care. 1994: Project Co-ordinator for large scale community theatre event in Torbay. 120 performers, over 300 people involved. Run budget, co-ordinate professional team, run rehearsals/rehearsal schedules, arrange production meetings, liaise between professional team and community, assist director in casting/rehearsal, recruit stage-management and front of house.
1995: Project Co-ordinator for large-scale community event in Aylesham, Kent a small mining community in Kent Coalfields. Initial co-ordination involved engaging cast (finally 118) around 130-40 people finally involved in project, no previous theatre activity in the village, extensive workshop programme, co-ordination between community and professional production team, run budget, run rehearsals/rehearsal schedules, assist director in casting/rehearsal, recruit stage management & front of house, publicity, ran main box office. This project resulted in the start of a new theatre group in the village and the successful appropriation of the disused secondary school as a community centre. Teaching at South Devon College, HND Drama in the Community.1996/7: Project Co-ordinator for large scale community event in Minehead, Somerset. Worked on outreach programme, workshops, raising funding including community fund-raising events, negotiating venues for rehearsal, performance and design workshop, run rehearsals/schedules, ran production team budget, assist director in casting & rehearsal, liaison between community and professional team, publicity (media liaison, radio interviews etc.) 1997/8: Project Co-ordinator for large scale community event in Totnes - initial phase of raising funds and community awareness (otherwise, as above). Working with students from Dartington College of Arts on the concept and practice of community arts. HND Year II Community Arts assessor, South Devon College Tech I & II Arts Administration, South Devon College 1998/9: HND Year I & II tutor, South Devon College.Teaching Yr 7, 8, 9 Drama at Trinity School, Teignmouth. Co-ordinator for workshop/conference series, Colway Theatre Trust. 1999-2000: Project Manager for McDonald's 'Our Town Story' for performance at the London Dome and HND tutor for Arts Administration Years 1 & 2 at South Devon College Project Manager for Shaftesbury Community Play with Colway Theatre Trust. Project Manager for South Devon Drama Federation Project 2000 'Nicholas Nickleby' touring South Devon. 2000/2001: Project Manager Pilot project for Isle of Sheppey Community Play including feasibility study