Hi

We were profoundly saddened by the news that one of our long-standing volunteers, Herman Philbert.  Herman - who most us knew as Philbert -  passed away on the 29th of December. The staff and volunteers of the centre would like to offer their deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.

He brought vitality and creativity to the Rising Sun Arts Centre, becoming involved with us in its earliest days and has been part of our lives, running carnival arts, growing plants, telling stories and making jokes for over 25 years.

Many, many people will miss his infectious laughter - not least the Move Up Project, with whom he formed a special bond. 

The Rising Sun won't be the same without him.  His funeral will be at Reading Crematorium at 1.25pm on Friday the 31st of January.

We have just the one event to be telling you about at the Rising Sun this weekend.  It's on Friday, and it's another helping of STRIKE UP THEATRE

StrikeUp Forum Theatre is a space for Actors & Writers to collaborate on new work. Every month, one new script from an emerging writer will be selected for development. Scripts may be full plays or extracts, for 3 - 4 Actors, up to 15 minutes in length. Following an ensemble-based physical warm-up, Actors will be split into 3 groups, each with a different rehearsal brief:

Company A will work with the Writer, delivering the script close to its imagined life.
Company B will work with StrikeUp Artistic Director, Rachel Mary, rehearsing the script in StrikeUp's trademark fast-paced physical style.
Company C will be furnished with props, music and a 'wildcard' stimulus, and charged with developing their own interpretation. This can include all, some, or none of the original lines of the script, and may simply draw inspiration from the text.  For the last part, all three interpretations will be performed back for a lively debate that will spill into the bar afterwards, with the opportunity to network for further development.

We're open at 7.30pm, it'll cost you £15 and for more information or availability, contact rachel@strikeuptheatre.co.uk

That’s everything for another week, just to remind you that we are, as always, at 30 Silver Street, Reading, RG1 2ST (If you pop it into your satnav or Google, we shall magically appear!)

Have a nice weekend!